Looks like we will have to resort to In-Vitro

[redsquirrel]

Well, as most of you know, my husband and I have been trying to conceive for about 5 years now. I did get pregnant about 2 1/2 years ago, only to end up losing the child halfway through.

All along, I thought I was the problem. I thought that I didn't ovulate regularly. We had my husband tested also, and it seemed he had a low sperm count, and/or just didn't produce enough mature & mobile sperm. 40% were good ones. Not bad, but not great.

So, ok- this was the year we were going to devote 100% to getting pregnant. Starting this past Decemeber I did a 3 month cycle of Clomid. Nothing. I finally got into a fertility specialist in March. This past month, I was administered Clomid- to help with ovulation, Follistim- to help mature the egg, and HCG- to get me to drop the egg. We instructed to do the "dirty" last night. I had to go back in this morning so they could get a sample of both of us to see if "conditions were favorable". Well, oddly enough- all of my conditions were great. Unfortunately, my husbands were not. 5-10 little swimmers is the minimal amount they like to see. We had a big ZERO. Needless to say- I broke down into tears as soon as the doctor told me. Last ditch effort is doing an insemination tomorrow morning since I do have an egg waiting.

At least now we know it's just not going to be possible again without having to fork out $10k for IVF...And of course there is a 50% chance of that working.

It's been a really bad day. I just never thought I wouldn't be able to have kids.

[Bouncer]

sorry to hear it red. nothing much i can say but to let you know that i am rooting for you guys. :)

[SonofBone]

good luck tomorrow red.

check your pm

[Shibby]

How long until they know if it took? Keep us updated.

[FitnessBrat]

I'm sorry Red :( Good luck today - hopefully that will bring good news.

[Mr I]

I'm sure it will happen for you guys and if its IV then fine I'm sure it will work out. Its so refreshing to hear people that are trying for kids with all their heart when there are so many irresponsible people and uncaring parents.

Good luck to you both and all the more respect to you for sharing.

[redsquirrel]

OMG- You all will not believe this

I'm sorry Red :( Good luck today - hopefully that will bring good news.

Anyway- GET THIS- So, you know the results from Tuesday, right? Well, I go in yesterday for the insemination with his "sample" in tow, and turned it in for them to rpocess it. It takes about an hour for them to process it. So, I come back, and go in the room to get ready for this basting. The nurse walks in and says, "Well, we are just stumped." I was like- WTF- what now, right? She says, "The sample you gave us was FANTASTIC- absolutely nothing wrong with it!?!?!" She even sort of looked at me crooked to make sure it came from the same guy! Can you believe that? After the depsair of Tuesday's news, and then to have that happen the very next day?!?

So, I went in today to get another ultrasound & make sure I actually released the egg- I DID!!! Word to your mother, keep your fingers crossed, and do the baby dance! Regardless, at least we know that IVF isn't the immediate option.

My husband actually did a shot of HCG the night before, so we are thinking maybe that had something to do with it, but who knows at this point. Totally crazy!

[redsquirrel]

I'm sure it will happen for you guys and if its IV then fine I'm sure it will work out. Its so refreshing to hear people that are trying for kids with all their heart when there are so many irresponsible people and uncaring parents.

Good luck to you both and all the more respect to you for sharing.

Thanks for your kind thoughts. That's the most frustrating thing about this- people who shouldn't have kids- get pregnant.

[dna9488]

Anyway- GET THIS- So, you know the results from Tuesday, right? Well, I go in yesterday for the insemination with his "sample" in tow, and turned it in for them to rpocess it. It takes about an hour for them to process it. So, I come back, and go in the room to get ready for this basting. The nurse walks in and says, "Well, we are just stumped." I was like- WTF- what now, right? She says, "The sample you gave us was FANTASTIC- absolutely nothing wrong with it!?!?!" She even sort of looked at me crooked to make sure it came from the same guy! Can you believe that? After the depsair of Tuesday's news, and then to have that happen the very next day?!?

So, I went in today to get another ultrasound & make sure I actually released the egg- I DID!!! Word to your mother, keep your fingers crossed, and do the baby dance! Regardless, at least we know that IVF isn't the immediate option.

My husband actually did a shot of HCG the night before, so we are thinking maybe that had something to do with it, but who knows at this point. Totally crazy!

Sounds great, i am happy for you guys

[redsquirrel]

How long until they know if it took? Keep us updated.

19 days from today. Since they gave me a shot of HCG this past Monday, that's how long I have to wait. Otherwise, I may get a false positive on an EPT since HCG is the hormone that detects pregnancy.

My husband had a great sample yesterday, and I dropped the egg...that's all I can ask for right now! Even if I'm not this month, we are still really encouraged.

[SonofBone]

Anyway- GET THIS- So, you know the results from Tuesday, right? Well, I go in yesterday for the insemination with his "sample" in tow, and turned it in for them to rpocess it. It takes about an hour for them to process it. So, I come back, and go in the room to get ready for this basting. The nurse walks in and says, "Well, we are just stumped." I was like- WTF- what now, right? She says, "The sample you gave us was FANTASTIC- absolutely nothing wrong with it!?!?!" She even sort of looked at me crooked to make sure it came from the same guy! Can you believe that? After the depsair of Tuesday's news, and then to have that happen the very next day?!?

So, I went in today to get another ultrasound & make sure I actually released the egg- I DID!!! Word to your mother, keep your fingers crossed, and do the baby dance! Regardless, at least we know that IVF isn't the immediate option.

My husband actually did a shot of HCG the night before, so we are thinking maybe that had something to do with it, but who knows at this point. Totally crazy!

That is great news! I'm sure you'll be anxious for a couple of weeks waiting to take your test. Good luck to you guys.

When you say "sample in tow"...do you mean you collected at home or was it collected in the office? If it was at home, the trip in to the office, temperature, container, etc., etc. could have had a negative impact on it. The sample starts degrading pretty fast after 30 minutes or so. Then you have to think about the hour or so it takes them to wash the sperm in the lab.

Spermatogenesis takes about 90 days, so I doubt the HCG had an impact.

[redsquirrel]

That is great news! I'm sure you'll be anxious for a couple of weeks waiting to take your test. Good luck to you guys.

When you say "sample in tow"...do you mean you collected at home or was it collected in the office? If it was at home, the trip in to the office, temperature, container, etc., etc. could have had a negative impact on it. The sample starts degrading pretty fast after 30 minutes or so. Then you have to think about the hour or so it takes them to wash the sperm in the lab.

Spermatogenesis takes about 90 days, so I doubt the HCG had an impact.

I collected at home. The doctor's office is 25 minutes away. The temp in my car was about 70 degrees...I may have gotten there just in time for it not to deteriorate....which may have been why it was such a good sample. Now, correct me if I'm wrong here. But, as we both said they have to filter the sample, which yes- does take about an hour. When they do that, are they somehow able to harvest & filter the best ones of the bunch? Why do they "wash" the little guys? Why don't they just put the whole sample in there?

[SonofBone]

The whole sample contains bacteria, dead sperm, chemicals, prostaglandins, etc. During intercourse, the only thing that leaves the vagina is sperm that are able to swim. By removing everything but live sperm, the washing is sort of performing the same function as the vagina. The reason the other things are bad is the bacteria could cause infection, the chemicals could cause inflammation or peritonitis, & the prostaglandins cause muscle contraction which would cause you pain & cramping. Therefore, only pure sperm are inserted into the uterus during IUI.

I think they add the necessary fluids that separate it and then centrifuge it. Another cool thing is that because male sperm are XY and female are XX, some labs can actually spin for sex selection. Yep, the lighter XY sperm stay towards the top while the heavier XX fall to the bottom. The chances of selecting for a girl are higher than selecting for a male. I believe the %'s are in the 70 range.

[Solstice106]

To answer about selection...

there are a few ways to wash sperm. Centrifugation is one method. But basically, the sperm select themselves. The ones that are shaped normally and are motile swim the best. With the centrifugation method, the sperm and bacteria "n stuff" are forced down to the bottom of a tube with gravity and then the sample is left to sit for a few minutes. The good swimmers swim back up leaving the dead sperm, bad swimmers, and anything that can't swim (bacteria) at the bottom. The top portion is taken for the insemination. That's the basics....