PCOS and MF infertility

So I have not been on here for a while! Our story so far, is that I have PCOS (thankfully not causing major issues, but AF only every 6 months or so, and apparently no ovulation, has caused significant weight gain, insulin resistance and a few other minor symptoms), and my husband has a zero sperm count. He had a brain tumour when he was 17, and his pituitary was damaged, so he takes a lot of hormone replacement tablets etc, and also testosterone gel. We started injections of HCG for him a while ago, but took a break over our wedding and honeymoon, and have now started again. Got a bit frustrated for a while and felt like giving up on it all, then felt silly about it, because stopping for a couple of months now means that we have to wait a couple of months to see if there are any improvements from this treatment. He has been referred to an endocrinologist locally (finally!), as his endocrinologist that he has been seeing since the brain tumour lives interstate and is probably close to retiring now!

When I rang to make an appointment, I was told there was a 6 month wait for the only endocrinologist in town, and when I questioned that, I was told that the one I see has left! I wasn't notified of that, so I would have gotten a shock when I booked for my next appointment. So we are back off to the GP to ask for a referral to see the IVF centre in Hobart, because even if we can get something happening in the sperm department, I would need to be ovulating to conceive, and it all just seems so unlikely! Add that to the fact that my husband is almost 41, so time is not on his side. I am 23, so I have plenty of time, but he doesn't. It makes me so sad to see how disappointing this is for him, especially when most of our friends have children, and he would make such a great father!

My GP has found that my liver has something wrong with it (note I am not a drinker, and only take metformin for PCOS, neg for hepatitis etc), and he said that 1 in 10,000 people can get liver damage from metformin, so he has asked me to stop that to see if my liver gets better. Quite a set back as I have been steadily losing weight on the metformin and felt a real difference in my energy levels, and AF has been coming more regularly.... Since I stopped it I have felt really tired, and craving sugar like no tomorrow. Doesn't help that I work in a call centre at night, and the only food on offer is vending machine junk, so I don't take money to work, and pack fruit and yoghurt and a freddo!

I would love to hear from anyone else who has the same or similar MF issues, there is plenty out there about PCOS, but not mens stuff.... From the research I have done, I don't think the HCG is the answer, but I am not a doctor! We will see what comes of it, and we have been talking about what happens if nothing works. Sperm donation is not preferable, but if it means we can have children, then we will do whatever it takes. The feeling of looking at the person you love though, and thinking that you want their babies, no one elses is so overwhelming, and something I never comprehended. It really breaks my heart to think that if we have to take the sperm donation track, that our children won't be "his" biologically, they will certainly not be treated any differently than if they were, but it is hard to come to terms with...

Long post I know, and if you have gotten to here, thanks for sticking around! I will keep updating as we go, fingers crossed for some positive news soon!

:pray:

Update: DH went to his GP today, and we got the referral to the IVF centre in Hobart. Yay! Now we just need to look at how much it is going to cost....

Good luck with it all, let us know how you get on.

Well, here is a quick update! Went to see fertility specialist yesterday, and he was so positive and friendly. He sounded confident that the MF issues can be helped, so we are starting today on Pregnyl injections 3x a week, and then after a little while we will go onto Gonal F as well. As for me, the PCOS seems to be sorting itself out.... Good news!

Good luck with everything!

Small update, DH has noticed some changes which FS said is in response to the Pregnyl shots, and is a result of higher levels of his own testosterone (DH has to use testogel as a replacement for his own testosterone). Haha he is pretty much just getting hairy like a monkey! So we have started on Gonal F 150IU 3 times a week, in combination with Pregnyl 1500IU 3 times a week. And of course, even though I warned our pharmacy that there was going to be a shortage of Pregnyl (FS gave us the heads up) and asked them to order in a couple of months worth for us, they thought they would be able to get it just fine, and only kept 2 weeks worth for us :| Not happy! So we have to use a higher strength but measure it differently blah blah blah.... I much prefer doing the Gonal F shot, it is so much more pleasant and easy, no massive needle or mixing stuff to worry about! Our FS is incredibly positive that we will see some results, and he thinks we will see them quite fast. Apparently he has DH on the max dose for the hormones, so we have our first semen analysis this week. Fingers crossed there are at least some germ cells! We had them before, but our GP didn't know what it meant, so we got a bit disheartened and slacked off with the Pregnyl shots. Imagine my disappointment when we finally got referred to FS and he said that germ cells are great news, and when they are visible they then start Gonal F to kick off sperm production... Well at least we know what to expect this time!

It's a bit of a turnaround to see the bloke having to do injections :)
I hope the semen analysis is good!