Varicocelectomy done!

Well the much awaited surgery is over.  It was done May 18th at our local hospital. 

We got up early and headed down to the hospital.  DH's check in time was 10am and the surgery was scheduled for noon.  We checked in and waited, and waited... and waited.  They finally came and got him at 1:30.  He was more annoyed that he hadn't eaten anything since the night before and was starving.  They walked him down to surgery after we said our good-byes and I headed over to the waiting room. 

I was planning on just waiting and reading a book but I was hungry so I looked for a vending machine.  I finally found one and of course it wouldn't accept my money.  I didn't want to go too far but I thought there had to be a cafeteria or snack place somewhere inside the hospital so I wandered around for a bit until I found one.  I felt guilty eating since DH couldn't but I told myself it might be a long wait so I went ahead and had lunch.  I chatted with my Mom on the phone for a bit until I was done eating then headed back to wait.

   When I arrived back at the waiting room the attendant told me that she had just received word that he was out of surgery and in recovery.  She said I would be able to go see him in a few minutes.  I just played on my blackberry for a few minutes and then the Urologist came in.  His exact words were "The surgery went GREAT!, just as expected".  I asked him if he thought we would be "successful" and he said he didn't see any reason why we wouldn't.  I was sooo happy.  The attendant told me that I could now go see DH in recovery. 

When I went in to see him he was a little out of it but seemed almost normal.  The told him that he had to use the washroom before they would let him go.  He had just gone before the surgery so I knew this would take a while.  He drank 4-5 cups of water and we waited.  He tried a few times and finally.. success!. 

I went and got the car and wheeled him out into the lobby in a mandatory wheelchair.  He walked to the car with no issues and we were both surprised at how little pain he had.  They had prescribed Tylenol-3 for him but when we went to pick it up the doctor had forgotten to put the quantity on it so they wouldn't let us get it until they talked to him.  Of course it was after 5pm and they couldn't get ahold of him.  DH said he was fine and we would just go home and come back to get them in the morning.  I was worried that he'd be in a lot of pain tonight but he assured me he was fine.  We headed right to McDonald's because DH said that was what he wanted the most.  We went home and he just relaxed for the rest of the night.

The next morning DH woke up and said he felt great.  He said all he felt was a bit of bruising.  Since we were both off work I was going to go outside to do some garden work.  DH convinced me that he could help but I was very worried that he would do too much and be in pain.  Since we have a very light electric lawn mower and a small lawn I let him push the mower but he wasn't allowed to bend down or lift anything.  That evening he was a little tender and of course I worried that he had done too much but he said he was fine. 

The rest of the week was very uneventful.  He didn't have much pain at all, he only said the actual incision bothered him a little only because it rubbed on his clothes but that was it.  I was so glad that he wasn't in much pain and he went back to work the next week and has been fine since.

Varicocele

DH had his next Urologist appointment on Feb 14th (Happy Valentine's Day!) They performed an ultrasound and then went over the results.  They informed him that they had found a grade 1 varicocele.

What Is a Varicocele?

Varicoceles are a relatively common condition (affecting approximately 10 percent of men) that tends to occur in young men, usually during the second or third decade of life. Sometimes, these varicoceles cause no symptoms and are harmless. But sometimes a varicocele causes pain or atrophy (shrinkage), or fertility problems.
Normally, blood flows to the testicles through an artery, and flows out via a network of tiny veins that drain into a long vein that goes up through the abdomen. The direction of blood flow in this vein should always be up, toward the heart. A series of one-way valves in the vein prevent the reverse flow of blood back to the testicles.

What Causes Varicoceles?

These one-way valves sometimes fail. The reverse flow of blood stretches and enlarges the tiny veins around the testicle to cause a varicocele, a tangled network of blood vessels, or varicose veins.

This news is just what we were hoping for.  This is something that can be fixed and we can hopefully move on to having our children naturally.  DH was also very happy.  I didn't think he would be happy that he had to have surgery but he is glad they found a possible cause and can fix it.

He had two choices for surgery - Varicocele micro surgery or Varicocele Embolization.  The doctor told him the pros and cons and he decided to go with the micro surgery.  It is more invasive but has a higher success rate.  His surgery is scheduled for May 10th.

Second Sperm Analysis results and Urologist Appointment

Last week DH went in to meet with the Urologist.  He also tole him the results of his second SA.. they were much better, his count was 16 million!  This is still considered low but a huge change from last time.  The Urologist said it could have been a number of things including that he abstained for an extra day this time or he ate more red meat which can help but we don't know for sure.  The Urologist checked him over and talked with him for a while.  DH really liked him and said he felt really comfortable.  They scheduled him to go in for an ultrasound on Feb 14th to see if they can see anything.  They also told him that that they suspect he may have a small varicocele and if it's over 3mms they can operate.  As much as we don't want DH to have to have any surgery we are really hoping that is the case and they can "fix" it.  Until then we can only try try again.  DH is also now taking Fertil-aid supplements and drinking pomegranate juice to see if that helps at all.  We are also going to try and space out our BDing with 2 days abstaining in between.

Christmas & New Years

I didn't post at all over the holidays so I just wanted to quickly sum it up in this one post.  It was pretty depressing.  We did our usual of going to my parents on Christmas Eve and spending the night then after presents and brunch we head over to DH's sisters house.  We went through all the usual comments of "So when are you going to make your parents Grandparents??".. or DH's sister reminding us of all the things she has saved for us from her children.  We almost told her but it wasn't the right time for us. 

New Years we went to my brother's new house and had a few drinks.  His fiancee got pretty drunk and made a few comments about me not drinking while she patted my stomach.. I was shocked and annoyed but I just brushed it off with her being so intoxicated.

Anyway, there were many good times over the holidays but it's hard to focus on those when you are dealing with the recent results we just received.

Results of first Sperm Analysis

I have been a bit lazy in updating but also because after our first results I was pretty depressed.  We went in for our follow-up / results appointment on December 20th, they weren't good.  DH's sperm count was only 9.6 million.  Anything below 20 million is considered low and they diagnosed us with Male Factor Infertility.  They told us that it wouldn't be impossible for us to conceive naturally but our chances are really low.  I was crushed but I held it together and tried to take in as much information from the doctor as I could.  The doctor told us that our best chance of conception would be IVF (in-vitro fertilization with ICSI)  The cost of this is around $10,000.  They also told us that they will refer DH to a urologist and send him for a second SA.  We left the appointment devastated and I cried in the car on the way home.  DH kept apologizing to me and I had to keep telling him it wasn't his fault and I wasn't mad at him, I was mad at the situation.

His next sperm analysis drop off is January 3rd and then he will get an appointment to see the Urologist. 

Sonohystogram, Pelvic and Sperm Analysis

Yesterday we had an appointment with our fertility clinic to drop off DH's sperm analysis and for me to get a Sonohystogram (SIS) and a Pelvic ultrasound.  I had done a little bit of online research about the SIS and wasn't really nervous or worried at all.  I had already had an internal ultrasound before so I figured it wouldn't be much different, boy was I wrong.  I went into the exam room and the technician started with a regular abdominal ultrasound which took no time at all.  Then my doctor came in to perform the SIS, they told me I might feel some cramping and asked if I had taken any pain medication.  As per the instruction sheet I had taken 2 advils but I just figured that was for minor cramps after the procedure.  She inserted the catheter into my cervix and I had a very painful cramp which really surprised me.  I have been told by many doctors that I have a high pain tolerance from other procedures I have had in the past but this one I couldn't hide my pain.  They could tell I was very uncomfortable and just kept telling me to breath... I really just wanted to rip the catheter out but I just laid there.  They started to insert the Saline and again I have major cramping and couldn't hold back my pain as I repeated "OUCH!! OUCH!! OWWWWWCH!" over and over.  I tried to watch on the screen in between the cramps but didn't see much.  They finally told me it would be over in a second which it was and I felt immediate relief.  After it was over she told me that everything looked great and my tubes and uterus were clear.  I was almost shaking and felt so disoriented that I had to ask her to repeat herself.  The technician handed me a pad for the saline leakage and told me I could get dressed and go.  I was still a bit out of it but I got dressed and went to meet DH out in the lobby.  When I told him that everything was clear and looked good his immediate reaction was.. "oh great.. that means it's me".. to which I reassured him that it doesn't mean anything is wrong with either of us, that we would just have to wait for his results.  We were told that his would take a couple of days so I will update when I get those results.  We also scheduled our follow up appointment for December 20th.

this is basically what I saw on the screen:

First Clinic Appointment

We had both taken the entire day off and headed over to the clinic.  We walked in and were very impressed with the look of the place.  It was very modern and also very busy which we took as a good sign.  We filled out a bunch of paperwork while waiting to be called. 

After about 15 minutes we heard our names and went up to meet the doctor.  She was very friendly and greeted us warmly. She walked us back to her office and started to go over our paperwork.  I brought my charts to show her and she was very impressed.  She confirmed that I have been ovulating and that I had a regular cycle.  She went over our history and mentioned that because I had a ruptured appendix and surgery when I was 12 that that can be a "red flag" to them because it can cause scar tissue in my abdomen.  I had already read this online so I wasn't alarmed but it was interesting to see her confirm it when I had mentioned it to the student doctor he quickly dismissed it. 

After talking with her for about 15 minutes she started our game plan.  First she gave me a prescription for PregVit prenatal vitamins.  I was already taking an over-the-counter prenatal but these had 5 times more folic acid.  She told us the tests we would start right away which included - blood tests for both of us, cycle blood tests for me, a sperm analysis for my husband and a Sonohystogram (saline-infused ultrasound) for me.  We then went back into an exam room and she examined me to be sure I didn't have any infections.

We left the appointment armed with our test requisitions and feeling really good about getting a plan.