Dh finally went to the doc today to have his semen analysis done! (We did the preliminary screening last year thru the family doc, but this one was with the specialist!)

He mumbled and grumbled the whole way there, and things got worse once we arrived... We found out too late that they also wanted a urine sample (d'oh!) so had to wait a while, then his health card was expired, then they had told me he didn't have to have blood work done but changed their minds today, and the lady in the lab didn't like the fact that he'd put the labels on the bottles upside down... It just went on and on.

Dh was fuming and said he wants as little to do with this office as possible. Now I'm worried an IUI may even be out of the question... :(

Sure hoping these steps help Tripper, sorry it was difficult. Hoping for you and Praying. [praying]

That's rotten that the circumstances of your visit made it an even more unpleasant experience for you dh. I know that it took a lot for him to get to the point of being willing/ready to go. Praying that the outcome of the analysis gives you some answers and that in the end, even your dh will be glad to have gone through the process. (Grumpy people can make anything miserable.... so unfortunate that it had to be the case for this!)

Awww, Trip... I'm sorry. :( BUT-- I'm glad it's been done now! I'll continue to pray that things will move forward for you two!

Thanks gals!

I should be ovulating some time this weekend, so bd'ing this morning helped put me back in the right frame of mind... :teehee:
I know God's got a plan in all this - I just wish it wouldn't take soooooo long to work itself out! I keep seeing babies and young families all over the place, and find myself thinking "When will that be us? I really want that!"
sigh...
Patience. That's all it takes, right? Lol

Well, we got a call from our RE's office asking us to keep our appt this coming Fri despite the fact that dh hasn't had his mandatory blood work done yet!
Now we're not quite sure what to make of this development... We'll definitely be keeping the appt, but what could it 'mean'? I'm praying it's positive, but of course, all KINDS of negative thoughts are creeping in...
Fortunately I'm taking a course Mon-Thurs this week, so my mind will be kept busy... I'll update when I can!

I pray for absolute clarity this friday! I also hope this week goes by quickly!! I tried to post a few days ago but our internet is sketchy! Please know I am always praying for you!!!

Blessings,
Amber

Praying hun, praying!

We're on our way again tomorrow to the specialist - hopefully she'll have some new info for us and will advise us on a course of action. That's all for now. Will update as I can.

praying for you!!

Amber

Praying, praying, praying, hun!

Praying as well. Looking for an update when you can. ::hugs::

Well that was a horrible morning!

Long story short, we've left that doctor. The condescending attitude of her staff drove us both crazy this morning so dh called them on our way home to tell them we wouldn't be back. Grrr...
Just because we didn't understand a number of details and wanted answers to our questions! The straw that broke the camel's back was the nurse who said, "Didnt the doctor explain all this to you? You were with her for an hour!" in an accusatory tone. When we tried to tell her we weren't with her for an hour and that that didn't really matter because we just wanted to get some answers to our questions before we left, she told dh not to yell at her! :0

We never once raised our voices!

When the doctor agreed to speak to us again to answer the questions, dh told her what had happened and that he wouldn't be spoken to like that again, and she just said she wasn't there, didn't hear the conversation so couldn't comment. What?? Wasn't that YOUR staff? Aren't YOU in charge? I wouldn't want someone working for me who treated people like that!

Anyways, dh offered to start all over again with another doc, as long as we never went to see her again. Sigh. At least he's willing!

On a medical note, his #s and motility have dropped significantly since last summer so we were discussing seeing a male fertility specialist and the testing they'd want done. He was down to 10 million with 17% motility. What can make #s drop so far in a year? He used to have 55 million with 35% motility. Does anyone know why that happens? (I'll post in the men's forum too.)

If you've read this far, thanks! I'm exhausted and just waiting for AF to show up next week now. We had good timing, but I'm pretty sure I'm not pregnant. Oh well. There's always a chance for a miracle next month!

Awwww... Trip... I'm so sorry that the visit went that way. :( Soooo... soooo sorry. You poor guys. ::hugs::

I *am* so pleased to hear that hub is still willing to see another doctor! That's awesome! Have you looked into any herbal supplements to help hub's sperm? I don't know anything about it personally, but there's gotta be *something* he could take for that. Is he open to taking something? I'm curious, too, about what could make his numbers drop like that... weird! Stress? Heat? Tighty-whiteys? Seems like it would be something more internal... like diet or something. :-/ Hhhmmm... Either way... I'm praying for you, gal.

aw, honey - how frustrating! I'm angry and i wasn't even there....gggggrrrrr!

((big hugs))

First off...PTL that Dh is open to more...even knowing there may be issues with him. That has to be from the Lord!!!
I'm sorry the office was so harsh with you. I think people forget that this is very subjective to you and probably somewhat foreign, but to them it's everyday. Sadly, most people forget how to treat others or how they would want to be treated!
I think it's a good idea to move docs. This is a very personal and very hard path to walk sometimes. I think it's super important to have a treatment team who realizes that and respects you and your choices. KWIM?

I know there are things...like caffeine that can influence motility. Like Jen said wearing underwear too tight can decrease amount. Of course there could also be come physiological aspect that noone can guess at. Maybe something is being constricted..or there is a structural issue...only tests can really tell that.

I pray you get into a specialist quickly and are able to figure out what is going on. Even with lower motility, there are things...like an IUI that might be helpful that isn't very invasive that might help. Even with IVF...we are never guaranteed to get pg...that's up to the BIG GUY! Just remember to include Him in your desires, and I pray He will bless you!!

Blessings,
Amber

I hear ya Jen - why would they drop that much? I'm going to try and find a naturopath to see if they can help us herbally. Dh is going to start on vitamins asap too! Lol

Hugs and prayers! I know it is totally different but.....when I worked at the zoo we had a male cheetah who had no offspring (he was a vital blood line) and after electroejaculating (sorry sp) him we found his sperm swam in circles. They took his sperm and used a needle to inject them into the frozen eggs of a wild female. They didn't need to "swim" anywhere. Surely they can do that with humans too now. I don't know how you feel about such things but I always felt if it wasn't God's will then nothing would happen. Anyway just a thought.

Wow! I am so sorry for your experience... again! I agree that you shouldn't have to be at such a place during a time that can be so hard. I think it's true that medical personnel can sometimes lose touch with the reality that we non-medical people go through. We don't know all the big fancy words right away. We don't standard procedure for NEW things. We don't know all these things yet. But they do it on a daily basis. It's frustrating when that happens. I think it's good you are moving on.

And PTL your DH is willing to continue to get help. That's wonderful!!

Praying with you guys!

Tammy, it is possible to do the same thing with humans - that's exactly what IVF is! But they'd have to harvest my eggs, and I'm not sure I want to go to those lengths (it's a surgical procedure) to conceive. Plus the fact that they often create 10-15 embryos, implant 2 or 3 and freeze the rest. Dh and I feel that it wouldn't be fair to those 7 to 13 lives that wouldn't get a chance to live. That's just where we're at personally - I respect those who choose to go this route, it's just probably not for us.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!

You could always just have seven to thirteen kids. ::snort:: I understand your feelings on that, trip... ::hugs::

So, how soon was it before you started getting clear pregnancy symptoms?

I'm 8 or 9 dpo and everything tastes... Funny. Kinda metallic. It *could* be related to a recent change in diet, but my sense of smell was off the charts last night too. Other than that, I've got the usual big boobs and hormonal crying. Nothing new.

What do you think? (Help keep me calm!)

Well... I will say this, every pregnancy is different... and sometimes, I got the "this is it" symptoms right off the get go... then there's been other times that my hormones have been on the rise for other reasons... like now, my thyroid is off the charts, and I'm having pregnancy symptoms galore, oddly enough. FYI: I got a BFP at 10 DPO with three of the pregnancies... one I didn't get a clear line until almost 16 dpo... I've always used First Response...

I have to agree with Jen that every pg is different, but I usually have the same symptoms or none at all until I would get a positive test. I have had 7 positive tests, and the first few the difference in my cycle was that I didn't have the tell tale signs of pg, and with the last few I had the same nausea after I eat symptom. I think that is the only symptom that really tipped me off.
I usually got pretty early BFP's but I think that is because I have super sensitive to my body and know when things feel different...if you KWIM.

I pray this is the cycle for you! I was watching "Facing the Giants" last night and was praying that the Lord would bless you and Dh like the couple in the movie was blessed!!

As for IVF...I think you can either discuss with your doc your desire to only fertilize two or three eggs or the amount you want to put back in. I know people adopt out their fertilized eggs...which I think is awesome!! I think Dh can also give multiple samples, and then they can "wash" the semen for good swimmers. They could freeze what he gives until there is a good amount for an IUI. There are so many things that can be done nowadays..it's really amazing!!
I know it's hard to figure out how far to go with treatments. I would say, if AF comes..sit down with Dh and pray, pray, pray. If AF doesn't come, sit down with Dh and praise, praise, praise! :-D The Lord is so very awesome about making it clear His will if we seek Him out!
I so pray for clarity with you and Dh, of course also for a very sticky BFP!!!

Blessings,
Amber

I don't know how I managed to miss all your posts about the dr's! :???: Sorry! I try to keep up with what's going on in your world. I don't blame you a bit about leaving that dr... what an awful experience!

As for the weird symptoms, I have to ditto the other gals. Sometimes I noticed symptoms right away, and sometimes not. Things tasting metallic is a symptom I experienced big time with my first pregnancy, but I don't recall noticing it right away. But who knows. Praying!!

Well, all my symptoms have died down, so I'm pretty much just waiting for AF to show up next week. The one good thing is that my boobs aren't sore anymore! :teehee:

Hey Trip ~ with this pregnancy, I had lots of AF-like symptoms too...they all died down before I got a bfp. I was like, where did they all go?! As you know most symptoms could be either pre-bfp or pms...but I have to say, I haven't heard of taste and smell sensitivity being pms symptoms. My nose is uber-sensitive right now too!

Still following your journey and praying for you, even when I don't post to your threads...

((BIG HUGS!!))

edit: I also wanted to say...I don't ever get early bfps like Jen (jealous!). This time I tested at 28 days and got a bfn. Tested again at 30 days and got a bfp. I just am not able to get those super early positives. I would suggest waiting until AF is supposed to show...

Interesting, Kate...

I SO don't want to get my hopes up though. So, as you suggested, I'm just waiting it out till AF is supposed to show. I'll be testing the very next day, though! lol

Kate: I tried to PM you!!! ;)

Trip: I sure am excited for you... and praying here gal!

When is AF due?

Amber

Hey Tripper,

Are you taking maca? Metallic taste can be a pregnancy symptom. I get it when I take maca.

So hoping for you! :-D

Blessings!!

No, I'm not... What's maca? What does it do?

I'm sooo ready for AF to just show up. All those symptoms I was talking about have really faded. If they'd stayed as strong as last week until now, I might have my hopes up, but I just can't do that to myself. Kwim?

Pray for the best, prepare for the worst.

I freaked myself out today though! Lol
In inputting data into FF I put it under the wrong date and thought I'd totally miscalculated the end of this cycle! :lol: All of a sudden, I had a whole other week to go... Eek!

So, when do you expect AF? This week? I'm still praying for you, Trip! ::hugs::

Jen, Day 31 will be Monday, so I expect AF to show on Tues (July 27th).
Had some cramping today - pretty much on schedule for AF... :(

Awwww hun.... ::hugs:: I'm still hoping for you....

Praying for you Tripper. [praying]

Maca is supposed to be very good for male and female fertility. They sell it at our health food store. Dh and I both took it before our last pregnancy. With our losses we cleaned up our diet and took some supplements. Not sure if it helped but it made me feel better to be *doing something* ?? There is a truckload of info on it if you want to google it. I spent a lot of time researching natural fertility sites and there was some good advice about diet, nutrition and vitamins.

Hope hope hoping for you.. :-D

Ooh... interesting! I'm gonna go Google it now - can't hurt, right? And that's exactly how I feel: I need to be doing *something* right now...

Hey gal,
I was thinking about wild yam...I looked it up for male fertility and found this: (it is also known to possibly increase chances for twins)

I. Definition
Wild yam also known as Dioscorea villosa, it is a species of a twining tuberous vine, native to n North America. It has been used by herbalists in treating treat menstrual cramps and problems related to childbirth as well as stomach upset.

II. How wild yam effects male fertility
1. Cholesterol
It is said that wild yam containing certain substances that help to reduce levels of triglycerides in the blood stream, resulting in lessening the risks of hardening arterial wall and high blood pressure and increasing the blood flow to the reproductive region, leading to improving of quality sperm production.

2. Anti-inflammatory
It also helps to increase immune function in guarding our body against inflammation caused by bacteria and virus, resulting in lessening the risk of reproductive inflammation of which causes abnormal sperm production and sperm count.

3. Liver
Wild yam also is a liver tonic herb, it helps to strengthen the liver function in regulating the production of insulin of the spleen, thereby, decreasing the risks of blood sugar fluctuation, leading to hormone imbalance thus, lowering the production of testosterone and sexual desire.

4. Adrenal glands enhancer
It also helps to assist the adrenal glands in regulating the production of hormones and is used to balance the hormones, thereby, increasing the levels of testosterone in the men body as well as sperm production in male reproductive organs.

5. Digestive absorption
Wild yam also helps to increase the function of digestive function in nutrients absorption, thereby, decreasing nutrients causes of infertility.

III. Side effects
Over dose of wild yam may cause nausea, diarrhoea.

Wow, thanks for all that info! Once I'm done my course this week, I'm going to book an appointment with a Naturopath to try and sort some things out.

Sigh.

And I'm going to need to 'cause AF seems to be on her way. I've had increasing spotting today - right on cue for AF on Tues. This sucks. But don't worry, I'll get over it soon enough.

I was in such a hurry this morning to get to my course that I forgot to POAS, but now I'm glad I didn't waste the stick - AF just showed up.

One day earlier than usual! Guess that gives us a one day head start on ttc this month! Lol

So sorry AF showed up... But I'm glad you're going to give the naturopath a try! I hope ghat you gain something wonderful from them! I'm praying your next cycle is your BFP! ::hugs::

Sorry af showed. [praying] So interested to hear how the Naturopath goes.[hug]

Hugs and prayers, Sarah. I'll be watching to hear how the naturopath goes too. [loveyou]