AKA Joe’s pipes don’t work
In my first post I mentioned that I’d be talking about all
kinds of things is this blog – including anatomical things that some might
consider a bit, um, sensitive. I think
its important, though, to give an honest picture of why IVF was necessary for
us. I’m not embarrassed by any of
this. I don’t necessarily think its
dinner conversation, either, but if any readers have questions about any of it,
I’m certainly willing to talk about it in greater detail – although I’d prefer
a fairly discreet setting…
I don’t have exact numbers, but for the majority of couples
who face IVF as the only way to have a biological baby, it is the woman who has
some anatomical issue that is inhibiting a traditional pregnancy. Typical
treatments include prescription drugs (that increase likelihood of pregnancy)
or Artificial Insemination. The latter
involves a healthy sperm sample and works incredibly similar – biologically
speaking – to how it is done in farm animals.
In our case, after we had tried to get pregnant for 6 months
or so with no luck, Jill went to an OB/GYN to get the thorough diagnostics done
to determine if she had any fertility issues.
Tests came back negative – no issues.
This, logically, meant that I might be the cause. First up for me was a semen analysis. My test came back negative as well – only in
this case negative meant zero – as in no sperm. I repeated the test with the same results –
I produced semen but no sperm was found in it – ie we can’t make a baby that
way.
This was tough to hear, but this is where my medical
background was useful. Some men may feel
inadequate or uncomfortable after receiving this news. I just don’t think like that. My response was, “Ok, what do we do next?”
A blood test quickly confirmed that my testosterone levels
were normal, meaning I should be producing sperm, which indicated one of two
things – there was either a blockage or the vas deferens (the essential ‘pipe’)
simply wasn’t present.
This is where the science gets a bit fuzzy. The most common reason why the vas deferens
wouldn’t be present is because the person either has or is a carrier for Cystic
Fibrosis. As far as I know I don’t have
a family history of it. One (expensive)
blood test later I found out that I didn’t carry the gene, however two
different doctors said that the test was imperfect. Great.
We all love expensive, imperfect test, right??
Regardless this indicated a blockage. Over the next couple months I had two
separate procedures (one excruciatingly painful and another with general
anesthesia—thank god!) to attempt to clear the blockage. Both of these were unsuccessful in opening
the proper ‘pipes.’
At this point, there were no more procedures to try. Upon review, two different fertility-specific
urologists surmised that the CF test was incorrect and that I might still be a
carrier of it. I think its worth noting
that I had a hernia operation in 2002 that had some ensuing complications. Hernia procedures involve placing a chunk of
synthetic mesh in very close proximity to where these pipes reside. I think there’s a chance the doctor who did
the procedure caused damage during the operation. It didn’t really matter though – at that
point IVF was the only realistic option left on the table.
After choosing an IVF doctor, one of the aforementioned
urologists simply retrieved a sperm sample via a long needle (again – general
anesthesia was used, again – thank god…).
Then when Jill went through her retrieval process a lovely Asian woman
in a lab brought her egg and my sperm together and magic ensued. Likely awkward, nervous magic, but magic
nonetheless…
No comments:
Post a Comment