Fertility after a decade

[bensif]

I understand why you’re puzzled and I am too. I was just throwing possible explanations out there since it does seem odd.

The reason I say Tadalafil certainly did not hurt it is because 1) there is no mechanism it would do that and 2) it was only 10 days ago.

I’m not an expert, but sperm is constantly going through the maturation process and even if you were to stop producing it the day you started Tadalafil, sperm that is already mature and produced lives in testicles for a couple weeks so you could expect to have pretty much the same exact count.

So, yes, I don’t think you’ll see any material negative impact from almost anything over a 10 day period.

So do you think its possible the hmg I was using back in December / January would account for the SA seen last week? I always thought that hmg worked quite quickly and I've sort of seen that in my results over the last 7-8 months.

I ask that as I assumed it was fake due to the bad result in January where I had been using it for about 4 weeks. But perhaps the issue was actually the SSRIs and instead the hmg I have now is what is bad?

It's such a minefield.

I'm currently using PureGraf menotropin. Before that it was Samarth Eugon-HP.

I still have about 3000iu of the Samarth so maybe il just starting pinning 75iu of each from now until I manage to get some hmg from Direct.

 

[Trenbolonetax]

So do you think its possible the hmg I was using back in December / January would account for the SA seen last week? I always thought that hmg worked quite quickly and I've sort of seen that in my results over the last 7-8 months.

I ask that as I assumed it was fake due to the bad result in January where I had been using it for about 4 weeks. But perhaps the issue was actually the SSRIs and instead the hmg I have now is what is bad?

It's such a minefield.

I'm currently using PureGraf menotropin. Before that it was Samarth Eugon-HP.

I still have about 3000iu of the Samarth so maybe il just starting pinning 75iu of each from now until I manage to get some hmg from Direct.

Yes, I definitely think that what you do from a fertility protocol standpoint takes at least 60 to 90 days to really make a material impact on semen analysis results. Even with HMG, it just bypasses the pituitary FSH signal but it doesn’t actually speed up the maturation process.

I would think the HMG you were using about 60 to 90 days ago was legitimate based on your current sperm analysis results. I used some Chinese generic HMG for several months (6) with no positive impact on my parameters so I can pretty much say it was bunk. That’s why I grabbed some Bayer Zydus Menodac. Really hoping it’s legit. I should see some positive movement by next sperm analysis if it is. I’ll be grabbing some of directs HMG between now and then just in case it isn’t.

It is quite the minefield. It doesn’t help that janoshik can’t test HMG or I would feel much more at ease. Since many have appeared to have success with Direct, gonna give that a shot though.

 

[grizzly978]

I got my result back from exssed today (they verify every submitted test within 24 hours). It came back higher than the initial estimate.

il be doing my lab test next week now to validate this along with the dna fragmentation.

Over 50m total, 27m motile.

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Good stuff brother , check with your wife when she ovulates and you’ll be on cloud nine. Do it before and during her ovulation window

 

[bensif]

Good stuff brother , check with your wife when she ovulates and you’ll be on cloud nine. Do it before and during her ovulation window

We tried to have sex last night and sadly I just couldn't get an erection. It's gotten really bad.

We discussed it last night a bit and this morning, and agreed this is pointless if I can't perform, so I will probably go back onto TRT today. It's actually affecting me quite badly mentally; not being able to get an erection is really the worlds worst feeling.

 

[Trenbolonetax]

We tried to have sex last night and sadly I just couldn't get an erection. It's gotten really bad.

We discussed it last night a bit and this morning, and agreed this is pointless if I can't perform, so I will probably go back onto TRT today. It's actually affecting me quite badly mentally; not being able to get an erection is really the worlds worst feeling.

I know the pain. I’m taking 10mg Tadalafil daily and erections are surprisingly fine but I have negative sex drive and lack sensitivity.

Last two times we had sex I can’t finish due to lack of sensitivity. I’m sure it’s due to my whacked out hormones but there’s not much I can do to fix it. Hoping it improves with time otherwise a fertility protocol is pointless lol.

In a couple more months after I get to a reasonable sperm count I’m probably going to try test suspension 10mg daily in the morning. Test suspension since it’s the shortest half life and thus gives the best probability of minimizing suppression.

I’m taking proviron 50 to 100mg currently, and I think it’s helping with erections so perhaps that’s something worth trying for you.

 

[bensif]

I know the pain. I’m taking 10mg Tadalafil daily and erections are surprisingly fine but I have negative sex drive and lack sensitivity.

Last two times we had sex I can’t finish due to lack of sensitivity. I’m sure it’s due to my whacked out hormones but there’s not much I can do to fix it. Hoping it improves with time otherwise a fertility protocol is pointless lol.

In a couple more months after I get to a reasonable sperm count I’m probably going to try test suspension 10mg daily in the morning. Test suspension since it’s the shortest half life and thus gives the best probability of minimizing suppression.

I’m taking proviron 50 to 100mg currently, and I think it’s helping with erections so perhaps that’s something worth trying for you.

I may give the proviron a go.

I have a full blood test tomorrow, so won't be doing anything until after that.

We then have a fertility consultation next Wednesday to start the next round of IVF.

I took 50mg of viagra this morning in the hope I can have sex today, as I really dont want to miss my wifes ovulation window. She is being supportive but I can see it is getting her down too now.

The blood test I have tomorrow is to get approved for prescription HCG and/or other fertility meds. It would atleast allow me to rule out one variable in my protocol (the hcg) as being fake.

 

[grizzly978]

We tried to have sex last night and sadly I just couldn't get an erection. It's gotten really bad.

We discussed it last night a bit and this morning, and agreed this is pointless if I can't perform, so I will probably go back onto TRT today. It's actually affecting me quite badly mentally; not being able to get an erection is really the worlds worst feeling.

I feel you on that one, you can get by IMO with low dose trt and hcg, try some tadafil in there too.
Your counts are enough and if your wife isn’t having fertility issues then you just have a little tweaking your TRT and will be over the moon in time.
Don’t take it too hard , everyone is different and you are on top of things brother

 

[Performance Based]

Same boat for me - started at Azoospermia now have two frozen embryos awaiting implantation.

My protocol/data

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www.professionalmuscle.com

 

[bensif]

I feel you on that one, you can get by IMO with low dose trt and hcg, try some tadafil in there too.
Your counts are enough and if your wife isn’t having fertility issues then you just have a little tweaking your TRT and will be over the moon in time.
Don’t take it too hard , everyone is different and you are on top of things brother

Yeah mate, im not even on TRT at the moment which is the problem. I tried to come off completely but my T just isn't coming back at all; enter ED.

ED is one of those things you hear about, think it will never happen to me, and dont really know how soul destroying it is until... it happens.

After I have my blood drawn tomorrow I am going to start 20mg test prop daily subq and see how that goes. Wanted to start with prop in case I need to drop it out again for some reason. I think I may need more, but I will see how I go.

 

[bensif]

Same boat for me - started at Azoospermia now have two frozen embryos awaiting implantation.

My protocol/data

Loading…

www.professionalmuscle.com

Did you raise your values from less than 6 to 34 in less than 4 weeks? I have I misread your post in that topic?

 

[mexicanhombre]

It helps, but I can tell you from personal experience (well at least for me) it still didn't help since I had zero desire. I mean I'd almost say it was a negative desire/drive. For many, even if you have cialis or viagra helping, it just doesn't do it. You end up with sort of a semi-erection that really isn't much of anything.

\
how did this resolve then? or you still just live with ED or did it go away?

 

[mexicanhombre]

Are you still on SSRI? how do you know your ED issues are not from SSRI and from low test. or combination. Just saying cause SSRI is causes a lot of sexual dysfunction . how much are you on?

 

[bensif]

Are you still on SSRI? how do you know your ED issues are not from SSRI and from low test. or combination. Just saying cause SSRI is causes a lot of sexual dysfunction . how much are you on?

No I was on escitaloprám from Dec 12th until jan 2nd then swapped ro venoflaxin until Jan 16th when I had to be cardioverted due to afib. It wasn't until just after that I found out they destroy fertility.

I forget the doses but it wasn't much. Looking back i think what it was experiencing mentally was likely from being essentially hypogonadal.

 

[bensif]

Another small update whilst I wait for blood work; saw my original urologist this morning who had referred me last year to have the embolisation of the varicocele on the left side that was botched.

He reviewed my ultrasound and did a physical examination, and basically said the US is correct; the varicocele on the left side has not be resolved. But he also now thinks I may have a varicocele on the right that wasn't there before.

The US suggested it was inflamed epididymis, but he has booked for another US tomorrow morning to validate this.

Either way I will need another surgery, but its now a case of whether it is just left side of both. This time it will be a laroscopic surgery.

The concern now is if it is not the veins on the right side and is inflamed epididymis, then this is either due to a small cyst which they supposedly cannot remove (tbc), infection (usually STD and not possible imo), other infection which is possible given I have crohns, or could be related to the HCG causing swelling due to things turning on.

This may explain why my count has gone down, as he said basically the sperm will be struggling to get out if there is a slight obstruction, whatever the cause.

This would also coincide with when the pain started, which was after my last SA which was good but before the Exseed SA which was worse.

He was really good, I spoke to him about my other issues and he suggested a very low TRT via a gel or nasal spray would not affect fertility but may bring T up just enough to resolve the ED. OBviously I could also do subq / IM TRT at a low dose too which is what I will do in the mean time.

We also attemped sex last night but I had to give up, although I managed to maintain an erection (kind of) i literally had no sensitivity at all.

Demorolising.

 

[Trenbolonetax]

Another small update whilst I wait for blood work; saw my original urologist this morning who had referred me last year to have the embolisation of the varicocele on the left side that was botched.

He reviewed my ultrasound and did a physical examination, and basically said the US is correct; the varicocele on the left side has not be resolved. But he also now thinks I may have a varicocele on the right that wasn't there before.

The US suggested it was inflamed epididymis, but he has booked for another US tomorrow morning to validate this.

Either way I will need another surgery, but its now a case of whether it is just left side of both. This time it will be a laroscopic surgery.

The concern now is if it is not the veins on the right side and is inflamed epididymis, then this is either due to a small cyst which they supposedly cannot remove (tbc), infection (usually STD and not possible imo), other infection which is possible given I have crohns, or could be related to the HCG causing swelling due to things turning on.

This may explain why my count has gone down, as he said basically the sperm will be struggling to get out if there is a slight obstruction, whatever the cause.

This would also coincide with when the pain started, which was after my last SA which was good but before the Exseed SA which was worse.

He was really good, I spoke to him about my other issues and he suggested a very low TRT via a gel or nasal spray would not affect fertility but may bring T up just enough to resolve the ED. OBviously I could also do subq / IM TRT at a low dose too which is what I will do in the mean time.

We also attemped sex last night but I had to give up, although I managed to maintain an erection (kind of) i literally had no sensitivity at all.

Demorolising.

Sounds like overall some good news since there is a reasonable explanation to the drop in sperm count you experienced due to the potential obstruction. Obviously in a perfect world you wouldn’t have to have surgery again but at least it’s a “simple” fix and not something wrong with your fertility protocol.

Great news about being able to start up on low dose T!

I also have variocele that the urologist said likely isn’t an issue, but I guess I’ll only know more as time goes on; if I keep on the protocol and nothing improves in the coming months then I think he’ll want to do something about that. I also have a small cyst (forgot where he said exactly but sounds similar to what you mentioned), however, he didn’t draw any conclusions from mine. Probably still too early to tell.

Major bummer about the lack of sensitivity. I feel your pain. Good luck brother, appreciate the continued updates. I’m sure there are more that lurk here going through similar things and it’s nice to see others going through the trials and tribulations as opposed to many of the posts that have immediate success with HMG+HCG or get their girls pregnant on full blast lol.

 

[Blueballs]

Hi,

Long term lurker.

My wife and I have been trying to conceive for several years. Last year we had a failed ivf cycle.

At the time my semen analysis was poor; 1m total. Motility was good and morphology was ok at 4%.

I came off fully end of last year. I have been using hcg and hmg at 1500iu / 75iu 3x per week since. More recently I added clomid at 25mg Ed.

Bloods in October and then last week were the same;

T - 2.7 nmol
E - 46 pmol
Fsh 0.2 uh
Lh 1 uh

Clearly I am not recovering.

I've been using at home sperm tests and have gone from 1m to 30m, but dipped to 4m in January for some reason.

The urologist wants me to stay off, but I've had ED now for 2 months, which amongst everything else is killing my marriage (as well as feeling shit).

I'd like people's opinion and experience who have been through this. Am I better off going back to trt?

In Dec 22 justin harris, who was my coach at the time suggested 2g t weekly. But I never committed to it as I've never gone even close to that high. Now I am considering it as we really want a family, buy I fear if it doesn't work it will set us back 3-6 months.

Input greatly appreciated.

Blimey!! I was talking about you just yesterday with a mutual friend. Good to see you back but sorry to hear about the problem conceiving.
Having been smashing doses for several years we had the exact same dilemma. Iirc I was firing circa 1m which remained the same having come off for two months but by then the ED issue was so pronounced I may as have well gone full on Caitlin Jenner mode.
Anyway, fast forward another two months having been on 500mg sustanon pw alongside 2500iu and 100mg proviron and the missus was pregnant.
I then decided to go back ‘on’ mega dose mode and repeated the exact same protocol circa 2.5 years later and bingo bongo, pregnancy number 2.
Zero science behind why I chose this protocol, as with all my cycles (apart from the one you gave me ) but clearly the combo of libido spike from the test, the semen stimulation from the hcg and from as I understand it the improved semen quality from the proviron worked a treat.
Mate I sincerely hope you get things sorted.
You might guess who this is.
PM me

 

[bensif]

Blimey!! I was talking about you just yesterday with a mutual friend. Good to see you back but sorry to hear about the problem conceiving.
Having been smashing doses for several years we had the exact same dilemma. Iirc I was firing circa 1m which remained the same having come off for two months but by then the ED issue was so pronounced I may as have well gone full on Caitlin Jenner mode.
Anyway, fast forward another two months having been on 500mg sustanon pw alongside 2500iu and 100mg proviron and the missus was pregnant.
I then decided to go back ‘on’ mega dose mode and repeated the exact same protocol circa 2.5 years later and bingo bongo, pregnancy number 2.
Zero science behind why I chose this protocol, as with all my cycles (apart from the one you gave me ) but clearly the combo of libido spike from the test, the semen stimulation from the hcg and from as I understand it the improved semen quality from the proviron worked a treat.
Mate I sincerely hope you get things sorted.
You might guess who this is.
PM me

I hope all good things mate, lol.

Il drop you a pm, be good to catch up.

 

[Blueballs]

I hope all good things mate, lol.

Il drop you a pm, be good to catch up.

Ha!….you got it one. I suppose the fact that my writing style is just as moronic as the way I speak is a bit of a giveaway

 

[bensif]

Another update, just got my bloodwork back from this week, it is a follows:

T - 6.2 nmol/L
E - 18.4 pmol/L
LH - 0.3 IU/L (i guess due to hcg)
FSH - 2.1 IU/L
Free T - 0.077 nmol/L
SHBG - 60 nmol/L
prolactin - 174 mU/L

ALT - 261 U/L (WTF???)
Ferritin - 434 ug/L (WTF???)

Other markers were fine and/or in line with the norm for me, e.g. I have LDL at the top of the range.

So my T has gone up slightly, but not much. I am not using 10mg test prop daily (started after the blood test).

I am baffled by my ALT and ferritin. Last blood work in January it was fine. So either this is the clomid or a medication I was put in on late Jan (Edoxoban), or it is a result of coming off and my body is fucked?

I found some literature stating Edoxoban can in some patients (rare) cause raised ALT. I couldn't find much on Clomid.

Only other explanation is fatty deposits, perhaps due to the hormone profile?

If anyone has any insight I'd appreciate it.

 

[mexicanhombre]

Another update, just got my bloodwork back from this week, it is a follows:

T - 6.2 nmol/L
E - 18.4 pmol/L
LH - 0.3 IU/L (i guess due to hcg)
FSH - 2.1 IU/L
Free T - 0.077 nmol/L
SHBG - 60 nmol/L
prolactin - 174 mU/L

ALT - 261 U/L (WTF???)
Ferritin - 434 ug/L (WTF???)

Other markers were fine and/or in line with the norm for me, e.g. I have LDL at the top of the range.

So my T has gone up slightly, but not much. I am not using 10mg test prop daily (started after the blood test).

I am baffled by my ALT and ferritin. Last blood work in January it was fine. So either this is the clomid or a medication I was put in on late Jan (Edoxoban), or it is a result of coming off and my body is fucked?

I found some literature stating Edoxoban can in some patients (rare) cause raised ALT. I couldn't find much on Clomid.

Only other explanation is fatty deposits, perhaps due to the hormone profile?

If anyone has any insight I'd appreciate it.

something is definitely off. ALT is high, but what was AST? if coming from liver you would expece slight increase in AST too. Do you drink alcohol and if so any heavy consumption.

Ferritin can be elevated in inflammatory state. is your crohns active right now?

What is the range on the prolactin?

fatty deposits dont happen within a few months so unlikely. probably you are right edoxoban is the culprit and may need to change. eliquis, and xarelto are some other options. Did the cardioversion work? if so you only have to be on them for a month or so no?

just my two cents