https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 01 May 2026 09:27:23 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1339839 Sun, 12 Jan 2014 16:11:12 +0000 Mrs. Pinata 1339839@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DH has 2 microscopic varicoceles. We were also told that IVF would be the better option for us because there's no guarantee of the varicocele repair working.<br /> We also have a friend that (we've heard) has a very large and noticeable varicocele, so we went to got tested and everything was normal. So, it just depends. GL! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1330888 Thu, 09 Jan 2014 11:51:52 +0000 justdarling 1330888@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My DH has one. We didn't find out about it until we had been TTC for a while and had not got a BFP. He had a SA done which showed low motility. My OB recommended he see a urologist which is when we found out. They recommended either surgery or IVF but told us that our odds would be better if we went to IVF. We decided to do IVF with ICSI and got pregnant on the first round. The surgery doesn't have proven results and it is very time consuming. Because of my age (35) we knew that we had to proceed to IVF sooner rather than later for better egg quality.</p> <p>I would recommended get a SA to see how much it is really effecting his fertility. My OB also recommended Fertility Blend for Men which my DH took. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1329877 Thu, 09 Jan 2014 00:10:23 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 1329877@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My DH had surgery to correct a varicocele. I wish we had skipped it and gone to see an RE before seeing an urologist because it did not fix his IF. He actually has a chromosome translocation that causes his IF. He could have avoided a lot of discomfort if we had done that. I don't think varicoceles automatically mean you'll need interventions to conceive. Getting a SA is a great place to start. Maybe if you get one through an urologist your insurance will cover it? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1329870 Thu, 09 Jan 2014 00:04:14 +0000 sapphire 1329870@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@indi: He's known for a long time that he has it (since he was a teenager) and he and his parents elected not to have it repaired due to research that shows that the repair doesn't necessarily improve fertility (and it doesn't cause him pain or other problems). From what I've read, most urologists recommend ICSI/IVF over surgical correction if it's an issue. </p> <p>He is wearing boxers instead of boxer briefs and generally taking precautions about overheating. I just bought him FertileAid after he asked if there was anything else I thought he should do, so I hope that might help (can't hurt, right?). We've been following a SMEPish BD schedule which I hope is frequent enough during the right times. </p> <p>@spaniellove: It's encouraging to hear of your success, although it does sound like it came with a lot of difficulties up front. I guess I'm just nervous to pull the trigger to find out, because I know we couldn't start IVF/ICSI for a while longer...<br /> BUT, you guys all spurred me to bring it up with my husband tonight and we agreed that we'd try for two more cycles and then see about a SA if no BFP yet (that gives us a total of 5 cycles, but the first we had terrible timing so I hardly count it!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1329793 Wed, 08 Jan 2014 22:56:27 +0000 spaniellove 1329793@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@HolisticMama: How'd you guess? :wink: </p> <p>@sapphire: My DH has known about his varicocele since childhood (what the heck autocorrect?). We saw a urologist after 3 cycles TTC and 2 SAs confirmed that his motility was extremely low. The urologist recommended IVF w/ ICSI or surgery, and we decided to skip surgery because there was always the chance that it might not help and we'd still need IVF. When we saw the RE we learned that I also had ovarian reserve issues so we did a cycle of IVF, which didn't work. And then we got pregnant naturally. I had a m/c, but a few months later with some meds (no IUI/IVF) I got pregnant twice more and am finally in 2nd tri. </p> <p>I think what helped was that he started taking a supplement daily and in the cycles I had a BFP we BDed a ton to keep motility up. Since he's a distance runner he also made a few tweaks to his routine to make sure things didn't overheat down there. It's worth having your husband go to a urologist and get an SA to find out what's going on instead of wondering! At least then you'll have a better idea of what your options are. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1329769 Wed, 08 Jan 2014 22:41:17 +0000 indi 1329769@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sapphire: Is there a reason that it has not been corrected? My DH had one he discovered in college and they performed corrective surgery on it, covered by insurance and we were nowhere near needing that for TTC purposes at that time. </p> <p>As others have said, though, keeping his lap cooler (no laptops, boxers over briefs, etc) will help keep his temps as low as possible. Since DH's was corrected, though, I'm not sure about how the TTC process changes with a varicocele still in place. I would imagine that there are still pretty good chances for achieving pregnancy if you're charting and he's doing what he can to keep the temps low, but seeing a specialist sooner rather than later (if they'll see you) could help. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1329734 Wed, 08 Jan 2014 22:21:54 +0000 mrswin 1329734@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sapphire: If you know he has a varicocele why don't you see if you can get an SA done now to see if there is a concern. I would think it is pretty reasonably priced even if it was out of pocket. I would think that most doctors would be willing to see you earlier if you have a "known" issue. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1329715 Wed, 08 Jan 2014 22:14:25 +0000 78h2o 1329715@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sapphire: yep! I would just keep trying and try not to worry about it too much just yet (easier said than done, I know). I am remembering that my BIL's doc had him switch to boxers (they are cooler I guess). My sister started using an ovulation test (the one with smiley faces) after they'd been trying 6-7 months and that month they got pregnant - so she felt as though maybe their timing had been off in the beginning (or maybe with my BIL's issue, esp. good timing helped?). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1329703 Wed, 08 Jan 2014 22:07:24 +0000 swedishfish 1329703@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sapphire: oh, you definitely have great chances to get pregnant! I needed Clomid to ovulate so that's wonderful that you ovulate naturally. Keep trying and you have a chance every cycle! My husband's numbers were bad but, if I ovulated regularly, we still had a chance to conceive naturally. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1329695 Wed, 08 Jan 2014 22:04:38 +0000 sapphire 1329695@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@78h2o: thank you for that story!! i'm so hopeful that if we just keep trying...only takes one sperm, right? :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1329694 Wed, 08 Jan 2014 22:03:56 +0000 sapphire 1329694@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@swedishfish: Thank you, that's really helpful. I really want to have a baby and a part of me doesn't want to get the bad news that we may need reproductive technology to conceive, esp because it'll be a big issue with my job/schedule and thus we'd likely have to postpone by another 1.5 years until that situation changes. So going and getting a SA and finding out it's abnormal could possibly set us up with a situation that we might have to wait to deal with which would be disappointing, whereas now I can still be hopeful...But knowing we have this potential problem and that our current efforts might be futile is also not very encouraging!<br /> On the plus side, I think it's less likely that I have reproductive issues so I'm hopeful that if a SA was abnormal that we'd still have good chances with help...I've been charting/OPKing for a while and have regular ovulatory cycles with normal luteal phase. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1329689 Wed, 08 Jan 2014 22:01:39 +0000 78h2o 1329689@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My BIL has one and my sister got pregnant after about 7-8 months, no intervention. With their second child, they got pregnant the second month they tried. Good luck!!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1329674 Wed, 08 Jan 2014 21:53:50 +0000 swedishfish 1329674@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sapphire: my husband has a varicocele and we had our baby through IVF with ICSI. </p> <p>I knew I had ovulation issues so I only waited 3 months before going to the OBGYN. They ordered an SA for my husband and his numbers came back abnormal for a few categories. I then asked when I should start looking for an RE and was told "now." </p> <p>I got an appointment with my RE the next day by pure luck. I did not need a referral. We tried IUI twice in one cycle but I got a BFN. My RE recommended going right to IVF because my husband's washed numbers were not good at all for the IUIs. We conceived on our first IVF cycle.</p> <p>Good luck! Feel free to ask questions. We all love to help.</p> <p>ETA - we did not know DH had a varicocele until the RE sent him to see a urologist after his second SA also came back abnormal. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1329648 Wed, 08 Jan 2014 21:43:38 +0000 HolisticMama 1329648@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think @spaniellove will probably chime in here on your post.<br /> :)</p> <p>Regarding a sperm analysis- I think it depends on your insurance. I have a PPO so I can go directly to a specialist. I had hormone issues in the past, so wanted to get them checked before we TTC. Went to a RE- and he wanted to check everything. So we did all the testing before even TTC. Kind of crazy. And he was willing to treat after the results. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sucessful-pregnancy-with-varicocele#post-1329637 Wed, 08 Jan 2014 21:38:43 +0000 sapphire 1329637@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hello friends...</p> <p>My husband and I just finished our third cycle TTC which was again unsuccessful. I know it's early and that even for healthy couples, it can take up to a year to become pregnant. However, I do know that my husband has an uncorrected varicocele and it's the #1 cause of male infertility - although from what I've read, most men are still fertile. However, reading statistics is reading statistics...Anyone on here had a partner with a varicocele achieved pregnancy? Naturally, or with intervention? Did you know he had it? When did you seek advice/treatment? I know a sperm analysis could tell us more, but I also know that it would be unlikely for someone to treat us if we'd only been trying for a few months (plus, we'd of course prefer to avoid interventions if not necessary). Any help or encouragement would be appreciated!! </p>