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@Tam: Hi there, sorry to hear about your DH's diagnosis. I may not be much help regarding the cost because our insurance covered the actual surgery really well and we had already met our deductible. Our copay to the hospital was $350.

The big out of pocket expense was freezing the sperm once it was retrieved - my RE charges $1000. We still have sperm and 4 frozen embies stored so we'll have to pay again this year to keep them since we might want this LO to have a sibling.

Before the surgery, the urologist wanted DH to be on clomid for 3 months to attempt to boost production. DH's testicular failure was due to low testosterone. It was a little frustrating having to wait, and my DH had some undesirable side effects. The clomid made him agitated, but he also has a brain injury.

My understanding is that there are 3 kinds of surgery - TESE, TESA (aspiration), and Micro-TESE. My DH had the 3rd kind. The surgeon started with one testicle, made a small incision, and used a microscope to determine where to remove sperm cells. They found all the sperm we needed in one testicle.

The recovery wasn't too bad. He did have pain and swelling, so we took a few days off from physical therapy. He was also too stubborn to use the recommended ice packs. He was given vicodin for the pain. The scar is barely noticeable now

Hope this helps!

So far:
HSG, hysteroscopy, 2 miscarriages on natural cycles delayed starting treatment, then 1 failed IUI with Clomid and trigger. We will do one more IUI then IVF if needed.

Updating for me too... we're now at 15 months trying for #2 - PCOS/annov cycles + male factor

first time around...
12 months TTC with no luck/annov cycles -
4 months of Clomid -
2 months of Clomid + trigger shot -
1st round IVF w/ fresh transfer/no frosties -
2nd round IVF w/ fresh transfer - Georgia born 30/03/13

this time around....
FET #1 with Letrozole - Baby lost at 11 weeks
FET #2 with Letrozole - Baby lost at 5.5 weeks
3nd round IVF: no transfer/freeze all
Letrozole + Ovidrel trigger -
FET #3 with Gonal-F - cycle cancelled, ovarian cyst
FET #4 with Progynova + Progesterone -
FET #5 with Letrozole - ???

#exhausted

Oh, reading over my first post, I forgot to say that after my DH had trouble providing a sample, we always had a backup frozen sample to use for the IUI and IVF. About 75% of the time, we did have to use the frozen sample. My current sticky baby through IVF was from frozen sperm and FET (no fresh cycle per my protocol).