This past Friday, Randy finally got in to see his male fertility doctor. He filled out this really long list of questions about his past and my past with infertility. Then we went in to the doctors office.
He met with the nurse first who took us to a large room with tons of Windows that you could see pretty much everything out of, the street, the buildings across the street and people walking down the sidewalks. The nurse checked his blood pressure and heart rate and asked a few more questions and then went and got the doctor. Once the doctor came in he went over the results from Randy's semen analysis and entered them into the system. He asked us both multiple questions about how long we'd been trying, how many kids we'd like, if I had any issues that my doctor had found, and so on. Then he went to see if they could track down Randy's blood work.
While he was out doing that Randy and I were talking. Randy mentioned that he hoped that the doctor was not going to do the physical exam in the room we were in because it felt like he would be exposed to the world. I said I doubted that they would due to sanitary reasons and we both started laughing! The doctor then came back in just at that moment and we had to stop laughing :)
Turns out Randy did get to have his physical exam in that room. Though the doctor assured us that the windows were tinted very dark so no one could see in. The doctor did his exam and told us the results. Turns out that Randy has a very large varicocele vein in one teste and a small one in the other. Varicocele veins are enlarged blood vessels that blood tends to pool in. This makes the area harder to keep cool so it is usually very hot. Hot does not equal good sperm. Pretty much too hot and the sperm are killed off. While the doctor was explaining these results the nurse came in with the blood work they had finally tracked down.
The doctor then went over the blood work with us. Randy's levels were all normal except for the two that help with sperm production, these were actually higher than they needed to be. Our doctor explained that this is very normal to see with varicocele veins since the body tries to compensate for the heat by making more sperm. Which are killed off as well.
Luckily the varicocele veins are very easy to fix. It's just that Randy gets to have surgery. It's an outpatient procedure and he can be back at work the next day. Just with a limited weight limit to lift. After the surgery they will do a semen analysis within 3-6 months to see how his numbers are improving. Our doctor said that we could end up pregnant within that time but it may take up to a year for his numbers to get to where they like to see them.
This appointment was very informative! We are very hopeful that after he has the surgery that we won't have any more issues getting pregnant. But you never know. We're trying to look at the positive side and not think about any other complications that could arise.
We currently have Randy's surgery scheduled for February 4 of next year. And I really cannot wait although I'm sure he probably could ;) I know he's nervous but I keep assuring him he'll be fine.
Well I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!
Til next time!
Becca
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