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Male fertility

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  • 25-07-2011 1:51pm
    #1
    Max Powers
    Registered Users Posts: 3,510 ✭✭✭


    32 year old male. Been trying to concieve for over a year, been taking zinc and cutting out caffeine,anyone here have experience of this? She had a basic check-up and things are ok her side it seems. Re: Male fertility clinics, do you go to your GP first or can you go straight to a specialist clinic?
    I see on inhealth.ie male fertility test, anyone know are these accurate?

    Thanks for help


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    #2
    Mrsbrady
    Registered Users Posts: 43 ✭Mrsbrady


    Hey Max,

    From our experience you can’t get an appointment with any of these people without a referral from GP etc.

    My husband (aged 29) and I have been trying to conceive for 3 years and as usual, we presumed that there was something wrong with me so I went to the doc and asked to be referred to a gyne. While waiting for an appointment, my doc did all the bloods and they came back fine.

    When we got our appointment I had more bloods done and she scanned me. Again, everything seemed fine with me so she asked my hubby for an SA. On our follow up appointment the results were not good with his SA, nothing in the sample, so she referred us to a Urologist, which she explained to us was basically a male version of herself. She said that maybe he’d just need to take some Clomid (which surprised me) to boost his sperm count and that hopefully he’d be fine as he is so young. He hasn't smoked in over 5 years and we rarely drink. We are both healthyish, regular walks with the dogs, and he goes hiking with Scouts.

    Anyway, we went to the urologist and hoped that it was a one off with the sample. He had a repeat test done and unfortunately the results were the same, no sperm. The urologist referred us to a fertility clinic and he had further blood tests done that had to be sent off to the UK for analysis. These were for CF, Y Chromosome deletion and something else. The results of the Y Chromosome deletion test showed up some problems so that’s where we are at the moment, waiting for an appointment with a geneticist to see where we can go from here…

    Sorry for waffling on but I just wanted to explain the road we went down. Hope this helps.
    MrsB


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    #3
    jessie08
    Closed Accounts Posts: 29 ✭jessie08


    Hi Max,

    We used the inhealth ones but I wouldn't rely on them for accuracy. You will need a referral from your GP to get it done. They can refer you to the Rotunda if you don't mind waiting a week or 2 for the results or if you would prefer to go private I think it is around 100 - 150 but you will get the results in a day or 2. PM me if you want a recommendation for a private place.

    Good Luck :)


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    #4
    new_home
    Registered Users Posts: 20 ✭new_home


    Hi Everybody, we are in a similar situation and we are now wondering how to go about the rest. We did the SA in another country and were recommended lots of tests and see a urologist. Are the blood tests very expensive? Does VHI cover anything?
    Thanks


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    #5
    Fluffyduck11
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14 ✭Fluffyduck11


    Hi All
    We have been ttc for 2yrs, went to my GP explained the situation to him and asked to see a speacilist, i was referred privately to our local hospital to see a gyne, there i had my bloods taken and all was fine so they done SA on the hubbie twice , came back all ok. So gyne recommended best thing to do was for him to do a hysterscopy and lap test dye, which also came back perfect, All this cost 150euro which i was astonished at and there was no waiting period. The Vhi covered my bed for the day ward for the hys lap test dye as i was a private patient. ;) Hope this is helpful


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    #6
    boodee
    Closed Accounts Posts: 78 ✭✭boodee


    hi,
    You don't need a referral for some private clinics, but it will help if you have any results from previous tests. From both partners. They will do all the tests again to confirm anything anyway.
    The test you'll get in a public hospital will only give you the basic information and you'll be waithing a while for both the test and the results.
    I would strongly recommend going private, and make sure to get a full Sperm Analysis, with clear results.
    This should cost about €150 for a standard test and anything up to €550 for a full defragmentation...just gives more info.
    The positive thing about SAs is that the man can do so much to improve it. Loose clothing, no laptops, cycling, not great if you have a profession driving and in general just keep your bits cool. Use an icew pack in the evenings if you can. There are loads of herbs and vits you can use too.

    Insurance will not cover any consultation fees, nor treatments in a private clinic, but if there are things like lap and dyes, varicocele repairs or gynae type of procedures they will cover them, depending on your cover.

    As I was told.....Infertility is not a necessary health issue.....I felt like throttling the wan on the phone..


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