I am hoping to get a little positive reinforcement, but I'm also going to be realistic. My fiance is a 37 year old T11 paraplegic and was injured over 20 years ago in a motorcycle accident. We have been talking about having children and recently went to have a semen anaylsis done for him. We were able to get a sample by using the Ferticare. The sample that was given wasn't much and (forgive me for saying this) didn't look right. We left the office with the feeling the results were going to come back negative. We just got the results back today and the test showed no live sperm.
I already have 3 children from a previous marriage and would have loved nothing more than for us to have a child together. I know that he would love nothing more than to have a child of his own (not that he doesn't love my 3 as if they were his).

I don't know whether to encourage him to go see another doctor because this is the 1st time we have tried this or to just give up. I have no idea if there any other options out there for us. Anyone have any suggestions or words of encouragement?

Hi, I'm so sorry that you got a bad report on sperm count. My husband is a high quad, and we have been trying for a long while to have a baby. Jon has been injured for 9 years, and although he can ejaculate, it is not the usual. We had his count tested and although is motility was low, the Dr at the clinic suggested that we do not attempt ejaculation for at least two week. Not even if he didnt seem to ejaculate he may be having retrograde and it is flowing back into his bladder. He went into the hospital and they did a proceedure to harvest his sperm and it was then implanted into me. The proceedure caused severe AD for him, and it really set him back for a few days. If it did not work this time, I don't want him to do that again. So far I am late, and I plan on taking a test soon to find out if it worked. I just don't want to know if it didnt take.

I wish I had better advice for you on how to increase his sperm count. I dont know if it can be done, but maybe someone else will know. We didnt think Jon would ever be able to ejaculate, but one day it just happened. It was not much, and kind of dark in color, but it has gotten more normal looking as time goes by.

If I can answer any other questions for you , and you would rather PM me that is fine also. The whole experience is a big trial and error thing. We have sure had fun learning though. LOL

GOOD LUCK!!!

Hello cla874,

Welcome.

As Stacia says, it is very likely that (and is worth noting that) some men with a SCI/D manage to achieve orgasm, either without aids, or with the assistance of say a vibrator.. yet it is Retrograde - it is deposited in the bladder, as opposed to where it should be deposited. This Can and in many cases, is overcome with assistance ( a few options are open to your partner and others in his situation).
These range from 'harvesting the semen' ( as Stacia reports) and then the injection of a single sperm into the ovum, to other techniques. Very few sperms are needed to these 'assisted techniques' The good news is that there is hope. In fact, some men have fathered babies by the harvesting and utilising of Testicular tissue.

Obviously your personal opinions on how invasive and how much assistance you wish to pursue will dictate your path as well as other factors. For eg depending upon where in the world you are and how much you will need to set aside financially.

I would encourage you to see a Reproductive Endocrinologist/ Urologist who has an understanding of not only IVF and ICSI techniques ( etc) but also SCI/D. Whilst it may be true that the semen sample ejaculated was containing no sperms, it doesn't mean that they aren't being produced.

I do wish you all the best. Hope this helps a little,

Take care,

K

Adoption might be an option there are plenty of children that need loving homes. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I, too, would go along with you both seeing a specialist ande exploring this a little further.

I was 13 years post injury off a m/bike before I got started similarly. Eventually, our efforts, frustrations and hurts were over-ridden with a son

You say that there were "no live sperm". So, does that mean there were dead sperm. If so, great encouragement cos the sperm are there - just not lively enough.

How long was it from getting the sample to having it tested? At what temperature was it kept in that time? etc etc.

In my case I had high numbers but low motility. Plenty of the lil'fellas but way short of strong swimmers and lots of dead ones. The problem was an uneveness in the mix of the seminal fluid which has heaps of nutrients to feed the lil'blighters. The solution was to centrifuge which sorted out the dead from the still willing who were put into a fluid matching the right nutrients. Now the lil'fellas were so lively they were doing leap frogs.

Don't worry about small samples and you can't prejudge how it looks. I thought my samples were pretty pathetic (I was hoping for something I could brag about) but the fertility clinic were real pleased and used only a small proportion, putting most of it into freeze storage for later shots if required.

So, I'd suggest you take that bumpy road to keep trying. Wow, I can still feel the memories of the hurts and elations when going through the process. Best of luck.

Thanks to everyone for their advice. It's truly appreciated. We are going to continue our journey and hopefully someday we will be blessed with a baby

The sample that we provided was done at the Dr's office and given to them immediately. When we were given the results from the test, the nurse was really not specific regarding if there were any sperm or dead sperm. We have an appt to see the Dr. a week from now.
We are located in Connecticut and I'm not sure that there are any Reproductive Endocrinologist/ Urologist in the area that understand SCI/D. I'm hoping that someone in our area has some knowledge regarding this.

Thanks again to everyone! I'm sure that in the furture I'm going to have more questions!

I would try vitamins and minerals. Keep up good eating habits. I would try cleaning it out by using it. See if clearing it out and some needed nutrition might do the trick. If God wants to bless you he will. If not their are so many children in this world that are not taken care of. Share your love with one of them. A big brother or sister. Foster families. I think this world is so messed up, I feel sorry for children being born. What will it be like in 20yrs. Trucks can't even afford to buy diesel to haul loads. I have 2 girls 25 yrs old. They will never be able to buy a house. It's hard for them to feed themself. It's sad but it's true. Think about...Share your love with someone already here. Love to you both

For everyone that has suggested adoption, while this is a wonderful idea and is very rewarding, I already have 3 children from a previous marriage. If my fiance can't have children, he will still love my children as if they were his own.

Just an update.... we went back in and gave another sample and also had to do the retrograde procedure as well. There were no sperm found in either sample. Our next option is to have the testicular biopsy done. Has anyone had any experience with this procedure? What was the out come?