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Male - low FSH, high testosterone - clomid?  

post #1 of 6
Thread Starter 
We just got the test results back from our Dr (well actually heard them over the phone, still waiting on the exact numbers in the mail). They tested Testosterone, Estradiol, FSH and LH.

The Dr was convinced testosterone would be low but it's actually high! All the others are average/normal, and FSH is a little low.

The Dr. is saying he could take clomid to help with the low FSH. Does anyone have any experience with that working, or making things worse?

His problems are with concentration (count), motility and morphology.
post #2 of 6
Our andrologist put dh on Clomid for his low numbers. When we discussed with RE after we self referred, our RE said that there have been studies done on clomid for low numbers, but they have found that the numbers in both groups (control and not) go up at about the same rate. He advised that most numbers problems are environmental, so they can go up and down depending on which specific problem it is, and the changes during the times between SA. Do they have any idea what caused his low numbers?

My dh had cryptochordism when he was born (as much as he hates to admit it), and our RE advised that there are some men that had that problem that have no sperm, so we're lucky that he does actually have some and doesn't need aspiration to get them out. Surgery is being done now on this problem when the child is just an infant, but at that time they waited until the kid was older, which causes temperature problems and of course makes the situation worse.

Our RE advised that even if there were more trials on the Clomid for men to show that it really did make a bigger difference, it would not work in our situation b/c of our situation. That is why I asked if you know the reason behind his probs. If it is truly an environmental issue, then there are also vitamins that he can take that may or may not help. The best thing is to get him away from the specific environmental cause, but of course it will be 3 months before the change can be seen after those changes or taking any of the meds.

We decided to jump right to IVF w/ICSI b/c he doesn't even have the numbers for IUI or AI. As there is nothing to be done to get his numbers up, it would have been a waste of time and money, not to mention sanity and emotions, to do it any other way.

Good luck through this trying time, especially as you figure out the best way to get to where you want to be!
post #3 of 6
Thread Starter 
I think they are not sure the cause of my husband's issues. He has very poor motility, morphology and concentration. The urologist said that on his latest test he had about 1 million viable and it requires at least 5 million for IUI (I think that's what my husband thought he said). We are waiting for the paper results in the mail. I know the first S.A. was abysmal.

We were so positive that it would be due to low testosterone, but then the tests came back with him actually having high testosterone! He has recently lost a lot of weight so I think there was some conjecture that could affect the FSH.

There was no evidence on exam of a varicocele. He said there are two genetic possibilities. One is basically ruled out by the high testosterone. The other is that he could have an extra Y chromosome I think. We could pay a lot of money to get the test done but all that would do is give us some closure I think (well I guess we would see if that was inherited before we progressed with IVF).

So at this point the Dr. thinks we should try clomid. I'm just wondering if it has any chance of working. Also I thought someone else said if it's given for the wrong reason it can wipe out the sperm you DO have, so I want to make sure this is the right reason you know?

My husband is already on a ton of vitamins and supplements. He's going commando to keep cool, making sure he doesn't get any fevers. He already doesn't drink, smoke, do any drugs, take any medications that are known to cause problems, use a laptop or take warm baths. I'm pretty sure there's nothing else I know of we could do to boost things naturally.
post #4 of 6
My dh tried clomid for what we thought was low testosterone, only it turned out they checked the testosterone wrong. His testosterone was fine before the clomid, the clomid actually raised it, and high testosterone can and does make for a lower sperm count.

That said, the FSH was fine, and I can't remember right now the relationship between fsh and testosterone.

Anyway, I would be leery of clomid, just because of our experience. However, if it does further lower the count, the good news is that the "damage" is not permanent - three months off the clomid everything with my dh was back to what passes for normal with him.

ETA: There is a bunch of technical stuff on male IF here. This is not making enough sense to my poor tired brain tonight to try to explain it, but I believe that it means isolated low FSH is rare, and associated with other findings, like low testosterone, that your dh doesn't seem to have, so I am wondering if a visit to an endocrinologist might be in order before you take any other action? Just my .02, as I wish we had done the endocrinologist visit first, then we would have skipped the clomid and maybe that first IVF cycle would have stood a better chance. Who knows.
post #5 of 6
When my dh did one cycle of it (which is 25d), he had, basically, PMS also... he was SO cranky!!
post #6 of 6
My DH was rx'ed Clomid as well.

We decided to try "fertility blend for men" + pychonogel (sp) + the whole boxers thing... instead

his count/motility/morph was amazingly improved after 4 months

oh, and yea... we got preg!
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