Male Infertility

As many of you are aware, our infertility is unusual compared to most. Infertility is never a "one size fits all" ordeal anyway, but many cases of infertility are either unexplained (where the couple never really gets answers as to why they are unable to conceive) or female infertility (which could mean any one of the female body parts or levels needed to conceive are less than ideal). Unexplained infertility is probably the most devastating, in my opinion, because getting answers is something everyone deserves. 

However, Coley and I do not fall into either of these categories. Coley and I are infertile as a couple due to male infertility. This is a less common type of infertility and is definitely not something that people talk about often. In our case, Coley's body does not make sperm. We literally tried to conceive for over a year missing one of the most important pieces. Coley has visited many doctors attempting to find solid answers as to why his body is missing this key piece, including one who did a full genetic workup. Apparently, there's no particular reason for the lack of sperm, and we were never really given a real diagnosis. We were told, however, that he could have $10,000 exploratory surgery to see if there is any sperm production at all. We were told by the insurance company that this would not be covered and the doctors told us that the likelihood of finding anything was very slim. Obviously, we decided against this procedure before we began exploring other options. 

It took a while for Coley to come to peace with his diagnosis. Imagine how difficult that would be - to be told that your body will more than likely never complete a basic human function, especially one related to his masculinity. It was a few months of fighting and continued reassurance. He still has some days where he is upset about the whole ordeal. However, we have both worked together and decided that we will become parents through adoption. 

If you are interested in learning more about male infertility, below are a few links that helped us understand the diagnosis. They are vague, as is most online infertility information, but they help make sense of what happens. 

Urology Care Foundation

Mayo Clinic

Johns Hopkins