Learning more...

We had the "2nd opinion appt" with a urologist on Tuesday.

First things first, he does not feel like DH needs to be concerned with prostate cancer right now. He did a brief check of his prostate, no concerns. Even though there is family history (his dad and dad's dad), he thinks waiting until 40yrs is an appropriate measure and DH's concerns of *possible symptoms* are related to caffeine intake. So, whew!

We discussed IF and our journey thus far. He asked DH to stand up while we talked and he would tell us why later. He reviewed DH's previous test results (SA's, hormones, etc.) and asked if he had been checked. We explained yes, but it was very brief and that's why we are here....for a 2nd opinion. Listened to a few IF stories of past patients and then he did a physical exam. He asked if we had heard of a varicocele? I think I shouted, YES! He explained it a bit and told me to "come here". DH in all his glory is standing there (poor guy! I told him later, now you know what I've been through ;-) and the doc shows us how to check for it and what he feels is a varicocele. He goes on to say that he had DH stand because it would be easier to feel the varicocele because it would bulge like a varicose vein. That the back-up of blood causes the testes to "over heat" therefore impacting sperm production, quality, etc.

He ordered an u/s of the area to confirm the mass is a varicocele. Then, he can do a minor surgery to repair it. He is VERY supportive of clomid for men and said he would be willing to prescribe immediately after the fix or if we wanted to wait and see if the procedure improves DH's counts on its own before starting the clomid - it is our decision. He cautioned us that there are no guarantees that either will work.

Needless to say, we left there with mixed emotions. Ecstatic at what we learned but pissed off that the previous urologist did not detect it AND our RE recommended us to him because he was supposed to be *the best*. And icing on the cake is that when I called the 1st urologist last month to ask about Clomid - they told me the doc didn't really deal w/ MFI and that they would refer us to Dr. B (our RE). It sucks that it feels like infertility is this *big $$ business* that some times doctors forget or don't care that couples are often dealing with so many other facets of their life that are affected by IF. And then when things like this happen (that this was missed or maybe, it wasn't there last year), we've become such skeptics it feels like you've been betrayed.

Nevertheless, I am thankful the "c" word is NOT in our immediate future/concern. I am thankful that we may have found a cause for MFI and the urologist said no worries about Kleinfelters, Turners or "any others". I am glad DH is getting to experience some of the "bear all moments" and procedures. Most of all, I am hopeful that the u/s next week will confirm the varicocele and we can move forward!