Has anyone had the ICSI treatment instead of the normal IVF?

Question

Went back to the hospital today and been told that although I am not ovulating, my husband has a very low sperm count and also is a carrier for Cystic Fibrosis. They say that this is the only treatment they can give us and will not give us Clomid because of the low sperm count. Just wanted to see if anyone else has had the ICSI treatment as I don't know anyone who has. Thanks x

Answer 1

ICSI is still IVF.  The difference is rather than just placing your DH sperm to "mix" with your eggs, an individual sperm is selected an inserted inside the egg.  It gives the doctor the ability to pick which sperm is used to fertilize the egg, and the sperm doesn't have to go through the process of "digging" through the external shell of the egg.

Answer 2

it is when they take an egg and a selected sperm and inject it into the egg with a glass tube to make sure it penetrates the egg and then artificially put it back in. Only done usually with a low sperm count.

Answer 3

My husband and I had IVF with ICSI

The only difference between IVF and IVF w/ ICSI is how the sperm are placed in relation to the egg.

With just a  plain IVF, the sperm is placed around the egg and is given the chance to penetrate an egg on its own. This works well for couples who have good sperm samples.

In IVF with ICSI, the sperm is injected directly into the egg which takes out all of the guesswork of whether or not a single sperm actually got into the egg. This is recommended for couples who have low motility, sperm count, etc. I would recommend adding ICSI to anyone just as a safeguard.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

I am also having icsi treatment and I am on the waiting list. There's no point in giving you clomid because he has low sperm count. Icsi is better than ivf as the egg is injected directly into the egg. The will take your husband's sperm and look for the good healthy ones and chose the best 2 or 3 to inject in the eggs.  

Answer 5

ICSI is designed to overcome severe both male and if exists female issues. Its not a treatment but more of a method used during ivf. Clomid would only be used in the case of IUI, and the sperm count was good enough for it.

Even if the baby has CF if the ivf does work they typically give the woman during IVF progesterone in oil shots which if a preganancy occurs can help aid in stopping a m/c so the baby can go full term. Its amazing the modern fertility science.