Not quite Priapus

I picked up the results of my third andrology test last week, the one I did in late September. The result was pretty much the same as the other two; I’m still showing traces of immotile sperm. This basically means I have low fertility, low enough to make conception very unlikely, but not completely impossible. With that in mind the GP is reluctant to sign off on the vasectomy, instead he’s written to the consultant for comment, and has given me a form for a fourth test.

Whilst it’s nice to indulge the notion that I’m just so damn fertile a vasectomy couldn’t stop me, it’s getting annoying now. I’m going to delay the next test till I hear back from the consultant. I was aware it didn’t always work, but I seem to be in the zone where it has pretty much worked but a small risk remains, the key is to quantify it and decide what comes next.

The real reason the GP wanted me to see me was to talk about the Nephrologist’s recommendation that we review my blood pressure medication and also get a Hep B screen and vaccination tied in with my January bloods. The Hep B screen is a pre-emptive measure is to protect me from risk of further kidney damage, but would probably need to be done in advance of dialysis anyway. Unfortunately, I haven’t taken any blood pressure readings since before my last nephrology appointment, so I need to do some and send them into the surgery so he can decide if action is needed.

Whilst I was there I also got my annual flu jab. As a member of an ‘at risk’ group I get a reminder every year, but last year I was able to get one at work from the occupational health team. This year work decided to cancel blanket (optional) inoculation of staff on the grounds that it’s unnecessary (basically a cost cutting measure with an epidemiological backstop behind it), although ‘at risk’ groups were encouraged to see their GP. The GP himself was most bemused to hear this, apparently this year’s strain is particularly virulent and my employer may come to regret the decision. So, there we go, I have been warned, but then I’ve been inoculated too!