# Low sperm morphology...VERY SAD DAY!



## Baby1day

Went to RE today and was told that DH has 6% normal morphology and that we only have a 0.5% chance of conceiving on our own. Has anyone been pregnant when SO / DH had low morphology? I feel that the RE was basically just trying to scare us into doing IVF. We have chosen not to do IUI or IVF because the RE states with IUI we would only have a 1% chance of conceiving and it's $1000 each time and with IVF we would only have a 40% chance of conceiving and that's $12,000 each time. Now we're talking about adoption b/c at least that would guarantee us a child. Anyone else's DH / SO have low sperm morphology?


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## jack79

hi baby1day

What was ur husbands sperm count? If its high i think that can make a difference. 

Xx


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## threebirds

The other thing to bear in mind is semen analysis can change. It can be improvec with diet, moderate exercise and cutting out caffine & booze. It can also just vary at different points in time. Does he take any multivitamin? There are ones specifically for male fertility. You are right to look at all options but this is not necessarily end of the ttc road either. My DH has low count & quality (the figures have differeda bit each time he has given a sample). We have had 2 natural pregs (although sadly these ended in mc).

Good luck with whatever route you take.


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## WhiteOrchid24

Hi Baby1day,

My DH recently had his first SA done and we found out that he had 0% normal morphology :( That being said our Dr (GP not a FS) was still very encouraging and positive that it could be changed since he had a good count. He suggested more exercise and cutting out all alcohol and trying to reduce any stress. For many years now my husband has also had a tooth infection in his gum from an old root canal and the Dr said if that was the case that could potentially affect the morphology as well so my DH has just had mouth surgery done to fix that and is on a course of antibiotics, so keeping fingers crossed that we might see a change in 3 months.

Although our diagnosis was bad the Dr was still confident so we are at this point still positive that we can change things around. We have a 3 year old son that we conceived naturally 4 years ago after 5 months of trying so we have no idea at what point his morphology changed but for all we know it's always been bad. As our Dr said you only need 1 little sperm to make things work so try and keep your chin up although I understand how you feel. I've also read other articles about men's morphology improving and to be honest I've also read that 6% isn't that bad, especially if the count is good so fingers crossed for you.

Sorry I can't offer more advice but I'm here to talk to cause I do understand how you feel. I was in complete shock when we got the test results. :hugs:


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## Briss

My DH has very low sperm count and poor everything but even then our FS said we could conceive naturally though it's unlikely and pushed us for IVF. we are not ready for IVF yet so my DH quit beer, lost weight and now exercising a lot and on a huge list of supplements. we will be checking his SA in July to decide what we are going to do. depending on his result


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## Baby1day

Thank you all for replying. You have given me some hope. DH's total count is 129.5 million. I think normal is 130 million or greater. So, his isn't too bad. Motility is 56%, which is pretty good too. He has been taking a multivitamin for about 7 months now but FS told us he should take megaman multivitamin to help reproductive health so he just started on that this am. He also is going to cut back on the beer and he quit smoking last November so hopefully that will all help too. Btw, this SA is from 3/2012. We were seeing a FS in FL when we were living there and she basically said his morphology was good but not the best. So, we thought there really was nothing wrong with us. Then we moved out here to CO las June and we just decided to see a FS again and bring in our results from last year and he basically said his morphology is bad bad bad and basically we don't have a chance naturally. So, anyway, hopefully with DH's lifestyle changes his results will improve. Thanks again ladies :)


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## jack79

Hi

Anything over 20 million per ml is normal so your dh has a very high count! My husband has a similar count and we were told it could still happen naturally. We've been ttc for 3.5 yrs though and still nothing. We're starting ivf next month. 

When I hear that that some people are told what u have been told it makes me wonder how much these experts actually know...Sometimes i feel they give false hope just to soften the blow :(

I do hope u get ur bfp naturally...good luck xx


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## Baby1day

Good luck to you too, jack79.


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## Briss

ladies, can anyone recommend a good urologist in London? i think it's time we stop listening to our FS and get hubby checked out properly.


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## WhiteOrchid24

It's so hard to know what to believe since it seems every Dr or FS seems to have a different opinion! Doesn't make things very easy for us but I guess we just need to stay positive.....


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## Victoria79

Hello Baby1day and all ladies,
Let me tell you my story shortly for some hope, i had a miscarriage last year (very early-5 weeks, no sac or baby could be seen) after ttc for about 7-8 months, then got both DH and i got tested because i was 33 and DH was 35 i had slight problems but dr said i should be fine because i was ovulating on my own. DH sperm analysis showed 21 mill/ml sperm, fast forward progressive %0, slow forward progressive %55 and the rest not moving or not moving forward, besides morphology was a big '0' (Kruger criteria). Dr said no to very low chance to get pregnant on our own and we should also skip IUI and move to IVF, had two other semen analysis until dec 202-jan 2013, all showed different results, one 18 million/ml with good morphology (WHO criteria which is less strict). The last one 7 mil/ml, ok movement and %7 morphology. The best thing we did, we changed our Dr, he advised not to panic and not to get depressed about morphology as long as count is about 15-20 mil/ml (average of sperm analysis) and theres good motility and he said we should try naturally for at least another 6 months and if nothing happens we ll see. I was so relaxed and calmed to hear this, 2 months later i got my BFP!!! Now am 12 w 5 days and it looks so fine so far. To cut it short, i dont know your age or how long you ve been trying but it can happen naturally, if youre younger than 35 and trying for less than 1,5 yrs as your DH has great count, dont stress on morphology theres hope, and if its not the case, not to lose time you could go for IUI with your numbers, i was told it was around %15 chance. Stay with hope and best of luck!!!


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## popchick75

Baby1day said:


> Thank you all for replying. You have given me some hope. DH's total count is 129.5 million. I think normal is 130 million or greater. So, his isn't too bad. Motility is 56%, which is pretty good too. He has been taking a multivitamin for about 7 months now but FS told us he should take megaman multivitamin to help reproductive health so he just started on that this am. He also is going to cut back on the beer and he quit smoking last November so hopefully that will all help too. Btw, this SA is from 3/2012. We were seeing a FS in FL when we were living there and she basically said his morphology was good but not the best. So, we thought there really was nothing wrong with us. Then we moved out here to CO las June and we just decided to see a FS again and bring in our results from last year and he basically said his morphology is bad bad bad and basically we don't have a chance naturally. So, anyway, hopefully with DH's lifestyle changes his results will improve. Thanks again ladies :)

That is a *really* high count which is great news! I agree with the other ladies...do some research into supplements and vitamins for DH. Between that and quitting smoking, I'll bet you see a difference in the next SA.

If you are getting a bad feeling about what the RE is telling you, don't be shy about getting more opinions. If your gut is saying that the doctor is wrong, then go with your gut. I was 'unexplained' for 10 years and finally just got a diagnosis last week! We went through 4 REs before we finally found one who connected the dots and figured it out!


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## WhiteOrchid24

Thank you so much Victoria79! You have given me the encouragement I needed to hear! Since we all ready have a 3 year old son I know we can do it, it's just taking a lot longer than we thought....also it's so hard to get ANY info on morphology so it's great to hear if the count is still high it can happen! Thanks for putting a smile on my face and a big congratulations for your pregnancy!! :hugs:


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## Baby1day

Thank you Victoria79, your story has eased my mind a bit. I'm 34 and DH is 33 and we've been ttc for 2 1/2 years. I have been reading a lot of stories on the web of women becoming pregnant when there spouse has low morph. So there is hope! Congrats on your pregnancy!


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## Briss

My DH repeated his SA a few days ago after not drinking beer for 3 months and taking some serious vitamins and we finally got SA results, not great but much better than last time. count moved up from 1 to 11 million but morphology is 2% which is very poor. Motility is good (last time it was non-existent). I am still very happy cos it's a really big improvement on last SA and it shows that we can actually do things to improve hubby's sperm, the bad news is that over the last 3 years it was never within norm so not sure if it ever will be&#8230; Also the comment says that he may have Teratozoospermia (poor morphology) which is apparently not treatable and IVF/ICSI is the only way. not sure yet where we go from here


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## star25

Hi, Iwouldnt lose hope, like the other ladies have said, SA's can change, especisally if his last one was a year ago, its likely to be different now, it sounds like that through lifestyle changes the morphology can improve and he does have a very high count so thats good

so far my DH has had 4 or 5 and each time the count has been different
The first one was 13ml - motility about 35% and morphology about 5%
Second was 15ml count - Motility about 50% and morpholgy about 8%
Third one was 34ml count - Motility 30-40% (cant really remember) and morphology 2%!
Fourth one was 84ml count (much different from the first!) not sure about motility and morphology at our last appointment they didnt have the morphology results as DH done the sample too late but it didnt matter either way as FS said we would be starting clomid anyway

The first 2 samples were about a year ago and the last 2 were 1 in nov 12 and one jan 13, just trying to say dont lose hope, sperm samples can change and you're doing all the right healthy things and in the right hands for help, good luck xx


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## Briss

Thanks. we have been checking Dh's SA for the last 3 years that we are TTC, the first one was 12 mil, then it got down to 2.8, then further down to 1 and now back to 11. if he continues with no beer, and supps I hope it will be improving but it was never above 15 mil so not really sure


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## lovie

I am an ex-lttc'er it took us 2 years to get our bfp. I hope you don't mind me posting.

My OH had 2%morphology, also I have pcos, I now have a lovely baby so I know it can happen even with bad morphology results.

Good luck:flower::hugs:


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## babydustpower

Hello,

My husband and I have been ttc for 1 1/2 years - since Oc 2011. We finally got him tested and found out he had 1% morphology and 10% motility.

In January 2013, he started exercising, drank an antioxidant smoothie (blueberry, banana, orange juice) for morphology and was on the ingredients in ConceptionXR for motility (it's cheaper to just buy the individual vitamins than ConceptionXR itself. The important vitamins is the L-Carnitine and the Vitamin C). In April 2013, we got our BFP naturally.

Remember, it takes 3 months for sperm to regenerate. I don't know what his new SA numbers are because were able to conceive naturally after the above changes.


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## WhiteOrchid24

Congratulations Babydustpower on your BFP - that's fantastic news. Right now we are on the 3 month wait to see if there has been any change since finding out hubby had 0% normal morphology so will be interesting to see once the 3 months are over if it did help....staying positive in the meantime and enjoying a bit of a break from constant TTC!


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## Briss

Lovie, thanks for posting, was it a natural BFP? what was your DH's count?

Babydustpower, thank you and congratulations! how much of L-Carnitine and the Vitamin C did your DH take? I will check out ConceptionXR

My Dh is on the following:

Wellman Conception 
Vitamin B complex 
1,000 Maca 
1,000 Ginseng
200 COQ10 
60 Pycnogenol 
1,000 Flaxseed oils 
1,000 Fish oils 
1,000 L-Arginine 
1,000 Carnitine 
700 Horny Goat weed 
500 tribilus 
60 Zinc 
50 Selenium 
800 Calcium 
1,000 Vitamin C 
1,000 Vitamin B12
200 Vitamin E 
4,000 Vitamin D


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## lovie

hi briss, yes it was natural (and a huge supprise!) I got pregnant the month before we were due to start IVF, it took 20 cycles but we got there in the end:flower:

I can't remember the exact count but it was around normal. 

:hugs:


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## Briss

Thank you Lovie, that's brilliant!


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## Baby1day

lovie said:


> I am an ex-lttc'er it took us 2 years to get our bfp. I hope you don't mind me posting.
> 
> My OH had 2%morphology, also I have pcos, I now have a lovely baby so I know it can happen even with bad morphology results.
> 
> Good luck:flower::hugs:

That's great to hear! I still have hope that it will happen for us one day:winkwink: Thanks for responding!


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## Baby1day

babydustpower said:


> Hello,
> 
> My husband and I have been ttc for 1 1/2 years - since Oc 2011. We finally got him tested and found out he had 1% morphology and 10% motility.
> 
> In January 2013, he started exercising, drank an antioxidant smoothie (blueberry, banana, orange juice) for morphology and was on the ingredients in ConceptionXR for motility (it's cheaper to just buy the individual vitamins than ConceptionXR itself. The important vitamins is the L-Carnitine and the Vitamin C). In April 2013, we got our BFP naturally.
> 
> Remember, it takes 3 months for sperm to regenerate. I don't know what his new SA numbers are because were able to conceive naturally after the above changes.

Congrats! DH and I just started on the South Beach diet, so he has quit drinking beer completely for now. Hopefully, we will get pregnant within the next 3 months :) Thanks for responding!


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## jack79

Hi baby1day...just thought you might want to hear some news we got this week...my husband got his sperm analysis results this week and things have improved quite a bit. His morphology was 7% about a year and a half ago and is now 18%! Quite a difference. 

The changes he has made are:
* better diet (though he still has a long way to go before you could say he was super healthy)
* vitamins
* cut back on alcohol quite a bit (just a few drinks since Christmas)
* drinks distilled water (no water from plastic bottles)
* less baths
* less cycling (has only been out on his bike once or twice in the past 6 months)

Not sure what exactly has made the difference but something definitely has! 

Hope this makes you feel more positive :)


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## Baby1day

jack79 said:


> Hi baby1day...just thought you might want to hear some news we got this week...my husband got his sperm analysis results this week and things have improved quite a bit. His morphology was 7% about a year and a half ago and is now 18%! Quite a difference.
> 
> The changes he has made are:
> * better diet (though he still has a long way to go before you could say he was super healthy)
> * vitamins
> * cut back on alcohol quite a bit (just a few drinks since Christmas)
> * drinks distilled water (no water from plastic bottles)
> * less baths
> * less cycling (has only been out on his bike once or twice in the past 6 months)
> 
> Not sure what exactly has made the difference but something definitely has!
> 
> Hope this makes you feel more positive :)

Wow, that is a huge difference! I hope you get your bfp soon!!


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## Laurana

My husband had 1% morphology in march and though we didnt know it at the time, he had gotten me pregnant just before he gave that sample. Unfortunately i miscarried at 5 weeks, but the point is it is possible even at LOW numbers. Fortunately he has since given up the daily dip in the hot tub and he's up to 5%. My Doc said 5% is quite possible to conceive with naturally.


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## babydustpower

My hubby had low motility and morphology. Our morphology was 1%. 

I put him on the same ingredients found in ConceptionXR, since it was cheaper to do that then pay $80 a month for ConceptionXR. He also cut out caffeine and begain drinking an antioxidant smoothie consisting of orange juice, blue berries, bananas.

Morphology is a radical issue..so antioxidants will help the sperm fight off the radicals. Remember it takes 3 months for sperm to regenerate.

After 3 months of this regimen, we conceived naturally.


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## babydustpower

1000mg L-Carnitine and 1000mg Vitamin C but your DH doesn't need to take it if he doesn't have motility issues.



Briss said:


> Lovie, thanks for posting, was it a natural BFP? what was your DH's count?
> 
> Babydustpower, thank you and congratulations! how much of L-Carnitine and the Vitamin C did your DH take? I will check out ConceptionXR
> 
> My Dh is on the following:
> 
> Wellman Conception
> Vitamin B complex
> 1,000 Maca
> 1,000 Ginseng
> 200 COQ10
> 60 Pycnogenol
> 1,000 Flaxseed oils
> 1,000 Fish oils
> 1,000 L-Arginine
> 1,000 Carnitine
> 700 Horny Goat weed
> 500 tribilus
> 60 Zinc
> 50 Selenium
> 800 Calcium
> 1,000 Vitamin C
> 1,000 Vitamin B12
> 200 Vitamin E
> 4,000 Vitamin D


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## WhiteOrchid24

Hi Babydustpower,

Congratulations!! That's fantastic news - wishing you a healthy and happy 9 months :D

I was just wondering - what do you mean by Morphology being a "radical" issue. Sorry if I am being ignorant! My DH's SA showed 0% normal morphology which he thinks is due to a gum infection he has had for the last 8/9 years following root canal. Since his results he has had his infection treated with surgery and antibiotics and we are now on the 3 month wait for the production of new sperm... right now not sure what to do (he takes multi-vitamins, Vit. D and a few others). Any advice greatly appreciated....

Congratulations again!! :D


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## babydustpower

Free Radicals are a natural byproduct of life. They affect sperm morphology. They're also responsible for the wrinkles on your face.

Antioxidants neutralizes these free radicals. Besides, an antioxidant smoothie every night with dinner helps with portion control. Vitamin C 1000mg..DH also drank a lot of OJ.

If you "google" free radicals and sperm morphology you can read more about it. :thumbup:

I know it's disheartening when you hear that "nothing" can improve morphology. This isn't true. Antioxidants can help improve morphology. Some docs need to keep up with current clinical trials instead of pushing people towards IUI and IVF for the $. 

Luckily, my OB is into a more holistic approach.







WhiteOrchid24 said:


> Hi Babydustpower,
> 
> Congratulations!! That's fantastic news - wishing you a healthy and happy 9 months :D
> 
> I was just wondering - what do you mean by Morphology being a "radical" issue. Sorry if I am being ignorant! My DH's SA showed 0% normal morphology which he thinks is due to a gum infection he has had for the last 8/9 years following root canal. Since his results he has had his infection treated with surgery and antibiotics and we are now on the 3 month wait for the production of new sperm... right now not sure what to do (he takes multi-vitamins, Vit. D and a few others). Any advice greatly appreciated....
> 
> Congratulations again!! :D


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## xurfingers

Baby1day said:


> Went to RE today and was told that DH has 6% normal morphology and that we only have a 0.5% chance of conceiving on our own. Has anyone been pregnant when SO / DH had low morphology? I feel that the RE was basically just trying to scare us into doing IVF. We have chosen not to do IUI or IVF because the RE states with IUI we would only have a 1% chance of conceiving and it's $1000 each time and with IVF we would only have a 40% chance of conceiving and that's $12,000 each time. Now we're talking about adoption b/c at least that would guarantee us a child. Anyone else's DH / SO have low sperm morphology?


Hi hun. I was just browsing and read your post. My DH has 0% morphology and we have had 2 natural pregnancies within 4 months of each other. It is absolutely not a death sentence for fertility. Even when they say 0%, or 6%in your case, I promise you there are still enough normal sperm to impregnate you. If your husband has low morphology coupled with low motility or count, then I would agree that IVF is the way to go... Your RE is being very narrow minded - borderline ridiculous telling you those percentages. Keep in mind that IVF is not a guarantee that you will be successful. If you reeeally can't afford it then DON'T do it! I have had 3 children in my 20's and had a tubal ligation in 2001. In 2011, I had a reversal. Had an ectopic in January which blocked my right tube completely. Ended up doing a cycle of IVF trying to avoid surgery. Transferred 2 perfect embryos and BFN! Absolutely no explanation as to why it didn't work. How long have you been ttc and do you use opks to track ovulation???


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