anyone with male infertility issues??

[tinadecember]

hi lovely ladies, hope everybody is well

My hubby and I are on our 11th cycle of TTC number 2, we decided to have some routine tests carried out after our 6th cycle due to being pregnant twice before and it happening really quickly.

Turns out that my husband has a low sperm count (15 mil) and not the greatest motility. My progesterone tests came back as a count of 95 on CD21 so nice and high...

We had an appointment with an infertility specialist a few weeks ago and he wants 2 more sperm analysis tests to be carried out which start in a weeks time. He also requested that we both have ultrasounds to check for any blockages and blood work to be taken.

Of course my mind is filled with anxiety and confusion over what the hell will happen next, is anybody else in a similar situation? what will happen if his counts don't improve but the ultrasounds come back as fine?

Thanks girls x

 

[WhiteOrchid24]

Hi tinadecember!

We have MFI. I'm not sure I can give you much advice as we discovered over a year ago that DH has a low sperm count, motility and morphology and not a lot has happened since....

We are on Cycle 27 and it has been 30 months or 2 1/2 years since we started TTC. We have a 4 year old that we conceived on month 5 of trying so obviously had no idea we would have any issues the second time around. After 2 SA's we discovered DH has a count of 4 million and low motility and morph. He recently went to a urologist who discovered a grade 2 varicocele, however after having an ultra scan decided it wasn't bad enough to warrant surgery. I was totally surprised - first that he had one as no symptoms etc that he had been really aware of before hand but more so after finding it and thinking that was the answer to all of our problems that they weren't going to do surgery. So it seems for the time being we just have to live with things which isn't helpful so DH has started taking Fertilaid for men and the Count Boost and Motility Boost as well. I'm not sure where you live but it might be worth giving them a go if your DH will take them....

Both our GP and the urologist keep telling DH that the main thing is he has sperm so we can get pregnant it's just going to take longer which really frustrates me as I don't see how with a count of 4 million, not to mention it's already been 2 1/2 years!! Anyway he's going to take the vitamins for 3 months and we'll see what happens and in the meantime I am going for a Lap next week to rule out any issues with me. If in about 4 months (and providing all ok with the lap) nothing has happened and I'm still not pregnant then we are going to go and see a FS and just get some honest advice about things and what our options are... I don't think we would do IVF with ICSI but would possible try IUI....

I hope you get some better answers. It's definitely a good idea to get the tests all done just to make sure and who knows maybe somewhere along the way you'll get that BFP! You definitely need to do another SA and 3 is best as they really can vary so much so you never know, the next test might come back with better results..... Other than the vitamins a big thing is eating well, not smoking, drinking moderately to none, loose boxers, no hot baths etc and exercise.....

Sorry I can't give you more advice but here to talk if you want as going though the same thing just further down the road....

 

[tinadecember]

Hi whiteorchid

thank you so much for sharing your story. My OHs count is 15mil, our consultant said that it should be 20mil at the least, his motility was 26% and morphology just 5%.

My OH has been taking the fertilaid, motility boost and count boost for about 3 cycles so I guess we will see when he has his SA done whether it's made a difference. I asked our consultant about them because we're spending like £55 each cycle and he said that they won't make a difference and the best thing to take is zinc. But then on the other hand I've read so many good reviews about them.... I suppose all we can do is give them a go. I think when you're at a point where you're so desperate for a child that you will try anything.

I am hoping that if his counts are still low that we will be considered for IUI, is this something that the NHS themselves organise or do you have to do this yourself privately?

I fell pregnant with both of my previous pregnancies within 2 cycles so once we had reached 6 cycles I kinda had a feeling that we were facing some issues this time around. I'm desperate to give my daughter a sibling, it's tough all of the constant waiting

I can't believe that your partner wasn't put forward for surgery!!! if that is what is possibly causing the low sperm count then you would think that the hospital would jump at the chance of removing it. The NHS make me so angry sometimes.

xx

 

[WhiteOrchid24]

I totally know what you mean about the Fertilaid but we figured same as you - we've got nothing to lose and as long as he has no side effects then they are worth a go! I'm curious - was the SA that showed he had a count of 15mill before he started taking the FA? If so I'd love to know his results from the next SA to see if it has made a difference at all.... FX it has!

Also 5% morphology is actually fine - anything about 4% is considered normal but yep you're right about the min. count being 20 mill and I think motility is over 40%.... maybe a little higher....

Unfortunately I can't help you with the NHS side of things as I'm in Canada (although originally from the UK so understand all about the NHS). That being said I have heard mixed things. Some ladies have said if you already have 1 child then you are not eligible under the NHS but others are eligible which I think comes down to a completely random post code lottery..... I hope for your sake you are eligible for help but it would definitely be worth talking to your Doc about it.

The waiting is by far one of the hardest most frustrating parts to deal with..... so much disappointment month after month. I was the same as you - I honestly expected to get our BFP on the first month of trying as I have lots of ovulation symptoms so can pin point the day pretty accurately so when it didn't happen within the first few months deep down I knew something was up. Funnily enough though I assumed the issue would be with me not DH..... who knows there might be an issue with me as well - will know more in a week!

As for DH's varicocele yeah I'm still pretty disappointed and confused but I have to trust the urologist. That being said I totally agree with what you are saying - you would think considering the situation and the fact that he knows we have been trying for 2 1/2 years and DH has such a low count that they would fix it to at least see if it helps...... Grrrr it still makes me mad! I guess it's not just the NHS that are frustrating!!

 

[Jackie Fiallo]

Hi there

My hubby had a vasectomy 4 years ago, and did a reversal last year. With the whole story my hubbys sperm developed antibodies, and their mobility is not so great.

We went to a fertility specialist, and advised us on IUI, we did our first try in May, but wasn’t successful, we are in the process of our second one, insemination will be taking place next week- and then the tww 

 

[tinadecember]

Hi girls,

whiteorchid - My OHs sperm count was 15mil before he started taking the fertilaid, we haven't had another analysis yet so I can't wait to see if it's made a difference. He was also going through a tonne of stress after losing his father to cancer in January so maybe that contributed to it being low but then if that was the case you'd think we would have conceived by now.. enough speculating! Only time will tell, 5 days and counting until his next analysis!

So are you getting an ultrasound done in a weeks time? I'm waiting for an appointment to go and get an ultrasound on my tubes/ovaries. I expect everything is okay because like you I feel ovulation every month.

Jackie - Are you in the UK? I expect you have other children if your husband had a vasectomy? Just curious due to you being offered IUI what your circumstances are. Sending you tonnes of good luck for your next cycle xx

 

[WhiteOrchid24]

Oh I am so hoping there has been an increase!! FX for you

No not an ultra scan but a laparoscopy which is surgery..... Not looking forward to it to be honest but need to get it done. Oddly I haven't had a scan at all - which I would have expected but hey-ho. I've had Day 21 blood work done (over a year ago) which was good then last month I had a HSG which was inconclusive as seems I have a tilted uterus and she couldn't get the catheter in properly so couldn't get the dye to go through the right tube but I have been having random pains - mostly on my right side - so think it's about time I get the Lap done to check things....

 

[Jackie Fiallo]

Hi Tina,

no i am in South Africa - Cape Town
My hubby had a son by prev.wife and i had a son aswell. this will be our first together.
his body kills his sperm and causes it not to be that moble, so it never reaches my eggs .. hence the IUI is offered

 

[tinadecember]

Hi girls,

Whiteorchid, strange that they have never given you an ultrasound! I had a laparoscopy about 5 years ago. I had a molar pregnancy which is where a baby never grows but instead cancerous cells so the only option was to remove it by a laparoscopy. You'll be just fine, your lower stomach will be a bit tender for a few days afterwards but apart from that there aren't any major side effects. Still though sending you good luck.
Believe it or not about an hour after mentioning going for an ultrasound yesterday I had a phonecall to arrange an appointment. I'm going on Monday morning so crossing my fingers that everything comes back okay

Jackie, sorry to hear about the whole sperm thing! How did you come to find out that you were killing his sperms before they even had a chance to reach the egg? xx

 

[WhiteOrchid24]

Sorry Jacki - somehow I missed your post! Good luck with the IUI this month - I really hope this is it

Tina - thanks so much! That's great about your ultrasound, I hope all is ok!

 

[lanet]

We also have male factor. After 3 years of ttc and varying semen analysis we finally discovered my dh has antisperm antibodies. We were told our only option was ivf with icsi and that anything else, including iui, would only give us a 1 digit chance. We had already had 2 failed iuis. He had a very high percentage of antibodies though (95%).
So here we are 6 months later still waiting to finish this ivf cycle! And I should mention we both said we would never do ivf. But things change when all your options are taken away...

 

[tinadecember]

Lanet, you will have you let us know how you get on with the IVF! Sending you tonnes of good luck

An update on me.. I had my HSG a couple of days ago. My tubes were both clear and everything looked fine so that's good! We're just waiting on the end of the month now to see our consultant to discuss what the next option for us is xx

 

[lanet]

That's great that everything looked good!
Our ivf is bfp! Very early still, but 10 hpts and a blood test have confirmed! We are over the moon and shocked!

 

[WhiteOrchid24]

Tina - that's great about your tubes! Did your DH go for his SA yet? Still hoping and praying that the Fertilaid has made a difference for him!!

 

[LillyTame]

Hi ladies, hope you dont mind if I join you

We are about 17months into TTC and everything has come back clear on me (labs, u/s, HSG) but two SAs comfirmed we have low sperm (18 & 15 mil) and low motility. This will be our 1st baby. OH has just started the FA with both boosts for motility and count. I also decided to take fertilecm.

We'll pursue IUI once we move (thinking of going to Seattle or Portland in the new year). Right now doing IUI would consist of flying to and from another island multiple times and thats a bit too spendy.

Good luck to all of you!

Congratulations, lanet, on your BFP!

 

[WhiteOrchid24]

Hi LillyTame,

Sorry about the issues you are dealing with but your OHs count is not much below what is considered 'ok/normal' so I am sure the FA will work great for you! My DH has a count of 4 mill so we are really needing a miracle from the FA!! Here's hoping you get your BFP soon and don't need to go down the IUI route!!

 

[ready4babies]

Hi ladies, my DH and I have been ttc for 4 months and this month we decided to get his sperm analyzed results are 10mil and 40 percent mobility. The doc said for his age it should 39mil and 80 percent. So it's pretty low. He also said that the chances are low for pregnancy naturally. I'm trying to stay positive. I do feel like a weight off my shoulders because of the fact that is not me, every month I got my af I felt like what is wrong with me. Now I know it's the sperm.
I'm hoping we all get pregnant soon.

 

[BlueDaisy84]

Hi Ladies,

I think I've found a pretty good forum!
Congrats on the BFP as well

My Dh and I have been TTCing for 2.5 years.. gosh it seems like an insane amount of time! We are both 29 years old. A year into our journey with no success, we both got checked out. I had everything come back normal and DH's results came back with low count and motility 12 million/ml and 30% motility. We put DH on Fertilaid and 3 months later his results came back even lower - 13 million/ml and 15% motility. We were told IVF was our only option.

Going to a urologist was our next plan, even though the fertility clinic we were with didn't recommend it. We went and a small varicocele was discovered. My DH had surgery one year ago and 3 months later his results went to 20 million/ml and 70% motility - we were ecstatic (and this was with a grade I varicocele).

4 months after the good results (7 months after surgery) he had another SA. Unfortunately again the results went down. Count stayed up 18 million/ml but motility plummeted to 20%. We were and still are so confused as to how that can happen. But we are told that motility always changes especially with a bad day.

We are now seeing a top urologist in Toronto and running all sorts of tests that we will get the results for in about 2 weeks.

One NEW thing we are trying is ICING THE BOYS lol. I have read many medical journals that discuss how important keeping the testicles cool is - and my DH is like a heater, always boiling hot. I'd like to think that this is really helping and I'll tell you why.

We starting icing 2 weeks before our 2nd IUI and just to give you some reference, our first IUI's results were 100 k sperm with 0% motility post-wash. That IUI was done while on the Fertilaid. With our 2nd IUI that was done in May after the 2 weeks of icing, the post-wash numbers were 6 million motile sperm or 12 million with 50% motility.

We are going to go for our 3nd IUI next month and then it will be 3 months of icing, so we'll see if it really has made a difference.

Anyway, just wanted to share

Baby dust to all!!! xo

 

[LillyTame]

Hi Bluedaisy! Good luck with your IUI.

We tried icing a few times but never stuck to it, my OH runs HOT all the time too. How often did you guys ice? I was worried that direct cold would just do the opposite of what we were used to...freeze the swimmers instead of the usual boil. So I started working on bringing his overall core down...giving him tylenol (like when you have a fever) and putting the cooling pad on his neck and underarms.

I actually bought some scrotal patches that were supposed to cool the boys but once I got them he refused to use them because they smelled like menthol lol

 

[BlueDaisy84]

Hi LillyTame

My hubby was a little hesitant at first to do the icing, I remember bringing it up a year ago and he wasn't interested. When I said I was ready to do IVF, he really wanted to give IUI #2 a shot. I told him that he would have to do everything in his power to get good results, like no drinking, eat right, exercise AND do the icing. He agreed and we only had like 3 weeks before the IUI. Now this is going to be way TMI but ever since he agreed to do the icing (it's been about 9 weeks now) I have seriously been like his nurse.

I read that it should be done 2x a day but minimum 1x a day and ranging from at least 20 min up to an hour. So we split it into morning and night. Because I get up for work an hour earlier than him, I would go downstairs, wrap an icepack in a paper towel, put it directly on the boys, and put a pillow over top so it doesn't move. And he would be dead asleep! He knew I did this in the mornings but wouldn't wake up when I did it.

Then when he comes home, he does it himself, he sometimes needs a little reminder. You're going to think this is so strange but him and I are so close where if he's just sitting around in boxers I'll just cop a feel and be like "you need to ice those!" and then he will. Because he saw how much the second IUI's numbers improved, he is now committed to doing the icing 2x a day, every day. I tell him that if he misses a couple days, the whole 2 months was pointless (whether this is true or not who knows but it makes him stick with it).

In terms of it having an adverse effect, I haven't read anything about that. In fact, taking ice cold baths was common apparently during Ancient Roman Times to increase testosterone so the men would be amped up before a big fight. Just in case, I always wrap up the icepack in a paper towel rather than putting it on directly - it should feel very cold but not freezing. If your husband is completely against it, another place for him to keep cold is his feet - that's where we carry a lot of our heat and that should cool his body down as well. But if he's willing to take Tylenol, he should be willing to use an icepack as it's all natural.

So that's how we do it! How long have you been TTCing and what's your story?

~*>BABY xo DUST<*~