Dissappointing News....Low Sperm Count etc

[Essjay86]

I am so bummed out today. I rang up for my OH sperm test results. Basically he only had 23 million on his last test and this time it was only slightly more. And the volume is low.
She asked if he smokes, which he does....she told me he needs to quit and he will see a massive change in his results....So i have told him this and he said it will be hard but he will try his best.

She also said until he quits and my BMI gets to 30 or lower (its currently 33.4) then we cant go to the next stages...I asked he what the next stage was, would it be IUI and she said probably not if his sperm doesnt improve, we'd have to go straight to IVF.

My head is mashed. This will be make or break with us. If he doesn't quit smoking ill have to walk away. Im 29 with no kids. im not getting any younger!!

Anyone else going through similar? I'm thinking of quitting the boards for 2 months to not think about ttc all the time.

 

[psychochick]

Sorry for the situation. Firstly 29 is not too old at all. I'm 30 with no kids and my friends my age are just starting to get pregnant. But I agree that if your OH is not 100% committed to quitting smoking, then it means he's not really 100% committed to building a family with you. Parenthood includes a lot of sacrifice and hardship and if he's not willing to take that first step it presents a huge problem.

 

[Essjay86]

Thanks, I don't think i'm being unreasonable and hearing someone else say that really reassures me i'm doing the right thing...i'm going to need a proper commitment from him to quit otherwise like you say, it's pointless.

My heart aches knowing how long i'm going to have to wait now though. Theres no way he'll be able to quit right away.

 

[psychochick]

If he's committed to doing it and shows progress, then just keep trying and like you said, take a break from thinking about it too much and let him try to quit. I know it takes some patience but hey he puts in the effort to quit and you can put in the effort to wait. Nothing good comes easily right

 

[jtr2803]

He can quit right away if he really wants to hun.

I agreed to do stoptober almost three years ago in support of friend. I never smoked again, went cold turkey after smoking for almost 12 years.

His gp is very likely happy to help him quit so there's no reason you have to wait ages. I hope he can quit soon so you can get ready for the next stages

 

[laura_019]

If your OH is unsure about quitting, make him take 1,000 mg of Vitamin C every day. And make sure that he takes a multivitamin that has Vitamin E in it too because they work together. It takes 3 months for it to really work, but Vitamin C helps out with the count, motility, and structure of sperm. My boyfriend is a smoker and has said that he will quit cold turkey if the results come back low but he is taking Vitamin C and an organic multivitamin every day.

 

[Julesxo]

Hi EssJay,

I am new to the boards, but like your situation, my dh and I suffer from low sperm count. My husband is in his first few months of remission from testicular cancer, thus his counts and morph are pretty bad. We have had under 20 million each SA. My FS has told us we should wash the sperm first to see if the amount of left over washed sperm is greater than 5M. If so she said IUI has a chance to work. We did that once and ended up with 9M! However if IUI doesn't work after 3 failed attempts, my FS said the chances of success are low and that we will have to move to IVF. We are doing our 1st IUI with clomid this month and am hoping so much that it works.

You should maybe consider having your husband take fertility drugs like FertileAid and maybe start by cutting back on smoking if he is nervous about quitting cold turkey. It's not an easy habit to break (being an ex-smoker myself) and the thought of such a huge lifestyle change is surely daunting, especially with all the other changes that would come with getting pregnant and starting a family! Give him some time and I am sure you can both get there together

I know how it feels to worry that IVF may be the only option if IUI isn't possible; it sounds so scary, invasive and expensive!! Just know that you're not alone girl!

 

[LillyTame]

Who did you see? (your doc or a urologist)

My OH doesn't smoke but is obese. 1st we had to take multiple SAs to confirm his low count....we had about 6 done over 2 yrs and went from 18mil to 3mil! We were still told that our 1st option would be IUI. For two years we looked more into me...we only needed 1 sperm and he had millions, it's bound to work, right?! Nope. Finally got OH to go to a urologist, he ordered other test like testosterone, turns out he was low there too and you need that to make sperm. The urologist put OH on Clomid for 3 months (the time it takes to make new sperm), BAM! After 2yrs of trying (I took clomid twice even though we knew I was ovulating) we got pregnant the 1st cycle after his 3months of Clomid. I just shared my story to say along with your OH quitting smoking, maybe get a 2nd opinion on your options and get OH checked out a little more thoroughly. We had low count, low motility and low testosterone.

Good Luck!

 

[Essjay86]

Hi EssJay,

I am new to the boards, but like your situation, my dh and I suffer from low sperm count. My husband is in his first few months of remission from testicular cancer, thus his counts and morph are pretty bad. We have had under 20 million each SA. My FS has told us we should wash the sperm first to see if the amount of left over washed sperm is greater than 5M. If so she said IUI has a chance to work. We did that once and ended up with 9M! However if IUI doesn't work after 3 failed attempts, my FS said the chances of success are low and that we will have to move to IVF. We are doing our 1st IUI with clomid this month and am hoping so much that it works.

You should maybe consider having your husband take fertility drugs like FertileAid and maybe start by cutting back on smoking if he is nervous about quitting cold turkey. It's not an easy habit to break (being an ex-smoker myself) and the thought of such a huge lifestyle change is surely daunting, especially with all the other changes that would come with getting pregnant and starting a family! Give him some time and I am sure you can both get there together

I know how it feels to worry that IVF may be the only option if IUI isn't possible; it sounds so scary, invasive and expensive!! Just know that you're not alone girl!

If your OH is unsure about quitting, make him take 1,000 mg of Vitamin C every day. And make sure that he takes a multivitamin that has Vitamin E in it too because they work together. It takes 3 months for it to really work, but Vitamin C helps out with the count, motility, and structure of sperm. My boyfriend is a smoker and has said that he will quit cold turkey if the results come back low but he is taking Vitamin C and an organic multivitamin every day.

Who did you see? (your doc or a urologist)

My OH doesn't smoke but is obese. 1st we had to take multiple SAs to confirm his low count....we had about 6 done over 2 yrs and went from 18mil to 3mil! We were still told that our 1st option would be IUI. For two years we looked more into me...we only needed 1 sperm and he had millions, it's bound to work, right?! Nope. Finally got OH to go to a urologist, he ordered other test like testosterone, turns out he was low there too and you need that to make sperm. The urologist put OH on Clomid for 3 months (the time it takes to make new sperm), BAM! After 2yrs of trying (I took clomid twice even though we knew I was ovulating) we got pregnant the 1st cycle after his 3months of Clomid. I just shared my story to say along with your OH quitting smoking, maybe get a 2nd opinion on your options and get OH checked out a little more thoroughly. We had low count, low motility and low testosterone.

Good Luck!

Thanks for your replies girls!!

I will get him on Vit C and i will look into fertilaid. Thank you.

It wasnt the GP it was the fertility clinic nurse that said the smoking will be having a big affect on his sperm...but he has a very low libido and sometimes has trouble finishing and losing his erection...but we havet told them that yet as i was hoping they get us to the next stage and do IUI. Im convinced this IUI would work. But either way its better for him if he can majorly cut down and start taking some supplements to help.

 

[Julesxo]

Goodluck Essjay Keep us updated of your progress!