Help please :)

[Sarah_16x]

Hi my partner had a sperm analysis done a while ago they came back to him saying his motility is reduced. We didn't go back for any more appointments as we wasn't sure there would be anything they could do.

Ivf and icsi is out the question at the minute due to the cost, and we wouldn't qualify for nhs cause I've had 2 pregnancies one ended up in a miacarriage but both was with my ex partner.

His sperm analysis came back as

23.8 count
2.2ml volume
0 antibodies
8.3 ph
24% progressive motility
7% non progressive
69% immotile
Total motile count 12.6 million
4% morphology

According to the graph on the piece of paper below it says with these readings below a couple may achieve a pregnancy in 12 months.

And some of my oh readings are a bit better then what it says in the graph only difference is its saying 34% progressive motility but my OH only has 24%.

I was wondering...

Is there any medication doctors or fertility people could give to up his motility and maybe sperm count?

Is the progressive motility really low to achieve natural pregnancy?

Could a pregnancy be achieved with those readings if timing was right?

Thank you x

 

[WishnandHopn]

You are not alone! My DH's SA results were also on the low end of the range and not much better than yours (count 48 mil, 38% progressive motility, 3% normal morphology). Both doctors he talked to about his results did not seem concerned and were not willing to send him to a specialist or check his hormone levels. But since we've been TTC for over 6 months, I think male 'sub-fertility' might be a factor for us. The good news is that both our DH's have millions of motile sperm and it only takes 1 good one to get to the egg! I don't think you should give up hope based on those results.

It may be possible to improve his sperm quantity and quality with a healthy lifestyle and supplements. My DH has been taking a bunch of things for the past 2 months, but we don't know if it has helped his numbers yet: Fertilpro (L-carnitine, vit C, E, B12, zinc, selenium folic acid), L-arginine, pine bark extract, fish oil.

https://www.yadtech.com/en/product/fertil-pro-for-men-l-carnitine/

You might also want to BD every other day or every 3 days instead of every day. Good luck...I will follow this thread...would love to hear success stories with SA numbers similar to ours.

 

[2ducks]

Hey! I answered you on your earlier post.

 

[Sarah_16x]

Have you sorry I didn't check il have a look now thank you x

 

[Sarah_16x]

You are not alone! My DH's SA results were also on the low end of the range and not much better than yours (count 48 mil, 38% progressive motility, 3% normal morphology). Both doctors he talked to about his results did not seem concerned and were not willing to send him to a specialist or check his hormone levels. But since we've been TTC for over 6 months, I think male 'sub-fertility' might be a factor for us. The good news is that both our DH's have millions of motile sperm and it only takes 1 good one to get to the egg! I don't think you should give up hope based on those results.

It may be possible to improve his sperm quantity and quality with a healthy lifestyle and supplements. My DH has been taking a bunch of things for the past 2 months, but we don't know if it has helped his numbers yet: Fertilpro (L-carnitine, vit C, E, B12, zinc, selenium folic acid), L-arginine, pine bark extract, fish oil.

https://www.yadtech.com/en/product/fertil-pro-for-men-l-carnitine/

You might also want to BD every other day or every 3 days instead of every day. Good luck...I will follow this thread...would love to hear success stories with SA numbers similar to ours.

It's all frustrating cause anything over 20 mil is classed as normal but because the mobility is poor then that don't help, I've been out off abut by supplements only because people have said that there oh results have gone poor since using them but then you hear others with good reviews.

My oh tends to skip meals as well so he's not actually getting the right nutrients which could be why.

He also drinks on weekends and smokes which he said he's going to stop and get patches to stop smoking.

I have heard clomid is good but you have to get prescribed that and I don't know what criteria you have to be in x

 

[WishnandHopn]

I know it's very frustrating and doctors are not very informed or helpful when it comes to male infertility (or subfertility!) My DH is somewhere between the 5th and 15th percentile for most of his values, which means 85-95% of fertile men have better sperm. It's also so hard on the male ego...they don't want to be told they don't have super sperm!

Lifestyle can be such a huge factor, especially smoking! If you can get him to quit and cut back on drinking alcohol and coffee and eat better, take a multi-vitamin, and then get another semen analysis done in 3 months to see if it's improving (the sperm cycle is around 70 days I think).

I'm not sure what the criteria would be for clomid. I've heard of it being prescribed if the low sperm count is due to hypogonadism and low testosterone.

I have a doctor's appt today, going to get a referral to a fertility specialist, and the clinic I plan to go to has a urologist that specializes in male infertility. I am very interested in what he has to say about my DH's results, and I'm sure he will order a repeat. I will keep you posted, although it might be a while until we get an appt.

 

[2ducks]

I'm not a doc but I don't see how adding vitamins can hurt someone's sperm, as long as he is taking the recommended amount. I believe Clomid helps increase testosterone in men so he may need some blood work to determine if he has low testosterone. Definitely have a sit how with him and discuss lifestyle changes to increase sperm quality. Exercising and eating healthy can only help! Quitting smoking will be huge, I bet that will help a lot.

 

[WishnandHopn]

You are not alone! My DH's SA results were also on the low end of the range and not much better than yours (count 48 mil, 38% progressive motility, 3% normal morphology). Both doctors he talked to about his results did not seem concerned and were not willing to send him to a specialist or check his hormone levels. But since we've been TTC for over 6 months, I think male 'sub-fertility' might be a factor for us. The good news is that both our DH's have millions of motile sperm and it only takes 1 good one to get to the egg! I don't think you should give up hope based on those results.

It may be possible to improve his sperm quantity and quality with a healthy lifestyle and supplements. My DH has been taking a bunch of things for the past 2 months, but we don't know if it has helped his numbers yet: Fertilpro (L-carnitine, vit C, E, B12, zinc, selenium folic acid), L-arginine, pine bark extract, fish oil.

https://www.yadtech.com/en/product/fertil-pro-for-men-l-carnitine/

You might also want to BD every other day or every 3 days instead of every day. Good luck...I will follow this thread...would love to hear success stories with SA numbers similar to ours.

Just wanted to update for future readers...I got my first ever BFP 14 days after I wrote this! DH had been taking those supplements for about 2 months when we conceived. Of course we can't say if that was definitely the secret to our success, but I just wanted to give some hope to others who are worried about their sperm analysis results! It is still possible to conceive naturally with numbers on the low end of normal, and I truly believe that the supplements did help his quality and maybe even quantity. He also stopped taking hot baths, cut back to one cup of coffee/day, drank very little alcohol (1-2/week), but he continued to bike over 150 km per week.

 

[Rawan]

Congratulations WishnandHopn!!
I am so happy for you!! Hope I can get my BFP this cycle too, baby dust to everyone!

You are not alone! My DH's SA results were also on the low end of the range and not much better than yours (count 48 mil, 38% progressive motility, 3% normal morphology). Both doctors he talked to about his results did not seem concerned and were not willing to send him to a specialist or check his hormone levels. But since we've been TTC for over 6 months, I think male 'sub-fertility' might be a factor for us. The good news is that both our DH's have millions of motile sperm and it only takes 1 good one to get to the egg! I don't think you should give up hope based on those results.

It may be possible to improve his sperm quantity and quality with a healthy lifestyle and supplements. My DH has been taking a bunch of things for the past 2 months, but we don't know if it has helped his numbers yet: Fertilpro (L-carnitine, vit C, E, B12, zinc, selenium folic acid), L-arginine, pine bark extract, fish oil.

https://www.yadtech.com/en/product/fertil-pro-for-men-l-carnitine/

You might also want to BD every other day or every 3 days instead of every day. Good luck...I will follow this thread...would love to hear success stories with SA numbers similar to ours.

Just wanted to update for future readers...I got my first ever BFP 14 days after I wrote this! DH had been taking those supplements for about 2 months when we conceived. Of course we can't say if that was definitely the secret to our success, but I just wanted to give some hope to others who are worried about their sperm analysis results! It is still possible to conceive naturally with numbers on the low end of normal, and I truly believe that the supplements did help his quality and maybe even quantity. He also stopped taking hot baths, cut back to one cup of coffee/day, drank very little alcohol (1-2/week), but he continued to bike over 150 km per week.