IUI vs Vitamins/Diet

[Kimmyz710]

My husband and I have been TTC with 1st child since June. I will be 36 in July and he will be 34 in May. We went to get checked in December and just had a follow up this week, to rule out PCOS. On my end, everything is fine with some mild PCOS in my LO and a smaller uterus, making my fallopian highway longer. My husband's sperm is not great, count at 42 million, low motility (I think 22%), poor morphology. Both tests for him showed the same in Dec and this week. We have changed diets, stopped drinking and both are taking Fertil-Aid (he is only taking it once a day as it made him sick), and plan to take more vitamins as needed. These changes have been going on for a month. My husband still smokes. >

Our doctor said that we could only conceive with help and suggested IUI. I read on some sites that IUI is not recommended for poor motility, others said it was fine. I am looking for more advice/experience with vitamins, diet changes and sperm quality, as well as IUI advice with poor motility/morphology. We are thinking to wait another couple months to see if there are any changes, as it takes sperm 3 months to cycle through before taking on the cost of IUI.

Any help is very welcome!

 

[lisap2008]

42 million is a normal count anything under 20 million is a issue.
But with motility and morphology really low then IUI will have a poor success rate just as TTC at home because with really low morphology your looking at having a low sperm count after the wash, one idea that I wish I would have done back when my husband still had sperm is to have them wash and freeze several samples then do IUI with the combination. supplements can help it takes about 3 months to see improvement then hopefully you wont need IUI to conceive.

 

[Myshelsong]

I think IUI is a step that works for a lot of people and I would advise to do this if the doctor is recommending.
But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't also add the vitamins.
My hubby also has low sperm count and not great fragmentation.
He was told to add Vitamin C 1000, E 400, and CoQ10 600 each day. It made a big impact on his fragmentation and numbers and we are going forward with another IUI soon. After this will be moving on to IVF.

 

[Kimmyz710]

Hi Lisap,

Thanks for the help. We considered, based on motile and morphology percent, that the count would be low after the wash and IUI would not be the best option. The IUI conversation was over the phone with my doctor, and said that there was no other options. I will go back tomorrow to talk about things more in depth. I live and work in China and even though the hospital is geared towards foreigners, English is not necessarily fluent, you have to go in with questions and important conversations over the phone are difficult.

We will try vitamins and my husband promised to quit smoking. He was also in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and most likely exposed to chemicals. I just need to relax and not be in such a hurry I think.

Thanks!

 

[Kimmyz710]

Myshelsong,

Thanks for the reply. We decided to hold off on IUI right now. After a wash, his count would still be low. The IUI was a recommendation/conversation I had over the phone and seemed to jump the gun a bit. I live in China and even though the hospital is geared toward foreigners, conversations on the phone are difficult. I need to go in with questions and take my husband's results so I understand them.

We will add the supplements/vitamins you recommended and he PROMISED to stop smoking. We'll see. He did stop drinking after Jan 1, so we are hopeful that he numbers will improve.

Good luck with your IUI/IVF and stay in touch!

 

[lisap2008]

Hi Lisap,

Thanks for the help. We considered, based on motile and morphology percent, that the count would be low after the wash and IUI would not be the best option. The IUI conversation was over the phone with my doctor, and said that there was no other options. I will go back tomorrow to talk about things more in depth. I live and work in China and even though the hospital is geared towards foreigners, English is not necessarily fluent, you have to go in with questions and important conversations over the phone are difficult.

We will try vitamins and my husband promised to quit smoking. He was also in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and most likely exposed to chemicals. I just need to relax and not be in such a hurry I think.

Thanks!

I believe spirulina helps remove toxins from the body , coq10 is excellent at raising motility and morpholgy ,pycnogenol is a strong antioxidant and improves morphology. Best of luck

 

[Kimmyz710]

I hadn't heard of the other two (spirulina and pycogenal) as a boost for fertility! I will be ordering online today and hopefully I get them sent to China. I am going to the doctor today for a face to face follow up and to ask specific questions! The hospital is geared towards westerners, but it is difficult to have serious conversations over the phone, and one needs to have SPECIFIC questions before going in for a consultation.

Hopefully this meeting can clear some things up, and I am hoping to be put on Clomid. My cycle is LONG and I think that that may help.

We'll see! Thanks again and best of luck to you!

Hi Lisap,

Thanks for the help. We considered, based on motile and morphology percent, that the count would be low after the wash and IUI would not be the best option. The IUI conversation was over the phone with my doctor, and said that there was no other options. I will go back tomorrow to talk about things more in depth. I live and work in China and even though the hospital is geared towards foreigners, English is not necessarily fluent, you have to go in with questions and important conversations over the phone are difficult.

We will try vitamins and my husband promised to quit smoking. He was also in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and most likely exposed to chemicals. I just need to relax and not be in such a hurry I think.

Thanks!

I believe spirulina helps remove toxins from the body , coq10 is excellent at raising motility and morpholgy ,pycnogenol is a strong antioxidant and improves morphology. Best of luck

 

[mrsberries]

I'm in a similar situation hoping to do IUI #2 in the next few months. I don't know if this helps or not but I've done hours on research on vitamins, minerals and herbs and here is what we do & take :

Me :
Folic acid
B6
Zinc
Omega 3
Vitamin d
multivitamin

Dh:
Maca (look this up, I've seen amazing studies and stories on huge improvements in sperm
b12
zinc
Omega 3
vitamin d
multivitamin

We also use pre seed, keep real pomegranate juice in the fridge & also try and eat pineapple regularly. use OPK & soft cups with the pre seed. other than that we do try and eat good. but most of all look up the maca! I'm very optimistic about it.