Just got husband's sperm analysis....depressed :(

[cait1]

Hi guys,
My husband and I have been TTC for 6 months now. Although we are both only 24, we decided to have his sperm tested because we've known for several years that he had a stage 2 varicocele. We just got the results back:

Count - 289 million
Motility - 44%
Morphology - 7% (WHO)

His motility isn't great, but his morphology is obviously our biggest concern (I have no known issues and ovulate regularly, fyi). The more I read about low morphology, the more discouraged I become. There is so much conflicting information online, I'm hoping to hear from someone who has firsthand experience with this. The knowledge that we likely won't conceive naturally is really heart breaking it doesn't help that my doctor delivered these results with no feedback and isn't able to meet with us until over a month from now. I never thought we'd be in this position even with the varicocele, and I'm having a super hard time. I've read that our chances with IUI aren't great with poor morphology, and I'm scared IVF is our only option. Am I overreacting? ANY info whatsoever would be really, really appreciated...

 

[ladders]

sorry cant give you any advice but can share your upset, im 30 and DH 33 and sperm test after ttc for 6 months has come back with very low sperm count. Like you absolutely devastated and thoroughly peeved off with the world. Hope someone has some words of advice or good news for you but im here if you want to grump or wallow because thats how i feel.

good luck and remember your not alone x

 

[Blythe]

I'm no expert but those results look pretty fantastic!! The Morph is above the 4%, anything lower may raise an eyebrow. I would be pretty chuffed if my DH had those results.

 

[Serenyx]

I'm no expert but those results look pretty fantastic!! The Morph is above the 4%, anything lower may raise an eyebrow. I would be pretty chuffed if my DH had those results.

I had to look twice at the results. It appears they were tested using the old WHO method, not the recommended Kruger method (in which >4% is normal). Under the old scheme they like to see a morphology of >15%.

Otherwise those results look good and with a count that high, the low morphology wouldn't bother me anyway. The motility is also fine.

With those results I would doubt you would need to do IVF. People have conceived naturally with far worse results.

 

[MariaF]

Hi there,

It took us 2 years to conceive our daughter. My DH had 2 SA's under the new "strict" Kruger rules. Both times he had high count (over 100 million) and motility of about 50%. But morphology was between 6 and 8%.

I didn't ovulate regularly so out of 24 months ttc'ing I ovulated 17 times. We followed the same routine every single time - Conceive Plus, legs up in the air for 15 minutes, vitamins for DH. I guess it just took us this much longer because if low morphology but I thought my story might give you hope because our situations are so similar.

Oh, one thing we did differently the month we conceived was to bd every day for 2 days around ovulation rather than every other day. Bd'ing was extremely tiring because we had to do when I got a positive opk but in the end it was worth it.

Sending you lots of

 

[Serenyx]

It took us 2 years to conceive our daughter. My DH had 2 SA's under the new "strict" Kruger rules. Both times he had high count (over 100 million) and motility of about 50%. But morphology was between 6 and 8%.

I guess it just took us this much longer because if low morphology but I thought my story might give you hope because our situations are so similar.

Anything over 4% morphology is normal under Kruger so your husband's results were perfectly fine.

 

[MariaF]

Serenyx - I wouldn't say his results were absolutely fine. 4% is the ABSOLUTE minimum required for a chance of a natural conception. Anything below that - you need IVF, preferably with ICSI.

So 6% normal sperm is very low even though it still gave us a chance to conceive naturally which we did.

It's obviously good that cait's DH's other parameters are really high so they can compensate for the low morphology. But it's still not clear whether the test was done under the Kruger rules or old rules.

Yes anything above 4% is ok but it still is VERY low.

 

[WhiteOrchid24]

Although 7% morphology might seem low I really wouldn't be at all worried about your results. We are LTTTC # 2 and DH has had 2 SA's done this year - the first he had 0% normal morphology and the last one he had done a couple of months ago he had 2%. His count is low and motility was fine the first time but low the 2nd....Anyway what I'm trying to say is that there is a good chance he has always had these issues with his sperm and we have an amazing DS who is almost 4! Don't be discouraged - I know plenty of stories from ladies whose DH's had much worse results and still got pregnant naturally. That being said - you do have lots of options if you so wish to try. Our Dr. was also very optimistic that morphology can be improved so keep your chin up.

There is so little research on morphology so I don't think you can honestly say that if you have less than 4% normal then the only option is IVF with ICSI - just my opinion (and I may be being completely ignorant!) and I know others have their own opinion but even with my DH's SA I'm still remaining positive that some day we will conceive again after all we did it before! And it's true - you have to also remember the variance in numbers is huge....his sperm count is so good that the 7% of 289 million is A LOT more than the required 40 million based on the WHO criteria..... anyway stay positive - if that was my DH's SA I'd be doing a happy dance

If you want more encouraging stories there is a thread you might be interested in reading - https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/s...-success-stories-male-factor-infertility.html

 

[CaliDreaming]

Serenyx - I wouldn't say his results were absolutely fine. 4% is the ABSOLUTE minimum required for a chance of a natural conception. Anything below that - you need IVF, preferably with ICSI.

So 6% normal sperm is very low even though it still gave us a chance to conceive naturally which we did.

It's obviously good that cait's DH's other parameters are really high so they can compensate for the low morphology. But it's still not clear whether the test was done under the Kruger rules or old rules.

Yes anything above 4% is ok but it still is VERY low.

My hubby had 0.5% morphology on the strict scale and I'm now 11 weeks pregnant after having conceived naturally with no meds. He has fathered three children with his ex and now two with me. All it took for him was three weeks of supplements and his counts were lower than anyone else on this thread. He was at 20 mil/mL and 30% motility (grade 3 out of 4), and this was after 5 days of abstinence, so it was likely worse on a normal day.

A lot of doctors will tell you that if your morph is below a certain number that ICSI is your only option, but the reality is doctors don't really know a lot about morphology and its significance. For some women it seems to be a barrier but for others like me, it is something that can easily be overcome. Docs steer women toward IVF because it is something that they know works so they don't bother with investigating too deeply into a woman's issues. Every woman's makeup is individual as is every man's sperm. You can't make sweeping generalizations.

I think it is important to be careful about making such absolute statements about certain women needing IVF. For some women, that is just like saying they will never get pregnant because many of us can't afford it. Also, there are tons of women who have been told IVF was their only option, only to get pregnant while waiting for IVF--or after having conceived via IVF.

When I was trying and I'd read statements like "your only hope is IVF" it was totally discouraging. I'd hate for some couple to read this and quit trying because they think there's no hope. It may very well be that ICSI is the only thing that works but you can't make that statement until you've given every other option a fair shot.

 

[MItoDC]

Serenyx - I wouldn't say his results were absolutely fine. 4% is the ABSOLUTE minimum required for a chance of a natural conception. Anything below that - you need IVF, preferably with ICSI.

So 6% normal sperm is very low even though it still gave us a chance to conceive naturally which we did.

It's obviously good that cait's DH's other parameters are really high so they can compensate for the low morphology. But it's still not clear whether the test was done under the Kruger rules or old rules.

Yes anything above 4% is ok but it still is VERY low.

My hubby had 0.5% morphology on the strict scale and I'm now 11 weeks pregnant after having conceived naturally with no meds. He has fathered three children with his ex and now two with me. All it took for him was three weeks of supplements and his counts were lower than anyone else on this thread. He was at 20 mil/mL and 30% motility (grade 3 out of 4), and this was after 5 days of abstinence, so it was likely worse on a normal day.

A lot of doctors will tell you that if your morph is below a certain number that ICSI is your only option, but the reality is doctors don't really know a lot about morphology and its significance. For some women it seems to be a barrier but for others like me, it is something that can easily be overcome. Docs steer women toward IVF because it is something that they know works so they don't bother with investigating too deeply into a woman's issues. Every woman's makeup is individual as is every man's sperm. You can't make sweeping generalizations.

I think it is important to be careful about making such absolute statements about certain women needing IVF. For some women, that is just like saying they will never get pregnant because many of us can't afford it. Also, there are tons of women who have been told IVF was their only option, only to get pregnant while waiting for IVF--or after having conceived via IVF.

When I was trying and I'd read statements like "your only hope is IVF" it was totally discouraging. I'd hate for some couple to read this and quit trying because they think there's no hope. It may very well be that ICSI is the only thing that works but you can't make that statement until you've given every other option a fair shot.

Can I ask what type of supplements he took? My DH's results just came back with 1% morphology and we're willing to try anything to conceive naturally!

 

[Blythe]

Serenyx - I wouldn't say his results were absolutely fine. 4% is the ABSOLUTE minimum required for a chance of a natural conception. Anything below that - you need IVF, preferably with ICSI.

So 6% normal sperm is very low even though it still gave us a chance to conceive naturally which we did.

It's obviously good that cait's DH's other parameters are really high so they can compensate for the low morphology. But it's still not clear whether the test was done under the Kruger rules or old rules.

Yes anything above 4% is ok but it still is VERY low.

My hubby had 0.5% morphology on the strict scale and I'm now 11 weeks pregnant after having conceived naturally with no meds. He has fathered three children with his ex and now two with me. All it took for him was three weeks of supplements and his counts were lower than anyone else on this thread. He was at 20 mil/mL and 30% motility (grade 3 out of 4), and this was after 5 days of abstinence, so it was likely worse on a normal day.

A lot of doctors will tell you that if your morph is below a certain number that ICSI is your only option, but the reality is doctors don't really know a lot about morphology and its significance. For some women it seems to be a barrier but for others like me, it is something that can easily be overcome. Docs steer women toward IVF because it is something that they know works so they don't bother with investigating too deeply into a woman's issues. Every woman's makeup is individual as is every man's sperm. You can't make sweeping generalizations.

I think it is important to be careful about making such absolute statements about certain women needing IVF. For some women, that is just like saying they will never get pregnant because many of us can't afford it. Also, there are tons of women who have been told IVF was their only option, only to get pregnant while waiting for IVF--or after having conceived via IVF.

When I was trying and I'd read statements like "your only hope is IVF" it was totally discouraging. I'd hate for some couple to read this and quit trying because they think there's no hope. It may very well be that ICSI is the only thing that works but you can't make that statement until you've given every other option a fair shot.

Really loved this post. Very good points well made!!

 

[CaliDreaming]

MItoDC, my hubby took Fertilaid for Men, Countboost, and MotilityBoost from Fairhaven Health. In total it is 8 tablets a day. I wish I knew what his numbers were after taking it, but whatever they were I guess they were good enough! HTH

 

[MItoDC]

MItoDC, my hubby took Fertilaid for Men, Countboost, and MotilityBoost from Fairhaven Health. In total it is 8 tablets a day. I wish I knew what his numbers were after taking it, but whatever they were I guess they were good enough! HTH

Thanks Cali. We're going to try anything and everything and hope! We also are using Preseed this cycle in case part of the problem is still me. FX for everyone.