Just had first lot of test results...

[student_nurse]

So my DH just had his test results from his semen analysis. They are not good and we're really upset. Just need some support, advice and info....

His sperm count is only 7%. Apparantly less than 20 is low, less than 10 is very low. His motility is only 14% where 50 is needed. And the morphology is 'most abnormal' although I read that only 15% are needed to be considered normal, but the results don't give a percentage. However, they are of grade a and b which is of the best kind.

We feel very confused and upset, the doctor wasn't helpful, just said 'it only takes one'.

Our questions are: How likely is this that we will be able to conceive naturally?

How likely is it that the second test will greatly improve these figures?
Should we consider IVF?

When dh did the test it was a bit of a cock-up-it was a long time (nearly 2 hours) from him doing the test to it being tested, it was the wrong container, and there was hardly any semen there (I think he got stage fright lol)

Does anyone have any answers? I feel like I want to be upset, but I'm not allowing myself to be in case its ok. Although in my heart of hearts I cant see these numbers drastically improving even with a perfect second test. Deep down I knew these results would be bad.

We both feel now that we want to go for it more than ever before. How can we increase our chances of conceiving? Fertility monitors? vitamins?

Help!

 

[Steph63]

Hey hun, didn't want to read and run.

it is so down-heartening getting bad news but don't panic yet. I don't know alot about this as we have no MF problems, but would say the SA can vary massively from test to test so don't think the worst until your OH has done at least one or two more SA.

I know when my DF did his first SA at home the sample had to be at the lab within 1/2 an hour, so the 2 hr delay could have made a massive difference...

Your Dr doesn't sound particularily helpful! Is he going to arrange another SA or refer you to the FS?

I'm sure some of the other ladies here will have more info than me on your specific results, but HTH for now.

 

[student_nurse]

Thankyou Steph

I am very ignorant when it comes to all this, but, also-How do I know when I am ovulating apart from physical signs? Is there any other way to tell? Is it worth getting an ovulation kit? If so what time of the month should I buy it? I just want to know and make sure I am ovulating so we can do the deed at exactly the right time.

 

[student_nurse]

Oh, he is doing another SA, I will book it tomorrow.

 

[rachelle1975]

Hey Hun, sorry about the results and unhelpful doctor. First thing I would do is research health and lifestyle changes that dh can make. Get him on a good multi vit routine such as wellman or zita west and look at possible herbal alternatives, my dh takes maca.

Statistics show that on the second SA 99 out of 100 men will give a normal result but you need yo wait 70-90 days between tests as it takes this long for sperm to mature as well as any changes you made to your lifestyle and health, to be reflected.

I know how much crap results hurt Hun but something as small as s cold or an infection can have an impact on results. Make the changes and re test in 3 months and I bet you'll be impressed. Just don't stop trying

 

[rachelle1975]

Forgot up say do opks, maybe temp and bd every other day do you don't deplete his count too
much x

 

[chocci]

So my DH just had his test results from his semen analysis. They are not good and we're really upset. Just need some support, advice and info....

His sperm count is only 7%. Apparantly less than 20 is low, less than 10 is very low. His motility is only 14% where 50 is needed. And the morphology is 'most abnormal' although I read that only 15% are needed to be considered normal, but the results don't give a percentage. However, they are of grade a and b which is of the best kind.

We feel very confused and upset, the doctor wasn't helpful, just said 'it only takes one'.

Our questions are: How likely is this that we will be able to conceive naturally?

How likely is it that the second test will greatly improve these figures?
Should we consider IVF?

When dh did the test it was a bit of a cock-up-it was a long time (nearly 2 hours) from him doing the test to it being tested, it was the wrong container, and there was hardly any semen there (I think he got stage fright lol)

Does anyone have any answers? I feel like I want to be upset, but I'm not allowing myself to be in case its ok. Although in my heart of hearts I cant see these numbers drastically improving even with a perfect second test. Deep down I knew these results would be bad.

We both feel now that we want to go for it more than ever before. How can we increase our chances of conceiving? Fertility monitors? vitamins?

Help!

hey hun

My hubbies results were not good really cant remember the real readings but they were something like, only 11 mil count (20 is normal), 34 % motility i think - think something like 50% normal, and rest were low particularly the morpology (shape) he had something like 97% abnormal!!! Volume was low too - think he too got stage fright, he said the quality of the pron wasrubbish and "heavily pawed" which made him feel a bit ill haha!!! Anyways wasnt great and they refered us straight to ICSI. First thing he did was cut doen on alcohol, not totally but really cut back he didnt drink that much to be fair anyway but all helps. I also got him some vits for male fertility from any good store like holland and barret and boots - think i got selenium plus or something, it has selenium,vit e, zinc etc in. We thought we would give anything a try and YES it worked, for our ICSI the sample had improved by loads - now 29 mil count (in normal range) motilit about 60% (normal range) volume normal and the otehr reading was normal too cant rememebr what it was. Expert did say during icsi they dont take a morpology rating since they are weeding out bad sperm anyway which is a shame and i also think its hte hardest to improve - she said we would still most likely require ICSI. BUT the improvements may make a difference it can only help eh

So get him on some vits and low alcohol lager and hope for at least a bit of improvement - my hubby recommends taking some better porn with him next time too - he took my zen player and watched movie clips haha XX

Hope that helps chic, its not the end of the world

 

[lynseyology]

So my DH just had his test results from his semen analysis. They are not good and we're really upset. Just need some support, advice and info....

His sperm count is only 7%. Apparantly less than 20 is low, less than 10 is very low. His motility is only 14% where 50 is needed. And the morphology is 'most abnormal' although I read that only 15% are needed to be considered normal, but the results don't give a percentage. However, they are of grade a and b which is of the best kind.

We feel very confused and upset, the doctor wasn't helpful, just said 'it only takes one'.

Our questions are: How likely is this that we will be able to conceive naturally?

How likely is it that the second test will greatly improve these figures?
Should we consider IVF?

When dh did the test it was a bit of a cock-up-it was a long time (nearly 2 hours) from him doing the test to it being tested, it was the wrong container, and there was hardly any semen there (I think he got stage fright lol)

Does anyone have any answers? I feel like I want to be upset, but I'm not allowing myself to be in case its ok. Although in my heart of hearts I cant see these numbers drastically improving even with a perfect second test. Deep down I knew these results would be bad.

We both feel now that we want to go for it more than ever before. How can we increase our chances of conceiving? Fertility monitors? vitamins?

Help!

Hi there, please don't give up! You may have read my posts as we also had quite bad sperm results and my husband was devastated. Since discovering the results he stopped taking hot baths, stopped wearing underwear took loads of vitamins and improved his diet. The second result was much better although there are some issues with how fast they swim...it may have been a coincidence but he is going to continue his new regime...lol We also had our first acupuncture session this week which is also supposed to help sperm count.

Hope that helps

 

[student_nurse]

Thanks a lot everyone! Still feeling a bit numb but have had time to sleep on it and feel more positive this morning. Gonna go out and buy up the vitamin section of boots for him and me lol. I can take vits for women trying to conceive can't I?

The thing is we wern't really 'trying' before, just not using contraception. DH really wants to go for it now, so we are going to.

What sucks is that we are both completely tee-total Mormons! Haven't touched a drop of alcohol in our lives, never done drugs and never smoked. How much healthier can u be?!

What is ICSI? And what options are there to help us get pregnant? The doc said he would discuss it after the second lot of results if they came back bad too. chocci sounds like u have the same prob, the morphology, the shape isn't good. Does that mean IVF is the only likely thing that will work?

DH liked the porn idea lol

 

[chocci]

Thanks a lot everyone! Still feeling a bit numb but have had time to sleep on it and feel more positive this morning. Gonna go out and buy up the vitamin section of boots for him and me lol. I can take vits for women trying to conceive can't I?

The thing is we wern't really 'trying' before, just not using contraception. DH really wants to go for it now, so we are going to.

What sucks is that we are both completely tee-total Mormons! Haven't touched a drop of alcohol in our lives, never done drugs and never smoked. How much healthier can u be?!

What is ICSI? And what options are there to help us get pregnant? The doc said he would discuss it after the second lot of results if they came back bad too. chocci sounds like u have the same prob, the morphology, the shape isn't good. Does that mean IVF is the only likely thing that will work?

DH liked the porn idea lol

Hey Hun

Great start not drinking, for either of you, i have hardly touched a drop over the last 3 months to be honest too and i used to enjoy a glass or 2 Havent missed it either i think because i can see its more important not to at moment.

Anyways Boots had a 3 for 2 on prenatal vits last week so get yourself down there, i also saw the selenuim plus that my hubby has been taking too. You should defo be taking some vits for conception, they tend to be made for before pregnancy and also through pregnancy all in one tablet, so if you get preggers then you dont waste them they are the same vit combination you would take when preg. Its very important to get you folic acid levels up and you should start on them as soon as.

Will be interesting to see if you hubbies results improve too as if they do we can safley say its the vits Remember though it can take 3 months for a mans sperm to "refresh" and see the results of the vits so get him on them quickly - i did I also try to make sure he eats pretty well 3/4 days out of 7, but since he has hardly drunk and is taking vits i try not to be too pushy on that front BUT we have stopped with takeaways and things, i make everything at home so at least i know whats going into it - cant hurt can it.

With regards to ICSI, yes we sound as though our hubbies are similar. I was upset for a few days when i found out too, but within a week or so you get your head round it, once you learn more its not all that bad and you realise there is so much success for people like us now! Where as a few years ago there was no hope at all.

ICSI is an addition to IVF, to treat male infertility. Basically with straight forward IVF they put sperm and eggs in pertri dish and let nature take its course, however as our fellas sperms have probs like not moving, bad shape and not alot of them, if they did that alone you would likely not see any fertilisation as the sperm are not strong enough to penetrate the eggs. So they came up with a solution where they actually inject the sperm into the egg and they say that it has the same success rate as normal IVF when that is done for poor sperm probs.

The whole process for us women is exactly the same as a normal IVF, basically they stop your hormaones on day 21 of your period and take control of you with drugs so they can time everything, then after about 2 weeks of down regualtion (stopping your own cycle) they start stimming you, sounds scary as you have to inject at home, either yourself or your hubby can do it.......there was no way i could do it, not scared of injections but totally different thing injecting yourself, so i recommend saving yourself the stress, take hubby along when you get to learn how to do it, and then let him inject you. My hubby loved it, think he felt like a doctor First one is a bit stressy but lots of ICE on skin and you dont feel a thing

After about 2 weeks the stims have grown lots of folliclles which hopefully contain eggs (not all follicles have eggs but most do) and you are then scheduled for egg collection. 2 nights before you give yourself a HSG injection at home (the final one), this matures all your eggs.

Egg collection is OK not too bad, bit uncomfy, but my clinic give you diazipam so i was really chilled then they sedate you - i was completley out of it, infact loved the diazipam was a nice feeling haha. I remember waking up at some point and feeling a bit of pain for seconds then they injected more sedative and i was gone again. Some people feel more than others but compared to child birth which is our ultimate aim its absolutely nothing!!!

They then take the eggs they get from you and inject them with hubbies sperm which he usually does that day after you have your eggs taken. Day after egg collection they ring you to tell you how many fertilised. Day 2 after egg collection they tell you how they are doing how many cells they are and if they are looking good, and hopefully by then you have some good ones to be transfered. Day 3 after egg collection is when they usually put embryos back. Thats nothing though, you have to have a full bladder and i was petrified of weeing all over so found it a bit uncomfy, but much better for them if your bladder is full as they can guide the embryo to the right place better. Is an uncomfortable feeling but not painful just the full bladder discomfort really. Then its just the dreaded 2 week wait to see if it has worked!!!

Hun, if you want more info or to chat or ask queations then please feel free to message me its not problem. Its not that bad ICSI really once you get your head round it

Hope he info helps!!

XX

 

[missmarls]

I know as well how devastating bad S/A results can be , but as everyone has said, you should retest in three months. My DH had only 9 million count and 30% motility on his first count and is now normal. I've heard Maca and Zinc are both excellent for him to take...and your Dr. definately should have taken the two hour period into account from when he collected his sample. Good luck!

 

[student_nurse]

Thankyou so much, I feel a lot better about things now, and what to expect.
chocci, now you say all that, my best friend just had that very thing, the injected sperm. She's currently on day 7 waiting to see if its worked!

I have been taking folic acid but will start taking the pre-conception tabs-although they are expensive and massive! lol. I bought him two lots, selenium with A,C and E, and zinc.

Just a couple more thoughts... he's booke din for his second test on 21st July. First one was 12 June. The doc seems to think its ok??He'll have been taking the vits for 2 weeks by then.

I totally forgot to mention this..he has had this rash thing for MONTHS all over his penis, testicles and anal area (sorry if this is tmi). The docs are a bit baffled, he's had 3 lots of abx and 3 swabs and none have worked. Canesten has not worked. One week he was on steroids and it completely disappeared. Then when he stopped taking them (rhinitis) it came back. He's about to start augmentin and has been referred to a dermatologist. Could this have anything to do with it? His white cell count in his sperm was zero.

One more question...(sorry!) We use aquacell, or KY for lube. Is this ok? Im sure its not spermicidal as its water based but not sure. Is no lube better? Does it really make a difference?

Thankyou all for all your help so far!!! I love you all x x x

 

[Mrs G]

Hi.

If you need to use lube, you might want to try preseed, it's a sperm friendly. Things like KY kill sperm so I wouldn't recommend using them. You can get preseed from internet.

Like the others said, there are loads of things you can try for male factor and there are lots of us (unfortunately) in the same boat so we know how you feel.

and good luck.

 

[chocci]

Agreed on the preesed stuff i was going to say the same, i hear its really good, have not tried it yet but keep meaning to get some. Mrs G is right on the KY!

Not sure about the rash and things hun sorry, but docs will have asked him to do repeat sample a month later as sometimes i suppose there may be an improvement. My hubby was never asked to do anotehr test sample which i questioned and apparently he should really have done one but the logic was that he would have had to produce some miracle to get his sperm on all counts to normal levels haha

Wish you the best hun, and remember we are all here for you XXX

 

[student_nurse]

hmm thankyou so much on the lube advice, we use it every single time!

Gook to u chocci...thank Mrs.G an to all again x