Low morphology means nothing!
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Hi, I'm new to this but after a week of distress I have read many of these posts and they have been very helpful. Last week we went to a FS who said my husband has 1% normal morphology and that we should consider/book in for IVF. We really weren't expecting this and feel very confused and worried. my hormones are good.
We have been TTC since april (halfheartedly), we are 34 years and are wondering what we can do to increase our chances of natural conception before IVF? Is there any information out there that anyone knows of?
It feels that if you talk to Drs they say IVF, but these posts are very encouraging!
We have been TTC since april (halfheartedly), we are 34 years and are wondering what we can do to increase our chances of natural conception before IVF? Is there any information out there that anyone knows of?
It feels that if you talk to Drs they say IVF, but these posts are very encouraging!
CaliDreaming
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Me and my dh are TTC #2. He had a SA done and had less than 1% morphology and a low normal motility. The FS didn't think this was bad at all and didn't even think we needed an IUI. We are doing fertility drugs and timed intercourse.
We also conceived our baby girl in eight months.
We also conceived our baby girl in eight months.
solsticemomma
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So glad to read this thread. My DH has 3% morphology and a varicocele, and I'm so worried...we've been TTC for 11 months and I just finished a round of Clomid with estrogen. Feel so annoyed to know it's been him this whole time and we could have gotten results sooner if his urologist had just been competent at his job!!! My OB requested my DH's SA and immediately flagged the low morph, and sent us to a male FS. Who then caught the varicocele. We are awaiting secondary results which I believe will include some DNA analysis to see what our next course of action is, I really hope not to do IVF, but DH is ready to step it up lol. In the meantime maybe we'll get pregnant naturally from what you are all saying? though low morph also leads to MC from other boards I've read, so of course now I'm worried about that too as I wait for my BFP in the next few days. Oh man, so many things running through my mind! We are both 37 and so beyond ready for this baby.
WhiteOrchid24
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Hi solsticemomma,
From what I have read there is no link between low morphology and MC. The issue with the morphology is basically that it just can't penetrate the egg but from what I have read there is no evidence to suggest any chromosomal abnormalities which may lead to a MC comes from the morphology of the sperm. Of course I could be wrong - it's hard when there is such limited information out there to do with morphology, that's just what I have read. Also 3% isn't the end of the world - anything from 4% upwards is fine so almost there! I hope you get your BFP soon
From what I have read there is no link between low morphology and MC. The issue with the morphology is basically that it just can't penetrate the egg but from what I have read there is no evidence to suggest any chromosomal abnormalities which may lead to a MC comes from the morphology of the sperm. Of course I could be wrong - it's hard when there is such limited information out there to do with morphology, that's just what I have read. Also 3% isn't the end of the world - anything from 4% upwards is fine so almost there! I hope you get your BFP soon
haleiwamama
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WOW, thank you for the post! I'm gonna call my doctor and find out what standards were used on my DH's SA.... his count was 31 million, 41% motility and 4% morphology... doctor said our chances of conceiving naturally were less than 1%... pretty disappointing as you can imagine... DH is now drinking less and being really really healthy....we hope that will bring his numbers up and increase our chances but idk about growing his numbers to 9 digits....we'll see...
danita1880
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I feel a lot better after reading these. my dh got his sa results with very good count and motility but less than 1% morphology. we did not understand very well what that was and I have been reading all morning about options IUI IVF ICSI.
danita1880
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I agree with you, it is all about IUI ICSI and IVF
Hi ladies,
I know this us an old thread but I spent ages reading this forum when my husband first got his test results and I wanted to add my experience now in the hope that it might make others feel a little more positive in the future.
We've been TTC for 15 months and, after I had been through the process if various scans and blood tests, my husband went for his first sperm analysis in dec 2013. The results came back with a blatant 'abnormal. Infertility due to majority of sperm having tapered heads. 2% morphology' written in bold across the top of the results. As you can imagine, seeing this staring back at us in black and white was upsetting for both of us and seemed so final. Dh's sperm count was fine and so was the motility but these results seemed to explain why nothing was happening. We resigned ourselves to going down the fertility treatment route and were told DH would need to test again in 3 months.
3 months later and we've just had the new results back- sperm count and motility still high but morphology has now shot up to 6%. This time the results said: normal: no further treatment required! In the space of three months he's apparently gone from infertile to fertile! We're still not pregnant but I wanted to share my story with anyone who is feeling upset or disheartened with the test results. Sperm analysis varies so much from month to month (apparently it can be affected by illness, diet, whether it not hubby's been in a stag weekend and got drunk) and they only test a tiny section from the sample that's given in. Apparently it takes 3 months for the sperm to be formed so if the results aren't positive, think back to 3 months before. Bad results are not always 100% accurate and set in stone : they don't paint a complete picture.
Good luck to all you ladies out there who are TTC. x
I know this us an old thread but I spent ages reading this forum when my husband first got his test results and I wanted to add my experience now in the hope that it might make others feel a little more positive in the future.
We've been TTC for 15 months and, after I had been through the process if various scans and blood tests, my husband went for his first sperm analysis in dec 2013. The results came back with a blatant 'abnormal. Infertility due to majority of sperm having tapered heads. 2% morphology' written in bold across the top of the results. As you can imagine, seeing this staring back at us in black and white was upsetting for both of us and seemed so final. Dh's sperm count was fine and so was the motility but these results seemed to explain why nothing was happening. We resigned ourselves to going down the fertility treatment route and were told DH would need to test again in 3 months.
3 months later and we've just had the new results back- sperm count and motility still high but morphology has now shot up to 6%. This time the results said: normal: no further treatment required! In the space of three months he's apparently gone from infertile to fertile! We're still not pregnant but I wanted to share my story with anyone who is feeling upset or disheartened with the test results. Sperm analysis varies so much from month to month (apparently it can be affected by illness, diet, whether it not hubby's been in a stag weekend and got drunk) and they only test a tiny section from the sample that's given in. Apparently it takes 3 months for the sperm to be formed so if the results aren't positive, think back to 3 months before. Bad results are not always 100% accurate and set in stone : they don't paint a complete picture.
Good luck to all you ladies out there who are TTC. x
Faithfully_
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Hi Ladies,
I am going through a rough time of trying to stay hopeful that I will be able to conceive one day. My husband got a SA test done last July and August and was told that while motility and count were good, morphology was at 0%. He was advised that we may have to go the IVF route. While getting pregnant would not be impossible, it would take much longer. Miraculously, I got pregnant in August, but sadly miscarried at 10.5 weeks. We had started trying in Sept 2012 and was pregnant by August 2013. I started using an ovulation predictor kit in January; however, in July I used a fertility monitor as it tells you more fertile days. I am wondering if I am likely to get pregnant naturally again since I managed to conceive on my own last year. I have an appointment for an IVF consult on April 28th; however, I feel that fertility doctors may push straight for IVF instead of giving you a neutral opinion. I"m thinking I may have to do IVF with ICSI. I am trying to be positive, but some days (like today), I am just down and hurt thinking that it may never happen for me. Any advice is greatly appreciated! I have been using pre-seed for the last two months and my husband is on Fertail Aid.
I am going through a rough time of trying to stay hopeful that I will be able to conceive one day. My husband got a SA test done last July and August and was told that while motility and count were good, morphology was at 0%. He was advised that we may have to go the IVF route. While getting pregnant would not be impossible, it would take much longer. Miraculously, I got pregnant in August, but sadly miscarried at 10.5 weeks. We had started trying in Sept 2012 and was pregnant by August 2013. I started using an ovulation predictor kit in January; however, in July I used a fertility monitor as it tells you more fertile days. I am wondering if I am likely to get pregnant naturally again since I managed to conceive on my own last year. I have an appointment for an IVF consult on April 28th; however, I feel that fertility doctors may push straight for IVF instead of giving you a neutral opinion. I"m thinking I may have to do IVF with ICSI. I am trying to be positive, but some days (like today), I am just down and hurt thinking that it may never happen for me. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
I have been using pre-seed for the last two months and my husband is on Fertail Aid.Hi faithfully,
So sorry to hear you're having such a hard time. I do totally sympathise- there are certain times when it seems easier to stay positive and other times when it's heartbreaking when another month passes by and af arrives. I think what makes the process so difficult is that it seems so unpredictable and totally outside of our control- no matter what we do we can't seem to make it happen!
I was a little surprised to see that your dh had been asked to test 2 months in a row. We were told by our specialist that it takes a good 3 months to see any improvement or change in sperm quality/ morphology as the sperm takes 3 months to mature and fully develop. My dh tested in dec and then again the following march so that any changes in diet or supplement could be judged. We took up eating really well (no take aways, lots of fruit and veg and no alcohol during the week.) and also vitamins. His morphology increased from 2-6%. May be worth asking your doctor for a retest?
I spoke to a male friend who had been diagnosed with similar issues and the biggest piece of advice he gave me was to support each other, be patient, talk and listen to each other but try really hard not to put responsibility on one person. It was interesting hearing his perspective as he said it really affected him making him feel quite vulnerable and insecure. Think it was important for me to hear that.
If you are told that you need to go down the ivf route don't be too disheartened. Go along to the specialist, listen to what it all involves and make an informed decision then. You're not committing yourself to anything and you haven't lost anything.
Hope all goes well. Will keep my fingers crossed for you. Xx
So sorry to hear you're having such a hard time. I do totally sympathise- there are certain times when it seems easier to stay positive and other times when it's heartbreaking when another month passes by and af arrives. I think what makes the process so difficult is that it seems so unpredictable and totally outside of our control- no matter what we do we can't seem to make it happen!
I was a little surprised to see that your dh had been asked to test 2 months in a row. We were told by our specialist that it takes a good 3 months to see any improvement or change in sperm quality/ morphology as the sperm takes 3 months to mature and fully develop. My dh tested in dec and then again the following march so that any changes in diet or supplement could be judged. We took up eating really well (no take aways, lots of fruit and veg and no alcohol during the week.) and also vitamins. His morphology increased from 2-6%. May be worth asking your doctor for a retest?
I spoke to a male friend who had been diagnosed with similar issues and the biggest piece of advice he gave me was to support each other, be patient, talk and listen to each other but try really hard not to put responsibility on one person. It was interesting hearing his perspective as he said it really affected him making him feel quite vulnerable and insecure. Think it was important for me to hear that.
If you are told that you need to go down the ivf route don't be too disheartened. Go along to the specialist, listen to what it all involves and make an informed decision then. You're not committing yourself to anything and you haven't lost anything.
Hope all goes well. Will keep my fingers crossed for you. Xx
haleiwamama
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Hi Faithfully! Do not lose hope! Your (future) kids need a strong courageous mom, and it'll happen!
I agree with HeyKitty... it takes 3 months for sperm to fully mature... but morphology is not the worst of things! Did the doctor tell you in detail what kind of anomalies he found? If not, you should ask because they only consider "normal" the cookie cutter type.. if the spermie has a neck a little longer for example, it will be considered abnormal... but that doesnt mean his spermie can't fertilize your egg! What was his count, volume, and motility? It's important to know what kind of anomalies were found... if the sperm had 2 heads for example, then it wouldn't be able to swim to the egg in time... but if it did, that does NOT mean the chromosomal content is abnormal... its just the shape..
I also wanted to tell you about my cousin... her husband had that stomach reduction surgery and as a result he became infertile... he literally had like 300 sperm... the doctor changed his diet, cut out alcohol and caffeine and 3 months later he had 300,000! Not enough to conceive naturally bu a huge improvement and they can now do IVF...
You're right about fertility doctors sometimes pushing you for IVF... mine certainly does... although after 4 months of fertility treatments with no results I'm starting to think he was right... IVF is not a bad thing... people like you and I should be thankful for it... what would happen to us if IVF didn't exist? I know its hard, and I say this to you, me, all of us, stay positive!
ALOHA! Daniela
I agree with HeyKitty... it takes 3 months for sperm to fully mature... but morphology is not the worst of things! Did the doctor tell you in detail what kind of anomalies he found? If not, you should ask because they only consider "normal" the cookie cutter type.. if the spermie has a neck a little longer for example, it will be considered abnormal... but that doesnt mean his spermie can't fertilize your egg! What was his count, volume, and motility? It's important to know what kind of anomalies were found... if the sperm had 2 heads for example, then it wouldn't be able to swim to the egg in time... but if it did, that does NOT mean the chromosomal content is abnormal... its just the shape..
I also wanted to tell you about my cousin... her husband had that stomach reduction surgery and as a result he became infertile... he literally had like 300 sperm... the doctor changed his diet, cut out alcohol and caffeine and 3 months later he had 300,000! Not enough to conceive naturally bu a huge improvement and they can now do IVF...
You're right about fertility doctors sometimes pushing you for IVF... mine certainly does... although after 4 months of fertility treatments with no results I'm starting to think he was right... IVF is not a bad thing... people like you and I should be thankful for it... what would happen to us if IVF didn't exist? I know its hard, and I say this to you, me, all of us, stay positive!
ALOHA! Daniela
Faithfully_
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Thank you for your encouraging words! It helps to know that others are struggling along with you, especially when you see people having babies everyday and it's hard to understand why you can't.
We are definitely going to get another SA done as the last one was in 2013. Hopefully there will be some improvement as hubby changed his diet and alcohol intake. Based on the last SA, it was mostly tail defects.
We are pretty good about not putting any blame on each other. Hubby seems to be handling this a lot better than I am. While I do tend to be optimistic most of the time, I feel as though his optimism never fails. He truly believes that we will have our baby one way or another. This definitely helps, but at the same time, I know there's no guarantee. I'm looking forward to my consult to see what the doctor has to say. I think not having any control over it is indeed what makes it so difficult. We're just trying to be as healthy as we can be!
We are definitely going to get another SA done as the last one was in 2013. Hopefully there will be some improvement as hubby changed his diet and alcohol intake. Based on the last SA, it was mostly tail defects.
We are pretty good about not putting any blame on each other. Hubby seems to be handling this a lot better than I am. While I do tend to be optimistic most of the time, I feel as though his optimism never fails. He truly believes that we will have our baby one way or another. This definitely helps, but at the same time, I know there's no guarantee. I'm looking forward to my consult to see what the doctor has to say. I think not having any control over it is indeed what makes it so difficult. We're just trying to be as healthy as we can be!
Faithfully_
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Haleiwamama,
Definitely happy that IVF does exist today. It's good to be reminded of the opportunities that we have today - thanks for that!
Once we get another SA done, I'll post updated information on motility, count, and morphology.
Definitely happy that IVF does exist today. It's good to be reminded of the opportunities that we have today - thanks for that!
Once we get another SA done, I'll post updated information on motility, count, and morphology.
littlered03
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Hello! I'm glad to see so many stories about low morphology (okay, glad isn't the right word - I wish nobody ever had infertility struggles, but you know what I mean) since I feel like it is so hard to find people with a similar diagnosis for their infertility.
Our only negative we found when testing was 0% morphology three months ago. We have been trying for about a year and four months. Everything else is good, including my DH's other counts.
I am happy to see success stories on here, but at the same time, I feel it can be hurtful/harmful (can't think of the right word to use here) to say that based on a few experience that low morphology doesn't matter. Our urologist, who is the best in our state and took months to get in to see, said that morphology is very tricky because they don't know if it matters. He didn't say it doesn't matter. What he said is that the studies show that half of men with low morphology have no trouble conceiving while the other half find it nearly impossible. Obviously, if we have tried for almost a year and a half (timed during my fertile window) and haven't gotten pregnant, there is a problem. I'm not saying we won't get pregnant naturally, with IUI, or that morphology is a horrible, huge problem, but I'm simply saying that so much is unknown about it that we cannot say that in all cases it does not matter.
It's totally frustrating, as I'm guessing many of you would agree, that low morphology has no known cause, is subjective to test for, and has no proven affect to fertility in 100% of cases. I really hope we all have success stories to post, but I just wanted to put my two cents in to say that it does matter, otherwise most of us wouldn't be in this thread, but it is very exciting and hopeful to see people get pregnant with low morphology.
Our only negative we found when testing was 0% morphology three months ago. We have been trying for about a year and four months. Everything else is good, including my DH's other counts.
I am happy to see success stories on here, but at the same time, I feel it can be hurtful/harmful (can't think of the right word to use here) to say that based on a few experience that low morphology doesn't matter. Our urologist, who is the best in our state and took months to get in to see, said that morphology is very tricky because they don't know if it matters. He didn't say it doesn't matter. What he said is that the studies show that half of men with low morphology have no trouble conceiving while the other half find it nearly impossible. Obviously, if we have tried for almost a year and a half (timed during my fertile window) and haven't gotten pregnant, there is a problem. I'm not saying we won't get pregnant naturally, with IUI, or that morphology is a horrible, huge problem, but I'm simply saying that so much is unknown about it that we cannot say that in all cases it does not matter.
It's totally frustrating, as I'm guessing many of you would agree, that low morphology has no known cause, is subjective to test for, and has no proven affect to fertility in 100% of cases. I really hope we all have success stories to post, but I just wanted to put my two cents in to say that it does matter, otherwise most of us wouldn't be in this thread, but it is very exciting and hopeful to see people get pregnant with low morphology.
CaliDreaming
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Littlered, you raise a very good point and I agree with you wholeheartedly. From what I can tell, it seems that whether morphology matters or not depends on the type of abnormalities that are present, but we still don't know enough about it to say which ones matter and which don't.
I think the best way to know whether it's going to matter is whether the man has ever been able to get someone pregnant or not. If he has, then it's likely that a low morphology is not going to matter for that man. For young couples who don't have any sort of track record, I can just imagine how devastating it is not knowing whether it's a factor or not.
Good luck Littlered!
messica
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I am happy to see success stories on here, but at the same time, I feel it can be hurtful/harmful (can't think of the right word to use here) to say that based on a few experience that low morphology doesn't matter.
Hurtful and harmful are great words. And I agree whole heartedly.
Not everyone has years and years and/or even decades to wait around hoping and praying they'll eventually be able to overcome a morphology issue. Seriously now, where does that leave the masses who put all their eggs in that basket and never will??? Absolutely share your success stories, but to say morphology in regards to conception is absolutely a non-issue is beyond.....I can't even find the right word either......just yikes.
Vitamin regimens and lifestyles changes absolutely have been proven to improve numbers for many couples. And because of those improvements couples have been blessed with children.
Pretty much this entire thread makes me cringe. It does come off extremely arrogant, and completely discredits what many many couples have experienced as well as what science has proven in regards to odds a couple will conceive
Not impossible for some, does NOT equate to the word *irrelevant.*
Faithfully_
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Does anyone know what the chances of being able to conceive again naturally with low morphology is after being pregnant previously? It took me about 10 months to conceive, but unfortunately I miscarried in Oct 2013. I am trying again and DH will have another SA done soon. I am going for an IVF consult, but I am also just wondering if it would be likely to happen again.
