Male factor, what are the options?

[Mrs G]

Hi. I hope no-one minds me posting here.

Have just got oh's sa results back today and they say 100% abnormal forms. He had a test about a month before which was 6% normal. Dr has requested an appointment at the hospital (who with I'm not sure, oh didn't ask!) but he said this will take "some time". He's on wellman, extra vit c and also maca.

Can anyone advise me what to do? With this level of abnormal forms what options do we have? Am I jumping the gun to talk about getting private tests done?

Any thoughts or experiences would be much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Kirstin]

We had a SA and we're told the count was low - next to nothing and what was there was abnormal and had low motility but when we went for a fertility consulation they said it was antibodies, have a normal amount etc. and said what they would need to do is ICSI, so they will probably suggest that for you. I dont think your jumping the gun going for private tests if you can afford it. IUI could also be an option but I think that depends on what type of abnormalities they have.

 

[Farie]

My Df has a very similar abnormal count, so far our Dr won't even refer us to a fs

As far as I can tell its one thing that can differ widely test to test and is often effected by vit deficiencies. My DF is on Wellman and Vit C but we have been advised (by knowledgeable friends) that vit E, selenium and zinc are all really good to help rectify the issue.

I think that if it doesn't improve above about 16% they recommend IUI or IVF - but that's just what I have read.

 

[Aria]

With such a high abnormal rate, the usual treatments are either IUI if he has enough normal sperm, or IVF with ICSI. Due to the expense and discomfort of IVF for you, you absolutely should ask for a second opinion to be sure.

 

[Mrs G]

Thank you very much for you posts. I have done a little bit of research on IUI and ICSI. The gp was pretty unclear about the whole thing. Have persuaded dh that if we don't have any word from nhs in a couple of weeks we'll pay for private tests and advice.

Thanks again.

 

[sallysausage]

Hi there, just read your post. We had a very complicated situation, i'll keep it brief but basically my husband has quite bad diabetes so his 'tadpoles' don;t come out when they should (if you get my drift!) it's called retrograde ejeculation & it all goes back up into his bladder.

They did loads of tests and they couldn;t actually find any sperm at one stage! In the end we had IVF with ICSI and he had his sperm surgically removed (wasn;t as bad as it sounded apparently). We are now 15 weeks pregnant, extremely lucky that it worked 1st time.

I just wanted to say hang in there and as bad as things sometimes seem there is so much they can do. We kept thinking we'd need sperm donation but i remember our consultant saying they only needed to find one little sperm to give it a try. Having been through what we have i'd definitely start asking about ICSI. Good luck, you will get there in the end. Sarah

 

[hollee]

hi

my DH has had two bad samples with low count & motility we have a referral for more tests on the 14th, not sure what they will be checking but i assume to see if there's a reason for it,if it can't be treated then its onto IUI or IVF
goodluck x

 

[Mrs G]

Thanks ladies.

We got his referal through yesterday (quite quick for nhs!) and he is going on 29th April. I'm not sure what they will do/say then but I suppose it is a bit of progress.

Good luck to you.