Spouses with low sperm count.

[melly2]

Got my DH's SA results - trully depressing from 12 mil we got down to 2.8 and now even worse to 1 million despite all the vitamins and supplements...

1. Analysis

volume: 2.3 ml

No of sperm per ml of semen 1.0 10*6/ml

% progressive motility: only occasional sperm seen in semen

% total motility: N/A

time from ejaculation to test: 25 min

Viscosity: semimucoid

Acidity: 8.4

Nucleated cells not sperm: 2.6

Esterase Test: <70

MAR: N/A

Abstinence: 3 days

Vitality: not tested

Comment: probable impaired fertility

Semen Diagnostic Ref Values: N/A

2. Separation test

Method: full separation test

Ejaculation to separation: 20 min

Supernatant volume: 1.0 ml

Supernatant cell count: no sperm seen in fst

Progressive motility: N/A

Total motility: N/A

Comments: ICSI

Oh no! Sorry, Briss. I know you've been trying hard. You mentioned, in another thread, that it could be his excessive running, which I tend to agree. Did you doctors provide any other reason?

 

[Briss]

FS blames it on alcohol so hopefully, it's improving now. this test was done on Feb, I will try to get my DH to repeat it privately next week so we could see whether his running had any effect because supposedly once he quitted beer his numbers were supposed to go up. if they did not that means he ruined it with running. I am actually beginning to think more positively about IUI/IVF, losing hope for natural conception

 

[melly2]

FS blames it on alcohol so hopefully, it's improving now. this test was done on Feb, I will try to get my DH to repeat it privately next week so we could see whether his running had any effect because supposedly once he quitted beer his numbers were supposed to go up. if they did not that means he ruined it with running. I am actually beginning to think more positively about IUI/IVF, losing hope for natural conception

Did they test his hormones too, like testosterone? My husband is right on the border of low, which is part of his problem.

 

[Briss]

My DH is also on the low side but FS refused to prescribe him chlomid or HCG shots and would not refer him for any blood tests because she thinks he has no hormonal problem and that his issue is just too much toxins from alcohol.

 

[melly2]

My DH is also on the low side but FS refused to prescribe him chlomid or HCG shots and would not refer him for any blood tests because she thinks he has no hormonal problem and that his issue is just too much toxins from alcohol.

Has he seen a urologist? From what you've mentioned previously, he doesn't drink that much. I had a friend who just got his wife pregnant, and this guy lives hard! He drinks like a fish, he smokes cigs likes it's going out of style, still smokes pot, did a fair share of hard drugs (may still do it, not sure), and he's 48 years old...and somehow this guy has a normal sperm count and got her pregnant. Based on my friends and other stories, I think it has less to do with hard living and more to do with genetic makeup (hormonal, obstructions, etc.).

 

[Briss]

she would not refer him to urologist! I also wonder how can she know that he has no hormonal issues. she said his first SA came at 12 mil so if he had issues he would get this much.

 

[melly2]

she would not refer him to urologist! I also wonder how can she know that he has no hormonal issues. she said his first SA came at 12 mil so if he had issues he would get this much.

You and I are in the same boat, we're thinking about IVF as well. Our FS has told us that this is probably our only option, even with his improving sperm count, it's still nowhere near good enough. Along with the fact that I have very long, irregular cycles (currently on a 45 day cycle), it's making it very hard to get pregnant on even fewer cycles. We said that we will wait until December, because then my insurance changes and the IVF will be mostly covered by insurance. Though I'm still not too keen on the IVF, I think this may be the only hope. Ugh!

 

[Briss]

ladies, can anyone recommend a good urologist in London?

My Dh finally agreed to go privately and get checked by a urologist if I find a good reputable one. No idea how to find such specialist on-line, there is a lot of info and everyone seems to be good. a bit lost here. I am getting a little more hopeful that a urologist may find a reason (besides alcohol) for low sperm count but then whenever I check these clinics the only treatment they seem to offer is IVF etc, no one talks about medication like chlomid etc. it's like they all agree with my FS that if you have a low sperm count it wont get any better just go IVF

 

[Briss]

she would not refer him to urologist! I also wonder how can she know that he has no hormonal issues. she said his first SA came at 12 mil so if he had issues he would get this much.

You and I are in the same boat, we're thinking about IVF as well. Our FS has told us that this is probably our only option, even with his improving sperm count, it's still nowhere near good enough. Along with the fact that I have very long, irregular cycles (currently on a 45 day cycle), it's making it very hard to get pregnant on even fewer cycles. We said that we will wait until December, because then my insurance changes and the IVF will be mostly covered by insurance. Though I'm still not too keen on the IVF, I think this may be the only hope. Ugh!

Does your FS think your DH's sperm count wont improve much? why not? My FS said that even with 1 mil and occasional motility natural conception is still possible (though unlikely)

 

[PinkPeony]

ladies, can anyone recommend a good urologist in London?

My Dh finally agreed to go privately and get checked by a urologist if I find a good reputable one. No idea how to find such specialist on-line, there is a lot of info and everyone seems to be good. a bit lost here. I am getting a little more hopeful that a urologist may find a reason (besides alcohol) for low sperm count but then whenever I check these clinics the only treatment they seem to offer is IVF etc, no one talks about medication like chlomid etc. it's like they all agree with my FS that if you have a low sperm count it wont get any better just go IVF

That's great your DH is going to a urologist. Sorry I can't recommend one for you but my DH went a couple weeks ago to a urologist/male fertility clinic. They tested his blood and talked to him about lifestyle and vitamins and he's going back at the end of the month to get an ultrasound to check for varicocele. I think it's a bit odd your doc had ruled everything out except alcohol. He could very well have a varicocele or another anatomical problem or like you said a hormonal imbalance. All my docs including this male FS have said the studies around alcohol and male fertility are not very good or conclusive. He said the only thing they know for sure is heat. He said the worst thing you could do is a hot bath or hot tub. I'm finding my DH has been on vitamins for months and months now and not much change - i have a feeling it's likely a varicocele or some kind of a blockage in our case.

 

[Briss]

Pink, thanks. I thought varicocele is something you can see? it would be good to do bloods and a scan and generally for a specialist to look at his stuff. I have no idea what's normal if you know what I mean. one of his testis is higher than the other one: is this normal?

 

[PinkPeony]

No prob Briss! I think sometimes you can see the varicocele but not always? That's why they do a scan. I think things can get blocked in places too or there can be previous injuries... The doc actually had a feel around and said there was a lot of fluid on one side but wasn't overly concerned about it. I'm curious to see how the scan turns out. we're doing IVF in a couple months anyway though.
Oh - and it is normal for one to be lower.

 

[tryn4]

My husband had an ultrasound & the saw a small varicocele. They said it was so small it was unlikely to be the cause of fertility issues. My husband isn't convinced because he feels pain sometimes in his testicles, but his 4 SA's came back not too bad, not fantastic but viable.

 

[Briss]

I asked my DH but he says he does not feel any pain or discomfort, still it would be great if a urologist could look at him

 

[PinkPeony]

Yeah mine says he feels an ache sometimes. Our new FS said his SA's aren't so bad that we shouldn't have been able to conceive by now so she's classed me as "unexplained".

 

[Briss]

Sorry Pink, "unexplained" does not really help but sometimes IVF can actually reveal the problem, a lady here had split IVF where the first lot was with ICSI and the second in petro dish so none of the second lot were fertilised: basically her DH's sperm was not able to penetrate the egg. another lady discovered that her egg did not shut after a sperm went in and allowed the second sperm to join in which apparently was the course for her recurrent miscarriages. but i think these complex cases are rare and in most cases of unexplained it's just age + luck + time

 

[tryn4]

Yes, my husband saw a urologist, and he said while his motility isn't the greatest, its viable, and there is nothing wrong with him. So the focus turned back on me, and they have as well classed me as "unexplained". Unless my husband's sperm cannot penetrate my eggs of steel, I doubt my egg has an issue closing since I have had 4 children. But then again maybe things change over time...I suppose it is possible.

 

[PinkPeony]

Frustrating isn't it? Hopefully nothing like that happens when we do the IVF. I'm taking massive amounts of coQ10 which is meant to be good for egg quality. I've also chatted with someone on here who said that they did half ICSI and let 1 egg fertilize normally in the dish. All the ICSI ones crumbled when they tried putting the sperm in and the IVF one worked. She's now pregnant. I'm stuck with ICSI no matter what so hope that's not my issue.

 

[Briss]

My DH repeated his SA a few days ago after not drinking beer for 3 months and taking some serious vitamins and we finally got SA results, not great but much better than last time. count moved up from 1 to 11 million but morphology is 2% which is very poor. Motility is good (last time it was non-existent). I am still very happy cos it's a really big improvement on last SA and it shows that we can actually do things to improve hubby's sperm, the bad news is that over the last 3 years it was never within norm so not sure if it ever will be&#8230; Also the comment says that he may have Teratozoospermia (poor morphology) which is apparently not treatable and IVF/ICSI is the only way. not sure yet where we go from here


Duration of abstinence [days] : 4

Time from ejaculation [mins] : 60

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Macroscopic Examination

Volume [ml] : 2.6 : 1.5 or more

Appearance : Translucent : Normal

Liquefaction : Complete : Complete

Viscosity : Normal : Normal

pH : 8.0 : 7.2 or more

Debris : +

Agglutination : Not seen

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Motility [% spermatozoa]

Total motility : 58 : 40 or more

Progressive : 44 : 32 or more

Non-progressive : 14

Immotile : 42

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Vitality [% live] : >58 : 58 or more

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Antisperm Antibodies[Less than 10 equal to non-specific binding]

MAR test for IgA [ % bound] : <10

MAR test for IgG [ % bound] : <10

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Concentration

Count [million/ml] : 11.0 : 15 or more

Total count [million] : 28.6 : 39 or more

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Other Cells [million/ml]

Round cells : 1.9

Peroxidase positive cells : 0.8 : less than 1

Erythrocytes : Not seen

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Morphology [ % ] Kruger strict criteria

Normal : 2 : 4 or more

Abnormal : 98

Head defects : 98

Midpiece defects : 31

Tail defects : 22

Excess residual cytoplasm : 3

Teratozoospermia index [TZI] : 1.57 : 1.5 or less


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COMMENT: Debris noted. Reduced count. Increased abnormal forms

including tapered head defects and coiled tails. TZI 1.57.

Sperm are displaying sluggish progression.

 

[Mikihob]

Hi ladies...
I believe my husband has a varicocele. I read that if it's big enough to feel it should feel like a "bag of worms", I am assuming from enlarged veins pooled together...it's a creepy thought. I asked DH if he has pain in his testicles (didn't tell him why). He said sometimes he does from time to time but nothing to worry about. After his last SA he said his left testicle was hurting. Weird. I thought to myself it's time to see a urologist. They can do an ultrasound and check for that. It can be repaired and hopefully help. Two nights ago he said that after he had his nightly bathroom break his left testicle was hurting pretty bad. He then said, he felt down there and felt the "bag of worms". He said he had felt something like that before but didn't know what it was or that it wasn't normal until I said something. He had checked after I told him and he said he didn't feel it. We have a urology appt for Wed. May 29th. Hoping it's an easy and quick fix. I know that if the doc feels it, he might schedule an ultrasound and then decide if he should fix it. I am also going to ask about HCG.

DH used to take testosterone injections because he has very low levels. HCG should help restore the testosterone level slightly and help sperm production.

I will let you ladies know how it goes and what I find out. If anyone wants me to sneak in an extra questions or two let me know.

Good luck and loads of baby dust to us all!!