Success stories with Male Factor Infertility

[Dini]

Well good luck to you this cycle and maybe when your DH gets home you can have a surprise for him!

 

[DSemcho]

Thanks. We're not even sure when he is leaving yet

 

[brittany12]

Just read through this entire thread!

Im on the fence with my DH SA results. I've been told by 3 doctors that he is completely normal but other ladies on here have said that we need treatment. We can't do treatment because its so expensive here and there is no insurance coverage. I'm talking $2000 plus cost of meds and ultrasounds per IUI and $13,000 plus cost of meds per IVF. So I'm hoping we can conceive naturally. We had a chemical pregnancy October of 2012 so I'm hoping we can get pregnant again on our own.

here are his results:
vol 2.5
count 73 million
motility 60% 2+
morph 4% Krueger criteria

 

[CaliDreaming]

Just read through this entire thread!

Im on the fence with my DH SA results. I've been told by 3 doctors that he is completely normal but other ladies on here have said that we need treatment. We can't do treatment because its so expensive here and there is no insurance coverage. I'm talking $2000 plus cost of meds and ultrasounds per IUI and $13,000 plus cost of meds per IVF. So I'm hoping we can conceive naturally. We had a chemical pregnancy October of 2012 so I'm hoping we can get pregnant again on our own.

here are his results:
vol 2.5
count 73 million
motility 60% 2+
morph 4% Krueger criteria

I think most REs think of sperm in terms of pass/fail when they really should be assigning a letter grade. With sperm the more properly shaped, fast moving ones you have the better your chances! I would say your hubby's sperm would get a C/C-. It meets the minimum requirements in all categories but there is a lot of room for improvement.

Not sure if that is hubby's total count or count per mL. If it's total, then I would definitely work on getting it up. 75 million sperm total is only about 30 mil per mL since he produced 2.5 ml of semen total. While the minimum is 20 million/mL, you really need at least 65 million per ml to assure normal fertility each month (assuming all the other parameters are good). Even if that figure is 75 million per mL, there are men that have counts of higher than 150 million/mL, so there would still be room to improve.

The motility percentage is high, but the sperm are a little slow and sluggish. They really need to have at least a grade of 3 or higher. A lot of his sperm could be dying off before they reach the egg if they're only moving at a 2+. That means they're moving slowly and/or not in a straight line.

The morphology is at the bare minimum, and that could be what is contributing to low grade on the motility. The few sperm he has that are fast enough to make it to the egg also may have trouble fertilizing the egg.

Right now your hubby's sperm is capable of getting you pregnant, but it could take him a LONG time. With his numbers it's not surprising that he's only gotten you pregnant once in the past two years. I would definitely start him on supplements to see if his numbers improve. Since he already meets the minimum and you two have conceived once, it's unlikely he has any major problems and the supplements should get him to where he's supposed to be. Supplements are definitely a lot cheaper than IUI and IVF.

Whenever there's a problem TTC, everyone automatically assumes that there's a problem with the woman, even if all the testing is fine. So much time and mental anguish could be spared if doctors would focus on BOTH the man and woman.

 

[brittany12]

Just read through this entire thread!

Im on the fence with my DH SA results. I've been told by 3 doctors that he is completely normal but other ladies on here have said that we need treatment. We can't do treatment because its so expensive here and there is no insurance coverage. I'm talking $2000 plus cost of meds and ultrasounds per IUI and $13,000 plus cost of meds per IVF. So I'm hoping we can conceive naturally. We had a chemical pregnancy October of 2012 so I'm hoping we can get pregnant again on our own.

here are his results:
vol 2.5
count 73 million
motility 60% 2+
morph 4% Krueger criteria

I think most REs think of sperm in terms of pass/fail when they really should be assigning a letter grade. With sperm the more properly shaped, fast moving ones you have the better your chances! I would say your hubby's sperm would get a C/C-. It meets the minimum requirements in all categories but there is a lot of room for improvement.

Not sure if that is hubby's total count or count per mL. If it's total, then I would definitely work on getting it up. 75 million sperm total is only about 30 mil per mL since he produced 2.5 ml of semen total. While the minimum is 20 million/mL, you really need at least 65 million per ml to assure normal fertility each month (assuming all the other parameters are good). Even if that figure is 75 million per mL, there are men that have counts of higher than 150 million/mL, so there would still be room to improve.

The motility percentage is high, but the sperm are a little slow and sluggish. They really need to have at least a grade of 3 or higher. A lot of his sperm could be dying off before they reach the egg if they're only moving at a 2+. That means they're moving slowly and/or not in a straight line.

The morphology is at the bare minimum, and that could be what is contributing to low grade on the motility. The few sperm he has that are fast enough to make it to the egg also may have trouble fertilizing the egg.

Right now your hubby's sperm is capable of getting you pregnant, but it could take him a LONG time. With his numbers it's not surprising that he's only gotten you pregnant once in the past two years. I would definitely start him on supplements to see if his numbers improve. Since he already meets the minimum and you two have conceived once, it's unlikely he has any major problems and the supplements should get him to where he's supposed to be. Supplements are definitely a lot cheaper than IUI and IVF.

Whenever there's a problem TTC, everyone automatically assumes that there's a problem with the woman, even if all the testing is fine. So much time and mental anguish could be spared if doctors would focus on BOTH the man and woman.

thank you for your explanation! It made me understand better and I completely agree! most people have just been telling me no he is not normal you need IUI or IVF and its been getting me frustrated because me doctors have said he meets the normal criteria so I've been so confused!

This SA was done with only a little more than 24 hours from the last ejaculation. He ejaculated on Wednesday morning and we also BD Wednesday night and then he was scheduled for Friday morning for the SA and before the ejaculating on that Wednesday it had been probably close to 3 weeks since the last time. (it got hectic with the holidays and what not and the days just went by) So I feel like if we would have had another 24 hours of abstinence then his results would have been better, but I will get him to take his vitamins better. I compared what I have him on which is mens multivitamin to the fertility blend and the multivitamin has the same or more of the same ingredients. So I will be getting him more of the multivitamin to take and hopefully it will help!

 

[CaliDreaming]

thank you for your explanation! It made me understand better and I completely agree! most people have just been telling me no he is not normal you need IUI or IVF and its been getting me frustrated because me doctors have said he meets the normal criteria so I've been so confused!

This SA was done with only a little more than 24 hours from the last ejaculation. He ejaculated on Wednesday morning and we also BD Wednesday night and then he was scheduled for Friday morning for the SA and before the ejaculating on that Wednesday it had been probably close to 3 weeks since the last time. (it got hectic with the holidays and what not and the days just went by) So I feel like if we would have had another 24 hours of abstinence then his results would have been better, but I will get him to take his vitamins better. I compared what I have him on which is mens multivitamin to the fertility blend and the multivitamin has the same or more of the same ingredients. So I will be getting him more of the multivitamin to take and hopefully it will help!

I would strongly suggest that you stick with a fertility blend. The men's multivitamins are lacking in crucial ingredients that will improve sperm. For sperm, things like L Carnitine, L-arginine, and Coq10 are critical and you won't find a regular multivitamin that will have all of these. The fertility blends also include other herbs that the multivitamins won't like asian giseng, panax giseng and maca. You could buy the extra ingredients separately but that would very expensive. The coq10 by itself costs an arm and a leg. The fertility blends will cost around $75 per month, which is a lot higher than a multivitamin, but it really ends up being the most economical and effective option compared to IUI or IVF.

I think if your hubby had abstained a little longer, his count would have been a little better. However, the motility and morphology would have been worse because sperm degrades the longer it sits around. This is a little concerning because even with fresh sperm your hubby's motility was slow and the morph barely met the minimum. Those numbers usually improve with fewer days of abstinence. The rules on abstaining only apply to men with problems with count or quality because the length of abstinence does not affect men who have normal fertility to any significant degree, so I would definitely stay on your hubby to take his supplements.

Good luck!

 

[brittany12]

thanks for the info! I will go ahead with the fertility blend for men vitamins.

We have started dtd everyday this cycle. Its something we've never done before and decided to give it a go instead of tracking ovulation and temping. So hopefully this give us the chance to get the best ones he has at the moment a chance to get to my egg.

 

[bettybee1]

sorry britt jumping here lol your probley sick off me!!!

i tottally agree what the other poster said was a great explaination

i also agree that bedding all the time is more benefical for you ! as when i was concieved was the months we bedded like every day sometimes twice a day unfortualty we could do it again as hubby is always on bloody exercise hes in army!!!!

defo continue with the continues bedding xxx

 

[brittany12]

thanks! we've only missed two days since AF has left. I'm on cd 19 today. the days we missed were 12 and 17. I have a major headache today which makes me think I might be ovulating tomorrow. I really have no idea though because I haven't used any opks or temped. I know I had ewcm on cd14 but I never ovulate on cd14. anyway.. I hope it works! I've also been trying to lay on my stomach afterwards and keep my butt up some to help them get there faster!

 

[melly2]

Hello Everyone,

I thought I would post an update on me, since it's been awhile. We've tried for the past year, with low sperm count (the best being 5.9 million) with no success. No surprise. Basically we have a 1% of conceiving naturally. That would be okay if we were 28, but now I'm pushing 38. We decided starting this year, we would explore IVF; primarily because I changed my insurance plan and it is fully covered! This is a big contributing factor, because I'm notoriously cheap and it would be hard for me to suck up $15K for IVF.

All that said, we met with a new doctor and clinic yesterday which is covered under my new insurance. I am SOOOOO happy with this doctor. Way better than our last one. First off, she is very much on the camp of going more natural and ONLY implanting one embryo. This was very important to me because I DO NOT want twins. NO WAY!!!! Also, we will perform genetic testing on the embryo first before implanting. My husband, who is a molecular genetic scientist, and I have discussed this previously and we really thought this was the best route. The statistics go way up if we perform the genetic tests (60% of live birth rate).

The other good news is that despite my age, I have 17 follicles. This is way more than average for my age, which makes me even a better candidate for IVF. That said, this also could potentially increase over stimulation, so we will keep this under control with less hormones (again, this is much better for me as I don't like the hormone route).

So, next steps. In a couple weeks I will start the birth control pills for a couple weeks. Normal protocol. During that time, I will going through a litany of tests, like HCG for tubes, saline in the uterus cervix, blood works, etc. Then assuming all is well, after about 2-3 weeks then they start the injections, then retrieval, then frozen and sent to the lab for genetic testing for a couple weeks, and then implanted after that. I think at the earliest it could be March 1st before I really know anything.

Though I would have preferred to do this naturally, I know that this is not possible. Unfortunately, my husband has the cards stacked way up against him (damn Cancer), but the good news is he still has some sperm to work with.

 

[MItoDC]

Hello Everyone,

I thought I would post an update on me, since it's been awhile. We've tried for the past year, with low sperm count (the best being 5.9 million) with no success. No surprise. Basically we have a 1% of conceiving naturally. That would be okay if we were 28, but now I'm pushing 38. We decided starting this year, we would explore IVF; primarily because I changed my insurance plan and it is fully covered! This is a big contributing factor, because I'm notoriously cheap and it would be hard for me to suck up $15K for IVF.

All that said, we met with a new doctor and clinic yesterday which is covered under my new insurance. I am SOOOOO happy with this doctor. Way better than our last one. First off, she is very much on the camp of going more natural and ONLY implanting one embryo. This was very important to me because I DO NOT want twins. NO WAY!!!! Also, we will perform genetic testing on the embryo first before implanting. My husband, who is a molecular genetic scientist, and I have discussed this previously and we really thought this was the best route. The statistics go way up if we perform the genetic tests (60% of live birth rate).

The other good news is that despite my age, I have 17 follicles. This is way more than average for my age, which makes me even a better candidate for IVF. That said, this also could potentially increase over stimulation, so we will keep this under control with less hormones (again, this is much better for me as I don't like the hormone route).

So, next steps. In a couple weeks I will start the birth control pills for a couple weeks. Normal protocol. During that time, I will going through a litany of tests, like HCG for tubes, saline in the uterus cervix, blood works, etc. Then assuming all is well, after about 2-3 weeks then they start the injections, then retrieval, then frozen and sent to the lab for genetic testing for a couple weeks, and then implanted after that. I think at the earliest it could be March 1st before I really know anything.

Though I would have preferred to do this naturally, I know that this is not possible. Unfortunately, my husband has the cards stacked way up against him (damn Cancer), but the good news is he still has some sperm to work with.

Fingers crossed that IVF works for you, Melly! That's so awesome that your insurance covers it! We just found out that DH's insurance covers 3 rounds of IVF up to $100K... but unfortunately I have my own insurance which doesn't cover it and open enrollment isn't until October. Grrr I wish we had been more on top of it a few months ago. We're starting to save up for IVF on our own, but are also starting to check out his insurance to see if that could work for us. They only cover it if you can prove 2 years of infertility, so I want to figure out what they require as proof since we'll be at two years in August 2014.

Keep us updated, Melly!

 

[melly2]

Hello Everyone,

I thought I would post an update on me, since it's been awhile. We've tried for the past year, with low sperm count (the best being 5.9 million) with no success. No surprise. Basically we have a 1% of conceiving naturally. That would be okay if we were 28, but now I'm pushing 38. We decided starting this year, we would explore IVF; primarily because I changed my insurance plan and it is fully covered! This is a big contributing factor, because I'm notoriously cheap and it would be hard for me to suck up $15K for IVF.

All that said, we met with a new doctor and clinic yesterday which is covered under my new insurance. I am SOOOOO happy with this doctor. Way better than our last one. First off, she is very much on the camp of going more natural and ONLY implanting one embryo. This was very important to me because I DO NOT want twins. NO WAY!!!! Also, we will perform genetic testing on the embryo first before implanting. My husband, who is a molecular genetic scientist, and I have discussed this previously and we really thought this was the best route. The statistics go way up if we perform the genetic tests (60% of live birth rate).

The other good news is that despite my age, I have 17 follicles. This is way more than average for my age, which makes me even a better candidate for IVF. That said, this also could potentially increase over stimulation, so we will keep this under control with less hormones (again, this is much better for me as I don't like the hormone route).

So, next steps. In a couple weeks I will start the birth control pills for a couple weeks. Normal protocol. During that time, I will going through a litany of tests, like HCG for tubes, saline in the uterus cervix, blood works, etc. Then assuming all is well, after about 2-3 weeks then they start the injections, then retrieval, then frozen and sent to the lab for genetic testing for a couple weeks, and then implanted after that. I think at the earliest it could be March 1st before I really know anything.

Though I would have preferred to do this naturally, I know that this is not possible. Unfortunately, my husband has the cards stacked way up against him (damn Cancer), but the good news is he still has some sperm to work with.

Fingers crossed that IVF works for you, Melly! That's so awesome that your insurance covers it! We just found out that DH's insurance covers 3 rounds of IVF up to $100K... but unfortunately I have my own insurance which doesn't cover it and open enrollment isn't until October. Grrr I wish we had been more on top of it a few months ago. We're starting to save up for IVF on our own, but are also starting to check out his insurance to see if that could work for us. They only cover it if you can prove 2 years of infertility, so I want to figure out what they require as proof since we'll be at two years in August 2014.

Keep us updated, Melly!

Yes, funny you say that. My company offers two different options on insurance, and everyone was telling me that this option was better, but I stalled on open enrollment last year. Sure enough, just as I realized we had a male infertility issue, I realized my insurance didn't cover it, so I just switched and now it's covered. Oy! The hoops...I tell ya!

 

[Dini]

Wow I am so glad your insurance covers it. Neither DH or I have coverage. Ohio is weird apparently and only mandates diagnostic coverage and I work for a Catholic Hospital so they will never offer coverage, and his company just doesn't. We will never be able to do IVF because of it, so if IUI's don't work I don't know what we will do.

 

[moni77]

sounds like a great plan Melly!! FXed to you!!

 

[Briss]

We had a follow up appointment with our urologist and the good news is that our karyotype testing came back fine, no genetic issues, all chromosomes are in place - what a relief! I was so worried.

based on Dh's test results and particularly lower testosterone, the doc suggested the following treatment:

(i) increasing the count: FSH. There are three possible options for taking FSH: 1. tamoxifen, 20 mg/day for 30 days, which is what DH was prescribed; 2. some other anti-estrogen, forgot the name but basically it's only for overweight men; 3. Clomid, but the doc said this is too aggressive and may increase the testosterone too much and shut the system off completely;

(ii) improving the quality/morphology: antioxidants i.e. proxeed.

The doc was very clear that the above treatment may increase his count by 30-40% but it will not necessarily lead to pregnancy. We need to check DH's blood in 6 weeks to check that testosterone and FSH are rising and if everything is OK we will repeat SA in 3 months and then consider another IVF. Our urologist suggested stim IVF to improve the odds and did not recommend natural IVF. When I tried to explain that natural worked better for us because of my high FSH (at least we had a chemical pregnancy while with stim cycle we did not have any fertilasation), he kind of hinted that our clinic may not have been the best place for a stim IVF.

DH started the treatment last night but 3 months seems like ages.

 

[CaliDreaming]

We had a follow up appointment with our urologist and the good news is that our karyotype testing came back fine, no genetic issues, all chromosomes are in place - what a relief! I was so worried.

based on Dh's test results and particularly lower testosterone, the doc suggested the following treatment:

(i) increasing the count: FSH. There are three possible options for taking FSH: 1. tamoxifen, 20 mg/day for 30 days, which is what DH was prescribed; 2. some other anti-estrogen, forgot the name but basically it's only for overweight men; 3. Clomid, but the doc said this is too aggressive and may increase the testosterone too much and shut the system off completely;

(ii) improving the quality/morphology: antioxidants i.e. proxeed.

The doc was very clear that the above treatment may increase his count by 30-40% but it will not necessarily lead to pregnancy. We need to check DH's blood in 6 weeks to check that testosterone and FSH are rising and if everything is OK we will repeat SA in 3 months and then consider another IVF. Our urologist suggested stim IVF to improve the odds and did not recommend natural IVF. When I tried to explain that natural worked better for us because of my high FSH (at least we had a chemical pregnancy while with stim cycle we did not have any fertilasation), he kind of hinted that our clinic may not have been the best place for a stim IVF.

DH started the treatment last night but 3 months seems like ages.

Great news!!! Now I guess you just need to keep the whip cracked on dh to see if he follows through. Hopefully the past few months have been enough of a wakeup call though.

Three months sounds like a long time but it will be up before you know it, esp. if dh's starts improving. I guess that will give you some time to find a better suited clinic. It sucks how that last cycle went.

 

[Briss]

CaliDreaming, thanks! I am still recovering from the stim IVF, my cycle is all over the place. I really do not want any more IVF but if I stick with DH that seems to be the only way. I was actually looking at donor sperm as well but DH will not accept it.

 

[CaliDreaming]

CaliDreaming, thanks! I am still recovering from the stim IVF, my cycle is all over the place. I really do not want any more IVF but if I stick with DH that seems to be the only way. I was actually looking at donor sperm as well but DH will not accept it.

That's too bad dh won't consider donor sperm. Maybe now that he knows that you're researching that option he will be better at trying to improve his own sperm. I could understand him wanting his own bio child but not if he's not doing what he needs to be doing to bring that about. Can't have things both ways!

 

[rachy28]

Great thread girls
As you may see from my signature, we are ttc after vasectomy reversal. I'm currently on cycle#11 (9 months post vr). Dh's analysis was done just 9wks aftwr his op and this is what we got:
Volume : 4.24ml
Motility : 14% rapid linear, 40% progressive
Morphology : 94% abnormal forms
Count : 26.25 million / ml.
Total : 111.3 million.

We would love to conceive naturally but have to admit we feel beaten already. We are also embarking on the pgd with icsi route due to a genetic condition with a 50% inheritance pattern.
Both of our children have the faulty gene and as a result my daughter is about to undergo open heart surgery
Obviously pgd is probably the best way for us but I cant help but long for a natural bfp and there is still a 50% chance of a healthy child.

Anyway, ive had dh on a fertility multivitamin and antioxidants since his SA, ive banned alcohol, hot baths and limited his coffee to 1 cup per day. We've arranged for another SA in the coming weeks so I will let you know if there's been a difference at all.
Its lovely seeing success stories so congrats to the bfp ladies and good luck to those still trying x

 

[CaliDreaming]

rachy, your hubby has made great progress! I hope it improves further! Good luck!