Very Low Sperm Count - Advice?

[rachelle1975]

Hey ladies

Well DH got his sperm results this morning and he can't stop apologising to me - i feel so sorry for him and it's not his fault.

His sperm is 1.5million and it should be between 20-99 million.

He has been taken propecia for his thinning hair for the past 2 years and the doc said he has to come off that as it can cause feotal abnormalities as well. There is nothing to say that the propecia lowers sperm count but the doctor said it could so we have to stop TTC for 3 months until it clears out of his system and he has been told to stop drinking entirely.

Has anyone else's OH had a really low sperm count? Just wondering what options we have?

They said he has to do another SA in a month to see if there has been improvement?

Any advice would be appreciated i've gone a bit wobbly

 

[Mrs R]

Aww hun. My hubby just had his SA this morning and he's very worried about his results (he thinks he didn't produce a big enough sample, bless)

I think I've heard that zinc is good for boosting the little swimmers, and probably a good multi-vit. Try googling it and see what you come up with.

 

[DaisyDuke]

I'm so sorry for u both, my DH has to get tested in about a week Maybe try wellman vit suppose to be good for swimmers my DH has been on it for nearly 3 months now

Just remember you only need 1.

 

[rachelle1975]

Thanks ladies - he's been taking multi vits for a few months now, baggy pants - you name it he's taken it! The doctor didn't discuss motility so i've suggested he ring him back to discuss that... his mum is an ex-specialist nurse so she's been going on about IUD and stuff..... i just wondered if anyone else had the same problems?
Feel a bit lost x

 

[FJL]

Hey sweety,

First of all i'm sorry to hear of the results. It is such a devestating blow because you do these tests thinking everything will be fine and nothing can prepare you for getting bad results.

Its completely normal for you DH to be feeling like shit. When we found out about DH's probs (slightly low count, very low motility and extremely poor morphology) we were both gutted and were told right then and there IVF was our ONLY option. It was one of the only times i've ever seen DH cry. I know my DH felt/feels like a failure and I think the only thing you can do is reassure your DH that this isn't true...tell him how much you love him and that you're in it together...that constant reassurance is the only thing you can really do.

Our main problem was motility and with more intenstive testing we also found out that his sperm was highly damaged. So as I said, for us IVF/ICSI is all we have.

With low count, my understanding is that IUI is a possiblity as they will seperate all the good sperm from the bad, but with a very low count i'm fairly sure that most Dr's would recommend IVF.

It would also be good as you said for your DH to get all of his results, ask about motility and morpholgy to give you an idea of how that side of things are.

Another important thing to remember is that the 2nd and 3rd tests will give a more accurate reading. How long did he abstain for? Our FS specialises in MF IF and he said abstainence should be 3 days...no more or no less as anything else is generally inaccurate. A recent cold/flu can also affect the reading. During your 3month TTC break other things he could do would be to change his diet if it is poor, replace with lots of fresh fruit and veg, organic foods, drink lots of water and keep up with the vits/mins.

If you have any other questions ask away. This journey is so hard

 

[rachelle1975]

Thanks so much for that FJL - although its not great news for us at least the results answer some questions we had you know??

Well re the abstaining - prob about 7 days in the end - he was really nervous about having the tests and quite stressed which wouldn't have helped either. I have a fertility diet book and it said that any longer than 3 days can affect the sperm as they just die off. I didn't realise this - it also recommends what you did, go organic! and there was a list of nuts and also some herbs you can take - horny goat week was recommended!! The doc gave him his results over the phone and didn't mention motility or morphology so don't know if that is a good thing or not - he'll call him back shortly so fingers crossed.

Have told hubby when he gets home we will pop to supermarket and get organic produce and also some Wellman tablets which are meant to be good for sperm etc.

Maybe it's his propecia tablets that have affected this??

Being told we have to stop TTC for 3 months was a bit of a blow though! x

 

[pixielou]

Hi Rachel,

soz to hear this, hope all goes well for you!

Lou
X

 

[diva4180]

just wanted to offer some to you both. xx

 

[rachelle1975]

Thanks for all your support guys.

DH has taken it quite hard but i've told him that it will be much higher in a month - i'm sure of it. He's stopped his propecia pills and we went and bough vit c, b12 and zinc and lots of organic fruit/veg and meat. Also got a britta water filter to see if that helps!

I'm kinda wondering that since we actually abstained for a week rather than the 3 days, maybe that made it worse? I dunno, might be clutching at straws but you have to have hope! x

 

[Helen]

We had male factor problems - low motility rather than count - and had ICSI(IVF).

Our FS pretty much dismissed out of hand the tests DH did at home (he did 2 and took them in to the hospital). He said that things like how long it takes from the sample being produced to it being analysed and its temperature on the journey can totally skew the results.

Unfortunately for us the test DH did in the ACU confirmed the first two, but there's always hope that another test for you and your DH will show better results especially with all the changes he is making to his diet.

 

[Farie]

for you and you DH
I cannot think of anything other than the measures you have already put in place, my DF uses the Radox Vit C with added Zinc effervescent tablets and they are meant to be fab.
As other's have said, lots of fresh veg, organic etc and keeping his 'bits' cool.

 

[FJL]

A week is definitely a LONG time to abstain for when it comes to fertility testing. It would've affected his results i'm sure. Next time round if he does 3 days and in the meantime loads up on all things healthy and his vits, hopefully the test will come back much better. If Dr didn't mention motility or morphology I would assume that they're normal...you an always get the rates for your own peace of mind though.

Another thing he could take is folic acid. My FS had DH go on that as well as other ones. He said around 1000mg daily, so around the same that you'd be taking.

I can certainly understand your disapointment with a 3 month break because you spend so long trying and to have to wait even longer really sucks.

I hope your DH is feeling better knowing that there is a good chance his results will really improve next time around

 

[rachelle1975]

Hey lovely ladies - thank you so much for all of your nice words!

DH eventually came home and had a big cry. We went to Sainsbury and bough Zinc, Vit B complex and 1000mg effervescent Vit Cs as they didn't have any of the Wellman tablets there. He stopped taking his propecia this morning too!

Dr rang him back yesterday arvo and said that his motility and morphology was normal so that's gotta be a bonus right? He was gonna do another SA straight away but doc said to wait a month since he was on the hair pills to give that a chance to start flushing out of his sytem. He was also drinking 2 cans of lager a night - not bingeing at weekend just 2 every night so now he's gotta stop that and maybe only have 1 or 2 a week!

3 months isn't such a long time i guess - i think i worry too much about my age! Plus, it gives me a chance to get fighting fit, lose a few pounds so that if we have to go down the IVF route i'm good to go!

At the end of the day there are worse things that happen to people so i'm counting my blessings that my husband is lovely and he wants to buy me another cat!

 

[Mendy]

Hello rachelle1975,
My DH has very low sperm count as well...his best sample was a total of 6 million sperm but only 2 and 3 million have had good motility/morphology. They suggested we do IUI, but from the beginning, the RE told us not to get our hopes up because anything under 5 million sperm for IUI usually doesn't work.

Well, here I am, just had my 3rd IUI and this time his count was one million. I am not feeling hopeful at all...but you never know, it only takes one.

So they suggested IVF or donor sperm from this point on....

BTW, he's taken all kinds of "sperm enhancing" vitamins, and nothing has helped. He got checked out by the Urologist who said everything came back normal, they just don't know why he's not producing a normal amount of sperm.

I wish you lots of luck on your journey!

 

[Angela855]

Stay strong huni. I'm sure the test results will improve next time.

As many of the girls have said - it only takes 1 and I've read about many people who's other halves have had low sperm count and have gone on to concieve naturally so it can happen!

Stay positive and let us know how things go after his next set of tests xxx

 

[rachelle1975]

Thanks Angela - i'm trying to be very positive and you are right, it only takes 1!

I will remain positive by listening to the majority not the minority, but it's quite hard when some people (not you) reply to my post and it ends up sounding very negative and not very supportive. It just paints a very bleak picture and really want support not other people's negative experiences which help no-one when you have had bad news - sorry for rant

 

[HAYS]

i hear ya mate!!! nothing worse then hearing someone else go on about theirs when your feeling crap

xxxx

 

[tickledpink]

I can't really add much else either but I believe the Zinc does work! My OH had a sperm count of 12 million and motility of 5%. But now after just four months and another SA it's gone up to 15 million and 10% motility!! We've still got a long way to go but it's given us a small bit of hope! The doctor has also suggested a small operation for Variocele??? No idea if it will help, but he said it's worth a go, so we're now waiting for an appoinment. Wishing you both luck

 

[rachelle1975]

tickledpink - at the risk of me sounding a bit thick, is the varicole thing to do with varicose veins in the scrotum?!?! My MIL is an ex-specialist nurse and she said that this can be a cause of low sperm count and having that checked can really assist? Excellent that things have increased so much for you.

I am kinda hoping that since DH was taking pills for his hairloss, this is why it dropped so low and that hopefully, when he goes back in weeks to do another SA - the results will be more positive. If they aren't then he is off to the urologist for more tests. We can't try until end of November anyway due to the pills in his system so fingers crossed it will be all good.

Holiday on 20th September so we can chill out x

 

[tickledpink]

Yes, it's to do with the veins. I had no idea what it was until the OH explained it to me. I don't think he knew what it was either and why would he? lol. Apparently he has a large vein on one of his testicles but it's never given him any trouble - yet the Doc seems to think it can affect the sperm count by making the area around it too hot and that's why the sperm is 'sluggish'... so let's see what happens!

And here's hoping November comes quickly for you and that it's good news!