Husband has a poor sperm count :-(

[Gizzy Kelly]

Hi ladies

My DH and I recently found out that his sperm test came back low or 'poor' were the words they used. All of my results are fine. Does anyone know what this means for us now??? We have been TTC for over 2 years. I wondered what the next step would be? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I feel really low right now and my husband just feels dreadful but I keep telling him that it will be fine and we will have a baby one day this is just a bit of a blip...

 

[LouiseB]

Do you have the actual results on you?

What it means for you really depends on just how "poor" they are...

My husband's sperm result were very very poor so we need to have ICSI and not having much success at that so far.

ICSI is IVF but instead of just mixing the eggs and sperm together, they inject the sperm right into the egg to minimise what the sperm has to do.

If it's not quite as poor as my hubby's results they'd do IVF.

If it's not quite as poor as that then they'd do IUI.

It is quite shocking when you first find these thing out, but you both need to try to remember that poor quality sperm is like an illness. They didn't choose to be like that. You can't blame someone for being ill... Your hubby can't blame himself.

There are lifestyle changes that might help though - no heat, no radiation, no caffeine, no alcohol, no smoking, healthy BMI, lots of antioxidants, etc.

You are probably a year away from trying for a baby though, so plenty of time to get your head around it

 

[Gizzy Kelly]

Thanks Louise B.

He is having another one done today. I will try and get his GP to print up a copy of the results as when they were reading them it was all a load of numbers and % and i did not understand. I will try and copy them to you to see if you can make more sense of it if you dont mind??

I am sorry to hear your ICSI has not worked so far. Are you having this done on the NHS? My friend had 5 lots of ISCI as her husbands sperm count was low without success and then they tried IVF and it worked for the first time? I really hope you get pregnant soon.

The information you have given me on IVF, ICSI and IUI is very interesting thank you at least i know what is what. we have a appointment at a private fertility clinic next week, (the same place I went for my tests) and then at least we know what the options are privately. My Gp has referred us both now on the NHS but I am told that my County no longer offers funding for IVF which is why I am least going to go for the private app to see what our options are.

I keep telling my husband that it will all be fine and I am sure we will succeed one day. He already does all of things you have listed

Thanks for the info and I will try and get those results to you. Thanks again and good luck with the ICSI.

Love Gizzy xxxx



becuase we are

 

[Drummers_wife]

Gizzy you are not alone x we have recently found out my hubby has high abnormal sperm and are waiting to see gp on Monday with what happens next xx

FX we get there soon always here if you need a chat xx

 

[Gizzy Kelly]

Thanks that is really kind of you. I will let you know what happens next week at our app. I am so fed up already with this process and the worst thing about it is that we are only just starting out I guess once this news has sunk in I will get my postive head back

Gizzy xxxx

 

[LouiseB]

Hiya Kelly - that would be great if you could post your results

How did your friend manage IVF if they need ICSI due to low sperm count? If you could ask where they had it and how they arrnaged it i'd be very grateful indeed!

xx

 

[Gizzy Kelly]

Hi Louise

Basically she had 5 attemps at ICSI on the NHS (she was part of a trial - she lives in Brentwood) but they did not work so she went to the Bourne Clinic in Cambridge and paid privately for IVF and it worked on the first attempt. (bizaraly after all of that which took 5 years she then fell naturally pregnant with her second baby!) She said that her husbands sperm count was borderline satisfactory to low.

Is there any chance you can get IVF on the NHS if your ICSI has not worked? Can you push for it?? Everyone I know who has ISCI has not been very happy with it, and they try IVF and this seems to work even if their DH sperm count is low.

Gizzy xxx

Ps will write out the results when my husband pick them up. i wish i had them in front of me now!!!

 

[LouiseB]

We have talked about IVF with the consultant but my hubby only produces about 90000 sperm cells per sample that move and we'd need at least 100000 per egg for IVF so they didn't even contemplate it's being an option.

We are thinking of freezing several samples and then trying IVF next time but i don't know if our clinic will allow for it.

As soon as you get your results, post them

 

[Gizzy Kelly]

Louise

Here they are:

Motility :

a Rapid progresion - 45%
b Slow Progression 15%
c Non progressive motility 15%
d Immotile 25%

Morphology:

Percentage of normal sperm 7%
Percentage of sperm with defects 93%
Head defects 93%
Neck/midpiece defects 14%
Tail defects 2%

The form also says Volume 3ml, pH 7.5, and total sperm density is 68.75 Millions/ml

What does this mean to you???

Any help will be greatly appecaited.

I am sorry about your husband's low count. I had no idea that the count of sperm made a difference to IVF as i thought that it was only 1 that was needed. Can they give you anything for a low sperm count? Does it make a difference? I assume you have had a few tests done now and not just one?? My husbands second one was yesterday. Big hugs to you.

Gizzy xxxx

 

[Gizzy Kelly]

Ps Louise at the bottom of the form is says borderline poor morphology: Borderline Teratozoospermia??

Love Gizzy xxx

 

[LouiseB]

Gizzy that sperm results looks amazing!

Rapid + Slow should be >50% and it's 65%

Volume should be 2-6 and it's 3ml.

Sperm density should be >20MIL and it's 69MIL.

pH is good.

The morphology is what is letting him down but when you take everything else into consideration then it shouldn't be an issue.

It should be 15% but is 7% but you have more than double density so it should make up for it.

Good luck for your next one but i'd be surprised if they didn't try something less invasive than IVF first

 

[Gizzy Kelly]

Wow thanks Louise that has certainly cheered me up! It worried me as at the bottom it said Borderline Teratozoospermia and when we looked this up it said this is a big problem with abnormally shaped sperm (ie they are incompentent even when they reach the egg ) and we will have diffiulties conveicing as 93% had defects. Also our GP painted a glum picture. Do you think that even with 93% defects this is good?

But if you think this look good then that is fab and has certainy made me smile on a Friday morning! Also I ned to ebar in mind this was a GP and we have yet to see a fertility specialist on this subject matter. Mind you, you seem to know loads about this!!!!

Thanks for your advice.


Gizzy xxxx

 

[LouiseB]

I've been there is why i know so much about it

93% is a lot, but my consultant said that anything over 15% is more than enough for decent fertilisation.

You have 3.5 times more than the required minumum density, so times 7% by 3.5 and you have nearly 25% normal morphology.

I think it sounds really good for you

If they just concentrated it down a bit, the sperm sample would be perfect.