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When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Conception

Urgent help please: semen analysis

21 replies

munki · 15/08/2011 15:00

Please advise, am freaking out. DH just got told he has to see a GP re his results - they've booked him in for an appt on Weds even though I don't have my blood results yet, why?? Why so urgent? Is this normal? Am worried they might have found something scary, is that possible?

OP posts:

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piprabbit · 15/08/2011 15:07

Try and stay calm, don't get carried away before the appointment. I wouldn't assume there is a problem - perhaps your DH has been lucky to get a cancellation appointment?

I don't think that people working in the surgery are always very aware of the chaos that something they do (or don't) say can cause in a patient's life.

My DH and I had our initial fertility tests. I phoned up reception and was told that my results were fine - we then spent a horrendous week thinking that DH was infertile, finding out that male fertility is much harder to treat, loads of tears etc.etc. When we walked into the surgery the GP said that DH's results were normal, mine were normal (but he gave me Clomid anyway ). I wish that the receptionist had just booked us the appt. and said nothing else.

munki · 15/08/2011 16:04

Thanks for your reply, unfortunately it is def bad - so far my results have been fine. He's sent me the results, which I'm going to list IB the hope if some advice:
Viscosity: normal
Volume: 1.1ml
Density: 2.9*
Motility: 25
Progression: poor
Normal forms: 1*
Debris: ++
Agglutination: -
Round cells: -

To my untrained eye this looks catastrophically bad. We have secondary infertility though so it was good enough before... Are we fucked?

OP posts:

mumatron · 15/08/2011 16:10

Those are very similar to my dp's. Except the motility was 16 iirc.

We managed to get pg 5 times in 2 years so its defini

Supersunnyday · 15/08/2011 16:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mumatron · 15/08/2011 16:18

Those are very similar to my dp's. Except the motility was 16 iirc.

We managed to get pg 5 times in 2 years so its definitely not impossible.

We were advised that ivf with icsi would be our best chance. I got pg with dd a few weeks later naturally.

He will need at least one more analysis to compare results.

In the meantime I would get him on wellman conception vitamins, and something called pycnogenal. You can get both from Holland and barret. We also used somthing called peruvian maca, but that is a bit too woo for some people.

My dp had much better results after taking these for a few months.

Good luck op!

munki · 15/08/2011 16:21

Thanks for your reply mumatron, really helpful. I can cope with one thing being off, it just feels like it's all bad. He had an undescended testicle when younger which was never probably sorted out at the time - I always thought it might cause us problems but then I got PG twice no worries so stopped thinking it was an issue. Now I feel quite devastated as we can't afford ivf. Did you do anything to try to improve your H's results?

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munki · 15/08/2011 16:25

Sorry mumatron, I posted before I'd seen your whole reply, I will try those things. Have already hot him popping various pills although only started that in the last few weeks, fingers crossed it just hasn't had time to work yet

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mumatron · 15/08/2011 16:30

No idea how I managed to post half a message. Stupid phone.

Yes, my dp took the vitamins listed above. Another good vitamin to try is fertilaid, can only be bought online iirc.

We would only have been able to afford one try at ivf, and that would of been with egg sharing. Is that an option for you?

Iirc, sperm csn be effected by illness, colds/flu etc. Was your dh ill at all a months ago?

On the bright side, regular ejaculation can improve quality and amount if sperm. Good excuese for lots of sex!

mumatron · 15/08/2011 16:31

a few months ago.

munki · 15/08/2011 17:49

DH was laid up with a horrendous cold earlier in the year, and actually he had another less bad one more recently but which really dragged, had to take antibiotics a couple of months ago for a chest infection.

Can you enlighten me about what the density measure means? does it mean 2.9 million sperm per ml? That's quite bad, isn't it? Isn't it supposed to be closer to 20 million? Am worrying because I googled and found something that said a drop in sperm count (although given I don't know if his has always been low and we fluked it before) can be due to prostate inflammation. So now I'm worrying he has prostate cancer...

OP posts:

munki · 15/08/2011 18:25

Actually, the antibiotics were about 3 weeks ago - an 8-day course of erythromycin. Does that kill sperm as well as bacteria? Or am I clutching at straws?

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MiniH · 15/08/2011 19:27

I'm not sure I totally understand your results but it looks like there's poor morphology. We have poor morphology and mobility - have appt this week to discuss our chances. But, on the plus side dh's morphology improved by 1% in two months by taking vits so there is some hope. I made him take the Marilyn glenville vits as although expensive they have very high dose ( and figured neededvall the help we could get).

MiniH · 15/08/2011 19:28

Oh, and antibiotics can affect it but takes three months to make the little swimmers so sounds too recent. Do keep him away from tight boxers and hot baths though.

munki · 15/08/2011 19:38

I think the morphology is the 'Normal forms', so it's 1% (I assume). Looking at the whole thing I just think it's hopeless. I am going to get DH taking supplements but I have googled and I think if you have morphology/motility that are OK, a low count doesn't matter so much and vice versa, but in our case all three are really bad so I just don't know if we can do anything. I can't imagine that even antibiotics would make it so bad.

DH has been doing research and is now worrying that he could have caught chlamydia from an ex, but this is going back 16 years and I don't have it so I don't think it can be that.

I am desperately trying to find a reason for what must be a massive decline in the quality and amount of his sperm since I first got pregnant but there's nothing, and a lot of stuff saying that it's not really possible to improve it if all three factors are bad. I feel sick, devastated that it seems that that is it - no more kids for us. It's so final.

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Cloclo15 · 15/08/2011 20:04

My DH had first results of density 5.8, motility 12% and morphology 2% - all low. Second results were 4.3 million, 7% motility but morphology had gone up to 5% (normal range) so figures can change. We were told that density should be at least 20 million, morphology (fast progressive and slow progressive combined) should be 50% and morphology should be at least 4%.

Your results do look low but they will need to take another set of results at least a month apart to compare - it could just be an anomaly due to illness etc. I am sure my DH's results are linked to his type one diabetes for example.

We are getting ready to start ICSI as told this is our best chance, but the fact that you have been successful before shows that a natural BFP isn't impossible, just less likely. Even with our results we were told we had a 20% chance of natural BFP in three years. So it can happen.

mumatron · 15/08/2011 20:26

Yes, it can happen. Please don't abandon all hope yet.

Like I said, we managed 5 bfp's in 2 years. 4 miscarriages and a dd.

Try the vitamins, they may make a difference.

Have you discussed the possibility of ivf with egg sharing? Is that a possibilty financially?.

Wait until the second lot of results. Things may have improved already.

munki · 15/08/2011 20:33

Thanks Cloclo. I just can't understand what's happened, and am worried that something's caused this. I've been pregnant twice, both times on first time of trying.

Did your DH have any tests after his initial SA?

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munki · 15/08/2011 20:42

Thanks again mumatron. I'm so sorry to hear about your losses.

We'll do the vits and I'm looking at costs of egg sharing now. Funny, yesterday I would have said we'd never do IVF, I'd never put myself through it (and of course we can't afford it). Faced with the prospect of never conceiving again though, for real, I'm wondering whether we could borrow the cash from someone...

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Cloclo15 · 15/08/2011 20:54

He has had the two semen analyses which came out broadly similar as you can see from the figures above, and because we are preparing for ICSI he has had various blood tests. All his hormonal ones came back normal, though his FSH was 12 which is on the high side of normal but not technically too high. We are waiting on blood results to tell us if he has a chromosomal abnormality or the Cystic Fibrosis gene which can account for poor sperm quality, though there is nothing they can do about it if he has these things. He is going to get some sperm frozen, and they may do a physical examination then but even if they found a varicocele for example they would be unlikely to do anything about it as success rates for ICSI are higher.

We like you were also worried that this might be a sign of something else harmful but the consultant was very reassuring and said this shouldn't affect his health, it's just one of those things. My DH couldn't think of any surgery/problems that might have led to this, and the fact that he produces sperm apparently means that there is unlikely to be a physical blockage - if there was no sperm this might be the case.

My DH doesn't drink or smoke and now takes Wellman vitamins, but if yours smokes you should get him to stop right away as this can have a significant effect. Also get him to take vitamins, although these are unlikely to make a huge difference to take up to normal range so don't expect miracles with these in terms of results. Also, DH has started wearing loose boxers. None of these things will solve the problem, but they can't hurt!

Good luck - as I say, the fact you have been successful once is a good sign - we have never managed a BFP.

drcrab · 15/08/2011 21:07

Hi
Just wanted to say not to give up. I can't remember DH's sa but it wasn't great in terms of morphology and motility. He had a lot of it but they weren't well formed and weren't great swimmers. My results were 'normal' but I ended up being given clomid! Thankfully we got preg after 1 cycle. And now we have 2 (DD conceived after maybe 4 months??). Interestingly I had a wellwoman check and as part of that I had a scan done on my women's bits and both times they couldn't 'find' one ovary. Does that mean I only have 1???

Don't give up. Make DH take vitamins and eat healthily. No processed food. Try that for a few months. We did that too. I also hd acupuncture and reflexology.

sdotg · 15/08/2011 21:10

hi I'll have to dig out our exact results to remind myself but if you want good advice on how to analyse the results it may be worth checking on fertilityfriends.co.uk - I lived on that site during our diagnosis and IVF.
We had similar motility and normal forms and ultimately IVF/ICSI was our only option, which was successful.
However in order to improve his sperm quality DH went mad on his diet, fresh fruit and veg every day, took the vits already mentioned on here and no booze for I think 2-3 months (sperm production cycle is about that duration I seem to remember) and by the time we hit the egg and sperm collection date his results had improved enough that we could have done straight IVF.
Hope it helps, good luck

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