so many questions - feeling so lost! Help please ladies!

[sunnyg]

Hi Ladies

I?m quite new to this forum, so sorry if I don?t have the acronyms right, or I haven?t posted this in the right place. Today I?m feeling so low, so lost, and I have sooo many questions.

So I?m just going to put them all done, and if anyone can give any advice, suggestions or share anything about any or all of them I?d be eternally grateful.

So some background info: TTC 1 almost 2 year now. Not a hint of a BFP in this time. Have recently been to have initial testing via GP . Mine came back all clear but DH not so good. Came back with low sperm count ? about 6 million. He?s going for re-testing (fingers crossed it was just an error as I know 6 million not good)in a few weeks and we?ve already been referred to a fertility clinic (first appointment end of Sept)
We are both healthy, active people who only have the odd glass of alcohol or coffee and we and both taking heaps of vitamins(inc. DH on man vits to assist with his swimmers). I?m 34 and he?s 37.

1. Low to High on CBFM ? this has happened now 2 months in a row. Been using it for about 8 months, but had 1 month of not using it as abroad. Is this correct? Usual?
   
2. CBFM says peak but CM says maybe not! Have been charting using FF and have noticed that my CM tends to turn to the good stuff a few days after I?ve gotten my peak on CBFM. Which is most accurate or should I trust? I have a very regular cycle (28-29 days with ovulation almost always occurring days 16 ? 18).
   
3. When to SW1? - well we?ve tried everything, doing it every 2-3 days throughout cycle, focusing on peak days, doing it every day during ?fertile window? etc etc. Since DH?s test results we?ve tried to do it every 3 days to leave it a bit longer for it to build up (sorry if TMI!). So this cycle we?ve done that and also did it on day 1 of peak according to CBFM. But although I would have been keen to SWI again on day 2 of peak DH finds it a bit hard to back up.
   
4. What to expect at first fertility clinic appointment? I have no idea. Anything I can do to prepare.
   

Thank you so much in advance for any help you can give. I?m not from the UK, so am finding this journey without friends and family close by quite difficult, thank god for Mumsnet!

[jassinkernow]

Hello
Not sure I can answer all/any of this, but didn't want to read and not reply. I was in a similar situation 4 yrs ago - my results more-or-less OK, DH sperm count was very low (by which I mean less than 1million - I'm not trying to make you feel worse!).
We never did any charting etc so really don't have any advice. My impression from the fertility clinic was that there's various schools of thought and no definite answer. (Sorry, this is meant to be helpful!!)
We were also referred to a fertility clinic for IVF with ICSI. I actually felt better once I got 'in the system'. The first appointment was mainly to go over our previous results and discuss a plan of action. I had a few more bloods and another ultrasound, DH did another SA for them. We started treatment within weeks (this was private at aRGC).
It sounds like you are doing all you can - vits, healthy lifestyle etc to prepare. We were advised to take vitamins, cut down on coffee and alcohol. (On our 2nd ivf cycle we cut alcohol altogether, with an improvement in DH's sperm count - though obviously that's highly anecdotal.)
We had 2 cycles of ICSI and now have 3 children (twins 2nd time around). From what I remember of our research at the time, and what the clinic said, male factor is actually one of the more straightforward fertility issues to treat - they were pretty confident that we'd be successful eventually, if not first time.
Having tried to answer the bits of the practical stuff, it was absolutely the hardest time of my life, I wish there was something I could say other than be sympathetic. Look after yourself and your DH and I hope things work out for you. If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them.

[kat2504]

Well it at least sounds like your husband is doing all he can to improve things. If he isn't smoking or drinking and he eats well and takes vitamins, thats about all he can do really. Hopefully the next test will be a bit more promising.
If you are sure that ovulation is day16-18 then I think swi would be best timed for days 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. covers the possibility of it happening a bit earlier and gives him a day off to regroup the troops in the meantime. Day 1 of CBFM peak is probably better than day 2. Most conceptions are the result of sex before ovulation. CBFM peak ought to be the day before, which is prime sex time.
Good luck!

[havealittlefaithbaby]

Hi I'm in a similar position too. So far my results have come back ok. DH's sperm analysis wast great and he's waiting for a repeat.
I've charted but never used a monitor. From what I know, the peak on the monitor indicates that you're at you most fertile (ie just before you ovulate) and I too get some 'fertile' cm around and for a couple of days after I see a temperature peak.
Sex wise it's difficult to say....too frequent when your fella has a low sperm count could actually be more harm than good. My GP said you should aim for three times a week.every week.
Fertility clinics tend to vary..at mine they asked about our fertility history, sexual history, medical history. My doc was a bit dissmissive of my charts how rude! but said a list of my cycles would be helpful.
I would and often do highly recommend this book which may help you pit all the info you have together and also gives advice about timing intercourse if his sperm count remains low. Hope that helps, I've tried to add to what jass said rather than contradict or ignore.

[sunnyg]

Thanks so much ladies for all of your posts. They've really helped and weirdly cheered me up a bit!
jass - I'm wondering if you can tell me a little more about your IVF - ICSI treatment. (I know I'm jumping a bit ahead here - but hey I'm female, can't help thinking ahead!). I understand you went private, and that it was a few years ago. Was this due to the wait times with NHS? If you don't mind me asking, when going private how long did you need to wait for your first IVF cycle after seeing the fertility clinic and roughly how much did it cost you privately? (if you'd prefer not to answer no problems!). Was this really your only route seeing your DH had a low sperm count (just wondering if this inevitably our route as well?)
Havealittlefaith baby - where are you in the process? Have you gone NHS or private?
Thanks again!

[havealittlefaithbaby]

We are NHS still. Had first fertility clinic appointment in July. Then had Hsg and pelvic ultrasound off the back of that. DH had first sa in June. He has a repeat tomorrow (!) but because his results were low they suggested more (different) bloods which showed the high prolactin/low testosterone. Tbh I think his results will come back low again because there'll only be a difference when they treated the underlying cause for us. We were told iui/ivf would be an option later down the line if his sperm count didn't improve

[jassinkernow]

Hi sunny
We went private based partly on the clinic's success rates, and partly on NHS wait times which were over a year in our area then (2005/6). We had our bloods/HSG etc done on the NHS. The wait for the fertility clinic was about 3 months I think and once we had our first appointment we started treatment within a couple of weeks. Our cycle cost in the region of £6000 I think - that was in 2006.
IVF/ICSI was the only route suggested to us by both the NHS and the clinic. DH's sperm count was never above 1m in any of the samples he did. I also have mild PCOS, so while I was ovulating it was less frequently than most people.
Hope that helps x