Advice needed, Dp sperm morphology really low

Rattling- reading your post has been a real source of comfort, just knowing that there is someone out there in a similar situation is comforting. Am sorry to hear about your DH's poor results - that must be really hard for both of you to deal with, especially as he has obviously been making a huge effort re vitamins and not drinking / smoking etc. In a way, I find the only way I can cope with all this is to feel that I am taking some positive action to do something about the situation, so I am very interested and encouraged to hear that you are going to try ICSI- as it looks as though this may be a route DP and I will have to take in the near future. I really hope this goes well for you both. I have read some extremely positive things about the procedure and it appears to have very high success rates. If you are ok talking about it and sharing your experience- I would be really interested to hear how it all goes. Thanks so much for your support and you have it from me also!

Evergrounded - thanks for reopening this thread. I hadn't seen it before and it has been very useful to read how everyone's partners have dealt with their poor sperm results.

I can't offer any help with the effect undescended testicles have on sperm count, but we are heading down the ICSI path due to DH's poor results. His high point was a count of 9mill/ml, his low 0.5mill/ml (which was after 6 months of vitamins, reduced drinking and smoking )

The recent very poor results have hit him hard and, just to make things more difficult, affected his libido.

So no positive stories here, hope you get them from someone, but lots of support if you need it.

Hi, I'm quite new to mumsnet, I have posted before a few months ago, but have been trying not focus on other things recently- easier said that done, as everyone on here knows! My partner and I have been ttc for over a year now- finally convinced him to go to GP and do some initial tests. My partner had undescended testicles as a child, and unfortunately did not have the op to correct them until the age of 11! (I could kill the bloody consultant that told his parents to 'wait'). GP has ordered a semen analysis, which dp is doing this Weds, and we are both absolutely terrified, as we have done some research and it looks as if his chance of having any sperm at all is very low. This was such a shock and a blow to both of us, as it had not ocurred to us that the undescended testicles could turn out to be such a massive problem. The doc mentioned ICSI, and it does look as if they can do quite a lot with a very tiny amount of sperm. I was wondering if anyone was in a similar situation, as we are both really struggling to come to terms with this, and I don't know how I am going to get through the next two weeks, as we have to wait for his semen analysis results to come back. Would really appreciate any words of support or positive stories from any of you lovely people...

He took pycogenol (think that's how you spell it) which I got in Holland and Barrett- it's quite expensive. And he also took zinc and soluble high dose Vit C. (Helps the absorbtion on Zinc apparently). I don't think he took as much pycogenol as it said on the bottle- I had to force feed it to him in the morning and evening (he wasn't very keen...)
He def cut down on hot baths too. He's not a huge drinker anyway but he did try to cut down a bit. He doesn't smoke but I that is def a factor.
I've just remembered I also bought some expensive multi- vit from US Ebay. (I must have read about it somewhere). I think it was called Fertil-Aid but I can check the bottle when I get home.
It was all quite expensive to be honest but I was on a bit of a mission at the time- I think I was doing it more to give the sperm as much help as poss before we started ICSI.
He HATED doing the tests by the way and says now he always knew there was nothing wrong(!).
I'll let you know if I think of anything else we did. Your DP has a good count which is a good sign. Good luck

1Wish, just to say that my dp's result came as 9% on our first test. This was the result from the GP test. We then got referred to a conception unit and all the appointments took months and my dp had to do another test as they wouldn't accept a result from a different hospital (and, to add, I had to listen to a fair bit of moaning from him which drove me NUTS considering the tests I had to have!). Wouldn't you know it, the results were 'fine'. We never did have an exact breakdown but when I queried the morphology of the previous test they just looked at their piece of paper and said it had completely changed and was now above the 'worry' level. I have to say my dp did very little different. At the time of the first test he was changing jobs so maybe stress played a factor but he was happy to change jobs so not that sure. I did buy Zita West male vitamins (google and you'll find her) which does have everything I'd read you should take as a male supplement, eg zinc, selenium (sp?), etc. I think my dp took about 6 of the buggers though! Sometimes these things just change completely on their own. Actually, there was a Panorama programme on just couple of weeks ago that featured Zita West. They tested a football team and found quite a few had low sperm count/morphology problems. They did a very strict 3 month healthy eating/no drinking/taking supplements and some of the team improved by more than 50%. Funnily enough though, one guy had 'super sperm' then changed his lifestyle along with the others and his actually went down. Try googling Zita West as there is quite a lot of info on all this on her website. Maybe just time will change it all around for you too.
Very best of luck though.

1wish

My DH had 2 tests last summer at a local hospital and was told count was very high (like it is in your case)and morphology and motility were rubbish in both and we would have to have ICSI. I had a few hormonal problems as well and some endometriosis.
He started to take lots of vitamins (pycogenol(sp?), zinc, vit C etc and we both tried to cut down on alcohol etc. and cut down on hot baths.
When we had a consultation at the IVF clinic (about 4 months later)they retested him and his results came up as normal. They said we should therefore go for IUI as it obviously wasn't happening. We were then meant to pay for genetic testing but put that off.
2 months later I conceived naturally (after giving up caffeine,having acupuncture and laser surgery on endometriosis). We were on holiday and as we thought we were going to start treatment I had given up on all the tests, timing everything etc.
I don't know what did it but we were told after the 1st couple of tests that there was a 10% chance over 10 years that it would happen naturally and I am now due in 9 weeks.
We were both a bit sceptic about the vitamins, baths etc but the sperm definately did improve dramatically.
I don't think you say how how old you are but if you are thinking about going private I really recommned doing the vitamins etc first before you go down the IVF route. I am 37 so was keen to just get on with it but so glad we didn't have to.

I then think we have a separate issue in pregnancy, where my blood produces clots in the placenta, causing bleeding and leading to premature birth.

I hate consultants!!!

I swear slagging off husbands and their inability to perform at crucial times is much more fun!

can you not get yourself on the Leeds writing list as well?

For the pregnancy loss I have been referred to Birmingham as well as my normal hospital as I was not satisfied with the results and likely support in next pregnancy. (I have not gone get as emotionally I was a bit all over the place and was finding it hard to handle) but they have left me with an open ended appointment, for when I am ready. Maybe you could do a similar thing?

I think to be honest I will have to go private if I want treatment as we have conceived naturally before and this effectively puts you at the back of the queue again. In fact I am pretty much made to feel like I am wasting their time and last time told that from a fertility prospective there is nothing wrong with me and the UK is pretty hung up on conceiving quickly. However I have other consultants that have said things like 'I am throwing out serious indicators that there is an underlying issue'.... I know I am not the only one to struggle to get pregnant and I'm not the only one to loss a baby, but it is a double whammy and a massive part of your life and in my eyes there has to be some level of cause. In the next breath he then declared that they have done all their tests on me and nothing has come back, however there is no predict science in regards to the issues I am suffering from and may be something they don't have the science behind as yet?????? Totally fills me with confidence... can you see how bloody confusing this whole situation is... I think that is why I pull at straws, for example when I saw your thread it makes sense to me that my husbands issues could be the simple cause of why our fertility is effected and why we have difficulty getting pregnant. Hence why I am wondering if IUI or something like that would be useful?
This is so bloody confusing!

Iwish, In relation to the clomid, they just did not think it was a good idea for me, especially since I ovulate aswell, my normal consultant felt it was unwarranted and could have an adverse effect when not needed. From the research I did I tended to agree with him, as I ovulate regularly each month.

Just wanted to clear that up as know you are on clomid and it is a fantastic drug when used correctly. Just was not right for my circumstances

Thanks Littlefish... nice talking to you... hope you paint is nice!

Take care and good luck with everything. XX

OMG that is awful!

How can they justify those kind of waiting lists and decisions! That is crazy.

I bet people have to move to get treatment!

I started to go private and went for a scan to start it off and he suggested clomid, as he felt my ovulation was a bit delayed and clomid would make me more fertile. However my NHS consultant advised that he would not treat me with clomid as it would present too many risks for me in relation with my past pregnancy history. (it has an increased multiple birth rate etc). So I am giving my NHS consultant one last go in July and if he still recommends 'time' and no treatment I am going to seek a second opinion. I sometimes doubt whether the NHS are pro-active in treatment and delay things until they are really necessary, so to prevent costs.

Anyway ladies, lovely chatting to you.

Hving done almost no work, I'm now off out to try and buy some paint!

Best of luck RahRah and 1wish. I'll check this thread from time to time, so please keep posting and let me know how you're getting on.

If you go privately, then it can all happen very quickly. We saw the consultant in the January and we could have started the next month. We decided to delay it until the April as it fitted in better with some plans we had (ever practical, even though I'm a drama queen!). Thank goodness we delayed it, or we wouldn't have conceived dd in the February.

When we were first ttc, we still couldn't have got nhs funding because there was an age restriction, and a weight restriction, both of which I fell outside.

I know the feeling, I have put on a 1 1/2 stone over the last year and I know the fertility consultant will suggest a bit of weight loss... GRRR. I have however lost a bit recently, as we want to go on a nice luxury holiday and want to fit into my normal holiday stuff... my hips and tummy have gone well out of shape. A certain amount of wobbling is going on!

Do you have to go private in your area for IVF? My mum who works in the local NHS has said they are restricting our area to one child and if you have one already you have to go private if you wish another. That is so wrong!

I went to see my consultant in Jan 07 and he advised he would like to see another clear 18 months of infertility prior to offering us any treatment, but I will be 33+ and we would of been trying for many years by then. Plus they have no reasons except for a one off for us losing our first child, so what if we lose another pregnancy, as they said I am much higher risk of miscarriage/prematurity due to the amount of bleeding I have in pregnancy. However they can not determine the cause. So they want me to try another pregnancy with aspirin and if that does not work then they will try me on stronger blood thinners. What I am basically saying have I got years to wait if my risks of losing a pregnancy is higher and what if we want more children. So that is why I want to push for treatment now, as I feel he is allowing the timescales to get tight.

How quick can you get IVF once you decided you want to go for it?

DH and I are both 39.

In answer to your question RahRah, I think he will consider it if I nag him enough. He knows that time is definitely not on our side, and if we're going to consider IVF, we need to do before I'm 40 ideally. His answer at the moment is "we just need to have more sex" (typical male response!)

Having said that, I really, really need to lose weight before we consider IVF, and in spite of really wanting another child, I just can't seem to get motivated.

I wish I had started to TTC at an earlier age. we have been trying for 31months, but have managed to conceive, so this time round it has been 7 months so far.

Im 32 and my DH is 30 (I was 32 on the 7th June..boo hoo)
Its my husbands nickname for me as my name is Sarah too!

How old are you guys?