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Conception

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.

Original poster

IVF Advice - low sperm count/ morphology

38 replies

toriistrying · 06/07/2023 11:13

Hi everyone.

IVF Recommendations and success stories please.

Both 33 and ttc with no positive tests.

My Partner and I have had our fertility tests results back. I am fine. Unfortunately my husband has a very low sperm count, morphology at 0% and 25% motility.

Our doctor suggested we go straight for IVF. please can anyone who has been in a similar situation, offer any advice, especially IVF clinics.

thanks so much

x x

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Ruffpuff · 06/03/2024 22:26

I’ve only just seen this thread. What a journey.

Massive congratulations to you both, op. I’m so happy for you!

Original poster
toriistrying · 06/03/2024 22:08

Hi everyone.

A little positive update:

We had the surgery in august 2023. DH sperm count increased from 3million to 57 million!!!

We were advised to wait 3 months before ttc. We got pregnant the first cycle ttc. November 2023

I had a chemical pregnancy and miscarried at 5 weeks and 5 days.

I then fell pregnant again, without a period in between.

I'm now 12 weeks and 2 days. I had my NHS scan today and everything is looking good.

My takeaways are

1 I would go for this varicocele surgery a million times over
2 look after your mental health, if you're on a ttc journey. Get some help. I waited and spiralled.

Having a miscarriage and then getting pregnant immediately afterwards has messed with my head. I've just started cbt therapy and I'm feeling a lot better.

If you feel yourself going and can't afford a private therapist. Get on your nhs wait list.

This is a very positive outcome and we feel so so lucky.

Any questions let me know

OP posts:
Original poster
toriistrying · 13/09/2023 16:54

Sorry - I meant to say we got it done in the HOPE that we may fall pregnant naturally. If we need to have IVF then my view is that the sperm will be as healthy as it can possibly be.

I got told to just get the ball rolling with the IVF on the NHS because why not.

In terms of IVF. We have been to see the GP. Had tests. I've had a questionnaire through and that is it. No appointments etc xx

OP posts:
NLO94x · 13/09/2023 11:34

Regarding your NHS IVF referral, has this already been done? I'm trying to understand how long the wait will be from the referral to actually being seen by a clinic. We have our next appointment with the hospital in October at which stage the gynae will do the referral x

NLO94x · 13/09/2023 11:29

@toriistrying so glad you got answers and it sounds like the surgery went well, everything crossed for success and you see an improvement. I spoke to my boyfriend last night after re-reading your thread and we are going to push to try and get an appointment for him if not we will go private x

Original poster
toriistrying · 13/09/2023 10:44

Hi everyone.

So following on from the sperm results, we went to go and see a urologist. Dr Jonathan Ramsey.

My DH was diagnosed with a varicocele. The sonographer estimated it at 5mm.

DH was operated on and we were told it was 6mm.

We are now 5 weeks post varicocele surgery. Sperm takes 3 months to regenerate.

We decided to get the varicocele surgery to 1 fall pregnant naturally. 2 ensure that the sperm is in its healthiest condition for IVF

For anyone with low sperm count I would highly highly recommend seeing a urologist to understand why.

This was all private. I get the impression from here and my own research that the NHS don't investigate male factor and couples are just told to go and get IVF.

Along side this we are on the NHS wait list for IVF.

Our next appointment is mid November- this will be to re test DH sperm to see if it has improved.

PM me with any questions xxx

OP posts:
bertieb7 · 12/09/2023 20:42

Whoops I'm so sorry, I didn't notice that this was an old thread. Nope you and your DH are getting on ok @toriistrying

bertieb7 · 12/09/2023 20:40

@toriistrying very similar story to you. Same age, length of TTC when booking IVF and results. I was fine, husband poor sperm test results meant we went for IVF. He started on proxceed supplements as soon as we he found out and even after taking them for six months it still hadn't improved. We got ICSI due to his results at ABC St Paul's (but they have other clinics) and got four embryos, one of which turned into our gorgeous son who I got pregnant with in our first transfer- we were very lucky. We went with ABC as it had good reviews and was very cost effective. They also do 'mild IVF' which meant fewer drugs for me to take. Goodluck! It's a minefield

NLO94x · 12/09/2023 14:51

@toriistrying hey just jumping back into this thread as we have since been to a gynae appointment and was told pretty much the same that IVF was our only option! How are you getting on? X

Plugsockets1 · 14/07/2023 09:28

toriistrying · 12/07/2023 19:53

@Plugsockets1 thank you so much for replying. We went to see a urologist today - dr Jonathan Ramsay. We managed to get a cancellation.

It turns out he has a varicocele in his left testicle.

He's had all his tests done today. We will wait for the results. Genetic, semen, bloods etc.

Did your partner get the surgery and did you guys go on to conceive?

Thanks again xx

Sorry for the late reply op. Glad you've made some progress!

DP did have the surgery two years ago and overall results improved - motility, morphology etc. We didn't bother with another DNA frag test. Our consultant said there isn't anything left to do to improve the sperm (and we won't use donor) so doesn't matter really. On the Proxeed though and eating well, drinking less etc.

We've done three full rounds of IVF now and but no success.

Wishing you good luck.

Original poster
toriistrying · 14/07/2023 08:47

@NLO94x it feels much better to have a plan in place doesn't it.

DH has been diagnosed with a varicocele. You can actually see the veins on his left ball. Blush

In getting this sorted, we could potentially fall naturally or have the best sperm quality for IVF.

If you can afford to see a reproductive urologist - alongside IVF - I would really recommend

Thank you xxx

OP posts:
NLO94x · 13/07/2023 11:10

@toriistrying good luck OP! Update from me, we had our first gynae consultation last Friday and was told we're going to be referred for IVF, boyfriend has to have a repeat test in a few weeks and then we go from there! Scary but glad we're getting somewhere x

capercorn · 13/07/2023 08:53

toriistrying · 13/07/2023 08:28

@PinkMandalorian @NLO94x @capercorn @Bloomingbloms @nonsuchmum @muddlingthrou @Veenah @KosmicK @GodspeedJune @Plugsockets1

Just wanted to say thank you to all of you for your help. It educated us A LOT.

We managed to get a cancellation with j Ramsay yesterday. Varicocele diagnosed. Tests conducted and ultrasound booked.

Who would of thought he was walking round with a radiator down there! Anyway.

Our view is to get the embolism. If we get the sperm in its best condition then we may fall pregnant naturally or via ICSI.

Thank you again.

Wishing you lots of luck!

Original poster
toriistrying · 13/07/2023 08:28

@PinkMandalorian @NLO94x @capercorn @Bloomingbloms @nonsuchmum @muddlingthrou @Veenah @KosmicK @GodspeedJune @Plugsockets1

Just wanted to say thank you to all of you for your help. It educated us A LOT.

We managed to get a cancellation with j Ramsay yesterday. Varicocele diagnosed. Tests conducted and ultrasound booked.

Who would of thought he was walking round with a radiator down there! Anyway.

Our view is to get the embolism. If we get the sperm in its best condition then we may fall pregnant naturally or via ICSI.

Thank you again.

OP posts:
Original poster
toriistrying · 12/07/2023 19:53

@Plugsockets1 thank you so much for replying. We went to see a urologist today - dr Jonathan Ramsay. We managed to get a cancellation.

It turns out he has a varicocele in his left testicle.

He's had all his tests done today. We will wait for the results. Genetic, semen, bloods etc.

Did your partner get the surgery and did you guys go on to conceive?

Thanks again xx

OP posts:
Plugsockets1 · 07/07/2023 12:57

Also DNA fragmentation test

Bloomingbloms · 07/07/2023 12:57

@toriistrying

Dh was a healthy weight but his diet was a bit crap tbh so he changed that, no alcohol, no cycling, no carrying his phone in his pocket. He also started wearing baggy boxers!

He also took some supplements. Fertilaid, countboost, motility boost I think, I don’t know if you can still get them? DD is 5 now. And preseed. They weren’t cheap but we knew we weren’t going to pay for ICSI so we threw money at supplements! No idea if it was that or just pure chance.

Plugsockets1 · 07/07/2023 12:57

Has he seen a urologist? My DP had terrible results but turned out he had a varicocele in his testicle. Had a small op to correct and things improved.

I would pay privately for this just to check.

Also, Proxeed, limited caffeine etc

GodspeedJune · 07/07/2023 12:50

As someone with blocked tubes I didn’t understand that post either @KosmicK . Clomid was an option that was taken off the table once my tubes failed the dye test.

KosmicK · 07/07/2023 12:44

@nonsuchmum sometimes, but its not common , its unusual but the nerves can spasm which can make it hard for the dye to get through and give the false impression the tubes are blocked. I suspect that may have happened you and your tubes were not actually blocked as if the dye failed to get through .. neither can the egg.

But I'm absolutely baffled what consultant In their right mind prescribed you clomid after a failed hsg indicated you had blocked tubes ??? What kind of consultant was it? They clearly have zero reproductive training. That dosent even make sense! You don't prescribe clomid to someone with confirmed blocked tubes. Often doctors will send patients for a hsg first to check tube patency before prescribing it.

Starving yourself then asking your body to get pregnant and carry a baby is the most stupid thing I've ever heard .

Op please do not take this advice and starve yourself.

Veenah · 07/07/2023 07:30

Just wanted to add that if he's planning on trying lifestyle changes to improve, our clinic also advised to cut down on cycling if he's a cyclist.

My DH had low count and morphology and his best results by far were when he completely gave up caffeine and alcohol for 3 months, previously he had reduced them but cutting out completely made a difference for him, and took Proceive Max and also Pine Bark extract for morphology. We still ended up doing IVF for various reasons but his results improved a lot with those changes. On the other hand his worst results were a couple of months after having Covid, which the clinic said they had seen a lot, so things like a one off sickness a can definitely make a difference so a second analysis a couple of months after the first can definitely be worth it.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do next.

muddlingthrou · 07/07/2023 07:01

Oh and we were also treated to the tactless 'you're infertile' diagnosis from doctors. It was v.tough. IVF outcomes are amazing these days and still improving, so don't lose hope. Best of luck xx

muddlingthrou · 07/07/2023 06:59

DH and I both had infertility factors - DH's results similar to your partner's. It turned out he had a varicocele in one of his testicles. We got pregnant through IVF at Create and now have a DD. When I was pregnant, DH had an NHS procedure to correct the varicocele, and that has vastly improved his sperm results! He also took those COC supplements and changed lifestyle factors, but I think the procedure made the difference.

Create was great on the medical side, a total shambles on the admin side! We got pregnant first embryo transfer, so from that perspective had a wonderful experience. My DH is a teacher, and trying to get them to give us advance notice of appts was a total nightmare. We have some frozen embryos with them and will likely go back for another transfer eventually.

Original poster
toriistrying · 07/07/2023 06:18

@nonsuchmum that sounds like a journey and a half. Thank you for sharing. Sounds like you had to do a lot of hard work to get there.

Initial investigations show that it is male factor infertility.

I must admit, the frustration and element of unknown every month is crap. Having some answers makes me feel more positive!

OP posts:
nonsuchmum · 07/07/2023 05:58

Zero motility too .I bought preseed online and we timed the sex from day 10 to day 20 .Every other day .I starved myself and started walking everywhere to lose weight

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