Can sperm count be affected by illness?

[NickyPea]

Hi ? am after some advice and suggestions please.

We are ttc no 2 and it?s been taking much longer than with ds who was conceived in the first month of trying and is now 2 and a half. As it?s coming up to a year since we started ttc, we?ve started to investigate any underlying problems, as we are not getting any younger (34 + 37.)

Anyway, we got DH sperm analysis back the other day and it seems that the count is low and so is the motility. We are seeing the GP next week for a proper appointment, as so far we only got those results over the phone, with really no explanation or any actual figures.

We are very shocked and upset, but are wondering if the results might be affected by the fact that DH was suffering from an infection of the testicle (orchitis) at precisely the time he gave the sample(and was taking antibiotics for it.)

Am slightly confused though because it takes 3 months for sperm to be made (according to the intenet), so would it be too early for that sperm to be affected by the infection? Or how does it work?

Can illness and infections really make a difference to sperm quality - DH has been ill with flus, etc, a couple of times in the last few months too?

I am guessing that DH will almost certainly have to re-test in 3 months to see if the count, etc, has improved. In the meantime, I guess we won?t be able to work out if the low sperm count/motility is linked to the infections or was there before, as we can?t seem to get pregnant.

Very frustrating and upsetting. I really don?t want to get obsessed by it, but already feel like I am.

If anyone has had a similar experience or knows about how sperm counts ? I would really appreciate hearing about it.

Thanks

I mean how sperm counts work...not how sperm counts!

The whole process takes 3 months. There are many stages during that three months. His flu over the last few months plus antibiotics will all have had an impact on the various stages.

Even a slightly raised temperature in hs testicles due to various infections will have had a deleterious effect. As you know, a mans testicles are outside his body so they are ata slightly lower temperature than his body If his body temperature or even just the temperature of his testicles are raised (eg due to infection) that will have an immediate impact.

He sounds quite run down if he is getting illnesses and infections. That needs looking in to.

I agree with BeenBeta. The information I read when we were ttc said that illness, a big night of drinking etc. etc. could affect sperm quality.

Have a look at "Natural Solutions to Infertility" by Dr Marilyn Glenville.

thanks BeenBeta and Littlefish.

Yes, he is defenetly run down and we are looking at his lifestyle to address that.

He tends to work way too much, drink too much, etc and not take any excercise, so we are trying to get the balance right again.

Stress, drinking, lack of sleep, snatching convenience style meals, no excercise are all big risk factors in general health.

Production of sperm is a quite draining process so even a slight dip in general health will have a disproportionate impact on sperm quality. Even one heavy night on the beer and little sleep can have an effect.

Get some Wellman Conception vitamins for a start and then work on lifestyle and do get the book listed by Littlefish too.

Good luck.

We were told we would have to ICSI/IVF to conceive.

DH and I gave up alcohol, red meat, caffeine, cow dairy (switched to goats milk and cheese), switched to organic food, cut out aspartame and as many as additives as possible, took more exercise, had acupuncture, dh took chinese herbs, we both took lots of vitamins and supplements. These were almost all suggested in the Dr Marilyn Glenville book.

I did this for 2 years, dh did it for 6 months, and then I fell pregnant naturally.

Good luck - there is lots you and your dh can do, but it will mean some big changes, and lots of effort to start with.

Hi - like others suggested here, Wellman vitamins, no alcohol, reduce stress, etc and re-test in 3mths may really help.

For us dh has done everything possible - has great healthy diet, no alcohol, exercises, not ill and has poor motility - but some are still motile and that is what I am holding out hope for!

thanks for the tips everyone.

I am trying my hardest to cook healthy food now. Lots of fish and veg, etc and am off to buy some decent supplements.

We are seeing the GP tomorrow to get some more info and advice too. (Not that I hold out too much for that!)

NickyPea - Try and get him to give up alcohol. I know it's hard, but it really does help.

Keziahopes - dh had low count, very poor motility and mobility. We still managed to conceive naturally. I just kept telling myself "It only takes one!".

i know i shouldn't ask, as I am trying to change the time-frame in my head about getting pregnant right now, but Keziahopes - how long did it take for you to get pregnant?

and yes it will be hard giving up booze, but even for general health, it's a good thing to do.

From start of ttc to getting pregnant was about 2 years ish. Dh only made the changes in the last 6 months. I'm convinced that it was his changes that made the difference. After an initial dodgy hormone imbalance, which was then re-tested as ok, I had no infertility issues. It was all on dh's side. I made sure that if I could get pregnant, the baby would have the best possible chance of getting to full term.

The other thing which might well be an incentive to DH is that knockIng off the booze, gettng fit, stoping smoking (if he does), getting sleep and losing weight is that it will increase his libido and make sex more enjoyable.