Poor sperm.

[EndoTheRoad]

Hi.

Saw doc about DP's test results today. The prognosis isn't great :(

I have the figures of 18% and 1% and understand neither of these are good.

DP (42) needs to stop his (30-year) smoking habit and cut down on drinking and be retested in 2 months.

Is there anything else he could do to help improve sperm quality?

Many thanks in advance.

Nope.

Think I'm wrong.

DP's 18 should be minumum 40. Is that right?

Can't remember what the 1 was for now, but know it's waaaay to low, for whatever it's for.

Tut. I am hopeless.

Got it.

Count: 18
Morphology: 1%
Motility: Good

So, not enough sperm, but the number he has are good swimmers even though they're abnormally formed.

Who else in a similar situation?

What do we do next?

Hoping for some words of knowledge/advice/experiences.

Thanks in anticipation.

Endo - didn't want you to go unanswered. How come the doc didn't explain the results to your DP? You should be told what the next step is and how to go about it really.

Fair enough about retesting - the results really do vary quite a bit. When my DH had his, the results were not great either. But we hadn't been told to "abstain" for 4 days before! So when we did the second, I hoped that he'd have enough volume and better results.

Making sure the temperature of his bits isn't too high is important - like loose fitting boxers and no saunas or hot baths. Or laptop on his lap.

Good multi-vitamin tablet (there are specific nutrients recommended, but don't know what they are, sorry)

Smoking is probably the biggest (though hardest) thing.

Hope you get some positive help on it.

Hi, Miffles.

Thanks for your response.

My DP wasn't with me at my gynae appointment when the results were back, but DP and I are seeing the gynae tomorrow to discuss the results in greater detail.

Hoping he'll recommend DP something (apart from DP's non-smoking) to give his boys a boost.

Did everything turn out okay for you both?

Thanks again.

We were being referred to a consultant for my PCOS anyway, so didn't bother finding out his 2nd set of results. The GP didn't seem to understand them fully anyway. Said it was complicated! Seeing specialist in 2 weeks.

How come you got to see a gynae so quickly?

Hi EndoTheRoad. The good news is that he has some, so it's not hopeless.

(My DH had none, but has a rare genetic syndrome for which a wonderful, genuis doctor worked out a fertility treatment. We're due our second in five weeks).

He needs to: quit smoking, cut down drinking, take zinc supplements, have a brazil nut every day and eat plenty of red meat. Also, cotton pants and no hot baths.

Plus, if he's a cyclist, might be a good idea to give that a miss for a bit.

Good luck!

Hi Endo

Smoking will be an issue, so I hope your DP is ready for a bashing about that .

Drinking also - basically all the fun stuff!

My boyf doesn't drink or smoke, but his morphology was low. He took zinc supplements & pumpkin seeds.

We received a letter on Sat from the Fertility Clinic saying his 2nd result was lower than normal - this was received 2 hours after I had a positive pregnancy test! So stranger things can happen.

Good luck.

yay to Laurielou's positive pg test! That's quite funny and gives the rest of us hope. Only takes one....

Miffles, hope the next 2 weeks move quickly for you.

I'm in Switzerland. So, health insurance is fairly substantial, waiting lists are shorter - treatment quicker.

BooBooBedo, laurielou, that's so encouraging to hear!

It's going to be the smoking where DP seriously struggles. He's tried all the pills/patches/inhilators, even hypnosis more than once!

Was thinking about you.

Here's a link to an article about an optimum diet for a would-be father.

Also, this book helped DH and I to give up smoking a few years back.

DH increased his sperm count from 1 million to 11 million in 6 months. Normal is 20 million + so this is still a low count but it is much improved. He did this by taking loads of vits (high dose zinc, vits c&e and folic acid), completely giving up alcohol and doing more exercise. My DH doesn't smoke but I would imagine giving up would make a big difference to your DP's results. As an ex-smoker I appreciate how hard this is though!