At-home sperm test?

[Zara1984]

Hello all! :)

Wondering if anyone has heard of and/or used a home sperm test (like a home pregnancy test, but for swimmers - like this www.spermcheck-fertility.com/)? DH and I are looking at (finally!!) starting TTC next year. DH he has always been worried about his sperm quality/quantity as this was a problem for his dad (ie the reason for his parents taking so long to conceive their kids).

This test I've linked to above seems to tell you whether you've got more or less than 20 million sperm per millilitre of semen.

Obviously it's hard to know whether the test is actually accurate until you do/don't have trouble conceiving (and of course who knows, I could be the cause of any conception problems!). But I was thinking of this as a starting point to allay DH's fears, and to decide whether to see a specialist (ie only fork out 20 quid at first, rather than close to 100 to see a specialist straight off the bat).

Would be very keen to hear of any steps you ladies and your partners have taken to discover if there are sperm problems lurking down there!

Many thanks :)

Hi Zara, suggest you try proper test at a clinic. Who knows, his GP may be happy to refer him because of the history, but if not, some clinics offer tests for £30, kind of a drop in service. Home tests can be good, but they never measure everything. We did one that measured count and mobility and got great results, but then when we did proper clinic tests, it turned out we had an issue with morphology, which you can't test at home. We've fixed that with diet and vitamins, so a bad result doesn't mean it can't be fixed. Good luck with your journey and remember to have fun!

Thanks Scrummy! After a bit more research I think we will go with a clinic test. Yeah I see what you mean - if you want an analysis/check-up enough to go through the malarky of testing sperm, you might as well get it comprehensively done.

Unfortunately I live in Ireland and that means (just like everything here ) it's about 3x the cost of the UK - ?100 for the test (and that's the cheapest, at a public maternity hospital's lab!) and about ?50 for a GP referral. I think DH is quite nervous about not having good swimmers, so if he's happy with the cost that's fine with me :)

Hi, I just read your post and know that you said you are considering now using a clinic but just thought would let ypou know that I used a home kit when trying to conceive for my first baby, test was bought from Pride Angel, (the link to the site is www.prideangel.com) you have two tests in it and very easy to do/read. Results meant we had to look for a sperm donor so they are accurate just got to be prepared for what you find out that is the difficult part. Hope your results turn out to be good ones whichever way you choose. Good luck xx

Thanks Wrighty!! Will definitely look into Pride Angel too. Still haven't had a proper discussion about which way we want to go (home test v clinic) with DH as he's been away for work and we have relatives staying!!

Thank you also for your kind wishes :) I hope everything is ok too. Arming myself with knowledge is power I reckon, no matter the outcome! My DH I think just wants that scientific reassurance (he's a scientist himself, after all!) before he fully commits to going ahead with TTC. :)