Increased Semen viscosity - any advice or experience?

[MishyBakes]

Hello lovely peoples. My DH had the results of his SA back, and whilst most parameters are normal, they have noted that his semen has an increased viscosity. I've been trying to find any research/journal articles that would shed light on how this could potentially effect our ability to conceive, and it seems a bit mixed and dependent on how viscous/underlying causes. Our GP (who is amazing!) has said she's not sure of the significance of this result, and said we can repeat it later or wait and discuss with fertility services when she refers us. I still have some weight to lose to be the correct BMI for IVF based treatment, so we have time on our hands!

Has anyone here had any experience with this situation, or has any advice they can offer please? Any help hugely appreciated!

P.S. Sorry if this would be better posted in the infertility board, please move if appropriate!

From what I understand viscosity refers to the time taken for the sperm to change from the thick gel-like consistency which helps it stick to the cervix, into the more liquid phase whereby it can pass through the cervix and swim on up towards the egg. If the SA showed that the mobility is fine then it is unlikely that this will be causing any problems when it comes to trying to conceive, as if it is too viscous then the sperm wouldn't be able to move. It might just be that it takes a bit longer for the sperm to liquefy than they would normally expect.

A few things can cause this including dehydration and prostate problems such as inflammation or infection - and these are all reversible. If you were in the unlikely situation that there wasn't a reversible cause, then if you are going for IVF anyway they can perform a procedure called washing, which helps to reduce the viscosity back to normal levels.

Personally I would ask for the test to be repeated as SAs are notorious for returning odd results on the first go, and it's likely that the fertility services would want a repeat before they make a decision on treatment anyways.

Hope that helps and good luck!

Thanks so much for replying, that does sound reassuring. I reckon we'll make an appointment to see the GP in the new year (by then all the other tests will have been done), and in the meantime I'll see if I can up DH's fluid intake and up the vitamin intake. I'll look into the supplements, as long as they don't do any harm I'm sure he won't mind taking them.

These were the other values, they look mostly normal, but the morphology is a bit on the low side of normal. I'm a terrible worrier, and am hoping the fertility specialist (when we are referred) will reassure me.

Volume: 3.8ml
Sperm motility: 50%
Total Progressive: 46%
Non progressive: 4%
Immotile: 50%
Sperm count: 159 x 10^6
Sperm density: 42 x 10^6/ml
Morphology: 4.5% normal 95.5% abnormal

The morphology is a little on the low side from what I can see, but the rest of the numbers look good. However, different labs use different reference ranges for morphology depending upon how they analyse it, so it may not be significant. This result is also very variable from test to test, so hopefully at the next try it will all be better!

If not, the morphology tends to improve with lifestyle factors such as supplements, good hydration, exercise, reduce alcohol etc, so if that is a true representation then it is likely that it can be improved further.

If it helps, the site that I look at when wanting to interpret SA results is: www.conceptionadvice.com/semen-analysis-test/

Good luck and wishing you baby dust!

Thank you so much for your advice, it helps so much to have someone logically go through it. I think we will go for another test, and in the meantime I'll see if we can make some lifestyle changes... perhaps he'll get a new water bottle in his Christmas sock! Good luck to you too, and thanks again

Green tea is meant to be good for too