Thanks Positivevibes, it was definitely a (pleasant) surprise when I got the results. I think the urologist was surprised it had gone as high as it did so quickly.
@slug123 Happy to help! Apologies, it's a long post as there were lots of things to do:)
I really want to emphasise the words of the urologist once again. If you have a high sperm/motility count similar to mine, and there are no problems with female side of things then pregnancy should happen quickly. Boosting sperm count and motility MASSIVELYincreases the chances of pregnancy. Also, the higher the reading of healthy sperm then the less chance there is of miscarriage (which at my age was even more of a worry).
Also, when I got the reading of 48,000 it was made clear to me that if I continued doing the same thing then this number would carry on increasing. There's obviously a limit but you really can go VERY high.
I think all of the following things worked in conjunction with each other. Doing one aspect and not the other would reduce the effectiveness of the results.
- Tech
As I said to the urologist (and he agreed), if you think that all of this is overkill then imagine this scenario. Imagine you're walking round all day with a mobile phone next to your balls. Or a wireless router generating a wireless signal next to your balls. Think that would affect your sperm? Of course it would. So once you've established that this is an issue then you should reduce your exposure to mobile phone/internet signals.
I work from home and sit about 1 metre away from a wireless router that was always beaming out a wireless signal. First thing I did-turned off the wireless.
Go wired 24 hours a day for your internet. I bought this to go into the TV in another room. There are lots of different lengths available. See how many ports your wireless router has at the back. www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HL862QK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?psc=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&ie=UTF8
Mobile phones: keep 6ft+ away from you. If sitting on couch throw it on floor/table and make sure it's not close. If walking around and they're in your pocket then put them on airplane mode until they're out of your pocket and placed away from you. If having the phone in with you at night then put it on airplane mode. If you need to have it on for emergencies then put it outside your bedroom where you will still be able to hear it.
Laptops-wired only. Do not work with the laptop on your lap and near your balls, even with wired internet!
Maybe all that is a bit much but the basic idea is clear-try to turn your wireless off as much as you can. Keep everything away from your balls.
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Exercise
You need to keep your balls cool.
No physical activity that raises your temperature for extended amounts of time. So long distance running/long distance type exercise is not a good idea. The urologist told me not to cycle AT ALL. I continued going to the gym but I did short and intense workouts with rest periods between sets to allow me to stay cool. Exercise is good for you obviously! Oh yes-also wear loose fitting underwear. No tight briefs and cycling shorts. Boxer shorts are ideal.
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Ejaculation
One of the simplest things you can to to improve your sperm quality and motility is to make sure to ejaculate every 2-5 days. Keeps them fresh. Scientific studies have shown that sperm quality greatly increases just by doing this one thing.
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Diet
The long one!
Cut down on booze (don't have to give up entirely).
Stop smoking.
Give up caffeine.
Doing all of these things are scientifically proven to help sperm quality.
In terms of food there are lots of websites that can give you detailed info to increase your healthy sperm. I'll tell you what I did in detail.
Basically-eat a good diet-lots of vegetables as you would expect. I think it's a diet that is high in anti oxidants but your website searches will give more details.
I) Eat lots of fresh fruit and veg. The top foods to eat are berries (blueberries and blackberries are best but any berry will do) and dark leafy greens. So lots of broccoli and kale. We started roasting both of those and they taste amazing with a bit of olive oil-even the kale which tastes like seaweed from a Chinese restaurant as it crisps up really well (make sure it's dry first). Spinach is also good-didn't roast that though.
II) Orange foods are also important. Carrots, oranges, satsumas, clementines, orange peppers, sweet potatoes. Look up other ones.
III) Snacks-dark chocolate and walnuts. Almonds.
IV) Have a salad sometimes, preferably with homemade vinaigrette with lots of healthy garlic in it. I added raw fennel all the time as well, along with beetroot, tomatoes, spring onion, tomatoes, lettuce, orange peppers etc. They were big salads:)
I can eat the same stuff every day and be quite happy so I'm lucky in that respect.
Every morning I would make a blueberry and frozen spinach smoothie mixed in with soaked porridge oats. Add some banana to add some creaminess. Important to note that I did not add milk because there are some studies that show that there is the possibility that the good things in the good foods (the anti oxidants) might attach themselves to the milk/fat cells so they don't get absorbed.
So it's not too exciting-I didn't add any milk but look at oat/almond milk (NOT SOY) if you want to.
Also when eating dairy just make sure you do it between your healthy meals so it doesn't interfere with the absorption of all the good stuff.
Do not eat tofu and do not consume soy milk. Soy sauce occasionally is fine.
I also made big vats of pea and mint soup (chop and sweat onions and garlic until soft, add peas, and water and veg stock and boil for 20 minutes). Then add the fresh mint when it's all finished and then blend with hand blender. For a further health boost I also would chop up and add a whole head of broccoli and chuck a few carrots in at the start as well. You can add extra flavour with chillis/chilli flakes and black pepper as well. It makes a really nice thick and great tasting soup when blended. I have to say that I made this pretty much every week. This was my secret weapon I think, it was so full of good stuff:)
Every time you have a meal just think of something that you need to eat that's good for you and your sperm, even if it's just a bit of broccoli or something. If you don't do that already and you start doing this then it makes a big difference. BTW broccoli is an outstanding food-look it up. If not a huge fan try roasting it like the kale, it really tastes amazingly good!
All of this does sound extreme, but even if you adopt just a few things/ideas from this list then you will be giving yourselves a decent boost. Especially if your partner's sperm count has a much higher starting point than mine which is more than likely!