Fertility tests

[Buttons86]

Hi, we have been TTC for a wile and have just had some tests. The antisperm antibodies has come back over the threshold but the GP didn’t really offer any insight into this or offer a referral. Is this normal? We are trying to figure out if we go back to another GP on NHS or if we need to start thinking about going down the private treatment route.

if anyone has any tips on if there are any natural steps we can take in the meantime that would be really appreciated!

we are both healthy but older. I had HA but have recovered and now am ovulating and cycles are regulating so we have had a bit of journey to where we are now and we waited to get my OH tests done until I had sorted out the HA so now feeling we might have left things too late.

Hi, sorry for jumping on your old post but I was wondering what route you ended up going down with the Antisperm antibodies in the end please?

my husband recent got his SA results and the Antisperm antibodies came back at 100% and 89% so we are just trying to find out what our options are now.

Hi @Sunshine180 what did you end up doing? We're in a similar position!

@Fariapea hi! We had icsi, we got 6 embryos and they drs have been so positive about it but we’ve had two failed transfers so far. The clinic still seem super positive and have told us there’s nothing to worry about so we are just waiting for our 3rd transfer now.

are you still doing testing?

Ohh good luck I really hope it works out well. It must be so reassuring that the docs are positive. So our story is we've been trying a year no luck. Due to age we both had tests recently. Mine seem ok. My DHs are mostly all all but morphology was 3% and we noticed asas 100%. We spoke to the gp who didn't think the asas meant much and to work on morphology. But after reading online we're both a bit panicked tbh. We're booking in to have initial consults in the next couple of months. I am pretty scared of the thought of having eggs removed so hoping they think we'd be good for iui maybe? Are all your dh SA parameters normal apart from asa if you don't mind me asking? Thx

Thanks! It is reassuring but also frustrating because why has it not worked already then but they say it’s just bad luck.

We were told that the asa attach themselves to the sperm and stop fertilisation happening so the treatment for it is icsi to overcome this and stop the sperm needing to swim etc. yes all other parameters were fine, some borderline but nothing in themselves to overly worry about.

our gp was a bit useless so we went to a private consultant for our referral and he referred us to the nhs for treatment. I honestly wouldn’t waste time with you if age isn’t on your side. They have very low success rates unfortunately

@Fariapea we are also going to try impryl from this month for trying naturally as I have seen it is meant to be very good but as to whether or not it will make any difference I’m not sure

Oh gosh. It's so frustrating isn't it. I've been so upset about it all. I really wanted to conceive naturally. Do they know what caused it? My dh has started proxeed as I read good things about. Which clinic are you at if you don't mind me asking?

@Fariapea me too we were so blindsided by the whole thing. I am 28 so really though it would happen quickly. We have no idea what has caused the asa do you?

I am in Northern Ireland so we only have one nhs clinic it is in a hospital in belfast. Do you have nhs funding for treatment in your area do you know?

@Fariapea sorry just reread my message about and realised iui corrected to you. Meant to say wouldn’t waste time with iui!

We've no idea either atm. We're hoping it might be due to heat as we were away and also hubby has been ill. It's the first SA analysis we've done since trying so really hoping. Nhs will fund one cycle here in England but the wait list is 2 yrs so we're going private to get things investigated at least and see what they recommend.

Yeh I know but I did notice a couple people have had success with meidcated iui and I read with asa they can wash sperm and then do iui. Atm we've not spoken to anyone so I guess when we do we'll know better

@Fariapea yes I would definitely try to get booked in for another test for him as the semen regenerates every 3 months. Have you had any scans or test done yet?

yes we had some private tests done and that allowed us to skip a lot of the waitlist for nhs as we weren’t waiting on tests. What age are you if you don’t mind me asking?

I've had lots of blood tests amh, fsh etc all came back fine. But no scans yet. So we'll get those done privately. I am 36 and our gp told us regardless of tests etc the wait lists are really long.

@Sunshine180 dh is on a strict diet now and vits. We're planning on retesting end of this year. Its really upsetting as his parameters were generally good. I read asa affects motility a lot but his was good. Does your consultant know a lot about asa? Our gp told us a lot of clinics don't test for asa.

@Fariapea thats really frustrating about the waitlists, the waiting is honestly the hardest part.

there seems to be really conflicting information on it because everywhere I read it said that asa causes clumping but we had two tests done and both has zero clumping. I’ve tried to find consultants that specialise but it seems there just really isn’t much research into them. I think partly because icsi usually overcomes the issue quite easily they don’t seem to be pushing for more research to fix them.

how long has your been taking the proxeed for?

Yeh its so strange isn't it. I feel a little nervous about icsi as I read there's a higher risk of birth defects autism etc-were you worried about that as well? My dh only started proxeed yday as we only got thr results a few days ago. As of September we've been trying exactly 1 year now.

@Fariapea from the research I’ve done the higher birth defects is a really really tiny % and it’s more likely from the cause of need for icsi/ivf than from the actual treatment itself so it’s really not something I’ve worried about at all.

we were trying for 2.5 years when we started all our tests etc I really really wish now we had started investigations sooner but we just kept assuming it would happen. Is proxeed the sachets you add to water?

Yeh I did read that as well. You're still so young so don't worry it'll happen. I know what you mean though. Yeh he adds them to water - has two a day. He's also started having coq10 and omega 3

thank you, it’s such a horrible journey and not one we ever expected to be on. Have you told people you’re having the tests etc or have you kept it private?

Yeh you never think it'll be you. At present it's just us as we just found out. But once we know what we're doing we plan on telling our families. I think it helps having that support network. Plus I am really afraid of the whole egg collection thing so need the support.

Hey! I hope you're well. How have you got on with the asas and icsi? I hope it worked out for youmWe ending up trying two iuis but no luck. Starting ivf end of this month x

@Fariapea hi! I’m ok thanks hope you are too! No luck yet unfortunately:( we’ve had 3 transfers of 4 supposedly top quality embryos now and no positive test yet :( we have 2 embryos left and are just waiting to transfer them but I’m mentally preparing for another egg collection. I really hope it happens quicker for you than for us! I was actually really excited when we finally got started cause it feels like you’re one step closer. Hope it all goes well for you!

Hi I am so sorry do they have any ideas why they're not implanting since they're top quality? It must feel great though knowing you can make such good quality embryos! I feel super nervous but you're right definitely one step closer x

@Fariapea we didn’t do testing on the embryos so although they look top quality I doubt they are if they were to be tested. My consultant just thinks we’ve been extremely unlucky and that the embryos haven’t implanted because they weren’t euploid and that we just need to keep trying but obv it gets harder every time. He did say that they also tend to see trends with batches so hasn’t gave me much hope for these last 2 tbh. We did a hysteroscopy just to check the womb but everything looked normal. I just wonder is there something with my eggs we don’t know about and the problem maybe isn’t the Asa’s at all but hopefully will work soon, just also sad as that was our nhs round and we’re only entitled to one so after this last transfer we’ll be going private which obviously adds extra stress.

Oh I am so sorry. But you never know right the other two might work. Hoping it's a positive outcome for you x. I am very new to ivf myself but I'd have thought if your embryos were too quality your eggs must be fine no. Yeh I understand about going private. We're doing our first cycle private as the nhs have sent us to a hospital with terrible stats and I don't want to go through it all if there's only a slim chance x