Low count help before referral appointment

[lottieb92]

hi all readers,
DH and I have been TTC #2 over a year - we had some results back from GP last week and my brain is spinning.

DS has been told he has low sperm count and I wondered if anybody has any idea how we could improve it before we see a specialist - we have been sent to referral stages now :)

we were already on conception vitamins and have been for a while,
as we have a DS together already we know the possible IVF routes will be expensive .. so I’d like to know statistics of success from anyone who experienced the same thing! And so I can also start saving 🥲

both 30 yrs old
thanks in advance x

Success with intervention in low in general, its never guaranteed but the fact you both managed to have a child together previously is a positive start as they say that if you have a child together it increases your odds.
Plus your only 30 so you have a good chance of success . After 35 fertility rapidly declines and success rates decrease.
There's lots of studies and information out there about this and that improves sperm count but from personal experience I honestly can't vouch for them.
It takes 3 months for sperm to completely renew and I put him on supplements , multivitamin, q10, ginseng, green tea, maca & more.. everything that was suggested and we had a sa done again 3 months later and absolutely no difference. The mobility was like 1% better but the count was slightly down lol the results were still the same so we've been advised we need ivf since I also have pcos and i dont ovulate which means I'm unlikely to get pregnant naturally and I'm 37.
Try not to stress. in reality 1 year of ttc isn't that long . Lots of couples can take a while longer .Just because his sperm is low dosent mean you still can't get pregnant naturally so keep trying . Lots of men with low counts are able to get their partner pregnant. It just means it might take a little longer but you have plenty of time on your side. It depends on other things aswell not just the count. Do you have a copy of your results?

Hi @lottieb92 how low is the sperm count? Are all the other parameters normal?

• has he been checked for a varicocele?
• has he been checked for an infection?
• have you looked into seeing a urologist?

General conception vitamins probably won't be strong enough. What is he currently taking?

A few things we were told by Dr Ramsay who is the top London urologist:

• no tight boxers
• no laptop on his lap
• no cycling
• obvs no steam room / jacuzzi
• no steroids or anything like that
• 1 coffee a day
• limit drinking (the urologist said it would be fine for us to share a bottle of wine a week)

Although research is limited, Dr R also believes a bad bout of covid affects sperm. It does depend on the viral load but it's worth baring in mind.

A year is gruelling, I completely empathise. Don't give up hope that it could happen. If he has sperm, there is always a chance and it might be just around the corner. Results are not guaranteed and nothing is quick with sperm because of the time required to regenerate which I guess is why the NHS tend to just refer you to IVF rather than try to deal with any problem. We were literally told to think of IVF and ICSI as 'the treatment'. Best of luck!!

Hi both @MK85 and @FlyOnTheWall89 thanks very much for all of this… sadly they called DH so I didn’t get to ask the full ins and outs but I assume we will get that in the post soon enough, as well as a date to see NHS dr. Which is why knowing the times / treatment and probable route we are heading it will be best to see someone privately!

our DS is 7 we had him together very young and waited until after marriage, promotions and settling to start trying - regretting this decision every month!

I think this is all I needed to know to give me a shove to book in. I have one more blood test this week. And fortunately I’ve been told I look all okay and I shouldn’t have any issues - it could just be time that we need!

DH did have an infection and very strong antibiotics before the analysis, I have no idea how much weight that might hold against him. But 2 weeks on antibiotics and strong painkillers for a route canal infection! Bad timing but I still made him go! We also just got a Peloton in his office to up our fitness - guess I’ll be the only one using that!

I will make all of these changes and seek to find just how low these results were! Thank you so much!

@FlyOnTheWall89 and @MK85

I wanted to update that husband made almost all of the changes / supplements you both helped tremendously… he managed to get his count from 8million to 26million
and all other perimeters are now totally fine! Just 4 months it took to change it around.

hope to anybody else who needs to hear that also!
we still aren’t pregnant yet, but we are hopeful.

@lottieb92 that's great news. It's very possible his first test could have been influenced by a number of factors which is why they repeat in 3 months. It's not just lifestyle that affects the little swimmers. Even a mild little sniffle can affect his count, anything that flares up your immune system at all can affect it .
Hang in there and stay positive it will happen.

Since this post I actually got pregnant in December but it didn't work out. I suspect its to do with low progesterone.

We were told our chances naturally would be low and take alot longer and it happened! I always said if I can get pregnant its possible for anyone. 17+years trying . I'm just hoping miracles can repeat themselves 🤞

So glad you were able to get the count up with the changes :) My partner has low count too, motility and health of them are all fine, just not enough of them! He has 2 kids from his previous relationship, I've had my tests/ ultrasounds and all is good. We both take vitamins, he's stopped having hot baths, diet changed, stopped some of his medication which can contribute to low count, we are month 8 now of trying and I've got some cramps, suffering horrendous headaches, bit moody (whoops) and I'm 7 DPO, praying for a positive soon! He's going back for 2nd analysis next month xxx

@ttcpositivethoughts @MK85 Yes so we did some digging and …. Turns out antibiotics can ruin your results / swimmers for 3 months!
he was on 2/3 different types with a terrible tooth root canal job most of summer 2022! So it is likely that wasted a long amount of our trying! But who’s to know.

I am 7DPO today as well 🤍🤞🏻 Not got anything to report on yet, but I didn’t with my first 8 years ago either, not until I was testing positive 3 days late! It’s made me realise how lucky I was to have that breezy time but I was 22!

So keeping that in mind… I really hope it’s our time soon ladies 👏🏻

good luck🤞🏻🤍 Hopefully my cramps are implantation ones, I've had trouble sleeping through the night too, up for a few hours around 1/2am and had some crazy vivid dreams! Hopefully it's something!! X

@lottieb92 so happy to hear and keeping everything crossed for you. I am holding our 10 day old baby girl at the moment - all my husbands parameters were just above borderline she is the result of that. Keep hoping. Xxx

@FlyOnTheWall89 HUGE congratulations… enjoy every single minute.
I hope that I can update with a BFP sometime soon ✨

If it gives you hope OP, I got pregnant with DH's count of 9.5million. We we're told we would need ivf with icsi but after 14 months we got a bfp. The month we conceived I used the ferti-lily cup for the first time.

@fairgame84 that’s on my list to try might invest 🤍☺️ Thanks for the optimism x

DP had a varicose vein addressed via surgery and took CoQ10 (the expensive variety, 200mg/night) and ZMA. He also basically stopped drinking alcohol.

Bear in mind that it takes a minimum of 3 months to see results come through.