TTC Cycle 8 with 1% sperm morphology

[DreamingSwan]

I’m a longtime lurker here and have just signed up because there’s no one I can talk to about this in real life who understands or is going through the same thing. I’m looking for some kind words, success stories, or just general solidarity!

I am 32, will be 33 in less than 5 months. I had just turned 32 when we started trying. My DH is 29, turning 30 in 5 months. We’re now on our 8th cycle of TTC for baby #1.

I’m massively Type A so we’ve never had a “relax and see what happens” phase. I’ve been using OPKs from the very start, sticking them in a book and marking when we DTD. We use conception-friendly lube.

My cycles are very regular, 26-28 days on average, but my bleeds are on the heavy side. I was on the pill when I was at uni well over a decade ago, but came off it because it made me depressed—I think I was never on it for more than a year or two. I am slim, non smoker, barely drink, eat healthily.

Not a hint of a BFP yet, no chemicals, nothing. I’ve been worried something is wrong for a while now so I booked DH in for a SA. The results came back showing a very high sperm count, slightly above average motility, but only 1% morphology. The report said this is classed as teratazoospermia and it said his sperm might find it hard to find and penetrate my egg. It was a horrible shock to read the report.

DH doesn’t like alcohol—he has approx 3 ciders a year and that’s it. He’s never smoked or done drugs. He eats healthily and is very slim (always has been). He is the epitome of health. He cycles to work, but given his count is so high I’m not convinced it’s the cycling that is causing his morphology issues.

The evidence seems mixed about whether low morphology is problematic when other sperm markers are good. Anecdotally, it looks like lots of couples get pregnant anyway, but lots don’t and need IVF with ICSI. We can’t find any evidence on whether there’s a reason it seems to affect some couples’ outcomes and not others. The GP has told DH not to worry and that it may just take us longer. Other people in the same situation have been told they’ll need IVF. I’m terrified of IVF because of the expense and how low the success rates are. I’m so anxious I don’t know what to do with myself. I hate the uncertainty.

I’m convinced something is wrong with me too. I’ve been having pain on deep penetration for the last 2 years or so, having never had problems with deep penetration before. I also get random twinges in my pelvic region and I’ve been told I’ve got a tilted (retroverted) uterus. In 2023 they investigated these symptoms and found a polyp in my womb and having it removed was so excruciatingly painful I nearly fainted. (It was meant to be mildly uncomfortable.) I’m worried I have undiagnosed endo or something (albeit with less severe symptoms than the typical endo case). I also never get EWCM. Could it be that the SA is a red herring, and the problem is actually with me?

Does anyone have any advice? I’m so tearful all the time because my maternal instinct is so strong and not being able to get pregnant is breaking my heart. It’s a cliché, but it really is true that all my friends and family members who have babies got pregnant within the first or second cycle of trying. I feel so jealous. Seeing babies everywhere is even starting to bother my very stoical and calm DH.

Sorry for such a long post, I’m just going out of my mind with worry and I don’t know what else to do but post here and hope someone can offer some consolation.

I have nothing to add in terms of experience with sperm as we have never had any fertility tests but what I will say (and I know you probably are fed up of hearing it) it can just take time to get pregnant. It took me 13 months to get pregnant first time and another 9 months to get pregnant the second time. I too have a retroverted uterus and (TMI) I conceived both times doing doggy style. We tried missionary for months and it did not work for us. I also get a v deep pain at certain points in my cycle mostly around ovulation but this is not there all the time. I also do not have an abundance of CM. Lots of water and green tea sort of fixed this leading up to ovulation but I found I dried up on positive OPK day so we used a small amount of preseed. If you are very worried I would go and get checked but GP will most likely not do anything until 12 months. These things do take time for some people, me being one of them but I wouldn’t be too worried on cycle 8 :)

Thanks for your kind reply. I’m sure you’re right about not needing to be worried but I can’t shake the feeling something is wrong, and I’m so worried about DH’s sperm. I guess we just have to wait and see. :( He’s been referred for further investigations but you’re right the GP won’t help me until 12 months.
I have the opposite problem with my tilted uterus—doggy style is agonising so we can only do missionary. I’m always telling DH I’m worried he’ll get bored with the sex but he doesn’t seem to mind (or at least is being very kind about it)!
It is reassuring to hear stories of people who take a bit longer—everyone in my world seems to get pregnant straight away or be infertile. Maybe the people who take longer don’t shout about it?

Hi @DreamingSwan, I’ve just come across your thread. How are you doing?

I know how you’re feeling, as my DH & I had fertility checks earlier this month, and although my DH’s count and motility were very good, his morphology was on the low side.
We didn’t think much of it at the time we got the results as his count is so high - surely it kind of balances out, right - but I’ve just got a BFN, so am starting another cycle and I’m starting to get nervous.

I’ve done some research, and zinc and folic acid is supposed to be good to improve morphology. We are both currently taking Zit West (we’re going into our second month of taking it) - which has the recommended daily zinc allowance, so we’re hoping for an improvement after 3 months (even better, a BFP ✨🤞🏾)

I will say though, that having my scan and blood test results really helped me. It was such a relief that everything is good (except I have some fibroids, but so do 50% of women + a tilted uterus). I would suggest having a scan (if you can), just for peace of mind.

I hope everything works out for you guys and I’m sending lots of baby dust your way ✨ let us know how you get on and I’m always here if you feel like venting ☺️ xx

My bf has low morphology - 2%. But he also has a high sperm count like yours and my fertility specialist has advised that basically when you've got enough sperm then even if loads of them are shaped funny you've still got a good chance purely because there are SO MANY sperm still. 1% of millions is still so many and you only need one.

We have some other problems my end but he has got me pregnant twice even though it has taken us longer than a few cycles - again, problems my end too.

Morphology has also been shown to change literally week by week by chance alone. I promise you, 8 cycles in is very normal to not get BFP.

I'm also 32 and started trying at 30. I'm currently pregnant and have been pregnant once before (unfortunately not viable).

My husband and I spent lots of time on this issue. My husband had good count and motility but morphology generally moved between 1-4%.

A few things that were explained to us by specialist doctors:

• Not impossible to get pregnant with 1% morphology if count and motility are good, but harder;
• Generally morphology needs to be at least 4%;
• A sperm analysis is all a bit academic anyway so don’t get too hung up on the numbers - it means someone in the lab has looked at 100 sperm and counted those results but they might have got a different number if they picked a different 100 sperm in the same sample, a different person may count differently and the numbers will vary anyway from month to month.

We were initially referred to IVF and ICSI which wasn’t successful for us as I have low egg reserve.

We did conceive naturally a few times (incidentally when my husband had recently had an analysis with morphology at 4%) but these ended in loss.

It turned out that my husband had a varicocele which was likely contributing to poor morphology, Doctors gave mixed views on whether operating on this would improve fertility but we decided to go ahead with the op anyway as we were at the end of our options by this point. I conceived naturally 5 months later and I’m currently sitting feeding my 2 week old baby boy.

Hi, I'm so sorry you are going through this. I don't have the exact experience but suffered 3 consecutive baby losses whilst trying for our second. I'm also massively type A so 'go with the flow' is not my style.There is a book called It Starts With the Egg by Rebecca Fett that covers a lot about how you can boost fertility. Whilst we were going through our recurrent loss journey - which spanned just over a very heartbreaking year - we saw countless consultants but the one who eventually gave me the protocol that led to our rainbow baby advised my husband to take Impryl for sperm health (we hadn't done any tests on him at this point). We both also took Ubiquinol and some other supplements from the book. You can go into a real deep dive on these things (the quality of the supplements, methyfolate instead of regular form folic acid etc) and others honestly thought I was crazy but I didn't care - I was absolutely heartbroken and not willing to give up without giving it my all. Definitely see GP for the pelvic pain. You both are young which is positive. Seeking out support from others going through similar can also really help with the mental anguish. It's a hard journey but you have to keep positive - you'll get there! Wishing you all the best

Sorry to hear you’re struggling. Have you done any fertility tests yourself? And are you trying any supplements etc - wonder if that might help with EWCM?

As @LemonViewer says, the book It Starts With The Egg is brilliant and gives clear recommendations on supplementing. Worth a go

Hi @Hope, thanks so much for responding! I'm sorry to hear you're in a similar situation with your DH's sperm. The supplement plan sounds like a good way of being proactive and I really hope it makes a difference for you guys. I'm thinking of putting my DH on Impryl as I've heard good things but I'll research ZW too.

We are just out of the fertile window for our 9th cycle TTC, so now it's a case of waiting for probable AF in around two weeks.
I'm feeling quite anxious because we threw the kitchen sink at it this month! We used a Ferti-lilly cup for the first time, DTD loads more either side of peak OPK, and (sorry if TMI but I'm only sharing in case it helps someone else!) I read that the first wave of semen has the best quality sperm so I got DH to pull out after the first thrust. If that makes sense!

The other update from me is that I've booked private fertility testing for myself. My appointment isn't till early April but I figured that's much quicker than an NHS referral would be. We're now at eight months TTC so the NHS wouldn't refer me anyway. Trying not to panic about it, I'm so scared I'll have low ovarian reserve or something. But trying to be positive that I'm doing something to move forward.

And now we wait... Baby dust to you too, I really hope you get your BFP soon!

Hopefully it's just a case of being patient. I am not a very patient person though.

That's brilliant you finally got to bring your baby home Were there any obvious symptoms of varicocele?

I'm so sorry about your losses. Thanks so much for sharing. If I'm not pregnant this cycle (very unlikely!) I will get my DH on Impryl for sure. I've heard so many good things about it.
I know what you mean about seeming crazy deep-diving to all the supplements research but I think it's totally reasonable to want to do everything you can to maximise your chances!
I'm having a fertility test (private) in early April and the NHS are scanning me in June for pelvic pain.

Thank you so much ☺️ strange as it may be, it’s nice to have someone going through something similar, so thank you for posting.

I’ve only just heard about Impryl & Proxeed Plus (male). It can be overwhelming sometimes, can’t it. I think we’ll give the Zita West a solid 3 months before adding anything else/making any changes, as it can be quite dangerous to have too much zinc too 😩😅
but taking the supplements should help.

Have you been taking anything yourself?
I’m taking: Zita West, 600mg Q10, omega3, baby aspirin (75mg), iron, vitamin D and folic acid. Sounds like a lot, but like you, we want to throw everything at it.

The TTW begins! It’s such a mix of
emotions, isn’t it! I go from feeling satisfied that we have done everything we can > overthinking > doubting because I’m symptom spotting and finally, depression when I feel AF coming 😩
I really hope this is your cycle though! You’ve literally given it EVERYTHING!
I tried the fertilly cup, but I just couldn’t work it 🙈 lol ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

This cycle, we are definitely going to do it more often. Everything crossed that that does the trick ☺️

I'm so pleased you’ve got your check booked. I hope it puts you at ease, but if they do find something, there is so much that can be done, and finding out early is always better. Wishing you all the luck in the world! and hope you get your BFP soon too ✨ xx

No, he had no symptoms. I think once the urologist told him there was a varicocele he could then feel it there but was oblivious before that. It turned out to be quite a severe varicocele - which wasn’t evident from the scan - but they ended up tying up 9 veins leading down to the testes.

My husband was also taking proxeed, wellman multivitamins for fertility and being very careful about tight underwear, getting too hot etc. It’s possible that this also helped (albeit he’d been doing for this about a year before the varicocele surgery).

I have felt really isolated recently so I agree that it’s nice to hear from someone who gets it! How long have you guys been trying and how old are you both? (If you don’t mind me asking!)
I was taking Ovum supplements from May to January, then I decided to have a month of just taking folic acid to relax about it, but now I’m wanting to go back on the Ovum because I want to do all I can to maximise my chances. I also take Omega-3, Vitamin D and iron tablets.
The cup is really awkward to use and we’ve had a few (hilarious) fails. Hopefully it’s better than nothing though! I will try anything at this point.
The emotional rollercoaster is so real. I had a meltdown on DH last night because now we’re out of the fertile window there’s nothing we can do and our fate is sealed for another month… it’s so draining.
Do you have many parents in your peer group?

Oh, I get it, for sure … Hence finding your post at 5am lol

I’ve just turned 37 and my DH has just turned 42. We’ve been married for 2.5 years, but have been trying properly for 4/5 months now. We also have to contend with ED, so we’re self inseminating - which actually takes a lot of the pressure off, thankfully.

Ovum is another new one for me 😅 but it definitely can’t hurt to go back on it.
My AMH and follicle count were good when I had my check - I have no idea if it was because I was already on the supplements or not, but the doctor said to keep taking them!

haha! I bet RE: the cup. And it definitely can’t hurt!
oh, I’m sorry, but I’m glad you DH as there for you. It is exhausting and so stressful. You need to let it out whenever you can 😌

Yeah, everyone who wants them has had kids now. Even one friend who didn’t really want kids. So it’s just me, really. How about you? Xx

My best friend is pregnant with her second, and a few other friends have babies, but the majority don’t. I have no friends with older children. Jealousy of women with babies is a huge part of the struggle of this journey for me, so I fear it’s going to get worse as more of my peer group have babies. I feel if this ends up taking years, that there’s going to be lots of heartache along the way. :(

DH is seeing a specialist through the NHS in April (he got a referral after going to the GP with the results of his private sperm analysis) so I will remind him to ask about varicocele! Thanks for sharing.

Hi,

Just wanted to jump on and give some moral support. My husband has severe MFI which is termed OATS - basically everything is bad (extremely low count, 89% not motile and only 43% vitality) and his morphology is only 0.4% so we had no choice but to go down the IVF route (currently waiting to do our first egg transfer) . I just want to say that IVF is really not as scary as you first think and it's actually a relief to know that something positive and constructive is happening!
Also, your partner could try proxeed or impryl as they really help for MFI and are what most fertility docs recommend.

Anyway, wishing you lots of luck and sending virtual support, I know how difficult and lonely it can be when faced with infertility x

Thanks for your message. I’m sorry you’re having to deal with MFI. It really sucks. How have you found IVF so far? And are you getting multiple cycles or just going with one for now? Good luck with your transfer—everything crossed for you!

@DreamingSwan i've actually found IVF, for the most part, a walk in the park compared with the 3 years TTC hell prior to starting it. I developed mild OHSS from over stimulation so we had to do a freeze all cycle but that's been a god send tbh as it's meant my body has had a couple of months to get back to normality before transferring. I didn't find the stims too bad overall, I was pretty bloated and uncomfortable by the end but you know its temporary and in a strange way it feels positive as you know something is happening.... we went for a multi cycle package from access to try and make it more reasonable cost wise, if we have success on this first trabsfer then it will end up more expensive than paying the clinic directly but it gave us piece of mind to know we had a few rounds available if needed.

What are the next steps for you - did you say you've booked some tests in?

That’s interesting—I’ve heard others say the same about being less stressful than TTC. Did you need ICSI for your DH’s sperm? And is this your first baby?
I’ve come across Access when googling so I will bear in mind if we don’t end up conceiving naturally.
I’m having a private AMH blood test and ultrasound in about a month’s time. DH is seeing a specialist about his sperm through the NHS, I think around a similar time.

Yep, we did ICSI as there was no chance of normal IVF working. DH did a couple of samples prior to the egg collection for freezing in case his sample on the day was too poor to use, luckily impryl seems to have worked as there were a handful of viable sperms so they could use the fresh one - we actually ended up getting 7 good quality blasts so I think MFI is usually easier for the clinics to deal with than female factor. This is our second child, we miraculously managed to conceive our first after 3 years TTC despite the sperm being terrible quality then as well (we actually found out I was pregnant at our first IVF appointment!).

Really good that you've got the ball rolling with tests etc, we left it for far longer than we should have (head in the sand kind of situation) and we're now on the wrong side of 38 chance wise. But you have age on your side so fingers crossed your tests all come back OK and you can figure out next steps ASAP 🤞

Just got AF so it’s onto cycle 10… This is breaking my heart. This month we used preseed, used the Ferti-Lilly cup, and did sperm meets egg method and absolutely nothing. I don’t know what else to do.

I’m so sorry 😢 it’s so hard xx