DH has low sperm count, poor motility and 1% morphology

[izzbizz76]

Hi everyone.

Feeling really disheartened. DH and I have been ttc for 6 months (I know - not very long). He has epilepsy so had his usual check up, and thought he would do a sperm analysis whilst there.

His results came back as 12 million sperm count (should be 15 million +), 28% motility (should be 40 +) and 99% morphology abnormalities, so only 1% good when it should be 4%.

We are waiting to see a specialist to discuss next steps, but everything I read is so negative about how long it can take and that IVF is the likely way forward.

Does anyone have any success stories of conceiving naturally with this (and not talking 2 years plus)?

I am 29, very healthy and have been told by my gynaecologist that all looks good. My DH is 35, very healthy, doesn't smoke, hardly drinks and exercises regularly.

Thank you so much in advance for any helpful advice/reassurance. I think I am just looking for someone to be realistic with me!

xxx

All my husbands results were abysmal during the summer. After trying for a year our consultant was talking about iui and ivf .
Before that she suggested trying some supplements for 3 months. He took the supplements suggested in the book it starts with the egg , 3 months later his levels were perfect and I'm now 17 weeks. Get him to give the pre conception supplements a try for 3 months and then retest.

DH was told categorically that his sperm were all practically motionless and there was zero chance of us ever getting a baby via the natural route.

We thought long and hard and did a lot of soul searching, then decided we didn't want to go down the donor sperm path, and agreed that we weren't going to have children. It was a complete shock to discover I was pregnant a few years later...then 4 more times after that (although only 1 healthy baby resulted from it all - which is 1 more than we'd dreamt of).

I suspect sperm quality fluctuates a lot for many reasons, and would agree with the pp suggesting supplements, since it's got to be worth a shot. Good luck!

Hello! So my husband has a sperm count of 10 million, motility I can't remember but that was pretty good, morphology was 2%. My husband is super healthy, a doctor, exercises regularly and doesn't drink/smoke. When we found this out, he started to make changes:

• his and her conception supplements
• loose boxers
• no baths
• no cycling
• only DTD every other day at most. If he has low sperm count and you're at it all the time, the sperm is going to reduce. I was DTD like every single day for 10 days straight leading up to my fertile window 😂🤦🏼‍♀️.

He's recently had a new analysis, which were waiting on the results. I'm sure it'll increase. We got pregnant in October, a couple of months after he started to take these changes more seriously. Unfortunately, we did miscarry, but it goes to show that pregnancy can happen with low sperm. I've read people with <1mil on here. Your husband is just on the cusp. Hopefully, with these changes, you'll be pregnant in no time 😊.

Sending hugs as I remember the feeling of worry when first hearing our results.
My husband had similar results and we’ve found taking supplements, using a standing desk, baggy boxers and eating very healthily has helped. He managed to get all his results up (except morphology) to be at an acceptable level. We conceived shortly after but it did sadly end in a miscarriage. He has now been told he has a varicocele which is possibly causing it.

We were told to abstain for a few days then dtd right before ovulation and then again the following day as a ‘top up’.

I suggest looking up Fab and El on youtube. They share their journey of male factor fertility struggles and it really helped me.

All the best x

My husbands stats were remarkably similar. We did one round of IVF with ICSI and have two beautiful daughters.

Thank you all so much for your advice and reassurance! It means a lot xx

We also have just found out DH has 1% morphology and I’m so worried. We’re on Cycle 8 of trying. Our GP has referred him for further tests.

It’s reassuring to see other people have seen improvements with supplements. Lifestyle-wise, he can’t really change anything—he’s slim, teetotal and he doesn’t even drink coffee because he doesn’t like the taste!

I’m thinking of buying him Proxeed because lots of people swear by it but it’s so expensive so I’m on the fence… cheaper than IVF if it works though!

Yes, but with mixed outcomes. I got pregnant three times naturally over 2 years but miscarried all of them. We then went to IVF and did ICSI, resulted in a lot of healthy appearing embryos that were frozen, and one is now DD who’s 6 months old. I’m also naturally and unexpectedly 13 weeks pregnant with a naturally conceived baby. So far that one seems to be growing okay but I’m wary nonetheless.

Thank you so much everyone. Does anyone have a specific supplement they would recommend?

At our recent NHS appointment, they recommended Impryl. I believe Jonathan Ramsey, the top fertility specialist, also recommends it.

A private doctor also recommended that DH eat lots of tomatoes, as the lycopene seems to improve sperm quality.

We take loads of others, but most are based on lots of small studies we have found. COQ10, vitamin C, d, e, zinc, ashwagandha, fish oil, magnesium, fenugreek, b12, L-carnitine and others I can't remember right now.

I'm not sure it's worth it but it makes me feel like I have some control and helps my mental health.