Hi can I join? Dh and I are 27 and 26 and have been trying for 14 months. After about 8 mo that we went to Go to start the process of tests etc as Dh was really worried and we knew it would take ages! My tears all seemed fine. His first SA was borderline so he had to do another 3mnths later. That gave him a kick up the arse I think (that and speaking with the lab tech about the results) and he finally swapped to loose boxers and reduced his alcohol. I think having another man telling him it would help worked better than coming from me....motility and count improved but morphology was still 2% and lots of the sperm were clumped together.
Last week we paid for a private assessment as we still hadn't heard anything from nhs and we just wanted to talk to someone who knew what they were talking about! I had a hycosy - can't remember who asked about this? It was fine - took painkillers beforehand and there were only a couple of times when it was painful, like sharp stabby pains but they passed very quickly. Very undignified with my legs in the air and the head torches etc but the staff were lovely! I wore a pad afterwards but had very little bleeding/discharge. It had stopped by the time we got home. I was able to carry on as normal, no lasting pain or anything.
Dh's private SA tested for antisperm antibodies which the nhs don't (as there's no treatment) and they were both 70%. Which apparently is pretty shit. We're likely to need icsi but need to wait another 9 months before we can have nhs treatment, even though we know the cause.
For now, we'll bumble along perhaps trying some alternative therapies and supplements that say they can help with antibodies. Not hopeful but it will at least tide us over until nhs treatment and give us a bit longer to try naturally. Dh is really struggling with being the cause and feeling guilty, so he might not be able to mentally wait that long, in which case we'll go private.
I just bought a couple of books about it all because I like to research and feel in control. One was about male factor called how to make love to a cup. Even if Dh won't read it, it will give me more of an idea of what he's going through and how to help.
I have been honest with friends and family that we're struggling and have mentioned to my boss and a couple of colleagues. I think the more open people are, the better. And at lest people won't say insensitive things accidentally!
That was a bit of an essay, sorry! It's just good to write it all down - helps process it I think!