Male infertility- sperm antibodies

[Giulia1985]

Hi ladies,
Just wondering whether there is anyone in here that suffers from Male factor infertility, particularly sperm antibodies?
Any natural pregnancies miracle stories to share or anything you may have done to improve the condition?
My husband has been diagnosed with MAR antibodies at 40%.
We had 2 round of ICSI, both unsuccessful. I have a low ovarian reserve and didn’t produce a great number of eggs.

We may go for ICSI again, however we have run out of NHS funding so this time around will have to pay. Not sure when we will be able to afford it.

Thank you in advance x

No specific advice, but I have been researching IVF outcomes for my DP and I, and it seems like going abroad for treatment is advantageous both financially and in terms of success rates.

My DP had had a vasectomy when we met and we decided on balance to pay for a reversal before trying IVF. We wouldn’t qualify for any NHS funding, and I had located clinics in Prague that people rave about. So maybe worth looking into?

Good luck, this is all so stressful.

Thank you. Heard it is common with vasectomy reverseal, sorry to hear you are in same boat :-(
My husband hasn’t had a vasectomy, but had a number of bike accidents which may have caused them.
I am tempted to go abroad, husband not too keen but I want to keep options open.
Best of luck to you you xx

@Giulia1985 my DH has anti-sperm antibodies are 53%, the consultants have not expressed any concerns, I did get pregnant naturally in January but miscarried and now we are looking into private ivf either here or overseas. I couldn't find a lot out about how much they affect ttc so will be interested if anyone knows more.

My DH has 85% antibodies.

No natural pregnancy miracle but DD born via icsi

@bob1985 congratulations on your Dd! Do you know how much of a problem antibodies are? Do you think 53% would make conceiving difficult? We are trying to work out if the problem is definitely on DH's side or if it might still be me.

We were told that at c40% antibodies would decrease your chances to around 1%.

Sorry probably not what you wanted to hear. Might be best having a chat with a consultant to see what the latest research says

@bob1985 congrats on your little miracle!
We had 2 rounds of ICSI but my response wasn’t great and they resulted in 2 embryos and 2 BFN :-(
We will try again, just a matter of putting money together

@FlapJackered really sorry to hear about your miscarriage. Like @bob1985 said, we were told anything above 40% would make natural conception really really hard but not impossible.
The fact you got pregnant naturally (although I am so sorry didn’t progress 💔) really shows that natural conception it is not impossible.
I have a low ovarian reserve so I am not a great candidate for IVF/ICSI- it is a double blow.

Have you picked any clinics yet? We heard good things about CRGH and Lister. Abroad I know they are very good in Spain x

Thanks@bob1985 and @GiuliaTTC 🤦🏼‍♀️ I can't believe I didn't realise this, it would explain a lot. The consultant barely even looked at DH's result and just said because I got pregnant before we would get pregnant again.
We are looking at Reprofit in Brno or ABC. Not sure where to even start choosing somewhere.

@GiuliaTTC I am sorry that you are having troubles on both sides. It is such a rollercoaster isn't it. Where do you think you will go for your next round? Would you consider going abroad? X

@FlapJackered
I heard they are really good in Spain but my husband is a bit resistant about going abroad. He is self employed so we need to factor in whether his lack of earning, travel, dog boarding etc would actually make a cycle abroad more expensive than UK.
It is so overwhelming to look for clinic. We haven’t actually started looking yet, but CRGH and Lister are on my list.
Are you entitled to any NHS funding? X

@Derbee so sorry I never replied to you, new to this forum and trying to figure it out how it al works!
I am guessing your husband may have antibodies too, heard they are very common for reversed vasectomy :-(
I am open to go abroad but husband not too keen on the idea. He is self employed so we need to factor all that in.
But in Spain they are very good so we will definitely have a serious discussion about whether to go there after Xmas- talking or looking for clinics now is so overwhelming! Wishing you lots of luck and baby dust 🤞🏻Xx

@GiuliaTTC I am not unfortunately, because of my miscarriage the nhs won't offer ivf, even though my DH's results show that was pretty much a miracle.
Do you mind me asking what the rest of your DHs results were? I don't know if the other results makes any difference to why they are not paying attention to his MAR score.
I know what you mean about choosing a clinic, it is so overwhelming and feels a bit like we are making a decision blindly.

@FlapJackered that’s terrible that the NHS wont offer IVF due to the miscarriage, so unfair :-(
His morphology was 4% which is borderline fine. Mobility and sperm count flactuacted (had to do about 4 samples) but were always good.

So really his only problem were the antibodies which kind ok makes me feel angry cause without them his sample would be perfect!
I am really surprised your clinic didn’t identify it as a problem, I have been told anything above 40% would make conception really really difficult.
I would definately raise it with your clinic and see what they say xx

Thanks @GiuliaTTC , it is very frustrating! I have booked a private appointment now as I just don't trust the NHS consultant any more.
Good luck with your ivf planning. We have decided to go to the fertility show in London, I am hoping that sheds some more light on it all! X

I'd recommend seeing Mr Ramsey, he is MFI guru

So I asked Adia Health website experts about my DHs result and they replied with the following, which i am not sure how to take? It seems like they are saying we may have a better chance naturally despite DH having 53% antisperm antibodies and 2% morphology?

'The WHO threshold is set at 50% currently for sperm antibodies and therefore the sperm antibodies in your husbands semen may be contributing to your difficulty conceiving but may not be the only factor.
The MAR test is not routinely performed especially as its direct effect on fertility is not clear. In some cases issues with antibodies may be overcome with IVF/ICSI, however it is not a guarantee of success and this may be why your doctor feels that you could wait a little longer as although you have been trying for 2 years, it has been one year since you conceived and you may well have a better chance of conceiving naturally than with IVF.'

@Viletta thanks for the recommendation, I will look into an appointment with him.

I mentioned this to @FlapJackered, but there are a few studies that say that a course of methylprednisolone (basic steroid) has helped with antibodies and improving male fertility when antibodies are present.
The reason I even know this is because my DH had to take it for other issues and I wanted to make sure it's not going to ruin our chances and kill all his sperm.

Hi sorry jumping onto this forum just to ask how do you know about the antibody %?

My DH got his SA Results back yesterday, but I cannot see anything about antibodies or anything? Is this a separate test they do? Would this be picked up on the normal sperm analysis?

Thanks xxx

@Maisy24 I think it's an extra or extended sperm analysis

@Maisy24
Private clinic normally routinely perform the antibodies check.
For the NHS is not a routine test, however in my husband case the sperm looked all clumped together (sorry TMI!) so NHS performed this test after a visual assessment.