Anyone else awaiting fertility referral?

[MallonMary]

Hi all,

Been ttc (unsuccessfully!) for over a year and just found out there's a problem with DH sperm (low mobility and zero normal forms), so awaiting referral to fertility clinic to seek further help/advice.

Just wondered if there's anyone else in a similar situation about to embark on this journey too?

Also similar success stories welcome :) x

Hi, I've just been referred, we've been ttc for around 18 months (actively trying using opks for around 12 months) my appointment is in February. We've had all the standard tests and everything came back fine, the only thing was DH morphology was 1% but the gp advised this is of no concern due to the high volumes and everything else was above average. Still have my doubts though.

When is your appointment? I got the letter last week and it says it's with a gynaecologist, which I'm surprised by as I thought it would be a joint appointment to begin with.

It would be good to support eachother through this 😘

Hi :)

Lovely to have a response back but sorry to hear you're struggling to conceive too. It's so difficult especially when so many of our friends and family are announcing their pregnancies. I just turned 32 so they're getting more frequent now!

That's great you've got your letter through for the appointment. I would have thought it would be both of you first too, do you know what first appointment entails?

The doctor said they'd send our referral at our last appointment on 10th December, haven't had the letter through yet. How long did yours take to come through? X

Hi both can I join? Sorry to hear your problems ladies but I think I’m in the same boat, other half had his sperm results back today and 0% normal morphology. I’m still in shock I honestly thought it was me who had the problem and don’t really know how to feel about it 😥

Would be great to hear your journeys as i’m a tad behind you both.

Btw i’m also 32 ttc #1 for 13 months!

Hi all,

Hope you don't mind me joining in too!

OH has 1% morphology and all other parameters are also below norm. We've been TTC for 2 years in Feb, I had a MC a year ago in Jan 2019 😪

We've finally been referred to the infertility clinic but our appointment isn't until late March - honestly it feels like a lifetime away.

@MallonMary my letter took about 3-4 weeks to arrive, but I called up the hospital after 2 weeks just to follow up and they confirmed on the phone the appointment had been booked and they'd be sending a confirmation letter out in the post. No harm in you calling them if you still haven't heard anything next week?

The struggle of seeing all your friends and family announce pregnancies is very real - I'm just behind you girls at 31 and it feels like someone new is announcing their pregnancy every week.

@Nobunintheovenyet it's hard to process, but best think to do is to get your GP to refer you to the infertility clinic. I was in so much shock after my OH got his results back that I didn't know what to do and didn't go back to the GP for well over a month - now I wish I'd got off my butt and acted sooner!

I'm jumping on this too if that's okay? We had our initial GP appointment in October and since then I've had blood tests and an ultrasound while my other half has had a sperm analysis. All seems okay with us both at this stage so not sure what will happen next. Will we still be referred? Sorry to hear you're all struggling too but nice to know we're not alone .

@Nobunintheovenyet sorry to hear about your oh results. It's such a shock to receive them, like you I thought the problem would be me so it was a shocking discovery. We got my husbands results about 4 weeks ago now, it took a couple of days to get my head around it but once you do you'll feel better and more positive as there are options out there. That's it you need them. A part from the 0 morphology were the rest of his results ok?

I've read sperm regenerates every few months so likely they'll request another sperm analysis from both our oh.

@thelittlepeanut Thank you, did you know which clinic you were being referred to? The doctor implied that the letter we are waiting on would provide a list of clinics each with varying waiting times, so I wouldn't be sure who to call to chase up annoyingly. From what I hear, March isn't too bad a wait time compared to some I've heard (6 months or more) but I agree it feels like ages when you just want to get the ball rolling!

So sorry to hear about your miscarriage, that must have been terrible. Promising that if you fell pregnant naturally once then you could again!

Can I ask you both, despite the results are you still 'trying' as normal each month? Feel like I'm spending a fortune on ovulation tests (I use the clear blue digital) and don't know whether to just give that a rest for a bit. Would obviously love to fall pregnant naturally and feel they give me the best chance! Do you use them too?

@greeneyes703 great that nothing has come up as a problem for you! I'm not sure what protocol is in that situation but I imagine you would still be referred as people can be diagnosed with 'unexplained infertility', hopefully not the case for you.

@MallonMary yeah, I got a letter from my GP a few days after my appointment that stated which clinic I'd been referred to, along with a reference and a contact number. If you don't have that info then maybe get back in touch with your GP? They might just be behind because of the xmas/NY breaks, but worth following up even just to hear them say 'you should hear back from us by X date'. It'll put your mind at rest.

Yeah we're still trying, but I've stopped using OPK's so religiously each month. Testing was really getting me down as I was putting a lot of pressure on myself, so now it feels less stressful each month and I don't feel so awful when AF inevitably shows up. I haven't tested in about 3/4 months and genuinely feel so much better for it - but I think I'm going to start it up again now in the lead up to our appointment so that I have as much info to give them as possible. Would def recommend taking a break if you feel you need it! If it's for financial reasons, I switched to the cheapies from Amazon (they're called One Step) and they work just as well as CB at a fraction of the cost (you get 30 in a pack - so can last you a good few cycles depending on how often you test). You can also download an app like Premom where you can store photos of your strips and it helps to track ovulation.

@greeneyes703 how long have you been trying if you don't mind me asking? Definitely worth going back to your GP and seeing if they will refer you.

Are any of you thinking about what steps to take if you're unable to conceive naturally, or how long you're willing to keep trying? I'm starting to think about IVF and although we won't make any decisions until after our appointment in March I just feel like I want to be prepared. I'm already worrying myself, costs are eye watering!

@greeneyes703 ah that's interesting! I'll call Gp Monday and find out.

Does the letter say what your first appointment entails? Is it for you and oh?

Thanks re the ov tests- I think I'll switch to the cheaper ones next month!

IVF is so incredibly expensive. I think we get a couple of try's on Nhs here. Where abouts are you located?

Sorry that was supposed to be directed at you @thelittlepeanut

@MallonMary yeah the appointment is for both of us. Letter says we might be seeing a few different healthcare professionals and will need to fill out some paperwork, also says that often they will recommend for additional tests to be arranged.

We're in London, where are you based? I'm just worried about the waiting times.

I was advised if you know you ovulate, then testing each month isn't that useful. I did still test but not every cycle. My test results have shown it is't due to lack of ovulation that i'm not conceiving so in that sense the advice was accurate.

@thelittlepeanut I was told once that you could by pass the initial wait by starting privately to see the consultant for that initial meet £200 ish to just get in the right direction, but I wasn't sure how easy it then was to switch back to nhs. It's something we would consider if the wait is mega long.

We are in Oxfordshire.

@MallonMary yeah I'd be willing to do that too if it helped speed things up. I guess we'll see what the outcome of our appointment is first.

@thelittlepeanut sending lots of luck in the meantime. You so hear stories of people falling pregnant just before starting the process !

@thelittlepeanut if you don't mind me asking, what were your oh SA results exactly? X

@MallonMary yeah, fingers crossed! Hope you get your appointment sorted x

@MallonMary sorry I didn't see your other message before! So his volume is within normal range at 4.3, but all other parameters are below.

Concentration - 7.3
Sperm count - 31.3
Total Motility - 33%
Fast progressive - 7%
Slow progressive - 22%
Non progressive - 4%
Immotile - 67%
Total progressive motility - 29%
Morphology - 1%

He takes his vitamins religiously now since getting the results back. I wish he exercised more and ate less junk but I don't want to be too demanding lol!

What are your OH's results and how did he take it? x

@thelittlepeanut So on my oh results letter it says that fast and slow progressive combined should be 32% or more, so you're not too far behind that at 29%. Even if count itself is low, least you have 29% that can swim!

Our results are:

Concentration - 23.7
Sperm count - 97.6
Total Motility - 28%
Fast progressive - 6%
Slow progressive - 12%
Non progressive - 10%
Immotile - 72%
Total progressive motility - 28%
Morphology - 0%

So not many good swimmers and no 'normal forms'- eek! Dh was very quiet for a few days but on the whole hasn't taken it too badly. I still would rather the problem was me so he didn't feel any blame.

Have you told any friends or family about your struggles ttc? I've just told one friend, as we both excitedly started trying at the same time, she's due to give birth next month x

*Total progressive motility 18% for us not 28!

@MallonMary I didn't know that about the fast & slow progressive - but still, not many sperm and then not many in the right form. I think I'd be more positive if we hadn't been trying for so long.

I couldn't agree more - I really wish the problem was with me too, even just so I could feel more in control of it. I was so ready for the issue to be with me that when his results came back I think I was in more shock than he was.

Is your oh taking any supplements? I've read that abnormal SA results can be reversed so there's hope for us both! Also read somewhere that count and motility are more important than morphology, but not sure how trustworthy that statement is.

That must be hard, does your friend know of your struggles? I've only told one friend as I needed to tell someone about the miscarriage last year and she's been amazing, really supportive the whole way through. She doesn't want kids (not at the moment anyway) so I have to say it really helps to know she's not going to fall pregnant any minute.

My other close friend is due in March, her and her oh started trying in May and in June she was pregnant. I remember the journey home from them telling us I cried the whole way. I'm so happy for them now, but it can be a tough and emotional journey for the rest of us xx

Hi all sorry I posted and never returned just trying to take it all in and OH has not taken it was as you all will know.

Seems as though OH’s results are in a different format from both yours above so cant really make sense of it.

I think i need to speak to someone, don’t want to tell close family unless OH wants to.

I have never had baby envy or felt anything other than happiness for others sharing their baby announcements or gender reveal but i cant even look at them these last couple of days.

Sorry for the down post ladies!

Going to pull myself together, want to get OH some supplements so anything you girls know of I’d love to know. X

@thelittlepeanut yes when we got the sa results back he started taking well man conception supplements, so for about 3 weeks or so. Obviously don't know the effect of them yet, but I imagine he'll need to do another sa at some point down the line so will be interesting to see if any change.

How many days did you oh withhold sperm for before doing his sample? That can have an affect on sperm count. My oh withheld for 7 days before doing it. And then had to drive 45 mins to drop it off at clinic! Was yours close by? I guess we don't know how quickly it was tested after being delivered.

Yes my friend I've told does know about our struggles. She's been very good but is obviously and (rightly so!) very excited about her baby so has a lot on her mind. Dreading anyone else announcing!

@nobunintheovenyet sorry he hasn't taken it well, it's a hard one to swallow and you feel quite helpless as the partner. I just had to put on a brave face and try to be upbeat with him because having oh down and sad was the last thing I wanted/needed!

I bought the Wellman conception supplements for him. There were a variety in boots but I'd seen a few people on here post about them.

My oh is also a keen cyclist... ffs lol which apparently is not good news for sperm!

@nobunintheovenyet what were the rest of your oh results? Was it just morphology that was below normal?

@MallonMary thats it but I honestly feel like I can’t be sad in front of him. Maybe I should do something special for him, cheer him up hopefully.

So I have been taking the wellwoman preconception supps since we first started ttc, will defo get him some. Need to feel like were doing something to help us rather than just sitting around moaning about it.

Yes I read that about cycling, have you told him that it dosen’t help the swimmers?

Spermatazoa concentration - 17.9
Total sperm concentration - 111
Progressive - 54
Non progressive - 11%
Immotile -35%

Can you make sense of these?