Sperm count has gone down

[fairgame84]

DHs first test showed 11.3mill and he's just had his 2nd and it's now 9.5mill.
He's been taking proxeed, one sachet per day and it's obviously made no difference.

I feel like this is it for us. It's not going to happen. I'm still going for the hycosy etc but after that there's nothing else, we're not going down the ivf route.
It's so disappointing and deflating.

My partners sperm tests have always been abnormal and we had to have ivf with ICSI. For 3 months he took a load of vitamins and supplements that I researched and for the first time ever his count has doubled and everything is normal... Described as "excellent". This is what he has been taking:

Proceive for men
Omega 3
L-carnitine
NAC
Alpha lipoic acid
Coq10 ubiquinol

Hope this helps u x

My DH Sa got worse for the second time after also taking proxceed twice a day, he went from 32 percent motility, 3 percent morphology and 23 mil to 18 percent motility 9 million and 1 percent morphology after diet changes cutting down on alcohol and supplement taken

We paid for a private testes USS which showed he has a varicocele which may be contributing towards poor numbers, sending hugs xx @fairgame84

@firefly37 did you go through NHS for IVF ICSI? I have my follow up appointment at the NHS next Wednesday following all investigations for treatment plan I'm thinking we will be candidates for ICSI with DH SA xx

@fairgame84 can I ask why you’re not going down ivf route? It can often be an easy fix for male issues if there’s nothing else going on.

I second recommendations of going to see a urologist to make sure a varicoele or infection isn’t an issue and getting a DNA frag test.

@kaylsd.. We had ivf for our son which was ICSI. Our second ICSI cycle was self funded in the Czech Republic and we got our daughter. We are just starting fresh cycle number 3 but if my partners sperm is still as good as last month, we probably won't need ICSI for the first time! (no price difference tho as clinics abroad generally don't charge extra for ICSI which is one of the reasons we went there!) x

Sorry should say first cycle was NHS funded ICSI x

Thanks for your replies.

We're not doing ivf because we can't afford it and we would end up in debt with no guarantee of a child. We don't qualify for it on the nhs because I have a child.

I want him to see a urologist to check for varicocele but he doesn't want to spend money. We can afford to get an assessment privately. I'm seeing the nhs fertility doctor for my scans next week and I'm hoping he will persuade dh to get checked by a urologist.

I'm just shocked its gone down with proxeed when so many people have had success with it.
His motility and morphology are fine.
On his 1st sample his viscosity was abnormal but normal on the 2nd sample.
On the 2nd sample the liquefaction was abnormal but normal on the 1st.

[quote firefly37]@kaylsd.. We had ivf for our son which was ICSI. Our second ICSI cycle was self funded in the Czech Republic and we got our daughter. We are just starting fresh cycle number 3 but if my partners sperm is still as good as last month, we probably won't need ICSI for the first time! (no price difference tho as clinics abroad generally don't charge extra for ICSI which is one of the reasons we went there!) x[/quote]
That's amazing stats, lovely to hear 🥺 good luck with your third cycle fingers and toes crossed you guys will have the best outcome 🙌🏻 when you had ICSI did you have good fertilisation rates? I have Mild PCOS so I'm scared about immature eggs 🙈

@fairgame84 can you pay for a private scan to see if there's a varicocele! It's allowed my DH to be referred quicker on the NHS by already having the evidence there that there's a physical issue which may be contributing to his poor numbers and it's allowed him to be seen less than 4 weeks wait on NHS (may vary from trust to trust)

Ah I see. It’s very annoying about funding but also wonderful you have your son.

I do have friends who had low sperm count. They did one ivf but then decided it was too much to go through and stopped treatment. She went on to get pregnant 3 times over a 5 year period. 1 miscarriage, 1 chemical pregnancy and 1 healthy baby so it can happen naturally with low sperm count it’s just not a guarantee and might not happen straight away.

If your DH won’t pay for a private scan then you could try get him referred on NHS to urology - if there’s a varicoele getting that fixed could greatly improve chances or if there’s an infection antibiotics could help too. So definitely some options to explore.

• sorry your child! I realise now you didn’t say son!

Thanks.
@Dochas121It is a son I have so good guess!

@kaylsd how much was the private scan please?

125 but if you have ultrasound direct near you it's 95 pound @fairgame84

Hi @kaylsd
Our first cycle produced 11 eggs, 8 mature with 5 fertilised. Our second was 10 eggs, only 3 mature and all 3 fertilised... So we did OK in the end as I thought the second cycle was doomed with only 3 usable eggs! One of those 3 is a sassy, stroppy newly turned 2 year old princess! (we did have a frozen cycle after each fresh but they didn't work out for us) xx