Can someone help interpret my husbands semen analysis?

[ajc1994]

We had a baby together (too) easily 4 years ago. He is healthy 44 year old never smoked and doesn’t drink, no injuries pains etc so we are shocked his results were so low. He did have the flu about 5 weeks before the sample was done but they said it wouldn’t make levels this low. What’s the likely cause and treatment? Is it reversible? We are just in disbelief things could change so much. Can someone help me interpret the notes too? Thanks

I cant read and understand the results sorry so I hope someone can come along and help with that but just wanted to say we are in the same boat. We had 2 ivf cycles in 2021 which my husbands sperm was doing alright, not perfect but didnt need help to fertilise eggs. Fast forward to 2025 and my husbands sperm has decreased so much that we have to do icsi and I still dont get fertilised eggs. He is on some over the counter supplements that support sperm health, he has never smoked, hasnt touched alcohol for 5 years, is a great eater, isnt over weight, he has a physical job so very active and we have a pretty good sex life so we have no idea whats happened , he is also 41.

Hi, we chatted on the other thread. I am not 100% sure of my husband's individual results but they were all in the normal range to begin with, despite having Covid a month or so before the sample was taken. So it might not be the most helpful comparison. I hope someone else will have experience with this type of results, I really hope that the retest makes a difference if the flu had an impact. It's all so individual. We have unexplained infertility and are going through IVF at the moment, others have a diagnosis on paper but still get pregnant naturally. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!!

Thank you both. It’s not just fertility we are worried there could be an underlying health condition that’s made it drop to this low and so suddenly. Of course the gp won’t do any tests either as it’s fertility an we already have a child etc. so would have to go down private route for any kind of urologist/tests.

thanks x

High viscosity and lots of epithelial cells makes me think there might be some inflammation or infection in his reproductive tract - maybe in the prostate. Are you under a fertility clinic? It might be worth a chat with one of their doctors or a urologist - but this is one sample - if he has no pain or other symptoms I’d suggest a repeat analysis to see if it is improving first.

Thank you, I’m not sure he has an infection as no symptoms and round cells (white blood cells) are below the threshold so I think this doesn’t indicate infection but likely inflammation. Yes we’re under a private clinic, They want him to do a repeat sample end of next month so 2 months on from this sample. If still similar results thy will do bloods but they are fertility only so wouldn’t test urology issues I don’t think. I just can’t see them going from this awfully low to a significant improvement from getting over the flu, but als don’t know how/why they would get so low suddenly. He doesn’t have any signs or symptoms of varicocele but I know that can be silent

Have you tried using ChatGPT? When I was going through IVF treatment, I found it really useful to break things down in layman terms x

Yeah it just points to a severe genetic defect or really bad inflammation / varicocele. but given we already have a child anything severely genetic would be uncommon. But if I mention he was sick with the flu 5 weeks prior it says chances are it’s down to that. I’m just sceptical that a flu bug can make the results that bad, he was bed bound for about 4/5 days but still x

@ajc1994I'm not an expert but I know that usually sperm has a cycle of three months. Has he started any supplements in the meantime?

Yes I’ve heard this. He’s started coq10, Wellman fertility, NAC 600mg and omegas this week since we had the news, he wasn’t on anything prior. He’s also cut out caffeine, sugar and junk food not that he had a tonne but probably had too much caffeine tbh. The only change in 5 years is he’s been diagnosed with gout but in allopurinol for this daily. He had uric acid bloods done last week and they are normal levels, but he’s come off the medication as if he sticks to the healthy diet he can manage gout without meds, not that we think the medication is the likely cause but infertiiity is listed as a rare side effect

@ajc1994it would be worth retesting then in about three months. Caffeine is really bad and I think this will make a big difference. Also I had big arguments with my other half on those ‘energy’ drinks as they are meant to be brutal for fertility. Age is also a factor for men too. But it sounds like you are making all the right moves x

Yes agreed. He is 44 so older but they said it shouldn’t make a dramatic difference given we concieved very easily at 39 and I am 31 x

I don't have direct experience of this but my husband did semen analysis with Fertility Solutions, lady called Claire Mooney who is like the Queen of sperm and very knowledgeable, if you want another opinion! He'd initially done an at home sperm test you send off which came back with poorer results, then did a repeat at her clinic (London, or Beaconsfield) and she was so helpful and lovely - would have good insights and be able to refer to an urologist etc as needed

Ok thank you will look it up. Was his second sample much better and did he know what the issue was if you don’t mind me asking

2nd sample was better, and within parameters, so while he took a recommended supplement we didn't need to do anything further. First one had lower rapid motility and overall motility I think which she attributed to the length of time it took to get the sample to the lab for analysis, versus when he went in and they analysed it within an hour, but ultimately we didn't seem to have a sperm issue. But she was v helpful and explained everything well, felt in good hands!

Dr Jonathan Ramsay. Worth every penny. He is the man you need.

Hi all I just wanted to update in case anyone else is in our shoes. Husband had his second analysis and all results were improved, still slightly below threshold but his count was well above required and hopefully improvement will still continue. His illness was 12 weeks ago but he’d only been taking supplements and vitamins for 8 weeks. Round cells high but expected after clearing out a bad case of the flu. Just need to get the morphology up a bit more but it’s a huge improvement