3 years TTC – male factor, infection found & ICSI suggested… unsure what to think

[Hiphorray]

Hi everyone,

I’m not really sure why I’m posting… I think I just need a bit of support or to hear from people who understand.

Me and my DH have been trying for 3 years now with no success. We did fall pregnant very early on in our relationship, but sadly it didn’t lead to a live birth.

All my fertility tests have come back normal. My DH’s initial sperm analysis was also “normal” but on the lower side. The clinic suggested he take Impryl and some supplements, then re-test in 6 months. When we did, the results had actually dropped quite a lot, which was a shock.

The doctor asked if he’d been ill (he hadn’t), and the only real change was that he had been training very heavily. We’re talking 10–11 sessions a week, early mornings (4:30am starts), working all day, then training again in the evening. The doctor said this wouldn’t affect things, but from everything I’ve read, overtraining can impact sperm because the body prioritises recovery over reproduction.

Something just didn’t sit right with me, so we did our own research and further testing. His bloods showed slightly raised FSH. We also did a DNA fragmentation test and microbiome testing. DNA frag came back really good, but the microbiome showed an infection in his sperm. He had no symptoms at all. He took a week of antibiotics for this.

Interestingly, I had been getting recurrent UTIs (not typical ones mainly just a change in smell), especially after sex, and since he had the antibiotics, that’s completely stopped. It also feels like there’s more ejaculate now (sorry, TMI!).

We then saw another doctor who has referred him for a varicocele check (we’re waiting on that). He said the infection wouldn’t have made any difference to sperm quality, and that the UK don’t routinely test for it anyway which I find confusing, as other countries clearly do.

At this point, I feel stuck between staying hopeful and wondering if I’m being unrealistic. We’ve been advised to consider ICSI, but part of me feels like there must be a reason for all of this, especially as we’re otherwise healthy and relatively young (34 and 37).

I also have a daughter who is 11.

I don’t really know what I’m asking… I think I just needed to get it out and maybe hear from anyone who’s been through something similar or has any thoughts.

Thank you for reading 🤍

After 3 years I think you should just move to IVF if this is important to you (though you are not on a big time crunch yet). All kinds of non obvious things can be an issue - such as the sperm not being able to break into the egg owing to deficiency of the relevant enzyme, or low attraction between your gametes, meaning they ignore each other. ICSI would bypass.

Hi OP, has he seen an actual urologist? Honestly I would book a private consultation with someone like Jonathan Ramsay. He would be able to give much better advice than a normal doctor.

when you say training, what type? If it involves heating the testicle (cycling for example) it would have an impact on sperm.

@sirensong I know what you mean. I think because Ive always been really optimistic that it would happen - ICSI / IVF have always been a real last resort (as it is for everyone). We want to make sure every avenue is explored. There’s a 1-2 more tests I think we should do then I’ll admit defeat and try ICSI

@namechange7891011 Hi! Yes the one who wants to do a scan is a urologist - he didn’t really have a lot of answers to give us. He was the one who said that the infection wouldn’t have a huge impact on the sperm. DH was training for hyrox, so hybrid training. Running and then strength. It was more the strain that I heard it could cause an issue plus the heat. DH has another sperm analysis soon to see if numbers have improved since laying off the intense training. Thank you for replying.

Similar situation here, we also saw a bacteria presence in a sperm culture test but the urologist said that it is unlikely to be an actual infection, we’re waiting on further testing. I would be interested to know if the antibiotics helped your husbands sperm count?

@PinkElephants356 oh really? That’s interesting to know. We have an appointment for analysis this week but it hasn’t quite been 3 months since the antibiotics so not sure it’ll show but we will be booking another one for a months or so time to see anyway. (reason for testing is because it’s been 3 months since less training for DH) ill keep you posted!

Thank you please do.

Yes he said that the bacteria is present in the microbiome but that does not necessarily mean there is an infection. They are doing further microbiome tests to check this.

I am not sure about it not being an infection though because like you I have had a few UTIs which makes me think it might be. Maybe I’m just hopeful for an obvious reason, at the moment weve been told it’s likely genetic and have been given some tablets to boost testosterone to help sperm production.

My husband has not been exercising loads but has been working a lot and I do think lifestyle stress might be a factor.