So, I have just heard from my FS that DH has 91% abnormality in his sperm. She said while it's not a total disaster, it's not great news.
I've just finished my first round of Clomid (late Ovulation, irregular cycles) and am waiting til next cycle to have a lap & dye done.
My FS has bascially recommend that DH stop drinking, start on Menevit (he's on the Nature's Own brand supplements at the moment), reduce stress, get healthy etc...
Doing all of the things that your FS has recommended is a great start. Making sure he gets lots of good nutrition, does cut down on the drink and the menevit is great too - I read somewhere that menevit improved sperm quality by 25% in a study done (not sure where that was done).
I know this is hard, but in many ways it's a good thing that you're discovering these things now. Big for you.
My DH has the trifecta - 98% abnormality, low sperm count, poor motility. We went through ICSI (where they pick out the good sperm and inject it into the egg), and we had some great results - 15 embryos out of the 16 eggs collected on our stim cycle. Of course, we got lots of eggs because I reacted quite strongly to the drugs, but we were also happy that even with DH's problems, there were enough*good*sperm to get us to the next stage.
My FS told me that before ICSI was developed, people like my DH would have to get used to the idea of never being a biological father. ICSI has revolutionised fertility treatment in that regard.
We are now pregnant, although IVF is a tough journey. I'd like to offer you hope, but keep in mind that everyone is different and your body will react differently to different medications, etc.
What I can recommend is that your DH get himself on to some good Zinc supplements, as well as the mens multi-V. We went to a naturopath, and after natural supplements, my DH's sperm count went from 4 million to 9 million in only a few months. We still had to go to IVF/ICSI, but it just shows that there are alternatives, and that there is hope for you out there.
There are lots of ladies on here who can offer support and advice. Don't be afraid to ask and lean on us if you need to.
For me, the FS was talking about ICSI being required for all my eggs due to DPs results. However my DP achieved a complete turn around in abnormal forms, numbers, motility etc in the space of a few months with taking mens multis (just Blackmores), and he stopped wearing his snug underpants to bed (from what I read that makes a big difference). He also had a break from bike riding for a while.
I'm sure that your DH's results will be much better next time around with some simple changes such as those he's looking at. GL
Thanks so much for your replies girls... it's comforting knowing that I'm not alone.
Persephone, it definitely gives me hope seeing your DH's results. Thanks for sharing them. Did your DH use Menevit? Or just Zinc and multivitamins?
AliB, it's interesting you mention bike riding... DH has just taken it up in the last 6-8 weeks. He only rides to and from work though which is about 20km a day. Did your DP ride further than that??
I was thinking last night, should I have requested DH be retested?? I am due to have a BT on the 12th of April, and will have to call my FS on the 14th of the results, so should I ask her for a new SA script then??
It's still all new to me so I'm just trying to wrap my head around it all. It's only been 11 months... I say 'only' but it's been the longest 11 months EVER!!!
There definitely weren't the results I was expecting considering my cycles are still irregular and my O day changes with every cycle.
We're going away for a week over Easter, so I'm looking forward to relaxing and getting my head out of TTC land for a little while and into 'let's just see what happens' mode...
Thanks again for your replies... I have no doubt I'll be back whith more questions soon!!!
DP didn't ride his bike daily, and when he did ride would have done less than 20km. When we were TTC he only rode a bit and tried to stand on his pedals as much as possible (he's a mountain biker so this is more feasible than a road bike which is probably how your DH gets to work!). We can't be sure that giving up the bike riding made any difference as other measures were put in place at the same time.
I would do some more research before asking hubby to get off his bike, certainly studies have found connections but I don't know if there is major scientific agreement iykwim. It may be that the jury is still out in relation to 'moderate' bike riding...? Not sure. For us it was not a huge issue for DP to give up his big rides for a few months. Speak to your FS too.
Your DH will need to get retested but I can't see the point in doing it immediately, put those lifestyle changes in place (vitamins, less grog and caffeine, no smoking, and keep the testicles cool!!) and establish a timeframe for re-testing with your FS - maybe you could ask about that on the phone in a couple of weeks. 3 months would probably be reasonable. Doesn't the endless waiting suck!
I note that you (or rather the clinic) don't have to make the ICSI decision until the day of egg retreival if that's the way things go for you.
There are bike saddles you can get that are kind of more like a stool. I'm not sure where from, but can do some digging if he really can't give up the riding.
My DH was on a multi-vitamin that my naturopath prescribed. If that's not an option, just do your research - I have my own opinion on things like Elevit and Menevit, which is that they're fine, but they're not better than a lot of other multi-vitamins - they just market themselves better. I found them to be more expensive than other multi-vs, with the same ingredients. Oh, and be careful when you see statements about "improving fertility" - it's a pretty broad statement to make and not necessarily based on anything that will help you. Lots of zinc is good, as well as anti-oxidants and Co-Q10. Oh, and vitamin C. You can get them as separate supplements if you want to - some of the multi-vs have really low doses.
Sorry, hope that helps. Oh, and my DH had poor sperm quality before he took up bike-riding, so we were never able to see whether bike riding had any impact. And the day my DH stops riding his bike...well, let's just say, it won't happen.
And I would also suggest you get another SA done - in a few months, both because you might see a change if he takes supplements, etc, but also because sperm samples differ from day to day anyway.
like seph, my DH also has the trifecta - low sperm count, poor motility and morphology and FS suggested we go straight to ICSI. We were extremely lucky and achieved a pos result on our first transfer (which was our second cycle), and although DH didn't take any vitamins etc he did smarten up his act in regards to eating, drinking,exercising etc. I took vitamins and went to regular acupuncture which I strongly believe helped (but that's my personal opinion obviously - all my results were clear). There is some research to suggest acupuncture can assist with male factor infertility also though we didn't need to go there it might be worth investigating (there are some acupuncture threads somewhere around but on my phone sorry so can't paste links).
Hey Nic, we had a very similar diagnosis 6 months ago. I had my lap in November and DH was told to take Menevit as well. We were told we had about 5% chance or lower of conceiving naturally.
We then did some months of tracking then gave it a rest in March as we were scheduled to start IVF this month. Our counselling appointment for the IVF was the day my period was due. DH had to give another sperm sample.
My period never came as I'm pregnant!!
As for his most recent sperm sample, the result came back that there was no change to the count - there was however an increase in motility & apparently that was all that was needed. Remember it takes at least 3 months to start seeing any benefits.
I really wish you all the best - it sounds like you are on the right track.
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