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For those whose partners have had very poor SA results (mine has bad morphology percentage, and today received a bad count and bad motility as well) - has anyone had further tests done to try and work out the cause of it.
What tests can be done? What do they test for? Any help is appreciated as we are going to the FS tomorrow and I want to be as preapared as possible
TIA
Hi Sophabulous (great name!),
My DH has 0% morphology and low motility & count - what they call a triple defect. We were told that it might be caused by a varicocele so he went off to a urologist and found that he did have a varicocele. It's like variceos veins in your leg except it's above their testes and it's like a ball of spaghetti. There's a lot of mixed information out there about them - some doctors will say it makes no difference to your fertility and others will say it does affect it. We decided to have it fixed as it was quite easy and my acupuncturist recommended it, so he had it embulised. She also said we should be pregnant within the first 3 months or so after it. So we were quite excited about it.
Well, it's the 3rd month now and we just had another SA done and the results were the same as before. And the SA guy said that it takes a full 3 months for the sperm to be produced and make it's way to the testes so we would have to wait the full 3 months to see any change. Also, that it may take 6-12 months to see any improvement. It's so frustrating the way everyone tells you different information - how are you supposed to make an informed decision?!!?!? It's so annoying.
Anyway, we had already met with an IVF doctor and he said to come back to him after 2 months. We're going next week so we'll see what he says. Considering there has been no change I think we'll be looking at IVF with ICSI.
My DH has also been taking heaps of vitamins and having acupuncture - all of which seems to have done nothing!!! It's very stressful. I don't really want to wait 6 or 12 months for something that might not happen at all. But I don't want to do IVF if we don't need to either. It's a very difficult decision we have - do we wait, and if we do, for how long ?????
There doesn't seem to be much they can do for men - except IUI/ IVF. There's nothing like Clomid for men... that I know of anyway. It seems for severe MI the only answer is IVF.
It's a very difficult road and I wish you luck with it. I hope you get your BFP soon!!
Hi Sophabulous,
Two of my good friends had similar issues with SA results, one got pg on the 4th month of her dh's accupuncture and chiropractic treatment while the other got pg by suprise while waiting to see ivf specialist. GL hope it all works out for you.
hey soph, as you know my dh has had several SA's all varying but mostly indicating he has abnormal sperm.
Unfortunately there is nothing they can do to help it. My dh took vitamins and zinc and there was no change...worse in fact.
So unfortunately you will probably be looking at IVF with ICSI just like us. I really hope it doesnt come to that though and I hope you caught your folli today :hug:
Hey Soph,
It really depends on what has caused the results as to whether there is an further treatment that you can seek. Sometimes there is a simple explanation that can be rectified with supplements, drugs or depending on what it is an operation (like samrus said).
Aaron has a low sperm count (<5million) & there is nothing wrong with him physically (although a little overweight, but the FS said it didn't make a difference). It turns out that some men just don't produce a high quantity of sperm & it appears to be a heriditary thing. DHs dad would never admit to such a thing so there is no point in even considering asking him. I just worry about Alexzander having the same issues when it's his turn to become a daddy :(
It is not an absolute certainty that you will need IVF. We were told we would and a few weeks later I found out I was pregnant. It's aways possible to have a miracle. Just look at some of the girls in the LT TTC Pregnancy thread - there a a few in there that had a miracle without IVF. And just like Lisa said, she knows of a few as well......
Sophie, my DH also had poor count (<1million the first time we tested), motility and morphology.
Aside from all the normal hormone tests, the only other tests that he had to determine possible cause were a blood test for the DAZ gene (which is a hereditary cause of low sperm count), and a quick feel by my FS for any obvious abnormalities.
We ended up falling pg via IUI (after a failed IVF cycle), so DH and I were so pleased to see that his swimmers had some life in them :)
It was possibly coincidental, but my DH's 3 SA's results were <1 million, 4 million, and 15 million (the IUI results). Since the first test, DH had started taking zinc supplements, and exercising vigorously (he was already fit and slim build).
Thanks so much girls - I will ask about all of this tomorrow.
How do you pronounce varicocele?
I should also say - we also don't have time on our side. DH has a blood condition requiring him to take medication. When he is on it, it results in azoospermia (so we have 0 chance of conceiving naturally). He has been off his meds for 4 months so far to try and see if it will make a difference to his results, but he can't be off them for much longer (less than 2 months we think) so we don't have a lot of time to 'fix' this... which makes this even more depressing...
Not sure how to expain how to pronounce it. This is all I could find: varico·cele.
As in varicoes veins in your legs, but with seal at the end ???
Your doctor will have heard of it I'm sure.
Good luck. I feel for you with having the pressure of time. It makes it all that much harder. I hope your dream comes true!!
Good luck Sophie - you seem to have so much stacked up against you - you could use some good news right now! :hug:
HI Ladies,
I am new on this board and my question is fairly basic, but you all seem to have been through it so I hope you don't mind.
My DR told me this week that we should send my DH for a s/a. I am just wondering if we go the GP for this, is she just going to refer us to a specialist? Or will she do send the test to pathology herself?
Sorry if my question does not make sense.
Welcome to BB Scarlet :)
Aaron's was organised through our GP. He was allowed to bring the cup home and did it at home then take it back to the GP. There were conditions to this though - it had to be kept warm (he put it in his jeans pocket, a friend of mine drove to her Dr with her DHs sample in her cleavage LOL) and it had to be there within a certain time, I think it was a bout 15mins for us as it had to be sent on to another town for the actual SA.
Well, had the appnt today.
FS said there is not much we can do about it. The chances of his problems being caused not by his medication (or other environmental factors) are slim, and given his results are not as poor as others he has worked with, he said in 99% fo cases, it's "just the way it is" and nothing much can be done.
So - back to the drawing board. Here's hoping there's a BFP around the corner anyway and we don't have to worry about it anyway!!
its ok soph, hang in there. I am positive your bfp is around the corner :hug: