This is my first post on here. Stumbled across the website whilst doing aome research on IVF. Me and my partner have been trying for a baby for 19 months now. We was referred to the hospital in November for tests and since then I've had 2 lots of blood tests, 2 pelvic and 1 internal ultrasound and a hsg and my other half has had 2 sperm samples tested. So far my tests all look clear but he's got a low sperm count. We have our next consultants appointment on 23rd March to see what our next step is.
I am looking for anyone who has been through a similar experience and can offer and advice on my situation 😊
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Charris0289
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hi there and welcome, my OH had same issues (along with me in early menopause) get him on wellman tablets if he is not already so you can get his swimmers in tip top condition. Cutting out booze helps and a good diet. You will probably be referred for ICSI IVF where they pick a good sperm and inject it into your egg. But all depends on how low a count he has. keep in touch on here its a great site for help advice and support xx
Thank you for replying 😊 he has been on vitamins since we started trying to conceive. Cutting out alcohol has been a harder battle but hes currently 1 month in to a alcohol ban and I've put him on a healthy eating plan not that he is aware 😂 he does wonder why we suddenly eat vegetables every day.
I have only just learnt about icsi ivf today so this is a new one for me. I have read that it can increase the risk of birth defects but i will bring it up with the consultant on friday.
What stage are you currently at? This seems like a great place for help and advice. I was using netmums but i didn't find it very helpful for infertility mainly just people wanting to know if you could see 2 lines on a pregnancy test haha xx
I had one round if ICSI using my eggs but I responded terribly only got 1 egg and it didn’t fertilise. Went into ICSI donor eggs and got pregnant on the 3rd go with them. I’m currently 24 weeks. It’s all so daunting and scary at the beginning just go with the flow and take each hurdle as is comes. With determination and a bit if luck you can can there in the end xx
Darling, ivf/icsi is the same as normal conception ! ! No birth defects whatsoever!!! Please inform yourself first from a trusted source before you spread false information on a platform,especially when is about a human being !
I'd hardly call it spreading false information on the platform. It was a comment i made on my own post about something i had read on a fertility website. I never said it was 100% accurate fact just that i was going to talk to my consultant about it.
Please don't be condesending towards me. This journey is a struggle enough without comments like that being made. I already made it clear l am new to this site and am just looking to make some friends.
Ok then! You should also think about all the ladies who goes trough ivf and see such comments! It’s false alarming! I went trough ivf/icsi, paid for it 100% and nobody told us ever about “birth defects”! You post can read it everybody, that’s why you put it up there! I’m currently pregnant trough ivf/icsi and honest to god I felt sick when I saw your post! Wish you god look on your journey !
Hi, just wanted to say welcome! We're at a similar stage, although the issue looks to be on my side rather than hubby. It sounds like you've done well to have had so many tests already - we were referred in October and now facing frustrating waits for appointments. Different areas have different timescales and procedures but I know where we are, in Berkshire, if there is a diagnosed fertility issue you can be referred for ivf / icsi after trying for 12 months so hopefully won't be long for you. Hope the consultant appointment goes well - definitely worth making a list of questions you want to ask because I find my mind goes blank when I get in there! Good luck x
I've been so impressed with the speed i have received my appointments. Hopefully you wont have to wait much longer. Unfortunately I'm in Kent and we have to have been trying for 2 years i believe before they'll consider ivf but i only read that online! I've got a massive list of questions already prepared. I am a list kinda gal haha! It's great to be able to talk to people in a similar position. All my family and OH family fell pregnant so easily i feel like i have no one to talk to sometimes xxx
Well done for having a list! And yeah, I know how you feel. Most of our friends are having children with no trouble and although I have a couple of really close friends who know what is going on I usually feel reluctant to talk to them about it because I know that although they want to help they just don't know what to say. I have a feeling this site will become more and more important as we move forward. Anyway, actually managed to put it to one side this evening and go for dinner with friends for a birthday which was lovely, and now off to bed Zzzz
I’m in east Berkshire and I was told by my GP that the rules for ivf are changing (in this area) and they won’t pay for any cycles in coming years (not even one!)
I don’t want to alarm you and if you’re in west Berkshire you may be fine but I thought if you haven’t been referred for ivf and feel you should I would chase it up now to make sure you’re in the last batch of people getting referred for ivf before the rules change.
Thinking about it I might post it on a new thread also to warn others in area xx
Thanks for the heads up! They didn't mention it when I was at the clinic a few weeks ago and we were talking about referral timescales so hopefully we'll be OK but I will definitely check next time we are in. If that is something they are considering I think there is likely to be huge protest against it - it would be hugely unfair. I shall do some investigation!
Absolutely ! It’s alresdy shocking that some places have 3-6 cycles and we were down to 1 anyway.
But to take that away too- seems grossly unfair- I know they have to make tough funding choices but the way I’ve seen them manage healthcare in this area makes me angry as so much could be saved elsewhere.
Having had a quick look I can't see anywhere online that they are considering reducing, although I am under no illusion about what that implies! However, I'm fairly sure they would have to hold a public consultation for a policy change of that nature, I don't think they could just make the decision and spring it on people. I'm in the West Berkshire area so still only one fresh cycle funded, but that is better than nothing and we are really fortunate that we will be able to find funds for a private cycle or two. Even so, I would definitely get behind any campaign to lobby the local ccgs - I often find myself arguing with the LA through work so not a stranger to it!
Yes my Gp did say (almost off the record) but that there was a definite move to get rid of any ivf funding in east Berkshire ccg) - he seemed quite sure that plans were already in place to bring it in the near future.
Yes I imagine there will be some red tape to jump through but I’m sure it will be kept undercover as much as possible!
Hi, welcome, here is the best place for advice and just chat! Going through a similar thing, my OH has a klinefelter's opted for donor sperm , I had bloods taken 2-3 weeks ago so waiting on those and an appointment early may! Get that list of questions ready, but if you need a ear we are here! Good luck xx
Thank you for replying. I hope it all goes ok for you. My OH said he wouldn't consider sperm donation so im hoping we can have success via another option. I've got all the questions ready and I'll let you all know how i get on next friday 😊 xx
That's what I was thinking after i did aome research on it today. Hopefully if that's my next step we can get started right away and not have to wait until its been 2 years
Hello dear, great pleasure. My best wishes. It is not easy to go through all those exams. Have you considered using any fertility treatment?
I am dealing with the IVF, my first cycle was not what I expected. At first everything seemed fine but in the end something went wrong. Now I will try a second cycle.
The first thing you should do is seek help from a specialist in fertilization treatments. That will help you a lot. Do not despair either, because these treatments take time and sometimes it's a long time.
Always keep your mind positive and try to have the support of all the people around you.
Try to find people who have already gone through that and help you with their experience.
Thank you for your reply. We are already seeing a fertility specialist at our local hospital. We've got our next appointment on friday following all our tests.
He seems to be taking it ok but doesnt really talk about it much. Hes finally accepted that he needa to make some dietary changes so that's one step in the right direction.
My mum has a few friends who have suffered infertility issues and who have all had to go through ivf so they have offered some advice and support which is nice.
Good luck with your second cycle i hope it all goes well for you xx
Similar to you all my tests came back fine but my partner had a very low sperm count, low motility and low morphology. We had ICSI.
With my partner he cut back on alcohol, stopped having so many baths and would mainly shower only and he also started taking wellman vitamins. I do believe that all these little changes did help his sperm (which did slightly improve after these changes).
This forum is great so don’t be afraid to ask anything 🙂
Welcome! Hopefully you’ll find the answers you’re looking for.
Did they say it was just a low sperm count or were there any issues with motility and morphology ?
As others have said ICSI can usually fix a lot of that- and if all your results are clear hopefully there isn’t an issue.(much easier to treat a mans issue than a woman’s! For the most part)
If motility isn’t a problem- IUI might work better to begin with?
Vitamins are great - my consultant recommended the proxeed brand as being better than wellman but anything is good.
Also I read on an above reply:
That you’ve changed his diet and added more vegetables which is probably a good thing! However word of caution, don’t cut out all meat or reduce significantly as animal proteins provide us with a far better source of iron,folate,and b12.
Chicken liver in particular is excellent.
I recently came across research that shows b12 deficiency causing both male and female infertility - and it’s not even considered by most doctors and clinics. (They always mention folic acid but not b12 which is required to work with folate)
Again I will post a new thread with the link to sources on it.
And lastly vitamin D! Especially after the winter. I would get both your vitamins restested if they haven’t been already- vit D, iron, ferritin, folate and vit B12.
Remember it takes up to 6months for full changes to occur in a mans sperm quality so he definitely needs to jump on the bandwagon immediately- best of luck!
(P.s my OH had to have a frozen sample as prev low quality, but by ivf stage his sample was ‘excellent’ apparently and they went ahead with a fresh sample!)
Thank you for your response 😊 it wss only low sperm count i believe. Morphology and motility seemed normal. I have read IUI as an option as well so hopefully we can try that first.
I haven't cut out any meat, we are both bug meat eaters so could never do that haha! Just making the rest of the dinner to go with it much healthier.
I already have a B12 deficiency as I suffer from crohns disease so am on regular b12 injections. I may suggest he gets tested for it as well though. Were both on added b vitamin supplements already so hopefully thats making a difference.
Im hoping that by making the changes now, if ivf is our route that his sperm quality will have greatly improved by the time we get to that stage 😁
Thanks again for all the helpful info xx
Good luck on your journey. I talked to our embryologist about ICSI- fortunately there were no issues about sperm quality but I wanted to compare fertilisation rates of IVF with or without ICSI. She said there was a reported slightly increased rate of birth defects but she said it was difficult to interpret because you are more likely to do ICSI when sperm quality is not as desirable for natural conception so you are already getting a biased sample (if that makes sense). But at the same time, they wouldn’t normally consider it a reason not to go ahead with ICSI but that they just tell people.
It does sound like IVF +\- ICSI May be the way forward but see what the clinic says. I would ask them the benefits and risks of each treatment, success rates (live births rather than just pregnancies) and why they would recommend a certain treatment over another. It tends to be quite protocol driven on the NHS- depending on the breakdown of the sperm results you may want to ask them if getting any chromosome/genetic testing is worthwhile or available?
If you email support@fertilitynetworkuk.org , Diane can send you a list of questions that you may want to consider.
Thank you so much for your reply! So much useful information. I have written it all down to take with me to the consultant and have also sent an email like you suggested 😊
I really appreciate everyone taking their time to offer help and advise. This process can be so daunting especially if you feel alone so its nice to have some help and support xx
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
and try to have the support of all the people around you.
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Absolutely gutted!!
DNA Fragmentation test? 
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