Andrology appointment

[MediocreMind]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I have an appointment on Monday in the andrology department following very low sperm count in all three semen analyses. They took more samples about 8 weeks a go to do genetic testing which we expect to get the results for at this appointment. Although I’ve tried searching I can’t find anything that tells us what these results might be and what else might be discussed at this appointment. If anyone can shed some light I’d really appreciate it?

Thanks, Cat x

[feagfrhtfbhsvfadfva]

Hi. Hubs and I went through this as well. Basically, they'll check factors like motility and quality. They want to see if the sperm swim quickly and whether there are any deformed spermies in there. If there's an issue with quality or quantity, you will NOT want to do IUI since that really won't increase your chances by much (15% success rate - no thanks!). However, bad sperm doesn't mean you can't get knocked up. Just need to do ICSI + IVF (which is what we ended up doing) and soon you'll be knocked up too! xo !

[MediocreMind in reply to feagfrhtfbhsvfadfva]

Thanks, I think the not knowing is the hardest thing so it’s really helpful to hear from other people going through the same thing. We’ve already been told we’ll need ICSI because of the low numbers which is why I’m not sure what else might come out of this appointment, which I think is then making me worry what else could possibly be wrong. It’s just never ending.

[feagfrhtfbhsvfadfva in reply to MediocreMind]

don't stress it! not too long ago I felt that way as well, but your hubs has sperm and iCSI will find them. trust the process xo

[CAS2]

There are loads of good vitamins you can take to help sperm, like Proxseed. And add in Omega 3. Worth investing in. Also if hubby smokes get him to give up. Also before your next test make sure he has ejaculated a few times in the run up (with 2-3 days abstinence before the day). We had a really good vitamin regime going for my OH and went from 7m and low motility to a normal count during IVF. Made such a difference to the quality of the embryos 3rd time round. Good luck xx

[MediocreMind in reply to CAS2]

He already has quite the vitamin regime going on but not omega 3 so I’ll look in to adding that, thanks! Looks like we’re starting our first cycle next month so hopefully all the pills will start making a difference! X

[Cinderella5]

My hubby had to have the same. Its karyotyping to rule out genetic issues for low sperm count like cystic fibrosis and klinefelter syndrome. My husbands came back as normal... he had less than 1 million sperm per ml of sperm which is classed as very low. Unfortunately there wasnt anything they could do for his sperm count however using ICSI (where they manually selected the best sperm into the eggs) we got good fertilisation rates. Good luck.xx

[MediocreMind in reply to Cinderella5]

My husband has had two samples of less than a million too. You were right about the tests, although they didn’t have all of the results yet. He apparently has a varicocele that they’re going to treat but they don’t expect it to improve our chances of pregnancy so we’re going to start our first cycle next month.

I saw you’re in your 2ww, good luck and wishing you a sticky one 😉 x

[Cinderella5 in reply to MediocreMind]

Thank you! Sorry to hear that they cant improve things but at least you have a good plan and can forge ahead with things. Best of luck to you too!!xx