Advice - DNA fragmentation follow up appointment

[Kat_15]

Hello lovelies. 👋Hope you’re all okay and having a good week.

My hubby got the result of his DNA fragmentation test last week and it showed his comet score for DNA damage was 42%. The normal range is 0-26%.

26% had relatively low levels of DNA damage and 32% had relatively high levels of DNA damage (normal range being 0-4%).

He has an appointment with a Urologist to discuss next steps tomorrow. Any questions you would recommend he asks?

Unfortunately I can’t go with him as I’m having a scan on my thyroid at a different hospital!

Thanks in advance for your help! xx😊💪🌈

[Hidden]

Hi Kat!

We have the same issue - as do many couples on here.

42% is really high and a reason why embryos fail to develop.

You should ask the reason for this fragmentation - does he have a Varicocele that needs to be removed?

Get to the root of the problem, and then you can help bypass fragmentation by using IMSI and Micro-TESE.

X

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Ps. Also important to remember that when embryos stop developing around Day 3, it can be attributed to the sperm. Don’t just assume you have poor quality eggs (you are still young) 42% fragmentation means almost half the DNA of his sperm is abnormal - this is why your embryos could stop developing.

Very few doctors take it seriously so great you are seeing a urologist x

[Kat_15 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Anna. Thanks so much for your message. Sorry to hear your partner had similar results. I’m hoping my hubby’s appointment brings some answers. Our old clinic where we had NHS funding never mentioned DNA fragmentation but our new clinic (we have now gone private) recommended checking it in our first consultation as she said we needed to get everything right before we tried our next round of treatment and hopefully get to the bottom of dome our issues. We had issues with our embryos developing to blastocyst after day 3 and transferred one embryo that was a morula which unfortunately resulted in BFN and none to refreeze. Wishing you lots of luck and all the best with your IVF journey. xxx

[Celloheggy]

Hey Kat we have similar issues. My husband has had 3 Comet test...35%, 47% & 30%. There is no explanation for our results, prostate all clear, no varicocele.

So we also had a Comet Neutral test. this reveals whether the frag is happening in production or ejaculation.

It’s an utter minefield!

There’s a trial in Hammersmith whether they are looking at similar cases to see if there is bacteria/germ causing such fragmentation, if you’re interested?

Wishing you lots of good luck Kat xx

[Kat_15 in reply to Celloheggy]

Hi ya, thanks so much for sharing your experience and sorry to hear you have gone through a similar thing. I’m hoping my hubby’s appointment with the urologist will bring some answers. My hubby was recommended to take Impryl so he started taking that straight after his DNA test took place so we could hopefully get a head start on things. Thanks for sharing details of the trial. Will take a look. Wishing you lots of luck and all the best with your onward IVF journey. It’s such a rollercoaster isn’t it! xxx

[Melrey in reply to Celloheggy]

Any idea how u sign up to that trial?

[Celloheggy in reply to Melrey]

the contact details are [e-mail]

website details:imperialreproductiveendocri...

Tharu would be delighted to hear from you!! X

[Chebellagina in reply to Celloheggy]

Hello! May I ask how to get a COMET neutral test? My husband has had a COMET but we don't know whether the damage is happening in production or ejaculation so would love to get this piece of the puzzle! Thank you ♡

[Kat_15 in reply to Chebellagina]

Hello. Yes we were recommended Dr Jonathan Ramsey by our clinic and arranged a test through him. You will get his contact details if you google him. Wishing you lots of luck. x

[Chebellagina in reply to Kat_15]

Thank you so much! x

[Kat_15 in reply to Chebellagina]

Wishing you lots of luck and positive vibes. xx

[Celloheggy in reply to Chebellagina]

Yep we got it through Jonathan Ramsey too. Good luck xx

[fridayfever]

Hi

We are just waiting for my husband to repeat his test after a 3 month wait as his 1st results were 35%.

Has anybody partner been taking any supplements and noticed any change with the results?

Mine was recommended impryl which we have both been taking and a tomato based supplement based on something I read in it starts with the egg.

Wishing everyone positive news x

[Kat_15 in reply to fridayfever]

Hello, thanks for your message and for your sharing your experiences. Really hope things are improved on his previous test result. 🤞My hubby was recommended to take Impryl by our clinic so he started taking it straight after his DNA test so hopefully we could get a head start on things. What is the tomato based supplement he is taking? Wishing you lots of luck and all the best with your onward IVF journey. xxx

[Canadawaterchick in reply to Kat_15]

Yes I’d recommend lots of tomatoes and or tomato purée in the evening! It’s great for dna frag, also fish oil tablets - a good strong omega 3!

[leo1980 in reply to Kat_15]

Lypocene- a teaspoon of tomato purée will work

[Canadawaterchick]

My hubby had high frag, we found out in May and he was then on a high anti oxidant diet and supps, ubiquionol, Impryl and proxeed. A major change in food and drink too which brought it back to normal range xx

[Kat_15 in reply to Canadawaterchick]

That’s great to hear. Thanks for sharing your experience. xx

[Celloheggy]

We did Tom purée with olive oil every day, general healthy eating, lots of coloured fruit and veg, nuts, Ubiquinol, proxeed, impryl, fish oil, vit D. In 3 months we managed to get frag from 35 to 30%. Xx

[Kat_15 in reply to Celloheggy]

That’s great you saw a decrease, thanks for sharing what you did. Xx

[Flora14]

Hi can I ask how you can get sperm tested for dna fragmentation?can you get it on nhs? Thanks x

[Kat_15 in reply to Flora14]

Hi Flora. We paid for it privately as it was recommended by our clinic who we are with on a private basis. It wasn’t mentioned by our previous clinic when we were NHS funded so I don’t think it is available on the NHS. xx

[Flora14 in reply to Kat_15]

Ok thanks.can I ask how much you paid?know it will vary slightly but be good to have rough idea.thanks x

[fridayfever]

Hi Kat

Lycopene is the tomato supplement he is currently taking.

Xx