Is there anything that can be done for severe oligospermia?

[Bubz2017]

Hi,

My dh and I have been ttc our first baby for 3.5 years now. Dh has had 2 semen analysis done, the first came back inconclusive and the second came back as severe oligospermia.

The lab only found 16 sperm in the entire sample. Dh had a blood test which came back normal and he was referred to a urologist who gave him a physical examination and said everything looked normal.

The urologist then booked dh in for a testicular ultrasound, which he is due to attend next week.

With such low numbers it is hard to feel very optimistic about our chances. Is there much that can be done when the results are so low?

[User20]

Is your husband on any supplements (e. g. Wellman)?

[Bubz2017 in reply to User20]

Hi, yes he takes wellman conception and has done for about 9 months. But he doesn't take anything else.

[PurpleLove19]

Try not to look at the figures or percentages. I used to sit and stare at my husbands results as we had a copy of them for the clinic. I think it’s best to say it’s all for the drs as they seemed more optimistic.

My husbands sperm tests were really bad, low count, low morphology and bloods explained why. But we went got our EC and semen sample today and they were quite happy. They were able to inject 5 of my low number of 6 eggs today x

[Bubz2017 in reply to PurpleLove19]

Thank you for your reply. When they said 16, at first I thought they meant million. And i thought well that's not so bad. But when they said it was 16 in total, my heart sank.

It's hard not to focus on the negatives but I'm trying to stay optimistic. I think it's hard because no one has explained anything to us. His appointment with the urologist was over in 5 minutes. And my gynaecologist was the one who requested the semen analysis, so she was the one who gave us the results and as it's not her area of expertise, she couldn't really give us any more information.

I will take your advise and try not to focus on the figures, I just keep telling myself that at least there were "some" which is a start I suppose.

[PurpleLove19 in reply to Bubz2017]

I don’t think there is enough training or time taken in how things like this are delivered. It’s one in one out most of the time. I go back to the day when we found out the news and I just think if only the person who delivered that information had done it differently then I would have perhaps dealt with it better.

Yes there is some and people say it only takes one. There are men who have nothing at all. Little silver linings x

[Hidden]

Hi, Wanted to reply to this. My hubby had a vascectomy reversal a few years back which has caused some issues.

When he was giving samples during our early tests they came back as "no sperm". A further test showed a small number (like yours) . We were referred and the IVF consultant said that as there were a few, as in half a dozen he wanted some of his more experienced embryologists to look at the samples and give it one last go.

He had a sample that they managed to freeze after that. It came to our first round of IVF and the sample he produced on the day were all dead. We used frozen which mostly died soon after thaw. We ended uo with one eaely blast which failed.

We both started taking proxeed sachets (from Amazon) recommended at our follow up appointment. Anyway fast forward 6 months, we had egg collection on Wednesday and were gobsmacked when we were told they have fresh "good quality" sperm! This morning we transferred our 5AB hatching blastocyst. Not sure if the count increased but who cares as long as theres something that they arw confident in using.

Im not sure what exactly made the difference but other than removing alcohol conpletely (he hardly drinks anyway), the proxeed is the only thing he did differently. Our fertilisation rate increased slightly and our embryos were much better quality. I read statements like this from other people and was really sceptical.

Dont lose hope, they is usually something you can try that may help xx

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Oh and just to add. Leading up to the first cycle he was using wellman but we didnt see any difference with those. Everyone is different but for us we didnt benefit from them.

[Bubz2017 in reply to Hidden]

Hi, thank you for taking the time to reply. I'm so pleased to hear that things are looking positive for you! And that there can be light at the end of the tunnel, even if it doesn't feel like it sometimes. I will look into proxeed thank you, I don't think I've heard of that before x

[Jm82 in reply to Bubz2017]

Hi, I also agree with blue jean83, my partner had low count and low motility along with extremely high DNA fragmentation, 7x months on proxeed and count and motility back to normal and fragmentation result nearly halved. Its not cheap but I believe it's worth the money. My partner hardly drinks but cut the odd beer out completely, cut down on caffeine but other than that no other changes. Don't lose hope the good think is with the male side of things it can be improved as sperm is renewed every 3 months.

Good luck xx

[KiboXX in reply to Jm82]

Just wanted to agree with the posters! Proxeed made a huge difference for us as well, it’s definitely worth the investment x

[Italy300618 in reply to Hidden]

Lovely to read this! My hubby used Wellman and had surgical sperm retrieval, what they found wasnt the best, but we have used it in 2 rounds. Now he is on much better supplements and hoping for a fresh retrieval on egg collection day and keeping everything crossed that this will have turned it around for us 🤞 xx

[stephkp]

My husband had a zero count on multiple samples. He couldn’t take vitamins as they interfered with medication he was already taking. He also had an ultrasound, which showed no blockages. He had surgical sperm retrieval and they managed to retrieve enough for multiple rounds of ICSI. We had 3 rounds and our little boy is now 18 months, so don’t lose hope xx

[Bubz2017 in reply to stephkp]

It's always lovely to read stories from those who have struggled, but ultimately had a happy ending, thank you

[MrsH17]

Hey Bubz,

I totally feel for you ... my husband has the same. Not as low but to the point naturally getting pregnant is a big NO. However, two children with ICSI put two embryos in both times. Last round of FET failed.

If he had 7 it doesn’t matter if the 7 are good enough then they will put them in the eggs for you and it doesn’t matter as with someone else the other millions don’t get used anyway.

My clinic advise impurel (think that is how it is spelt)

There is still lots of hope for you both 🥰

Xxxx

[Bubz2017 in reply to MrsH17]

Thank you for your kind words I'm feeling a little more optimistic having read everyone's experiences ♥ xx