Low sperm count

[beckyd606]

Hi everyone, I’m new to this. I’ve been struggling with infertility for 3 years because my partner has low sperm count. I’m really struggling with my mental health because of this and was wondering if anyone has any success stories with a similar problem to mine?

[Avo-cuddle]

Hi Becky, my husband has low sperm count and 0% morphology. We are doing our first NHS funded round of IVF with ICSI. Currently on day 6 of stims so will keep you updated. We also spoke to two private doctors who advised that IVF woth ICSI was the best fertility treatment for us due to my husbands low sperm count and I also have a low AMH of 4.9. There's no denying it's tough but the love and support both my husband and I showed eachother helped alot. It was really hard for me to see him broken and wanted to support him as much as possible because at the end of the day it's no ones fault. We made huge lifestyle changes and stopped social smoking, drinking and making sure we have a well balanced diet. By husband is taking supplements to support low sperm count, not sure if its made a difference but hoping it's of good quality for when we do IVF. Let me know if you have any questions xxx

[Mai94]

We didn’t have this issue during our initial tests but on the day of egg collection my husbands count was slightly under and they recommended ICSI, gave us better chances and we got 5 blastocysts out of it. They are getter shoe to select the sperm to use to they’ll be able to do that for you a choose those best of the bunch! Good luck with everything! X

[ardnek]

Hi. We are at the other side with an 18 month old. My husband had 0 sperm and worse case we had to use donor sperm. The worse case ended up being our reality but after years of us both struggling mentally and emotionally we are happier than ever. Fell free to message x

[_Emilie_]

Hello Becky,

My partner had 0% morphology, low count, low mobility. We’ve been advised to follow a diet with loads of supplements, plus lifestyle changes. Before starting IVF with ICSI he had another test and the morphology was at 1%, so we went ahead. I am now 28 week pregnant (i’m 38yo). There is definitely hope, please reach out if you have any questions or want a chat.

Emilie xoxo

[AndRelax]

Hi Becky

We have male and female factor with a low count on husband's side.

He made lifestyle changes from about 6 months before having ICSI such as taking supplements, exercising and cutting out alcohol. This increased his count by quite a lot.

We have a 2 year old from our first round. Our second fresh round was unsuccessful but we had a FET a couple of months later and I'm pregnant with baby no 2.

I found that counselling really helped with my mental health. It's a tough time and the hardest part can be asking for help. Your GP can refer you for councelling or therapy or there are charities like Mind that can help too xx

[rainbow_123]

Hi Becky, my husband has a very low count with low morphology and motility so we were referred for ICSI. I really struggled with my mental health after we found out too. The only thing I can suggest is look after yourself and try speaking to a counsellor. I spoke to a private one but if you've gotten as far as choosing a clinic then they have their own or contact your GP to get a referral. Talk to friends and family if they give you the support you need. I have a couple of amazing friends that were just there for the tears without unhelpful platitudes. I tried not to talk to family about it as the response from them was really damaging for me and made me feel worse so remember it's ok to put yourself first.

It's a difficult journey and not one you would have chosen but it can work. We're now expecting our first baby after a successful FET so it does happen. Don't lose hope. Hang in there and take care of yourself. Feel free to message me if you want to chat. There's a lot of lovely ladies on this forum that will always offer support when it's needed. X

[CAS2]

I’d recommend a really good vitamin regime (like Proxseed) and Omega 3. Good diet. No smoking, drinking within the recommended guideline (no more than 14 units per week) and regular (but not too much!) ejaculation (like maybe twice a week). It’s amazing how quickly lifestyle changes can impact sperm quality. It’s likely you’ll still need ICSI on your IVF cycle but improving sperm will improve your chances enormously. We managed to double my OH count doing this 👍

[Daisy08]

Hi Becky my husband had a low count and I have polycystic ovaries so we were told our chances of conceiving naturally were virtually nonexistent. My husband made some lifestyle changes more exercise, no alcohol, eating healthily which improved his count. We also had ICSI to boost our chances. Our 4th cycle was successful and I am now 31 weeks pregnant. Very best of luck to you both. Xx

[Kaykenny]

Hi Becky. My husband had low sperm count with 98% dead cells, 1million count and 0 mortility. He was placed on fertilovite Mplus and it has greatly improved.He currently on 50 million count, 60% active cells and 40 mortility.

I guess you can look out for the meds for him. It is basically supplements.

Good luck

[lfren]

Hi Becky, my husband has a low sperm count - less than 10 motile sperm found during sperm analysis in 2019 in a 1.5 sample spun in centrifuge. Sperm analyses since have used different parameters (now they say "occasional motile sperm" rather than numbers), but our urologist said this indicated a similar range of numbers. He also has varicocele and takes epilepsy medication, which can affect sperm quality/morphology. We had our first cycle of ICSI in December and 17 wks pregnant today. Husb took Proxceed and reduced alcohol intake, but because of the parameters of sperm analysis, we couldn't actually tell whether it made an impact. He also found the clinic's counsellor really helpful for working through stuff related to his infertility.

Good luck, and get in touch if you have any questions!

[Purplewave]

Sorry to hear you're struggling beckyd606. We're in a similar situation but ours is low motility too. I feel like I'm on an emotional rollercoaster, some days I feel ok and others just feel like I can't cope with it all. We have been doing lots of reading and have heard that impryl is good for sperm count, morphology and motility - has anyone on here had any experience with this? Seems like it might be worth a try but it's pretty expensive so don't want to waste money that we may need for private treatment if our NHS round doesn't work. Or can anyone recommend anything else? Our GP said he couldn't advise and we would need to wait for consultation with the fertility clinic but we have no date for this as yet and we want to do everything we can in the mean time to prepare and give ourselves the best possible chance xxx

[Marylyn]

Hi Becky I am a midwife,nurse ,fertility awareness educator here in Australia.I have had a success pregnancy on a client who had hormones,IVF & saw Obstetrician she had no success with a pregnancy for 4 yrs .I asked her to check her vit D & VitB12 levels.She was low in vit b12 & supplemented with methyl b12 spray, after 4 mths she achieved a much wanted pregnancy.What your Drs don’t know a vitamin B12 deficiency can cause infertility,miscarriages,foetal abnormalities,preeclampsia ,blood clots ,iron deficiency.Male sperm too can benefit from zinc & vitamin b12 suppliments increasing count from 20 million to 100 million..Have active B12 blood test first as it may be low enough to warrant regular injections.Eat a good healthy balanced diet with meat ,fruit ,veggies ,seafood,nuts ,filtered water.Vegans & vegetarians are low in b12 as they are limiting meat & animal products which is only source of vit b12 ..Good luck I hope this info is rewarding for you.