Semen Analysis: 0% normal forms (pyriform heads), everything else seems pretty good

[meddle71]

Hello, I had a semen analysis done and got seemingly good results overall except for the very worrying 0% normal forms part.

Summary

The good:

* Total motility 69%

* Total motile sperm count 119.81 Million

* Total count 187.2 Million

The worrying:

* Normal forms * 0 % (4 or more)

* Abnormal forms 100 %

* Head defects 100 %

* Midpiece defects 23 %

* Tail defects 8 %

* Teratozoospermia index (TZI) 1.33

Remarks

Seminal plasma anomalies. No normal forms seen. Sperm displaying pyriform heads. All other

parameters within reference range. Motile sperm displaying rapid progression.

Could you please share thoughts on how bad this looks and how bad this makes my chances of conceiving? Would also like thoughts on how bad "head defects" are and in particular "pyriform heads"? I'm assuming not all types of abnormalities are the same?

Thanks in advance.

[Llizzie]

Hi meddle, I’m not an expert in reading SA results but if you’re not already under the care of one, you should discuss these results with a urologist.

My husband had 1% morphology (99% abnormal forms) but he also had very low count and low motility. We saw a urologist who sent us for additional tests (including DNA fragmentation) and we had a round of IVF ICSI and have a 1 year old. There are lots of studies that show men with 0% morphology can conceive but the results are worth investigating further as there might be something causing your poor morphology. In my husband’s case he had some issues with his veins from a childhood illness - not fixable but some men can have treatment.

There’s some good support groups for men, HIMFertility is one and Knackered Knackers is brilliant on Instagram. There wasn’t a great deal of information out there for men with infertility issues when we first found out but it is getting better. Look after yourself and talk about it - my husband found it difficult to process his results - he needed time. Hope you find the info you need x

[Eloquentia]

My husband had low morphology. Our consultant told us it was not clear how much morphology matters and that the important parameters are motility and concentration. They did refer us to do ICSI though and that resulted in 75% fertilisation rate. Good luck!

[Jumpppy]

Google may be your very good friend here. The only thing good about DHs SA was low percentage of head defects. They told us that's important as they can "cut off" tails but need good heads is that's where the DNA is. This is not to say there aren't some with good DNA in the lot.Agree with Llizzie you should seek a specialist right away and try and see if you can improve those swimmers. Since counts are good you may want more than a urologist as typically they focus on the veins etc to improve counts - there are specialists who focus on why quality is poor (e.g. Dr Ramsey). It'll take 3-6+ months to know if there's improvement, but worth it before you start ICSI. CoQ10 ubiquinol is what they recommended for DH (300-1000/day) to support sperm DNA health and he saw improvements. Multivitamin of course.

Just think if you can get those sperm in better shape natural conception may be in the cards 😀

Good luck!

[Nina420]

hi meddle71 , I second going to see Mr Jonathan Ramsay before doing anything else. My other half had 0% morphology, which only picked up to 0-1% after a year of lifestyle changes and lots of supplements. We foolishly went ahead with an ICSI cycle before seeing him, which was unsuccessful. I then got in touch with him and he was so helpful. My partner got a DNA fragmentation test done and blood tests and then we went to see him in person for the results. He recommended specific supplements and actually put me on antibiotics for a recurrent UTI I kept having. Long story short, the following ICSI cycle was successful, with better fertilization and better embryo quality and I am currently pregnant with a miracle baby that I never thought would happen. It was an expensive add on to the whole process but I am so glad we did it. I wish you all the very best of luck on your journey. Let us all know how you get on. 💖 💫

[Ranchu90]

I will be host with you and I will tell what I learnt throughout these years, 6 years to be more exact...my husband also been diagnosed with a pretty bad sperm analysis, he could not believe this is happening to him. It took years for him to finally accept his diagnosis. I always encouraged him to try to focus in solving it rather than blaming somebody for being in this situation. We been to urologists for over 2 years, endocrinologist appointments etc... He was on Menopur injections for 4-5 months and his sperm finally came back normal. Urologists told us that having sperm with round heads is making eggs penetration almost impossible therefore leaving me pregnant can happen in 1,2, 5, 10 years or never! They advised us that ICSI will be the best way for us to try to get pregnant. We managed to get a fertilization rate over 90% with a clinic in Spain and now we have 15 months old twins. You have to find a clinic that is having good embryologists and they will help you massively. There are other options for poor sperm issues not only ICSI. You can choose IMSI, PICSI etc...a good clinic will be the solution. Xx