Hi,
I wanted to share my story as on this platform as I used it for help and advice at the start of my fertility journey and I would like to help other people that may be in a similar position that I was in. Even if I manage to help 1 person I’ll be a happier man.
In summary, In January 2020 I was told by a fertility clinic that IVF would be the only way my wife and I would have a baby following a poor semen analysis and as I write this, my 6 month old son is sleeping in my wife’s arms that we conceived naturally!
There is a LOT of wrong information given out to men with fertility issues and loads of misconceptions and it’s unacceptable. During our initial fertility clinic appointment I asked the doctor about improving my semen and his reply was “you can’t, you either have a problem or you don’t”
I refused point blank to accept that so I began my own research. I immediately came across ‘Varicoceles’ and whilst in the shower one night, I inspected myself. I found quite a large lump on my left testicle and knew something wasn’t right. I contacted my doctors who referred me for a testicular scan. It was a walk in clinic and as predicted, the scan confirmed I did have varicoceles on both sides. I then went back to my doctors to be told that they were small, nothing to worry about and wouldn’t cause any problems with fertility. They couldn’t have been more wrong about every part of that sentence. I told the doctor that I wanted them treated anyway as I was having fertility problems to which I was told they wouldn’t treat them for fertility issues. I thought on my feet and said they cause me a lot of discomfort (which they didn’t) and was referred to the hospital to have them treated.
A few months later I was booked in to have both varicoceles embolised and at the same time, I had just started to see Dr Jonathan Ramsay in London. After much research (Including this website) his name came up time and time again for male fertility. When he assessed me, he said my varicoceles were that bad they could win awards. He was happy I was having them treated and also sent me for more tests. A urine test also confirmed that I had an infection. It wasn’t an STI and wouldn’t show up on an STI test but causes Inflamed cells (heat) and affects sperm production. The type of infection is transmitted from the vagina. Again, it’s not an STI and Dr Ramsay told us it lives in around 30% of vaginas and can affect fertility for both of us. We were both put on a long course of antibiotics to treat it. In addition, we were both referred to a nutritionist by Dr Ramsay that is a bigger factor than you think when it comes to fertility. The nutritionist also treated us for the infections and also gave us natural medicine like probiotics to get us in the best shape for fertility.
In May 2021, I had the left varicocele treated as they was unable to do the right side on that day. Just over 3 months later my semen analysis showed remarkable results and in December 2021, my wife fell pregnant.
It goes to show that there is answers, there is help and there most definitely is treatment out there to improve your numbers.
If anyone wants to ask me any questions or know any more details I may have missed, please ask! I am happy to give out my number or email address and answer anything I can, no matter what it is.
Thanks for reading and I really hope this is useful to someone!
Referred for ICSI due to male factor infertility 
Male factor infertility
Can i pay for the initial consultation privately to avoid a 12 week nhs wait?
I'm new to the forum and looking for support from others suffering with infertility
Loosing faith :( 
