[blueeyes25s]

DH and I have been discussing him getting a SA done, he's not fully on board yet so I just want to gather some information in the meantime. I have not seen a fertility specialist but my obgyn referred me to one. I know someone mentioned going to the Urologist rather than going to a RE. Can I just call and make an appointment? Does DH need to see his doctor first or do we need to make a consultation type appointment first? What should our first step be I guess?

My next question is your husband required to go back for an additional 1 or 2 tests after the first one? I was reading that some doctors may require a total of 3 different samples.

Sorry for so many questions....I just feel at a loss right now and don't know which direction we should be taking

[Crystallee]

I called my obgyn and asked them to create the order for the SA for hubby without a problem. I went and picked it up and did it at the local lab. I don't know if your ob will but that would be the easiest way. You could ask your dh's regular physician to order it instead of worrying about a specialist like a urologist. If there aren't any issues at all, I doubt they would reorder another SA until you switched to an RE who then may want another but if everything looked perfect, they will probably be content with the results from the first one. If there is a problem, they do repeats. My DH's sa was ordered sight unseen by my ob so that may be an option for you.

[JennyLee]

Ooh, I have been wondering about this too. I would really like DH to have one done, but not sure how to go about it. Thanks for asking, Dawn!

[Tammyms]

A GP should be able to ask for an SA, an OB can and so can an RE... at least here in Canada they can. For us, my GP wanted DH to have an SA done before she sent the referral to the Fertility Clinic as it added to our reasons for needing the referral. His numbers were low so she requested a second one. Before getting to my RE, I was able to get into an OB and he would've asked DH to do an SA if he hadn't just had one done by my GP. By the time we got to the RE, they had DH do a sample again because it had been a few months.

Because their samples aren't timed like our tests are it doesn't matter when he goes in so it doesn't necessarily save any time for the doctors BUT it could save you ttc time getting it done earlier depending on results. (If you find out his numbers are very poor there are certain steps they may skip because the chances of them working are so low.) You get the results about 45 mins after the test so you know right away what you're dealing with.

[BBKT]

My DH just had a SA and it took a week to get his results. With the holidays though, we were expecting that. Our situation is different because DH is in the military and all our medical treatment is done at the base hospitals and clinics. Mine started with my concern over us not conceiving for over 6 cycles. My previous OB said to try for 6 months, if nothing happens, then come back. After 6 months of BFNs, I called my OB to try to get in, but I was unable to get an appointment. So instead, I made an appointment with my PCM (primary care manager/ general practitioner). Told him our concerns and showed him my charts. Hubby happened to be there with me that day, so the PCM ordered a bunch of bloodwork on me and the SA for him. He was told he could go to the lab at the hospital anytime during the week in the mornings and give a sample. He went in on a Tuesday and got a call the next Tuesday saying his "count was low" and to make an appointment with the PCM to get a referral to a urologist on base. It's a very round-a-bout system on base that gives me a headache. Hopefully your GP/PCM can just order the test for you!

[kbpeanut]

DH had his first SA done about 2 years ago. It was ordered by my regular OB. He just had to bring his sample (done at home) to the lab within 30 minutes of "collecting it". It took about 5 days to get the results. When we went to visit the RE a few months ago, she ordered another one, simply because it had been 2 years, and we are a little older, and she wanted to recheck. This time, he has to go to their clinic and take the "test" there. After the first SA, he had gone to his regular doctor for a check up, and was talking to him about the SA, and it turns out he could have ordered it as well.

Hope that's helpful!

[dansyl]

You should easily be able to go through your OB or RE. Especially an RE. I did that a couple of years ago.

[blueeyes25s]

Thanks everyone! Now to get DH on board. He didn't say he wouldn't do it but he's not exactly jumping at the first opportunity either. :/

Jenny - np. I love it when i come on here to find someone asked a question I have been wondering about.

[IndyMommyWannabe]

DH had his first SA done after I saw my GP for my yearly. We talked about why I'd been off of BC for over a YEAR and still no pregnancy...so she gave me an RX basically for him to go get an SA done at a local lab here in Indy. He did - she tested it and her office did the inital SA then when she realized how low his counts were she recommended him to one of the big urologists here in Indy. And it's who he's been seeing since. He had a second SA with the urologist about 2 months after that first one and he was put on Clomid by his urologist and just had his third in December (6 months later).

And - honestly - I know my husband is happy to be taking the medication because he says that it has really helped him just feel "better" in general...because he also had low T (testosterone) and the clomid has helped with that!

Tell him to quit being such a little boy and just go get it done. It's really no big deal and IF there is concern - it's so much better to treat it correctly than to sit around wondering!

[Servilia]

My DH did an SA once we started seeing an RE for repeated pregnancy loss. He did one regular SA and one where they check for DNA fragmentation. They didn't bother to redo his SA because his count was 495 mill and the other parameters were fine too. I know sometimes if the count or other numbers are questionable they will ask people to come to see whether there's an improvement..

[martinchic]

Originally Posted by kbpeanut

He just had to bring his sample (done at home) to the lab within 30 minutes of "collecting it".

My DH jus had one done last week. Same procedure as above.

We just got a prescription from our regular GP, and he had it done at a private lab.
Results were available in 1 day.

I think the 2nd and 3rd test is only ordered when the results of the 1st one show some sort of issue/problem.

Hope that helps!

[Coley]

with all that's been said already. We got our first one thru my OB.

Just food for thought... Sometimes guys are a bit squirrelly about the test because they view it as a measure of their manhood. It can be kinda intimidating for them and if the numbers come back low, some feel like they are less of a man or something.

Hope he agrees to get it done. It really is one of the first steps in making sure all is working as it should...

[blueeyes25s]

Thanks everyone....DH thinks it will happen went it's meant to happen and that I just need to patient lol. He 'thinks' he fine because we got pregnant once therefore we will again. Men ugh lol. I will just give him a little time.

[JennyLee]

I have an OB appt next week, and I'm going to ask about getting one done. I just feel like it's so simple and can give us so much information, why not?