Freaking out....

wishfulgal · #1 June 14th, 2010, 03:57 PM

We just got my DH's semen analysis results back...I only talked to the nurse over the phone and she is referring him to a urologist, so we don't know too much at this point.

First of all, let me say that we have a 17-month old that we conceived after only 6 months of TTC, so I have hard time believing this is possible...

His sperm count is 1.3 million

!
Low motility

I learned enough from a quick google search to know that they are going to say IVF is our only option for another child. We've always said we would never do that...I'm devastated. We wanted 6 kids...

I already started DH on a multivitamin, zinc, fish oil and maca almost 2 months ago...but with counts that low I doubt it will make a difference.

Like I said, I don't see how this is possible or how in the world we were able to conceive without too much trouble before.

Does anyone have any hope to offer me with counts this low? I'm sure not. I don't even know what to think.

SarieP · #2 June 14th, 2010, 06:59 PM

Girl I'm so sorry to hear about those counts

Our host will have a good story for ya though! She was told they had a 1% chance of conceiving naturally and they did it! Don't give up hope yet girl

Joliving4Jesus · #3 June 15th, 2010, 08:45 AM

Don't get too discouraged yet! My dh's first SA was also just 1.3 million with 20% motility, he was referred to a urologist, everything came back fine, the only thing that could have potentially caused anything was his undescended testicle that didn't descend until age 11. They did tell us IVF would be our only option and they will probably tell you that but don't let that be the end of it! There is a product out there called Proxeed, they recommended it to us but it was very pricey, about $100 a month so we researched the active ingredients in it which was Acetyl L-Carnitine and L-Carnitine Fumarate and bought them individually for about $30 a month. So we started dh on those and after 4 months, it did make a difference, supplements can help. His counts were up to 6 million and motility went up to a normal range of 60% motile, they still gave us grim hope with those levels and said we had a 3% chance of conceiving naturally, but I scheduled another appointment at another fertility center to get a second opinion, but God had other plans, just 24 hours before our new appointment I got my BFP, natually...yes it took over 2 years but it did happen naturally and if its happened naturally for you once, it certainly can again, get some preseed, it helps the little swimmers swim better, keep your dh on the supplements and try adding L-Carnitine...it takes 3 months of being on a supplement to make any changes to the sperm so being that your dh has only been on his 2 months, it wouldn't show any changes yet. Good luck to you, I know how hard this is!

wishfulgal · #4 June 15th, 2010, 11:23 AM

Thanks. I'm glad to hear a success story. I just ordered Fertilaid for men last night...it has L-carnitine it..should that be enough or should I order some more seperately?

The crazy thing is, we were planning to do a SA right around the time I got my BFP with my son. Since I got pregnant, we thought everything was fine. So we'll never know if his counts were low back then or if something has changed. It's crazy.

*Mommy2Remington* · #5 June 15th, 2010, 12:01 PM

Hey!!

As SarieP was saying- My hubby had a super low count (7 mill) and an even lower motility rate of like 1%- meaning barley any of his sperm were swimming which gave us just about a LESS then 5% chance of conceiving ever on our own. We did however conceive on our own. He was very 'religious' on taking his zinc EVERY morning- sometimes even twice a day.
Don't give up hope. Sperm counts vary SO much from day to day -test to test. So many things can contribute to a low sperm count such as diet, health, and even fatigue.
As I kept telling my doctor over the 15 months of ttc- It only takes one.....

So DO NOT give up hope okay!? That is the last thing anyone should do! You have one beautiful child so you KNOW it is possible to have another one. This one just may take a little longer then you hoped...but it WILL happen!!!

Joliving4Jesus · #6 June 15th, 2010, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wishfulgal

Thanks. I'm glad to hear a success story. I just ordered Fertilaid for men last night...it has L-carnitine it..should that be enough or should I order some more seperately?

The crazy thing is, we were planning to do a SA right around the time I got my BFP with my son. Since I got pregnant, we thought everything was fine. So we'll never know if his counts were low back then or if something has changed. It's crazy.

My dh is on Fertilaid as well, it does have L-carnitine in it but not as much as he was taking before, he has been on it almost 3 months and we're not sure how well its working since we haven't had another SA while TTC # 2...he can't over do it on the L-Carnitine so you can add a little more if you want, I think I've seen Acetyl L-Carnitine in Walgreens and other stores.

Red Sox Mommy · #7 June 15th, 2010, 06:16 PM

Take a look at my homepage for the supplements my DBF is on for his MFI. He takes a BUNCH. ETA: PM me if you have any questions re: what he's taking!

I'm sorry you're dealing with this.

As far as statistics go, I got this table from Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago Infertility & IVF Specialists

I hope this helps. I know it looks a little grim, but try and persevere. It has been really hard for me too, considering the money piece is very crucial as far as our options since we pay OOP.

SarieP · #8 June 16th, 2010, 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joliving4Jesus

My dh is on Fertilaid as well, it does have L-carnitine in it but not as much as he was taking before, he has been on it almost 3 months and we're not sure how well its working since we haven't had another SA while TTC # 2...he can't over do it on the L-Carnitine so you can add a little more if you want, I think I've seen Acetyl L-Carnitine in Walgreens and other stores.

My DH is taking Fertility Blend plus several other vitamins. We haven't had another SA done since he started all that either but we are having an IUI done this week so we will get updated numbers. I will let you girls know!

pinkorblue7 · #9 June 20th, 2010, 12:21 PM

Has anybody else had any experience with a really poor morphology?? My DH is at 1% according to the one SA that he had done.

*KittyCat* · #10 June 20th, 2010, 01:19 PM

it's awful hearing the dreaded news. I posted our stats in another post think it's called "DH SA results" or something like that. Don't give up hope. I know it's easier said than done, because i've been there myself when everything seems so hopeless.

There are things that can be done, somethings can really help. If you check out the post i made on our results, from the first and second SA, a month apart, count improved by 3 million per ml, and motility increased 10%.

After the first SA, DH stopped smoking, cut down the drinking and stopped the hot baths. He also started taking a multivit called "wellman conception" Don't know if it was one thing, or a combination of all of it, but something worked!!