[Mrs_Gally]

I just wanted your advice on DH. He has low count, low motility and morphology. In November he had a SA and his count was 2.3, motile was 17% (progression varies from twitchers to slow swimming sperm). At EC in Feb his count was down to 2 mil, motile was about 19% and morphology was about 20% (don't know what it was at original test) We went to our GP to ask for further tests to be done to determine why he has a low count, i.e. blocked tubes etc but he refused to help as now we are having ICSI it doesn't matter. We explained that we couldn't afford another cycle and so we wanted to try naturally again and he said there's no point. Since then DH has given up drinking and smoking and is taking wellmans vits, omega 3,6 and 9 and garlic capsules to try and improve things. I just wondered if anyone knows if this will help?? DH is so unhappy since he's been doing this. The stress of the IF and now having to give all this up as well I'm worried it is too much for him and I don't want to put him through months of this if when he goes for another SA in a few months it's not improved. (GP refuses to support us in this as well and when we suggested having another SA done in a few months time he refused to send us as now we are having ICSI it doesn't matter what his count is!!! I now officially hate our GP!!!! )

I'm just worried that the stress of it all is too much for him as he's always so unhappy!!!

 

[jennybob]

Hey there, I'm sorry the results of your DH's SA is less than stellar.  I know someone who's DH had a bad sperm analysis (low count, bad motility, etc.) but he was against fertility treatment due to moral issues.  He ate a very healthy diet (following Marilyn Glenville's recommendations), gave up alcohol an caffiene, and they finally got pg.  Our NHS fertility Dr told us that we would never ever get pg naturally as my OH has a sperm count of less than 1 mill (and we were also told that it would be pointless pursuing the cause of this low sperm count as we were going for ICSI anyways).  After our first failed ICSI cycle, I managed to conceive naturally (the reason we never went back to the original fertility Dr for private treatment was that he didn't believe me when I told him that I got pg naturally!).  So please don't give up hope, it can happen.  Also, is there any way of changing your GP, he sounds like a real piece of work!

Jenny

 

[Mrs_Gally]

Hi Jenny,

Our GP was always really helpful in the past, he did all our bloods for us and has always been really supportive but now we have had a cycle he doesn't want to know. He even refuses to treat my endo because he says now I've been referred to the Gynea and a private clinic I have to go to them as he may interfer with stuff they are doing. I haven't been treated by our Gynea for nearly a year and have been discharged from our clinic!!! It's just a nightmare!!!

As for DH I hope this does work for him. It's only been a few weeks but I'm dying to get a SA done so we know whether it's worked. I know I have to be patient and wait a few more months though. You never know maybe we'll be pg before we get a chance for another SA to be done!!!!

 

[maybe-if]

Drinking and smoking are both going to be really bad for sperm.

Even if it doesn't help you get pregnant naturally, it WILL help your chances of ICSI. What's better, low par sperm, reeling nder the effects of alcohol and smoking, or top quality healthy sperm, which would you rather use for ICSI?

And it's definitely worth it for your own peace of mind, so if it doesn't work, at least you know you gave it your best shot, and you aren't questionining "what if?".

Stres showever isn't going to be good for either of you. We've changed our diets and have given up drinking (and don't smoke) and yes it's hard. We're both taking multivitamins. It helps that we're doing it together. Now we've started going runing together and going to the gym and swimming. It gives us a positive focus on what we're doing. We're, in a twisted way, grateful for having to go through this as it's making us much healthier people and should massively improve our general health and life expectancy.

I did find it hard not drinking because we didn't know where to go any more (not the pub!) or what to do to relax. But now we're getting fitter we don't notice so much. It does get easier over time though.

 

[twiglets]

Mrs Gally,

Having a fertility problem and having to endure fertility txs I think is one of the most difficult situations to deal with in life! The first doctor we had seen at our GP surgery when starting out tests was not our GP but another doctor. Even though he admitted himself that he had a similar problem and had treatment, he was rude and impatient with us when DH asked about giving a specimen and whether there were facilities at the hospital where the SA was to be done. He said there was only public toilets and he said frowning at my DH "you don`t need to be so anxious about it". Plus, he had sent my DH to the wrong hospital for his SA because they didn`t even do SA! After that we wrote a written complaint to the surgery about that GP and asked not to be seen by him anymore and since then we have never been offered to be seen by him, and have only seen our own GP for our fertility since, who we are very happy with and he is much more patient and understanding and this makes such a big difference.

My DH has been told by an embriologist to take zinc, selenium A, C, E, folic acid vitamins and he has been for 2 years. My DH went to our GP to ask for another SA as we want to see if these have made a difference and he hadn`t had SA done for over a year. Luckily he didn`t send him away and let him do another test but he did say "I`m not in your shoes so it would be easy for me to say but I wouldn`t worry about this if I were you". DH said to me "easy said then done". We`re going to find out the result this week.

One of his SA was 5million per ml, then 2.5million, 10million but all with low motility. We have found that sperm counts can change and that`s why I want to have my tubes checked as I want to be sure that there`s nothing with them to prevent a natural BFP as we will always be hoping for this. I am annoyed that this wasn`t done at first. The first consultation we had at our fertility clinic we had asked the doctor if it was possible for us to conceive naturally and she had said "well yes, you only need one sperm".

We didn`t have much life changes that needed changing and we weren`t given any instructions about this at all by the fertility clinic. We only drank alcohol rarely and now haven`t had any alcohol for months and we don`t smoke and have a balanced diet. The only thing I would say my DH probably needs to do is to exercise regularly. We, fertility patients take so much care of ourselves, I think we definitely deserve 3 free goes at tx and also because we are starting to have an ageing population.

As long as your DH is doing/eating healthy things and looking after himself and taking his vitamins there is nothing much else he can do and so that`s why he should try not to worry and stress about it. You have the right to change your GP if you want and I think you should do this. If we were to do all our tests privately then what would we have left for txs??

My DH doesn`t take the vitamins you mentioned so I can`t comment on them. Did your clinic suggest that he takes these? I would try to have done any tests you feel should be done, but at the same time continue with your tx. You have come so far now and shouldn`t give up. I know a BFN from the first tx can be devastating. You are not alone.

All the best,
Roses