Are these semen results as bad as a think...!! Help

[Seb101]

My dh just got his semen results back... Doctor was pretty useless at giving advice. So I'm deperately goggleing it, but am struggling to find real answers. If anyone on here is knowledgable I would be so grateful for your interpretation of the results. Or if anyone has had similar results and could tell me what they've found out or been told.
Volume 3.50
Count 3.00 (this is the figure that's panicking me!)
Mobility- progressive 44%
Mobility - non progressive 10%
Mobility- immotile 46%
Abnormal forms- 90% (this result doesn't sound good... Does it mean 90% of his sperm are abnormal/useless??)

I'm so upset. I don't know where to go from here... Doctor said 'keep trying, it's still possible!) that was it! No advice, no suggested treatment) is this right? What are my chances if getting pregnant with results like this? From a basic goggle it appears ivf may be are only way! Or am i overly panicking here???
Any help and advice would be brilliant.

[sebsmummy1]

I think it's shocking that the doctor has given you those results without any explanation as to what they actually mean! I am unable to shed any light myself but I am sure there are things your partner can do to improve the quality of his sperm. I don't know if he smokes, is overweight, has an unhealthy diet, drinks?

Don't give up as I'm sure there is plenty that can be done to improve things xx

[Seb101]

I know, I was shocked too. He basically said sperm count is low, but keep trying... That's it!
Dh is really healthy already. He doesn't smoke or drink. He's a healthy weight and exercises regularly. Might suggest he takes vitamins and zinc, but not sure that'll make that much difference.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

Did the GP request such a test and give your DH the results of the semen analysis?.

If this is yes then your post is precisely why such tests should be done within the auspices of a subfertility unit at hospital; GPs are generalists and cannot explain test results thoroughly. Such results should be given to the couple and not just the man alone.

I would not panic unduly; one poor result is not fully conclusive of there being male factor issues. Your H should be retested as a matter of course and at a subfertility unit, he needs more than one analysis. Infact both of you should be seen as a couple and tested by such a place.

Sperms are complicated and there is much about them that is not fully understood. Vitamins and zinc are unlikely to make much if any real difference so would not spend a fortune on such things.

[suzylee73]

My partners first sperm test was excellent and then his second one, 6 months later, was very poor. I just assumed that it was an off day!
Maybe its worth going back to the GP to ask for a referral to the hospital where they will test it again. I don't know your age but I started ttc at 34 and at 40 I'm only just starting my first round of IVF. These things can take a long time so don't allow your GP to fob you off.
Good luck x

[minniemagoo]

Firstly, men can have 'off' days. Results can vary due to a number of factors and SA results from one sample should never be taken as the whole picture.
I can't give you any info on your results but I do know zinc, lifestyle changes, underwear changes etc can have a big impact on SA.
Secondly, I would recommend you request a referral to a fertility doc. From my experience a good consultant will want to run his own tests anyway. We had to repeat a number of tests once we got referred.

Your doc sounds crap, keep trying is the an awful thing to say. its bad enough when friends say it but a medical professional should know better. ring and ask for a referral.

[naty1]

I presume the 3.00 is 3mil?

Yes def test again if it is low it may or may not change.
Just to say our result was really bad , they couldnt do % or even freeze but we have a 20m old via icsi.
But yes age can make quite a diff, how old r u both?
Vitamins made no diff to us but i imagine it depends on what is wrong, ie make no diff to overheating but if he really doesnt like maybe nuts could supply something he isnt getting. My oh hates nuts doesnt like fish or broccolli but doesnt smoke drink, is a bit overweight. We took pregnacare conception for men.
Also cycling can cause a problem.

[Seb101]

Thanks for your replies everyone. I think I will ask for a referral to a specialist yes. And further semen tests seem sensible. Just wanted to make sure results were bad enough for us to warrent a referral. I'll do a little more research online before I arrange to see GP again. I'd like to feel like I know what I'm talking about, especially if asking for a referral.
I'm 33 and dh is 37. We already have a 2 year old dd, who was conceived very easily. Dh has had recurrent testicular infections since dd's birth, which could have caused the poor semen results possibly?? Although doctor days unlikely. Who knows...!

[naty1]

Its prob back you have 1 dr thinks you should keep trying as you dont know for sure results have changed.
I saw issues like even gum disease can have an effect so would think problem in the area could

[wannaBe]

generally you should have at least two cemen tests three months apart because these things can vary massively due to circumstances, e.g. has your dh been on a long hall flight or similar recently? had any stress in the past three months etc? the cemen you produce today was actually made about three months ago, so stress three months ago can affect today's result - iyswim.

how long have you been ttc?

remember that it does only take one sperm to make a baby, so even if you did conceive easily last time that's not necessarily an indication of anything iyswim.

My xh's count was similar to yours, and from what I read a normal count should be between 15/40 million, so a 3.0 m count does seem very low, but i am not a fertility expert. vitamins/zinc are a bit of a misnoma though perpetuated by companies who prey on the desperate in order to make more money, so I wouldn't waste any of it on buying expensive supplements.

fwiw we conceived one ds which took thirteen m and then we tried unsuccessfully for a second for six years.

[jazzandh]

DH was referred to a urologist for his poor semen results when we were ttc.

He had to do 3 different samples. He was given a long course of antibiotics in case there was a low grade infection and was checked for varioceles (?) which some specialists think can cause poor semen quality.

may be easier to get this referral rather than a fertility referral with potentially better long term results. In my experience fertility doctors want to push you down the IVF route immediately rather than treat underlying causes.

DHs specialist said "It only takes one!" and we did conceive naturally eventually.

Good luck

[naty1]

Yes the urologist sounds good my oh was never physically checked nor mention made of poss infection.
But we were checked for cystic fibrosis and other inherited conditions causing say missing vas diferens because of how severely he was affected.

[sussexmum38]

Dh had a very low motility, though I have no idea what all results mean. We went to see a uroligist who did similar test. Husband had blocked tubes from the testicles from the examination. Only a small amount of sperm were getting through. The urologist undertook a 30 minutes varocreil operation and removed the blockage under a general anaesthetic. Within six months he had normal motility and we now have kids. The operation was done in Canada but it is on the NHS website. Might be worth investigating before going down the expensive IVF route.

[naty1]

Sussex how low did the varicocele make the count?

[laughingeyes2013]

My partner had a test with ALL results abnormal. He found out the results on Monday. His gp gave him a second hospital lab form and bottle with instructions to repeat the test.

On Wednesday I had missed my period an so did a pregnancy test which was positive!

I asked him to repeat the test anyway seeing as he had the form and bottles, an this time it came back with everything absolutely perfect.

So although I can't remember what all your results mean, I do know from very personal first hand experience that the results can be quite different in the same week, for no known reason.

[Seb101]

We've been trying to conceive for 14 months. Dh hasn't been in long haul flight no, and hasn't been under any particular stress 3 months ago. But yes, I will def push for a referral to specialist and get him re tested.
It's interesting you mention low level infection, because the after effects if the last testicular infection still niggle my dh, so a long course if low antibiotic may help. A blockage does seem a possibility to my completely untrained mind. I guess it's logical that an infection could cause a blockage. I'm just so frustrated that the doctor doesn't recommend/think of these things, and it's instead left to me to trawl the Internet looking for possible answers. I guess I'll need to be pro active in demanding that something is done.

[sussexmum38]

As I understand it the veins that run by the tube don't function properly and there is an effect that raises the temperature of the scrotum. Because it is to warm the motility of the sperm are affected and insufficient healthy sperm get through. There are plenty of far more medical explations if you Google it.

[Seb101]

Thank you I'll have a look x

[Seb101]

Does anyone know when a repeat semen test should be done? How long should we wait between tests? I read different stuff online, varying from asap if test is very bad to waiting several months!
Anyone experience of this??

[naty1]

Not sure but it does take weeks I think to generate them so would probably wait a month at least.
But someone above has had diff results close together

[Karbea]

It takes approx 3 months for sperm to grow (I used to know the exact amount if days, but I forget).

You should get your dh some proxeed

[laughingeyes2013]

Although our poor results were the same week I fell pregnant(!) they had been sent off a few weeks before that. Results weren't the same day if you get me. We had to make another routine GP appointment to discover the results. That was the Monday when my partner was given a second form and pot to re-test. The same week on Wednesday I had a positive result. He didn't do the re-test until the following week due to work commitments, so although it might have read earlier as though it all happened within the same 24 hours, it didn't.

[Seb101]

I'll have a look for proxeed; thanks

[Seb101]

Laughingeyes ; congrats. That's certainly gives me a glimmer of hope that it might still happen for us. Although to save my self the heartbreak and dashed hopes each month I'm telling myself it won't happen. Trying to have low expectations, then if it doesn't happen I won't be so disappointed; that's what I'm telling myself anyway!

[Karbea]

The thing is, if your dh had lots of stress, went drinking etc 3 months ago it'll be bad, but if he then went on a health kick the following week then in 3 months and a week it'll be better if you seen what I mean.

Don't stress, men's issues are normally pretty easy to resolve as long as it's not a blockage if something, but even then they can extract sperm.

As long as your dh wants to improve his sperm he can.

[eurochick]

The count is low (was that 3m total count or per ml?) but the rest of it looks fine to me. Morphology is always "low". Basically it's perfectly normal for the vast majority of sperm to be duffers. If the lab was using the latest scale, 4% normal forms is considered normal, so 10% is absolutely fine.

Lifestyle stuff can make a huge difference to sperm - vits, diet, alcohol, smoking, no excessive exercise (partic cycling), loose boxers, no laptop on balls. But it sounds like the infections could be the biggest issue for you. I think you need to get your husband to see a specialist in male fertility to try to get that sorted.

As other posters have said, it takes 3 months for sperm to form, so lifestyle changes/getting the infections under control would be likely to make a difference after this amount of time.