devastated - VERY low sperm count, what to do

[Anonymous]

Sperm count was 400,000/ml - so low they couldn't look at morphology and motility was at 46%.

Yes, we are being referred to a urologist but in the interim what should we do. Any vitamins we can take, foods to abstain from, etc.

MD basically said IVF was our only option with this low of a sperm count. I can't believe this is happening (on top of my new found PCOS, ovulation problems, etc)

[Anonymous]

Man here. Get FertilAid. I can't say it was the reason things worked for us, but it has resulted in 2 preganancies. It's just a pill he has to take every day.

[Anonymous]

Consult an RE not just a urologist, my DH went through two useless procedures then we were referred to an RE and an infertility urologist to do IVF/ICSI with TESE. It was a long haul, and looking back I wish we moved to that option right away.

[Anonymous]

Switch to vegetarian diet. It doesn't solve the issue but it helps in a way.

[Anonymous]

RE is the way to go.
IVF+ICSI will most likely be what is suggested for you. We had a similar issue and due to our age we did not try anything else. The doctors said the IUI would be a waste of time. In the meantime, a healthy diet with good multivitamins and reducing caffeine may be beneficial.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried mulitvitamins? Consult a dr.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Man here. Get FertilAid. I can't say it was the reason things worked for us, but it has resulted in 2 preganancies. It's just a pill he has to take every day.

Second this. Also, is he on any meds, even seemingly unrelated ones? Friend on another board found her dh's count drop to zero, thanks to an acne med he started taking (while they were doing IVF - not good!).

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone - OP here. We are already with an RE because of the length of time we've been trying, PCOS and my ovulation issues. The RE referred us to a uroligist.

He is healthy - eats gluten free, works out at least 4x a week, etc.

I had him on a multivitamin, selenium and zinc but perhaps I need to read up on the research studies about FertilAid and the other one pill options.

[Anonymous]

My husband also had low sperm count. I agree not to waste your time on IUIs.
The first urologist he saw said he had a varicocele and surgery would give him 50/50 odds of having a normal sperm count. The second urologist said that it was only a grade 1 varicocele and surgery wouldn't do anything.
We ended up doing 2 IVFs with P-ICSI and were successful on the second one.
Here are some things we tried on his end to up our odds:
He took Conception-XR and CoQ10 once a day
He took baby aspirin once a day because of a family history of stroke
He stopped drinking completely.
He switched from coffee to tea.
He stopped smoking pot.
He added cardio to his workout routine
We had sex every 2-3 days to get his body into sperm production mode.

He stayed with these lifestyle changes even after we had a child. He drinks so rarely that now he gets a buzz on his first drink. Within a year of having our child we were overjoyed to learn I was pregnant again.

Good luck. One of the urologists told us that sperm count can change up and down throughout your lifetime.

[Anonymous]

Our story 13 years ago. Varicole too. He took Proseed or something like that, I had PCOs too and would overstimulate (too many eggs for IuI--40 or more, did not want septuplets) we did IVF/ICSI. I have 2 gorgeous daughters now. Got PG on my own as well, but miscarried due to PCOs--take Metformin and cut ALL sugars from your diet. My cycle in my 40s now is like clockwork. You will be a Mom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Switch to vegetarian diet. It doesn't solve the issue but it helps in a way.

Don't do this. Switch to a healthy diet if not already eating that way. No need to switch to a vegetarian diet.

[Anonymous]

Agree with above PP, but he should also stay away from soy products.

[Anonymous]

Vegetarian diet doesn't necessarily involve soy! My husband had all numbers low in his first two SA. He adopted a complete vegetarian diet with lots of berries, spinach, kale, carrots, beans and lentils. His everyday diet involved 1 serving of either black or red kidney beans and 1 serving of lentils. These food items are rich in zinc. No eggs, no meat. I had my female issues going on, so he had sufficient time to test for dietary changes. In 5 months, his sperm count went up to be called as normal. His motility considerably improved but morphology remained more or less the same (low). We had to go for IVF/ICSI due to other issues we had but his SA was remarkably better after a complete vegetarian diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vegetarian diet doesn't necessarily involve soy! My husband had all numbers low in his first two SA. He adopted a complete vegetarian diet with lots of berries, spinach, kale, carrots, beans and lentils. His everyday diet involved 1 serving of either black or red kidney beans and 1 serving of lentils. These food items are rich in zinc. No eggs, no meat. I had my female issues going on, so he had sufficient time to test for dietary changes. In 5 months, his sperm count went up to be called as normal. His motility considerably improved but morphology remained more or less the same (low). We had to go for IVF/ICSI due to other issues we had but his SA was remarkably better after a complete vegetarian diet.

I am this poster again. If anyone's interested, he also drank lots of water, especially with a little lemon in it. No sodas and reduced coffee. Exercised for about 30 minutes approx 3-4 times a week. He did not take any multivitamins or supplements. Again, I am not saying vegetarian diet completely solves the issue (his morphology did not improve) but we think it helped in his case with the quantity and quality both. There is no harm in trying.

[Anonymous]

Have you heard of maca? It is sold in powder form and it supposedly helps with fertility issues. It does not have side effects so it would be worth a try, mix a spoon in his smoothies and see how it goes. Good luck!