Sperm count 1 million - feeling hopeless even to try

[Chessika]

Hello,

we travelled to the US in December to try high tech for a girl. But our embryos were of very poor quality, so we had no transfer.

We decided to try naturally with swaying. During my high tech cycle I found out, that I have only on functioning ovary. I took LH-tests the last couple of days and it showed me that I am ovulating again after all the hormones.

But I am feeling hopeless. I read in an answer of Dr. Potter, that chances for pregnancy with such a low sperm count is 1 to 2%. So what is the use of even trying? On top of it I am 35 years old, so time is not on our side.

Was anybody successful with getting pregnant with such a low sperm count?

Thanks!

[LolaInLove]

Hi there....I am (I think) the only other gal with a low sperm count issue here, so hopefully I can help you! Let me ask you- do you and your partner have kids already? Has he already gotten you pg? Did you guys do ICSI with the IVF?

Here is my shortened story- I have 2 kids with my ex, and my DH and I want to have one now. I am 36 and he is 39. We have conceived 3 times in the past 3 years, although I had miscarriages and a termination with the first one (we had just started dating and I was a single mom- not my favorite decision ever but necessary at the time). Now, we've been ttc for 21 months. I had tons of testing and came out fine. When he did an SA in September, it came back with "less than 2 million" and we were devastated. Funny thing is, he HAS gotten me pg before, many times! His sperm can get up there and fertilize an egg, but we were told chromosomal abnormality is most likely the culprit with the miscarriages (which is usually is). Anyway, our thinking is that his sperm count fluctuates. He has been on super vitamins for over a year now, and had changed his diet and all, and is for the most part, a super healthy guy. Since we can't afford the infertility/IVF route anytime soon, we are just ttc naturally and praying for a miracle. We use Preseed and try to ttc around 48 hours apart over ovulation. We've tried every pattern of bd to see if one works over another....and curiously, the months we conceived were O-3, O-1, and O day.

If you want to ttc naturally, you can be sure it will be a long road, and may take a few years even, but in my heart, I try to believe that one sperm, one month, will make it and we will finally get our baby.

For your DH, I would get him on vitamins and such immediately. Mine takes Fertilaid for Men and CountBoost for Men from Fairhaven Health and also fish oil, folic acid, a super greens supplement (Amazon.com: Vibrant Health Green Vibrance, Vegicaps, 240-Count: Health & Personal Care (http://www.amazon.com/Vibrant-Health-Vibrance-Vegicaps-240-Count/dp/B003O1P2SM/ref=sr_1_4?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1328553183&sr=1-4)), and 50mg of DHEA a day. He also has changed his diet to contain way more fruits and veggies and no junk. He used to smoke, but quit. Our worst worry is that he is overheating his balls all day at work (he is a ballet dancer and has to wear tons of layers and a dancebelt that is like a thick padded bra to hold the "junk" in place). Not much we can do about that during the day, but he takes measures after work by wearing boxers and keeping them as cool as he can.

So, I think yes, the odds are slim for us, but you MAY be able to change his situation. Also, I don't know to what extent he has been working with a urologist, but there is a chance that his sperm count is a result of something that can be fixed easily, like a varicocle or maybe low testosterone (men can actually take Clomid daily to improve that!). My DH has a long-awaited appointment coming up soon.

But of course, there is the not-so-good side, which is that we may have no luck and just have to either suck it up and figure out a way to go HT or just live without having our own baby (at least we have my 2 girls already). And then, there is also the issue of donor sperm......we have thought about that, although my DH hates that idea at this point. It would be WAY less than IVF for us to get DS and do an IUI. Something we could figure out how to afford vs. something (IVF) that we just plain cannot and would drastically change our lives to figure out how to.

Keep your chin up, I think it is worth trying the natural methods and seeing if you can't improve his count somehow and just ttc for a while and see what happens. We aren't that old yet, although I know you have some ovarian issues, you hopefully are still ovulating. You only need one ovary!

Fill me in on anything and I'd be happy to have a partner in crime in low sperm count land here.

[LolaInLove]

Oh and by the way, there have been success stories I've read, both online and heard in real life. My best friend's sister's DH had super messed up sperm (like 1% normal morphology and they would not capacitate at all- meaning lose their protective helmuts) and they did IVF with ICSI for twins. Only 6 months after they were born did she wind up pregnant naturally! And if you read a thread of mine to Dr. H about the sperm issue, she told me she's had patients that changed their counts and were successful. I think it can happen- but best to figure out if it's an easy fix first so you don't suffer with ttc for years and years and all it could have taken was a month of him taking Clomid or having a varicocele surgery (which is pretty easy and quick).

[Chessika]

Thank you so much for you answer. Yes, we have one son, he is 4 years old. I have a chronic illness, so I only wanted two children. This is why we went high tech for a girl in December. But to be honest, I was not comfortable with leftover embryos. I am sad that it did not work, but on the other hand, I am glad, that I have not to worry about leftover embryos. I am from Germany and we flew for California for this and made a vacation out of it, but it was still a huge amount money for nothing.

I took my temp and the lh-tests, and I ovulated a few days ago. My one ovary took over and I am ovulating on a regular basis normally. We tried this cycle, but it is frustrating to follow the diet with the slim chances. The good thing about the diet is, that I have to lose weight anyways.

Before my first pregnancy my husband got a sperm analysis. It was on the lower side. But I got pregnant the first try, but lost the baby. It then took me 4 month to get pregnant with my son. So I guess I am pretty spoiled about getting pregnant fast.

My husband has a variocele, so this could be the reason, why his count decreased so much. But he has an appointment for this in three weeks. We will try for about 6 months, but than we will move on to ICSI. Infertility is covered here in Germany by health insurance, so we would only have to pay a part of it. But part of me is still willing to go abroad again to try for a girl again. I am torn in what do do.

I hope, we both get our babies, wishing you all the best

Chessika

[LolaInLove]

Good to hear that you know it is a varicocele....that can be fixed easily! Sounds like your wonderful health insurance there will hopefully cover that for you. Well, I guess it just depends on how much you can spend and if you are willing to try HT again. For us, it is not an option because the US healthcare system sucks and I don't have infertility coverage (even though my company pays almost $500 a month for my insurance....and I mean just me!!!!). If you are going to go ICSI, I would think there is really no point in having your DH's varicocele fixed. But if you want to try naturally, then you definitely should....and being that it really didn't take you long to get pg with your son, I bet you would have the same luck again. Gosh, I am so hoping that mine has something identifiable like a varicocele as well! It is so much better than being in the dark and there being no explanation!

I think you are sitting in a good spot.....just maybe decide which way to go! Wishing you the best as well!

[LolaInLove]

Hey Chessika, just following up....how goes it? Did your DH have his repair yet?