# Male fertility problems 'ignored'



## bankie (Dec 27, 2007)

Just found this on the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8009703.stm


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

What an excellent and interesting article. Thank you for sharing it with us bankie.

I have often thought that patients are given too little support in how to improve their chances of natural conception in general, and in particular with male factor.  How many members do you see on FF who have used vitamins/diet/lifestyle and seen significant changes to their sperm quality?  It always bothers me that so few clinics actually suggest this before embarking on tretament... I mean, if you go to a doctor overweight, he doesn't refer you for a gastric band before telling you to go on a diet!


Of course I understand it's not always the case for everyone but if it can help some people avoid the stress and strain and financial burden of IVF then I'm all for it.

C~x


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## bankie (Dec 27, 2007)

Caz,

I agree I had the same thought re. the difference that diet, supplements stopping smoking and alcohol etc can make to male factor issues and the importance of making patients aware of it.  In fact my only criticism of the article is that the writer does not make mention of it either!!  Still, an interesting read nonetheless.


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## LadyBella (Jan 6, 2008)

I like this article - my husband has azoospermia (total absence of sperm) and after numerous tests the doctors were still unable to tell us why this happened and if there is anything that could be done to change it. I know that any amount of research may not be able to 'fix' our problem but it would be a step in a positive direction to try.


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## twiglets (Feb 13, 2008)

Caz said:


> How many members do you see on FF who have used vitamins/diet/lifestyle and seen significant changes to their sperm quality? It always bothers me that so few clinics actually suggest this before embarking on tretament... I mean, if you go to a doctor overweight, he doesn't refer you for a gastric band before telling you to go on a diet!


Right on Caz!!! They don`t really see MF as a health issue 
I agree with this bit in the article "*Moreover, in my opinion, the success of ICSI seems to have drawn our attention away from considering the biological causes of poor sperm production and attempting to find a cure.

As a scientist interested in this issue, I consider it vital to carry out the necessary basic research to understand the problem, but unfortunately all too often this area is not considered a high priority for funding alongside issues such as cancer research. * "

Definitely much more research needs to be done in this field. As it does not always take 'one sperm' to conceive as most people think, it takes 'one REALLY good' sperm!! There is definitely useful advice which clinics can give in order to improve sperm condition before even starting tx where it is possible (and they usually tend to reg. general things like no hot baths, no tights pants, alcohol, smoking ), but more detailed info is definitely needed. AND even if they think it`s not always possible, it definitely is worth trying! Unfortunately we end up taking our own fertility into our own hands and taking our own initiatives to do the necessary testing and research.... which ends up putting so much time, effort, heartache, expense on our behalf, when these can be prevented right from the beginning in certain circumstances.

Thanks for the article Bankie.


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