# Low Sperm Count - Naturally Conceived



## babywant321 (Apr 29, 2012)

Hello All

I have a low sperm count of 0.2 million!

Has anyone with that amount of sperm, or even lower conceived naturally?, i.e. is there still hope


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## Honor77 (Jan 12, 2011)

Hi *babywant321*,

Yes, there is indeed still hope .

After over 2 years of ttc naturally, we had a cycle of ICSI due to, initially, MF - low count ca. 5.5, but plus poor morophology and ASA, making the actual "useable" count much lower. During the cycle it became apparent we were also facing probable FF, as I responded very badly to stimms, even on a higher dose. Although we got a BFP we went on to have an early miscarriage. We have, though, since had a surprise natural BFP and I'm now just over 18-weeks pregnant .

I know it won't necessarily seem like much consolation right now, and that, unfortunately, the addage won't be true for everyone, but it can really only take one, so please don't give up hope.

Not sure about your situation - if you've had tx already and/or already know that sperm count can vary every 3 months or so and so any semen analysis should be repeated once or twice for a more accurate picture? Also, there are lots of things you could try to boost your count, such as takign supplements (Wellmann are supposed to be good), eating a few Brazil nuts a day, avoiding hot baths, cutting down on alcohol, not using your laptop on your lap etc.

Hope that helps!

xxx


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## babywant321 (Apr 29, 2012)

WOW Just seen this, indeed it only takes one?

Are these supplements in one tablet or different tablets

Im afraid of placebo tablets


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## Honor77 (Jan 12, 2011)

Hi,

I'm unfortunately not very good when it comes to vitamins and supplements. I presume the Wellman ones, for example, are a combination tablet including everything you're supposed to need? My DH was on a standard multi-vitamin from "Wilkinsons".

xxx


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## Sheilaweb (Mar 21, 2006)

Hiya  - we managed to get pregnant naturally once - albeit took 8 years!  After we lost the baby to miscarriage, it transpired that my hubby had a ZERO count - checks confirmed his diagnosis of NOA (non obstructive azoospermia)... our clinic refused point blank to do a surgical sperm retrieval - there HAD to be something there, otherwise we'd never have become pregnant right!

Instead we were advised to go down the donor route, and in the 6 months it took to get matched to a donor, hubby took Wellman and by the time we got to ICSI he had a million swimmers and our first attempt resulted in the birth of our beautiful daughter.... with hand on heart, in all sincerity, Wellman made a huge difference to us.

Wishing you and your wife all the very very best
Sheila


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## babywant321 (Apr 29, 2012)

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW

oh my gosh so lets get this right your hubby had azoospermia and you conceived naturally - and then you had no sperm, told donor and then you had enough for ICSI, is this right

Are you sure it was Azoospermia

Can you please send a link to wellman tablets. - do they really work?


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## Sheilaweb (Mar 21, 2006)

Absolutely Baby, we tried for 8 years to get pregnant (we were fobbed off after 3 years of trying) as we were both young, fit and healthy - well from the outside anyway with no checks or investigations!

When we did manage to get pregnant, it was only with the onset of my miscarriage that my fibroid was detected, it was soo big it was blamed for blocking my tubes thereby making pregnancy extremely difficult.  I had an operation to get it removed and we were advised that we wouldn't be unable to try again for 6 months, but if we weren't pregnant again in 12 months, we'd be 'fast tracked' for fertility treatment.

I didn't want to get to the end of the 12 months and still be no further forward, and pushed for every test possible - I had my ovulation checked, ok, hubby had an SA test, result was "low", so it was repeated at the gp's again to be sure, again the result came back as "low" but were then referred for another test at the hospital and yet again we were told the count was "low". 

We were referred for IUI and after waiting 8 months to be seen, the consultant looked us up and down and asked why we'd been referred to him as he couldn't help us at all - seeing that hubby had a ZERO sperm count - to say we were shell shocked was an understatement - we were numb, completely and utterly shocked until the nurse handed me a leaflet "Coping with Childlessness" the floodgates opened and the tears just wouldn't stop - poor hubby was beside himself - but then the anger kicked in I couldn't believe we hadn't been told his results were THAT bad, I couldn't believe that we'd been referred for IUI in the first place - and I refused point blank to leave without an explanation of what our next steps could be - we'd gotten pregnant once, I was determined we'd do it again!!

It was the IUI consultant (Mr Yossry at Sunderland Hospital) who told us about surgical sperm retrieval - and that ICSI was our only hope.

It was only then that hubby went through scans and tests to get a formal diagnosis, all his tubes and everything were fine - so he was diagnosed as NOA - the doctors could only explain that over time, hubbys epilepsy drugs (which affect the part of the brain that stimulates the sperm production) had slowly been affected.... all of this came out of the blue.

The was a great thread here on FF at the time about NOA, so did some reading up and a lot of couples swore by Wellman Multivitamins.... I was sceptical, but as they wouldn't affect hubbys medication it was worth a try - we had nothing to lose.

We waited another 10 months for the new financial year to begin so our clinic had the necessary funds from our pct to fund our treatment, but THEN we had yet another 6 months wait to be matched to a sperm donor....all in all our 'fast tracked' icsi took us 3 years !!!!

Hubby took the Wellman Multivitamin (made by Vitabiotics) the same company who produce Pregnacare, and a further 2 months to get to EC - he had a million swimmers, and our sperm donor was left on the subs bench.

Hand on heart, in all sincereity, everything in our 'story' is very sadly true - this multivitamin isn't magic, and it doesn't work for everyone, but to us it made a world of difference....if it can help another couple - even better.

Best wishes
Sheila


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## babywant321 (Apr 29, 2012)

WOW this is truly amazing thank you so so much

The dr also fobbed me off, i pray we have naturally!!, im going to keep your post as motivation for me!!!

Ok, would you advise me to freeze sperm for "backup", also i just ordered wellmans conception is that the ones have you got the link to the exact vitamins that your hubby had...

Wow congrats so much its so nice, your story is a miracle!


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## Sheilaweb (Mar 21, 2006)

Babywant - here is a link to the Vitabiotics website: http://www.vitabiotics.com/wellman/index.aspx

My hubby took the 'original' version, the conception ones werent around - or we didnt notice them back in 2009!

I hope soo much that you and your wife can share a miracle success story too - it's true what they say it only takes one and a whole lotta luck.

It does take a while to get into your system but you could ask your gp for regular tests to see if you're going in the right direction (so to speak) - I wouldnt worry about freezing sperm at this point, but if you end up going through treatment to aid conception, your clinic would be able to advise you on whats best for your particular circumstances.
Best wishes to you and your mrs - as you can imagine I have a great affinity for couples with sperm issues like us 
Sheila


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## babywant321 (Apr 29, 2012)

Hi There

Thank you so much for your reply!!!!

Ive ordered Wellman Conception and about 5 other supplements lets see our next ICSI not till end of the year so enough time

It just shows that Dr's CAN be wrong


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## Sheilaweb (Mar 21, 2006)

Baby I want to read on here that you and your wife have PROVED the dr's wrong - got absolutely everything crossed for your journey 
Best wishes 
Sheila


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## babywant321 (Apr 29, 2012)

I hope so!!!!

When you conceived both naturally and via ICSI how did you know you were expecting prior to missing your period days?

Also how often would you advise us to naturally try?


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## Sheilaweb (Mar 21, 2006)

Hi Babywant, sorry I posted last night and my computer crashed arrgh!

On the naturally conceived pregnancy I just felt a bit grotty, certainly more tired and drained than usual, but I really noticed that I was weeing very very frequently...then I tried to think back to when I'd had my last period and I honestly couldn't remember actual dates - I did the HPT to rule out a pregnancy - i really thought I just had a urinary infection - which is very common in early pregnancy anyway.

During my two week wait following embryo transfer I suffered horrendous cramping, I wasn't sure if this was as a result of having everything poked and prodded / everything in there going back to normal, or if it was my period coming on... I did a hpt and the result was negative, so put it down to my period being due - the cramping continued and I would listen to my Zita West relaxation cd (rather than take ANY painkillers (just in case))  and I did notice a metal taste in my mouth - none of my fillings had come loose, but I couldn't be pregnant as one pregnancy test had already given me a negative result.

On the morning before we were due to go to the clinic to get blood tests done, my hubby handed me another pregnancy test... I really didn't want to do another one, I didn't want a reminder of how much of a failure I was - but I just peed on it, handed it over to him and went back to bed....and cor blimey there it was clear as day Pregnant 1-2 weeks - shocked, elated, stunned, happy, euphoric, disbelieving...OMG we couldn't believe it - it was positive !!!!

I suppose pregnancy symptoms can differ woman to woman and in pregnancy to pregnancy... 

Sperm regenerates itself fully every three months....but if you're trying, you'll need to 'clear you pipes' every other day to help the process along... just don't fall into the trap of baby making sex becoming regimented, boring and to order !  Things very quickly lose their spark otherwise... just remember that sperm can live inside the womans body for up to 3 days, so don't beat yourselves up if you don't manage some bedroom areobics on THE right day!  

But if you have sex every other day around your wifes ovulation you're doing all you can to maximise your chances of success... if you do it more often, the sperm haven't had a chance to grow and develop, and by the same token, 'storing your little soldiers' for a big bang ain't gonna work either as many of them will have died off with the boredom of waiting for battle to commence !!!

Hope this helps
Best wishes
Sheila


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## Sarah1712 (Mar 6, 2011)

Sorry to gatecrash but my dh saw a urologist called dr ramsay and was prescribed testosterone this helped with numbers. He was also advised wellman conception and 1000mg vitamin c

Good luck, i knkw how hard it is when in ya twenties. I keep getting the your only young card so im not going to say that!!! I do recommend dr ramsay though, i found him through this forum. We travelled to windsor and london to see him, an 8hour round trip for us and it was worth every mile. He also isnt expensive either, around £140 per visit and we only needed 3 so defo worth it. 

Sarah x


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## nessieb (Mar 29, 2012)

Hi all,

was just reading about your thoughts on the wellman vitamin, we too have seen these and was thinking of giving them a try, my Hubby has low sperm with low mobility, we used fertility aid for men which can be purchased over the internet for 4 months, but due to there high prices stopped using them, they contained everything a man needs for healthy sperm at high doses, we now just use 25mg zinc and 50ug selenium.
I noticed the wellman contain small doses of all the vits a man needs for healthy sperm, is this enough or is it worth sticking to the zinc and selenium?

 2nd icsi in October   bnp


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## BikerGirl (Mar 15, 2006)

MY hubby was put on Vitamin E, Selenium, Zinc AND Folic acid (1mg). His count was borderline when we started out but improved immensely. Men, like others have mentioned, generate new sperm every 3 months so that's really the bare minimum to stick with a supplement for it to have an effect. 
Good luck!


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## BeBlessed1 (Sep 15, 2012)

BikerGirl said:


> MY hubby was put on Vitamin E, Selenium, Zinc AND Folic acid (1mg). His count was borderline when we started out but improved immensely. Men, like others have mentioned, generate new sperm every 3 months so that's really the bare minimum to stick with a supplement for it to have an effect.
> Good luck!


Hi, What number was the borderline count for your hubby? Was is it like in the millions? Just wondering... thanks


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