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Fertility referral. 0 Sperm Count

donnalou29donnalou29 Regular
in Conception & fertility problems
Hi guys, I have been floating around reading forums on here for a while now and you all seem so lovely and supportive I thought I would ask for advice/support, because let's face it..... Ttc is such a lonely place sometimes. 
Firstly, a little bit about my journey... My husband and I have been ttc now for 3+ years, with no luck at all. We are both 32 years old. We finally managed to get our GP to investigate things (after numerous time of being told to relax and see what happens) I had my bloods done which all came back OK. My husband has now had x3 semen analysis done: all 3 results have come back as 0 sperm found 😞 This obviously was a massive shock to us both and has left us wondering the worst (thanks to Dr Google).  We have been reffered to the fertility specialist, but since our referral (3 months ago) all we have had is two letters stating that we are on the list and to be patient! I'm assuming with COVID this is causing a delay.
I guess I am wondering if anyone is going through something similar? How long did you have to wait to see a specialist? And is there anything I can be doing to prepare myself whilst I wait? Change of diet? Cut out alcohol? I just worry so much that this is going to be a long process and that it's going to be delayed before we can even start it or get some clarity on our next steps. 
I should mention we are in the UK xxx

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    FlossyLZFlossyLZ Regular
    Sorry no experience of the sperm results although my DH has an appointment for his to be analysed at the end of October so who knows! We have been ttc for 18 month. Rather frustratingly if the gp had referred me when he was meant to we may have been further along in the investigations. Because I am 35 (almost 36) when we got to 8 month ttc I asked the gp to refer us. He refused stating to relax and it will happen. We'll it didn't and I went back after 12 month ttc. He agreed to refer but was slow in doing so. As a result, covid 19 hit and our referral hadn't gone off. The hospital then blocked all referrals. 6 months passed and eventually the referral went off. In fairness to the specialists the saw me quickly (within a month) and so far I have had bloods, an ultrasound and hopefully will be getting the HSG my specialist thinks I need in Oct. I don't know if I was seen quickly because of my age, how long we have been ttc and also how long the referral was sat waiting to go. I could have had the HSG last month but they had a backlog of appointments so I think unfortunately covid is still affecting appointment availability despite the hospitals efforts. My husband's sperm analysis has obviously been very delayed. Hopefully you will be seen soon and get some answers. 
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    RemediosRemedios Regular
    @donnalou29 I am normally on the "TTC" forum, not on this, but started to look for other ladies they are struggling. As we reached this point and more appropriate for me to be here with our fertility problem.

    Our investigation started last year, but we have been told all OK, so did not proceed any further. Only talked to the GP, had semen analysis, blood test for me and ultrasound.
    In June we have reached the 18 months mark, so I used the "code" we had on our letter from the GP (last year) and selected from the available fertility clinics.
    Our first phone appointment was in July. More investigation: another SA, ultrasound, 2 blood tests (different time during my cycle) and HSG. 
    We had our second appointment with the specialist on Tuesday. All results have been collected and looked at, except my HSG which will be in 3 weeks' time. 

    I feel your pain! Our results were shocking too... Not 0 sperm, but not the right shapes. The normal rate would be between 4% and 10%. My husband's last year was 3, now only 2. Other devastating news is on my side... not enough or not good enough eggs... not early menopause stage, but the medics have concerns... 
    I am 36, my husband is 47. We are healthy, non-smokers, non-drinkers. 

    To try to answer your question: We managed to have phone appointments even during Covid, no delay there. 
    My husband needs to repeat his SA and I need to repeat one of my blood tests. All will be on time, they promised us. 

    I know how frustrating the wait is and you feel that you lose precious time and hardly can think about anything else. Nightmare! 

    There are things you can do in the meantime. No laptop on husband's sensitive part, no hot long bath, tight fitted trousers, underpants etc, keep the guys as loose and cool as possible. If he is overweight, try to get him into shape, be active. Vitamins!!! Very important that you get Zinc and Selenium (specialist said these 2 are must). We have bought "Wellman Conception", my husband will take extra Zinc (bought them in Tesco on the 3 for 2 offer) and ordered Ashwagandha online. Also healthy diet, no cigarette, no excessive alcohol, reduced caffeine. Lots of fruit and veg, leafy green, nuts! mainly walnuts and Brazil nuts (Selenium!).

    I will be on prenatal vitamins, Zinc, Omega 3 Fish oil  (my husband will have this as well) and CoQ10. Your husband can take this last one as well as this vitamin (goes as Ubiquinol) is great for cell protection and against ageing. 

    Best of luck! Let me know if you have any questions, I will try my best to answer as I have been reading a lot about hormone levels etc... 

    By the way even the specialist's assistant said to me (when I asked for an information leaflet about semen) that "You can google things". :D I said to her, that is what I have been doing anyway! ;)


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