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18months ttc #1 losing hope :-(
Been ttc with my partner for 18 months now with no success (have had a break from these forums for a few months) Im 25 he is 32 and we decided to do one of those boots sperm tests (while waiting for referal from his dr. Well that came back negative) so we now are waiting for Christmas to be out the way to be able to give a sample to the fertility clinic. Have tried keeping positive and taking various measures to 'help' but am losing all hope we will ever manage to have a family that we so dearly want. My partner had to have an op as a baby/toddler to have one of testicles surgically brought down fron his abdomen so whether this has anything to do with it? Would be nice to hear from ladies who may be in the same boat who could share experiences etc, am feeling ever so lost right now. Best wishes for you all ttc xx
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Replies
Hi Dizmo,
Reading your story was like reading mine
We did one of those Boots tests in October and it came back negative. DH went to the GP and he was referred for a sperm count test to the local hospital. He had his test at the end of November and the result was less than 1 million with extremely good motility. We have been referred to the fertility clinic and our first appointment is on 30th December 2013.
Lowe sperm count is not a rare thing and the good news is that the count can be increased. Does your partner drink or smoke? If so, I would suggest he cuts down or stops completely. Also, tell him to avoid hot baths, laptops on the lap, tight underwear, phone in his pocket. Get him some Zinc, Selenium, Folic Acid, Vitamin D and Ginseng. My DH takes the following: Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin A&E, L-Arginine, Korean Ginseng, Siberian Ginseng, Folic Acid, Selenium, Zinc, Goji Berries. He stopped having baths, laptop on his lap and he wears lounge pants around the house. We have also started some treatment at a private clinic and he is booked in for another sperm test on 6th January. We will see if the Vits helped. He is also taking Clomid, but this is a prescription drug.
Please feel free to ask if you need more info
I am 'shit hot' on all this after a weeks of research ha ha 
Good Luck xxxxx
Sorry to hear you have been having troubles but I keep all crossed there is a light at the end of the tunnel for you, the excellent motility sounds positive!
OH doesn't smoke or drink, well stopped smoking 6 years ago and very rarely drinks, think perhaps the phone in the pocket we could work on. He currently takes the Wellman conception tablets, are they sufficient enough on suppliments??
I had no idea men could take clomide, what does that do to help?
Love that you are an internet pro with this, i should follow suit!!
Hi Dizmo
Clomid should increase sperm count together with Arimidex. It is taken by bodybuilders to restore sperm count after steroids - at least this is what my partner told me. My partner did not take steroids, but he thinks that Clomid will help. I will let you know as soon as we've received our results in January. If his count is low, your GP will refer you to the fertility clinic / assisted conceptions unit. We were told that we will need assisted conceptions
To improve sperm count, he will need a higher dose. My partner takes 15mg of Zinc every day, 1000mg vit C, 1g of L-Argenine (you are supposed to take 3-4g), 100iu Selenium, 1000mg Siberian Ginseng, 400 Folic Acid, 1000mg Goji Berries, 10ug vit D. Men are supposed to take vit E as well, my partner is stopping it now because he's run out
We read about the phone in the pocket thing and my GP mentioned it to us also so there must be something to it. People say that it is possible to increase sperm count to normal levels so try not to worry too much. I worried a lot and completely broke down thinking that we will not be able to have children. I am kicking myself that I could not stay strong enough for my partner, bless him, he must be bothered about it too he's just not letting on. I am feeling more positive now and focusing on IVF, hope we can get it done soon. My partner just said that HCG will increase your partners count, but it needs injecting and again not available on prescription
Has he received his appointment details yet? (re sperm count)
xx
I shall keep everything crossed for you both, is results day dragging?
Will look into the various vitamins etc for him, thank you.
Well his dr gave us referal form and said to take form and sample to the fertility clinic (annoyingly is nearly an hours drive and they apparently have no rooms shall we say for OH to use to do sample there (which seems odd to me) so will be a case of hot footing it down there. Need to call them to see how they go about arranging for us to turn up, unfortunately dr isn't very helpful with all this info.
So have they organised for you to start IVF? From a little bit of research ive done, I don't think they provide any free IVF attempts on the NHS in our area so would have to save up the pennies should it come to that for us.
Hello
Have a look at Holland and Barrett for the vits, they do some of them on the penny sale
We've also bought some from morrisons and tescos because they tend to be cheaper in the supermarkets. Amazon and Simply Supplements are also good for vits 
That seems a bit odd about the fertility hospital. When my DH went, we did not use their room, he did it in the toilets. What a silly sod ha ha. He said that he did not want everyone to know what he was doing? So that could be an option for your partner.
We've got our first NHS appointment on Monday, not sure what is going to happen but I assume that they will put us on the IVF waiting list. In the meantime I am getting treatment at a private clinic in Manchester. I hope the private treatment works. I am looking to do egg sharing and get IVF on the back of it. It is cheaper and I will also help another lady to get pregnant (hopefully). Having been through all this, I really want to help someone, because I know how heart breaking it is when af arrives at the end of every month. And it must be devastating when people are told that they cannot have children and I think that it would be amazing to put a small on someones face
I think that we will get a free go on the NHS because we haven't got any children yet, but the waiting lists can be very long, hence choosing a private clinic
xxx
Lol! I did suggest that to OH but he just laughed at me, now I can show him this and make a point
Oh good luck for Monday, hope it gets you a little closer to that long awaited BFP.
That is such a lovely thing you are doing, what a difference you could hopefully make for someone!
xx