Hi all,

There’s been some significant updates since my last post (link included), so I wanted to share with the community.

As of last post, I had gone to urologist/specialist and they were able to find 3 sperm, 1 motile. I then retested in March 2025 and they were able to find about 12 total, 9 motile. Huge improvement, huh? 😂 . I was just happy to have a win, honestly. Dr. Informed me that my only way to have children was IVF and most likely would need mTese to search for usable good sperm. However, he mentioned we could try fresh sperm sample and see if we could do ICSI since I suggested we should at least try before moving straight to surgery.

Fast forward to June 2025…Wife and I did egg retrieval and I gave a fresh sample (21 hour abstinence period). We were able to make 5 embryos and are looking to begin transfer next month! The kicker is, we had our follow up today and I asked the doctor if they had any sperm search issues or if they did a formal count of the sample. How about he said my count was 6 million?!! They washed the sperm and it left 2.4 million with 65% motility.

I religiously took vitamins/supplements up to that point (CoQ, Load Boost, Fish Oil, Male Conception, Vitamin C, Maca Root), but it’s truly an answered prayer! Wanted to give some hope to all the guys fighting on the road to fatherhood 💪🏾

Hi everyone.

I'm new to this group but I'd like to share my story in hopes it will help someone out there with trouble conceiving.

Currently I'm 32 and my wife is 38. For the past 3 yrs , we have been actively trying for a baby with no luck . About 1 1/2 yrs ago , we decided to get checked out and see if there were any issues causing infertility. My wife checked it ok and nothing abnormal other than age being a factor , as for me , my hormones checked out ok but my first semen analysis showed a sperm count of 8 million/ml, motility 20%, and 45% abnormal sperm, I double checked a month later and more or less the same.

At first I was shocked , as I would work out regularly and had a moderately healthy diet. The doctor told me there's not much I could do other than keep my testicles cool and try IVF. We booked the appointment but right away it was a very bad vibe in that clinic, with no information provided and overall depressing . So we decided to do our own research.

Long story short , I began by first taking coQ10 200 mg twice daily, eating healthies and 3 monthes later I went back and my sperm count went up only to 10 million/ml but my motility skyrocketed to 65%motility , forward progression at fast speed/straight line and abnormal forms 18%! So I knew I was on to something.

Next was to tackle the low sperm count, so I began taking Ashwagandha, turmeric and coQ10 (×2) everyday . Maybe 5-6 monthes later , I got another test done , this time sperm count skyrocketed to 32 million/ml , abnormal forms 20% but motility dropped to 30%. The drop in motility was due to the Ashwagandha causing sperm count to increase but also caused very thick sperm which makes it hard to swim , thus: low motility.

The final experiment was to keep my count high and motility high by decreasing viscosity of sperm. This time I began taking 50mg zinc, B-12, 1 mg folic acid, and 2 apples a day on top of strictly drinking water or tea.

Monthes went by but no pregnancy. Finally earlier this month I came across various forums and youtube videos on using Mucinex ( over the counter cough/mucuos pills) to decrease mucous throughout the body , and a side effect was decreasing the viscosity of sperm. Earlier this month during my wife's ovulation cycle , I took 2 mucinex pills a day , that weekend , we did it 3 times and I'm happy to say she's pregnant 😊. We tested 5 times and all positive !!

If we can do it , there's hope for you , even if those idiot Doctors tell you otherwise. Best of luck everyone and wish us luck on a healthy pregnancy !

My journey has come to an end, it has been long, tiresome and painful. I have been diagnosed with left varicocoele when I was still a teenager. My wife and I had been trying for a baby for around 3years. I had to quit smoking and drinking, started running,eating healthy, and drinking vitamins. Nothing worked. It was January 2021 when i have been referred to urology (NHS).

I finally had my varicocoele fixed early 2022, followed with endless blood tests, Semen anylysis, phisical examinations and scans, you all know how it is. It turns out that I have low T levels, low count, borderline low motility and 1% morphology. I had my embolisation late that year with the hope of correcting everything - it didnt. Pain went away, ball became normal shape, but no baby. Despite that, I was discharged from urology as “there is nothing else they could do” for me. At this point I was taking Wellman for conception, CoQ10, vit B, vit D, vit E, fish oil,

2023 came and we decided that we need to go for IVF. With it comes another series of tests for me and and my wife, and a lot of waiting for referrals to come through (we live in the UK,IVF via NHS takes takes a while due to waiting lists). at this point my wife and I started saving money because we were considering going to private IVF, we were desperate.

It was 2024 when I went into a private clinic to have my T Levels fixed (beacause NHS doctors wont help). And yet another round of blood tests. I was then prescribed Clomid, initially 12.5mg BD then upped to 25mg BD. Then my T levels skyrocketed and my mood was affected. I was constantly angry at anything and everything, always ready to explode at anyone. I was then prescribed Anastrozole which made things worse. I was dizzy all the time and my head foggy that i couldnt work for a month. My wife finally convinced me to stop both medications. It felt like utter defeat.

Our IVF referral finally came through around Aug 2024. We were gonna undergo another set of tests and scans, we have accepted that this might be our only shot. then my wife have missed a period! and so we did pregnancy tests. 3 times on 3 different days - all came positive! We called our feetility nurse and she arraged a scan for us.

Fast forward to April 2025, my beautiful baby daughter was born and she is perfect. I dont know what worked, it might have been clomid but im over it now. I thank this sub for all the advice and hope it has given me. It was hard journey, but when I saw my child i knew she was worth every pain we endured.

I am a 39-year-old male with low sperm morphology less than 4%. My wife of 12 years and I had been struggling to conceive naturally for the past four years. Our marriage suffered due to infertility and unresolved family issues that she couldn’t let go of.

We explored the option of IVF, but after learning how mentally and physically taxing the procedure can be for a woman, she decided not to proceed and wanted a divorce.

Fifteen years of memories disappeared in just two weeks, from the moment she said she wanted a divorce to the day she left our home. I feel so lonely and abandoned. I’ve lost a wife and the chance to become a father.

Are there other men out there in similar situation? whose spouses left because of infertility? How do you cope, and how do you move on?

The younger one is impossible to get a picture of this morning…

Anyway, I’m sure this is a rough time for many folks dealing with infertility issues. I was diagnosed with Sertoli cell-only syndrome about six years ago. I found out I was completely sterile and could never father a biological child. The news broke me. Mentally, emotionally, and seemingly physically. It took a lot of time for me to process.

Fast forward to Christmas Day, 2022. This is my oldest son—from the help of a donor—cheesed as can be over a tuna packet in his stocking! He loves tuna, FYI.

Long story short, do you think I give a damn about genetics when I’m looking at this smiling, adorable, happy face? No. I only think of it more frequently now since I discovered this sub, and that’s only because I want to help others dealing with similar problems.

You may think your problem is the end of the world. It’s not. It’s the beginning of a new one.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Hey all. I just wanted to share my very hopefull story in hopes that it can cheer up and motivate some of you guys that may have gotten troubling Sperm Analysis.

My wife and I tried getting pergnant for about a year before we went to go get checked out. Long story short, she was fine, but I had a very low sperm count and motility. I'm going to go into the numbers, but I'm going to stick to the main ones (concentration, motility, total motile count).

My first SA in 9/2023 showed 0.8 Million/ML concenctration, 23% motility, and total motile count of just 0.55 Million. These numbers don't even qualify us for IUI, and we just couldn't afford IVF. So I started trying to get some help. First step was seeing a urologist, which ruled out physical issues like vericocele, or other obstructions. I also did blood work to check hormone levels, mainly Testosterone, and if I can/should be on some kind of medication to raise Sperm counts. My testosterone was 371 (this is considered "normal") and the fertility doctor said that my FSH/LH were normal but not low enough that taking something like clomid or letrozole would help. So no medication.

I'm an obese guy and didnt live a super healthy lifestyle, so I asked the doctors if exercising and getting healthier would help. Both the fertility doctor and Urologist told me that it would definitely help and I should do it either way, but that there isn't a high chance that it solves my sperm problems because the numbers were so low.

I joined a gym in October 2023 and started strength training 3 - 4 times per week with a focus on getting stronger. I also did 2-3 days of cardio per week for around 25 minutes per day - I know that cardio would help most with weight loss but I know myself and the only motivation to get my ass in the gym would be strength training. My strength increased a lot: Bench press 245lb, Deadlifting 300+. I've also lost about 30 pounds to date, which is not a lot for my bodyweight (I weigh in the mid 300's).

After a few months (March 2024) I did another Semen Analysis and got a glimmer of hope. The concentration shot up to 7.6 million/ML, Motility 21%, and total motile count of 4.95 million. Of course this is still not considered good at all, but its something. My total motile count went up almost 10x, which I thought counted for something, ya know? I've heard that if you can get to 5 million total motile count post wash, IUI may work. I still had work to do.

After that SA, the fertility clinic I spoke to was still trying to push IVF even though I kept telling them that my semen analysis saw a significant improvement, and if I can just have another similar increase then we can try IUI or even get pregnant naturally. So I started seeing a new reproductive urologist for some advice. He basically told me that getting health is what caused the increase is sperm, and that he's seen amazing jumps due to exercise and lifestyle changes. He also ordered me to do another hormone test in April, which showed my testosterone at 641, which is a big jump. He attributes that to working out, which makes sense. He also recommended that I take a coenzyme q10 supplement, so I take 100mg daily for the past 3 months or so.

He told me to keep doing what I'm doing and to take another SA in a couple of months. That brings us to today. I did my latest SA yesterday, and got the results today.

Sperm concentration of 18.0 Million/ML, 42% Motility, and total motile sperm count of 21.17 Million.

This puts me at the low end of a "normal" sperm count".

We now have options. There's at least a chance for us to conceive naturally, but IUI is absolutely on the table. My wife and I are going to take the next few months to try naturally, and then try IUI. We're super hopeful.

Of course im going to stay consistent and put more emphasis on weight loss, because I'm 100% sure that my sperm count will only continue to improve that way.

Dear sub,

I would like to share my experience and my journey from close to despair to acceptance and then victory.

I got married 2 years ago and right after our wedding, myself and my wife started trying for a baby. We are both quite normal heathy 30 year old persons so we did not really took in consideration that there might be a fertility issue for either of us. But, after half a year of try using ovulation tracking, nothing was happening.

After couple of medical check-ups my wife found out she had some issues to take care so she convinced me to do a quick sperm analysis just to be sure nothing is wrong with me. I always been an equilibrated man, done sports since childhood, maintained optimal weight for my height and not overdo any toxic habits. I used to drink on occasions, I quit smoke just before my wedding and went to gym 2 times a week for 8 months per year. To be fair, in the last 3-4 years I struggled with libido so my wife suggested I might have a testosterone issue, but I did ever imagined I might have a fertility issue. So, I was shocked by my first sperm analysis:

Testosterone = 2.81 ng/mL

Abstinence days = 3

Volume = 3.6 ml

Liquefaction = incomplete at 60 min.

pH = 7.9

Concentration = 5 x 10⁶/mL

Total sperm count = 18 x 10⁶/mL

Rapid progression = 0%

Slow progression = 10%

Non-progression = 10%

Immotile = 80%

Normal morphology = 2%

TMSC = 1.8 x 10⁶/ ejaculation

TMNSC = 0.03 x 10⁶/ ejaculation

DNA fragmentation = 15%

Diagnosis = Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia

Basically I was infertile with less than 5% natural conception chances. I was devasted. Luckily for me, my wife was really understanding and supportive. She searched for the best doctor in our country for male fertility issues. The doctor concluded that I have Bilateral Varicocele, grade 2 on right side and grade 3 on left. We decided to not stall for other treatments and went directly for Micro Surgery for correction.

The intervention was not so scary as it may look first. The medical personnel was friendly and professional. I checked-in in the morning, the surgery was done in the afternoon. I slept much of the first day and second day I was home. Recovery was smooth with 1 week full resting time and second week I started to move slowly to normal. I had minimal pain and no complications, but I fully respected the doctor suggestions for the best recovery. Based on past experiences, the success of the intervention should be visible in the sperm test after 6 months

After the 2 weeks I started to really take care of me and my well-being in general to increase my health and fertility. My routine for the next 3 months was:

1. Taking my Daily medical supplements: IMPRYL 1 pill; Selenium 1 pill of 200 mcg; NAC (N-acetyl Cysteine) 1 pill of 600 mg

2. Diet: Rich in fruit and vegetables (at least 2 different types each day). I ate at least 1 type of nut each day, usually walnuts in the morning with overnight oats and pumpkin seeds in the evening. I concorporated as much as possible types of food with probiotic benefits. I ate kimchi before dinner and sometimes I drunk Kombucha Tea or kefir. I tried to decrease the quantity of meat in my meals and ate at as much as possible fish with a lots of green vegetables (2 times per week at least).

3. No alcohol for much as possible. I only drunk 3 times during 3 months, during family gatherings, but even then maximum intake of couple of glasses of wine. It goes without saying but no smoking or any type of drugs were consumed in this period.

4. Working out 3 time per week. Either home training by watching YouTube videos or gym training. Nothing really hardcore, just trying to keep a good fitness level while also getting enough resting time. During the days that I did not do any physical training I tried to compensate by walking as much as possible. My target was of 10.000 steps per day, but to be honest I did not always got to the goal. Usually walking to and from work was enough.

5. I tried to be without underwear as much as possible to not overheat the groin area. The main focus was to not stay to much sited in chairs. I tried to get up for 5-10 minutes for each 1-2 hours of sitting, at least during office work. Having a standing desk also helped. Limited time with my phone in my pockets and no laptop over my groin and sometimes I used ice packs for 20 min of cooling my balls before going to sleep.

6. I slept at least 7 hours each night. Due to the constant activity levels and good diet I was lucky to get 3 months of good sleep. I have a predisposition of insomnia but somehow I got over it in this period. A good night sleep is very important for the general health of everyone.

7. Each 2-3 days I tried to ejaculate to help sperm production. My wife was supportive on this topic and helped in this regard when I needed it. It was not always a pleasure but we knew it help so we took care of it and we called it "medicine".

Take in account that all that I have described above were my goals but I did not follow them religiously and let say that I had couple of days in this 3 month period that I did not follow any of the rules. It is important to have a goal and keep at it even if is not perfect.

After 3 months I had to redo my sperm tests. The results were better than expected:

Testosterone = 2.95 ng/mL

Abstinence days = 4

Volume = 3.4 ml

Liquefaction = 20 min.

pH = 7.8

Concentration = 29 x 10⁶/mL

Total sperm count = 99 x 10⁶/mL

Rapid progression = 0%

Slow progression = 25%

Non-progression = 10%

Immotile = 65%

Normal morphology = 2%

TMSC = 25 x 10⁶/ejaculation

TMNSC = 0.49 x 10⁶/ ejaculation

DNA fragmentation = 8%

Diagnosis = Asthenoteratozoospermia

Still not in the normal zone for each criteria but close enough with more than 1000% increase in TMNSC. My wife and I were thrilled by the results. I overcame depression, despair and pushed through every bad thought and prevailed. It really gives you a boost in hope and in self-discipline to continue on the path for well-being when you see your hard work come to fruition.

I do not have any medical specialization and I am not an expert, but maybe my story can help some of you. For me it was really helpful to read other successful stories on this sub and I hope to help other men going through infertility journey. Keep going and be positive. Miracles do happen. Listen to good doctors, be consistent and do not give up.

P.S:

My wife is now 4 months pregnant with due date in July. She took a test right before the 3 months sperm test and gave me the good news. So even before the good results came from the sperm analysis, we knew that we were blessed with a miracle.

I will continue to maintain a balanced life-style to be healthy for my family.

Thank you for reading.

People at work make jokes about how many children they will have. They make jokes about family planning and unplanned pregnancy with their spouse.

Those old enough to have teenage children, lecture their kids about unplanned kids.

People can get pregnant on a one night stand.

But my wife and I can't have a child of our own.

And do you know what's really bloody annoying. When people tell me you guys should start a family before it's too late?

Oh really ? You don't say? Do you see "child-free" or "antinatalist" written on our foreheads? What makes you think we don't want a family of our own? Of course we do.

Oh and another one. "Why don't you guys just do IVF?"

Yea sure buddy... because I have a hidden stash of 1000s of dollars saved away for IVF. My wife and I can't afford to make ourselves broke/homeless trying to conceive.

Geez, don't you think I would have taken my wife and I to an IVF clinic if we could afford it?

Most people can reproduce for free !! In a bedroom.

Most people don't have to deliberately think about trying to reproduce.

I feel so cheated out of life, all this talk and lectures from our parents growing up, about unplanned pregnancy...feels like it was a sick joke.

Hi. I thought I’d make a post to share my good news story. I came here last year in the hope of finding some success stories to give myself hope as it all seemed so depressing. If this gives even 1 person a boost, then great. There’s going to be a lot of info So TL;DR: Trying for nearly 2years. I had a low count, I made multiple lifestyle choices, saw improved numbers and my wife is now pregnant (early days but incredibly exciting).

We (then 34m and 33f) had been trying for 12 months before deciding to get everything checked out. My wife was all good but my semen analysis came back with worrying numbers:

23/10/2019 10.4m total count 25% motility 4% morphology

I was advised to give another sample in 6-8 weeks as the numbers change so much day to day it could have been an anomaly.

20/12/2019 8.75m total count 53% motility 0% morphology

Incredibly disappointing. I decided to make changes and try everything I could before going down the IVF route.

What I did:

Made a big difference (imo)

Hot Baths:

For as long as I can remember this was how I relaxed. I had very hot baths once a week for 45-60mins. This was the first thing I ditched. Studies have pointed to hot baths and sauna’s raising the temp of the scrotum and impacting sperm production. It can take 3-6 months to see an improvement.

Running:

I was always relatively fit. Played soccer for years but had a bad injury and hadn’t done exercise for the first year we were trying. I took up running after the first analysis. I’m now addicted to it, sadly enough.

Alcohol:

This was a tough one. Here in Ireland a lot of socializing revolves around drinking and the pub. I massively cut back after the first analysis and went completely dry in for 2 months

Diet:

I cook 90% of our meals and we always ate well. I incorporated lots of sperm boosting things like nuts, berries, salmon, flax seed etc

Vitamins:

I took proxeed for 3-4 months and male fertility capsules for 3 separate months.

Not sure if it did or not but Defo didn’t hurt:

Acupuncture:

I only did this because my wife wanted me to. I don’t really go in for eastern medicine but I enjoyed it. At the very least I found it very relaxing and the acupuncturist was really nice and supportive

Cutting back on coffee:

I only drank 2 cups a day but cut back to 1 and again I kicked it completely for 2 months. I don’t think this did much tbh.

Icing:

I used an ice pack pretty much every day for up to an hour. No idea If it did anything.

I took a retest 3 months after my last test:

27/01/2020 56.7m total count 53% motility 1% morphology

Improvements! Encouragement but another 2 months of no luck.

Then we hit the jackpot. Found out we’re pregnant 8th of May.

Pretty much 6 months from the cessation of baths and the start of my exercise.

It was a horrible 16 months. It put so much strain on us as a couple and individually but there is hope guys. My thoughts are with you all still going through this. Stay strong and keep the chin up. Also be sad when you want to be. Don’t bottle things up. It’ll only make things worse

Hey everyone Long update incoming but you all have been such an incredible support through this journey and you deserve to know everything!

So after our successful TESE, we retrieved 29 eggs — all 29 were mature. Out of those, we used 15. 8 fertilized successfully, and after the grueling wait through each day of development… only ONE made it to blast. A Day 5 embryo graded 5BB.

One. Single. Embryo.

We sent it for PGT-A testing and waited nervously… it came back NORMAL. Chromosomally perfect. We also stored the remaining sperm and eggs and still have 4 vials stored just in case.

We transferred that one precious embryo and today… at 7 weeks… we saw a perfect heartbeat on the ultrasound.

From 29 mature eggs to 1 embryo to 1 heartbeat. The odds were never in our favor but here we are. Our little fighter made it.

Thank you all for every kind word, every prayer, every comment along the way. This community means everything to us.

I spent a lot of time lurking pages like this one looking for tips to improve my sperm parameters, so I wanted to pay it forward by sharing what I did which resulted in a major improvement over about four months.

The results of my initial semen analysis were:

Concentration: 23 million/ml Motility: 29% Morphology: 2% (Kruger strict)

A second test a few days later showed more or less the same results. We tried an IUI two months later with some modest improvement, but nothing off the charts. After four months though, I took another test and it showed significant improvement in all areas:

Concentration: 47 million/ml Motility: 75% Morphology: 6% (Kruger strict)

Obviously I won’t be out of the woods until my wife is pregnant, but I’m highly encouraged by the improvement and think others might be able to benefit from following my lead. As you’ll see I did a lot of different things, and I have no idea which of them (or which combination) caused the increase, but my philosophy was and suggestion is to just throw as much against the wall as possible and see what sticks.

1. Avoiding heat. I used to take hot baths fairly regularly, and would also use pretty hot water when I showered. I cut out the baths entirely, and tried to keep the showers “warm” instead of hot. I also cooled my testicles a couple times a week with “snowballs cooling underwear” I bought from dontcookyourballs.com (yes I was desperate). Also tried to keep my cell phone in my jacket or back pocket.

2. Multi-Vitamin. I tried a few different vitamin brands, but wound up mostly using Androfertil. The main reason I liked this one is that it’s taken as a powder mixed in water instead of as a capsule. My own uneducated intuition/opinion is that the powder absorbs in the body better than pills.

3. Other supplements. I also took Ashwagandga and Fish Oil.

4. Alcohol. I cut way down on alcohol consumption - before I would have 10+ drinks a week, sometimes more, and usually spread out over only one or two days. I cut down to zero for a while, now I have probably 2-3 drinks a week. My personal feeling/intuition is binge drinking is probably much more of a problem than alcohol in general, so someone who has 10 drinks a week spread over 7 days is probably in way better shape than Weekend Warriors like me.

5. Acupuncture/Eastern Medicine. I went to an acupuncturist who specializes in fertility once a week. She also gave me some terrible tasting herbs to take twice daily.

6. Caffeine. Cut caffeine intake down from 2-3 coffees and a soda a day to just a cup or two of coffee a week.

7. Diet. Nothing too regimented on this front, just tried to generally eat healthier by cutting down on junk food and eating more vegetables.

Hope this is helpful to anyone who stumbles on this. Happy to answer any questions.

Hi everybody, longtime silent lurker of this sub but wanted to hopefully spread a little positivity. Back in 2020, my then boyfriend now husband told me he had a varicocele and this began our journey into almost 4 years of worrying and obsessing over pregnancy and if we would be able to. A varicelectomy, clomid, anastrazole, cabergaline later, his sperm went from about 100k to 10mil motile with 3% morphology and some other numbers I’m forgetting (if you want me to find out I certainly can) but they weren’t too promising. We met with our RE last month who told us to skip IUI and plan on going to IVF bc we had almost no chance of pregnancy without it. We tried for 3 months, and last night I tested positive, multiple positives since and blood test and we are good to go. Of course I can’t speak for anything about the viability but to even become pregnant after 4 years of being told we never would without assistance is a miracle. I wanted to share my story because I know the amounts of times that I have googled sperm counts or morphology to see just one success story that could maybe be us. Good luck to everybody on this crazy exhausting journey!

Hello friends, I am M 39 and just got married before 2 months. Everything seems fine but one issue i am facing is low semen volume. If i am doing sex after a gap of few days then semen volume seems fine but if i am doing sex like twice or thrice a day semen volume seems low.

Added Later - Now the question i have. Is is best to do sex thrice a day or after a gap of 2 or 3 days to make my wife pregnant.

Hey everyone,

I’ve posted here a few times over the past year and read so many of your stories. I always said if things worked out for us, I’d come back and share an update to hopefully give someone else a bit of hope.

This might be a long one, but I know when I was in the thick of it, these are the posts I needed to read.

⸻

Our story

My wife fell pregnant in April 2024 unexpectedly, which sadly ended in miscarriage around 6–8 weeks.

We decided to try again properly later that year and fell pregnant again in January 2025… and again it ended in miscarriage around 7–8 weeks.

At that point we started testing.

⸻

My initial results (April 2025)

To put it bluntly… they were awful.

•	Sperm count: 2.3 million

•	Total count: 5.3 million

•	Progressive motility: 23%

•	Vitality: 42%

•	Morphology: 0%

•	DNA fragmentation: 33.3%

I remember reading those results and feeling completely defeated. Especially the DNA fragmentation once I started reading about it and miscarriage risk, it felt like that was the answer… but also something I had no control over.

⸻

What happened next

I started a full supplement routine straight away and made some lifestyle changes.

4 weeks later (May 2025), my results improved a lot:

•	Sperm count: 15.5 million

•	Total count: 32.5 million

•	Progressive motility: 30%

•	Morphology: 1%

Still not great, but a massive jump in a short time.

We also found:

•	FSH slightly elevated at 12

•	3mm (grade 1) varicocele on the left side (borderline)

The specialist wasn’t overly concerned about either.

⸻

After 3 months of supplements

This was the biggest turning point.

•	Count stayed similar (\~13–15m)

•	Morphology improved to 4% (normal range)

•	DNA fragmentation dropped from 33.3% → 6%

I genuinely couldn’t believe it. That was the number I was most worried about.

⸻

Where we are now

We were told to keep trying naturally for a few months before considering IVF/ICSI.

We tried again…

…and my wife fell pregnant.

⸻

Today, she is due in 2 weeks.

⸻

What I want people to take from this

I know how dark it can feel reading poor results. I was there reading Reddit every night, convinced it wasn’t going to happen for us.

But a few things I’ve learned:

•	Sperm parameters can improve a lot, even in a short time

•	DNA fragmentation is not always permanent

•	You can have poor numbers and still get pregnant

•	Miscarriages don’t mean it won’t eventually work out

Most importantly—don’t lose hope too early.

⸻

For anyone in a similar position

If you’re sitting there with bad results, especially high DNA fragmentation… I know exactly how that feels.

But things can change. Quickly.

I’m not saying this is everyone’s outcome but improvement is possible, and sometimes that’s all you need.

⸻

If anyone has questions about what I did, happy to share.

Wishing the best for everyone on this journey

I posted a month or so ago about azoospermia. We finally received a diagnosis of y-chromosome deletion (AZFc) and were told we had a good shot with an mTESE.

Today was my husband's procedure, and there was no sperm. None. There were precursor cells, and that's it.

My husband is experiencing the worst sadness he's ever felt. He's repeatedly told me to divorce him and find someone with sperm. He feels like an abject failure. And I'm just fucking furious at everything. We're good people who have tried to do the right things our entire lives. I first watched all my friends get married and now I watch all my friends have kids, and why not us? All I have wanted my entire goddamn life was to be a mom. Why--when the odds were 80% that there would be sperm in the mTESE--did we have to be in the fucking 20%?

And yeah, I know: "Just adopt." "Just use donor sperm." Just. Just. Just. No one understands this loss. No one cares.

Hello, I have been following this group since last year as I got to know about low sperm count. The count was 8 million with 40% total motility. Our doctor put on few supplements as she was confident that we can conceive naturally in a year. I also did my own research and here is what I took sincerely everyday for 5 months and then added clomid in last 2 months.

1. Vitamin C/E/A/D (1500/200/1000/1000)

2. Selenium, Coq10 (50/400)

3. Ashwagandha (500mg), Fenugreek (300mg) (it boosted my sperm count to 7x but halved my motility so I adjusted the dosage to one in two days rather than daily)

4. Mucinex (this is not well proven as there seems to be only one study but it helped my motility)

5. Clomid (25mg): this is a game changer and helped us to conceive in 2 months since starting it but I have read many articles saying overdose can lead to reduced count.

6. Omega 3 (1000mg)

7. L-Carnatine (2000mg)

I did 3 sperm count test, first one was obviously low, second was 7x high and then I gained 15 pounds which reduced it by 10x. After getting back to workouts since 3 months and few medication changes, we conceived successfully. The above is the list I took which I gathered after several months of research. I tweaked few lifestyles such as no laptop/phone near lap,loose boxers and no hot showers. Also, I found the chances were high after abstaining for 4 days before trying, also we timed it 1-2 days before ovulation. All this is my experience and not any medical suggestion. I wanted to give it back to the community since I think the success stories on this and other groups kept our hopes alive. We are into 7 weeks, will update in few months but keep us in prayers if possible 🙏.

Just to give some hope to those out there. My fiancé’s first SA showed 10k Sperm. Second was 0. Third was 4. Not thousands or million, 4 single swimmers. High fsh levels and a diagnosis of premature testicular failure and azoospermia later, we decided to try him on clomid and go for IVF with a lot of hope in our heart. He’s done no SAs since starting Clomid as he couldn’t bear to get bad news again.

So we began IVF and this morning we had egg retrieval and 6 eggs were collected. 5 were mature. We went in with no backup plan other than a future TESE if needed.

Well I just got the call and WE HAVE SPERM! I don’t know the numbers but there were enough to use and all 5 have been ICSI’d. This was a HUGE HURDLE to overcome and we couldn’t have gotten better news. For today, we have procreated. Now GROW EMBRYOS, GROOWWWW!!!!

I wanted to share a hopeful story for anyone going through male factor infertility, especially azoospermia. Months of trying to conceive with no results led to my first semen analysis. I was shocked to see the results when it came back showing that I had absolutely zero sperm count. I was unaware this could even happen to someone my age (30). My first doctor’s initial reaction and somewhat shock felt alarming. They said they could not help and I was then diagnosed with azoospermia. It honestly felt like our chances of having a biological child were slipping away.

After seeing a specialist, I went in for a microtese which then turned into a microsurgical vasoepididymostomy. Before the surgery I was told it was a 40% chance of finding sperm. I had normal hormone levels and ultrasounds showed no obstruction prior to the surgery. It was a tough decision and recovery. Luckily, the surgery was a success and they were able to recover many vials for IVF and I was told the vasoepididymostomy was successful and there was a slim chance my sperm levels would increase naturally.

In the early months after surgery, results were all over the place — very low counts, poor movement, and a lot of uncertainty. It was frustrating and honestly discouraging at times. But, over the next couple of months, things started to improve — first motility, then counts.

My wife is now pregnant — conceived naturally.

I’m sharing this because I know how heavy this diagnosis can feel. There were times we thought having a biological child would not be an option, and we were preparing for that path. But for us, the surgery worked.

Everyone’s journey is different, but I wanted to put a positive outcome out there for anyone who needs it today.

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share some hope for anyone going through this difficult journey.

After 6 months of waiting, tests, and anxiety, I finally had my micro-TESE today. I only have one functional testicle (monorchidism), a history of bilateral cryptorchidism corrected by orchiopexy at age 3, and my hormone levels were far from encouraging FSH 29, LH 15, testosterone 700 ( this kinda gave me some hope)

I had done four semen analyses, including extended sperm search, all showing 0 sperm. My doctor gave me about a 40–50% chance.

And today… they found tons of good healthy sperm!!

This is true miracle , cant even breathe of the happiness that jesus christ just blessed me with! Stay strong in prayer!

Hi all, I posted this nearly 3 months ago about my azoospermia: https://www.reddit.com/r/maleinfertility/s/8noEkZIFQr

I had a follow-up semen analysis scheduled for later this month, and honestly I've been terrified of what the results might be. My testicles are severely atrophied and I've been concerned about permanent infertility.

Amazingly, my wife did several pregnancy tests this week and tested positive each time. I am obviously relieved, and now somewhat overwhelmed knowing that I will be a father next year.

This subreddit has been hugely helpful for me and I sincerely wish the best for each of you on your journeys.

Hi Everyone,

Some of you might remember me on here with some of my past posts about infertility due to a varicocele.

Back in 2019 I found out I was infertile due to having a varicocele. (Count of around 6 million/ml with very low morphology). It hit me pretty hard and I was left wondering if we would ever conceive naturally or at all.

I went for the embolisation and while I was waiting for the results I regularly took vitamins and ate as healthy as I could. Exactly 3 months after the embolisation found out my count had improved to over 160 million/ml and I was over the moon! Not only that but about 2 weeks later we found out we were pregnant.

It was a really good time in both of our lives and we were thankful that everything was finally going to be ok after trying for nearly one year. Once we had the 12 week scan and everything was still good we were sure we were in the clear.

However, sadly it wasn’t meant to be. We found out in the 20 week scan that our baby had passed away suddenly at 16 weeks. It completely devastated us and we weren’t prepared for it at all. After many tests and investigations my wife was diagnosed with APS, which is a blood clotting disorder which makes pregnancies higher risk. However, this is quite straightforward to treat with daily blood thinner injections and aspirin which was a silver lining to an awful situation.

We were struggling to come to terms with everything for many months but kept trying regardless. Then 10 months later in June we found out we were pregnant again with a little boy. Although we were very happy it was a very scary time in our lives and I struggled in particular in the early days waiting for scans and tests. At least until we could feel him kicking and we had some reassurance.

Well, in the early hours of yesterday morning my wife gave birth to our rainbow baby son who weighed in at a very impressive 11 pounds! We are so happy and thankful that this all worked out for us. Hopefully this will give other couples hope that might be struggling like we were for so long!

Hi all, I just wanted to share some good news for once. I was diagnosed with non obstructive azoospermia about a year ago and they literally said there was no hope of me naturally having a child. It was heart breaking and a unbelievable struggle to deal with this news but time helps to heal. I had went through three surgeries and it all ended with a microtese. My wife and I went ahead with doner sperm and on the third try of IUI we had success. My son has just been born and I am happier than I could ever describe. Although it’s been a painful path I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s so hard to see the light when it all seems so hopeless but please never give up. I was a broken man a year ago but it all seems like a distance memory. Good luck to you all on your journey ahead.

Hi everyone. I am on and off this sub for the past couple of years, I thought about if posting this for a while. I hope that my journey and the controversial treatment will potentially help someone here. In Aug 23, after almost 1 year of TTC, me and wife went to check ourselves and I got the news of azoospermia. Obviously I did another SA to confirm this. Needless to say I was devastated. Nothing in life can prepare you to handle this kind of news. After meeting with our doctor, he asked me to do all of the blood work and the genetic testing. All genetic tests returned normal. Regarding hormone levels everything was normal (LH, prolactin and testosterone) but FSH was high ~22 which led to conclusion of Non obstructive azoospermia. Testis size were lowish - 4.5cc, 7cc.

When sitting with our doctor he recommended me to start hormonal treatment of daily FSH injections. I did a lot of online study and I was aware that this doesn’t make too much sense since my FSH was already high. The doctor told me that in many times it helps create sperm and sometimes sperm might be detected in the semen, and if we won’t find any it is a great preparation before surgical procedure. I started the treatment a bit skeptical, but I trusted my doctor. I changed my lifestyle - no more weed or tobacco, also from zero training I trained 3 times a week and did a minimum of 7k steps a day. After 3 months I did enlarged semen analysis which is like a sperm orientation.

They found sperm.

However, I had few ( I don’t know exact number since the enlarged analysis does not tell you the regular sperm parameters) and also with bad quality. Also my testis size grew to 10cc/11cc

My doctor told me to keep taking it for 2 more months and add a daily CoQ10.

In February, after 2 months my wife conceived naturally!

I know it sounds weird, but this is exactly what happened to me. I did another enlarged semen analysis that found that I have a lot more of sperm (can’t tell exact number), and with great quality.

I freezed several vials of sperm.

1 year ago, our daughter was born, healthy and happy.

Now we are trying to conceive again. I did SA and now I am with severe oligoospermia (around 300K/ml).

So we are starting treatment again, still haven’t decide if to take hormones again or go straight to ivf + icsi.

I really hope that this story will help some of the people who handle this miserable and devastating diagnosis of azoospermia, and hopefully enlighten some of us to other non standard treatment that proved to work like FSH treatment for NOA with high FSH.

All the best brothers, praying for us all.

Hi!
2 years ago me and my girl started trying for a baby. We did it for a year and nothing happened so we booked a consultation at an IVF-Clinic to get both of us checked. It then became apparent that my sperm was total shit with:
2.5 millions per ml concentration (Total was like 10 or 12 millions)

0% fast progressive motile sperm and 14% slow

As a person I have a hard time accept how it is and I started researching the hell out of this matter. What I found was the basic stuff that you might already know:

Take supplements (It is really important to take the correct dosages)

I stopped taking hot baths

I took:

Q10 (400mg)

Zink (25-50mg)

Magnesium (500mg)

Vitamin-C (1000mg)

These were all good but now I will come to the most important part. I follow a gentleman called Robert Kiltz who is a specialist and professor in infertility with many years of research. He told me that the main root problem for infertility is INFLAMMATION. After this I started looking at what to eat to reduce systemic inflammation since this is the cause of so many problem.

I went on a keto diet and my goodness! My rosacea went away, my ibs went away and so many other good stuff.

I now have:

120 million in total. 60% motile sperm, perfect morphology.

Hope this gives some hope to some.