Male and female factor infertility factors

knottie0d64d700a5a3d395

Hello everyone,

I have a hx of restrictive eating and ammenorrhea. After getting married in July this year started focusing on gaining weight, letting go of my fear of eating/being "fat", and cutting back immensely on exercise. I have been getting periods again and believe i am ovulating based on my lab results howver each day I am in fear i am that I am still not eating enough or doing enough to heal my body. Mentally it is still very difficult as well. Then i went to get an ultrasound showing low follicle count only 5. My doctor suggested starting Menopur and Gonal-F and possibly IUI this cycle. Yesterday we just found out that my husband has low sperm count, motility and morphology. 10.8 mill i believe. This was a huge blow yet again and my husband and i got in a fight last night. He feels guilty and ashamed and I feel really bad for him. Now my doctor saya wait 3 weeks before getting another sperm sample. If still low she will refer him to urology. Does this mean that we shouldnt even try IUI and the meds now? Is it pointless/hopeless? It is so hard to thi k of waiting another 3 weeks of not taking any action at all... i dont know what to do, i never felt so hopeless. Btw my husband is a smoker and he told me he will try to stop , i dont know if he can do it

nken20

Sorry about what you're going through.  Why not just try naturally even without the meds while waiting.  Or with the meds if that was already prescribed by your specialist.  It's tough having to deal with your own complications and at the same time trying to appease your husband from his feeling of guilt.  Your husband might need to join a group to try and stop his smoking addiction.  That and the TTC will certainly take up most of your time.  One thing for sure is whatever you do and wherever you are at in your journey nothing is pointless.  There is always hope.  Keep trying and keep hoping!

ttc3y

It sounds like there are a lot of lifestyle changes you and your husband can do to help improve your health and fertility. The good news is you have been successful in making progress with your health and fertility journey, which is awesome and should be celebrated! 😊. I think it depends on how young you are and how motivated BOTH of you are willing to make the changes to be healthier and improve your fertility. It typically takes a minimum of three months to see improvement when making a lifestyle or dietary change. 

In your situation, it takes two to be successful. I was in a similar situation with male and female factor infertility and it was hard to get my husband on the same page sometimes. He wasn’t willing to put the same level of effort in trying to naturally improve his health and fertility as I was. In the end, due to lack of time, we opted to do IVF. There was a lot of resentment and healing that happened when we went through that but we worked through our stuff and our marriage is stronger than ever before. 

If you are younger than 38 yo, then you have time to make these changes and see if you can have any success naturally. For women who are 38 yo and older, their ovarian reserve starts to decline significantly and there isn’t as much time to improve things. Make the healthy changes as best as you can but I would proceed with working with a fertility doctor and using artificial reproductive technology (ART) if you are 38yo or older. 

I will also say being on the other side of the fertility journey and currently pregnant at 33 weeks with my first child, using ART and particularly IVF comes with a set of extra risks that your ob or midwife will have to follow. I had to do an extra fetal echocardiogram in spite of having a normal 20 week anatomy scan because there is a higher risk of heart defects with IVF. You may have extra monitoring during the third trimester since there is a higher risk of still birth. Mind you, these risks with IVF are still very low risk when you look at the absolute risk (like less than 1-3%) but OB seems to focus on relative risk more than absolute risk which can be annoying at times. If possible, conceiving naturally is a better option.

I wish you well on your fertility journey! ❤️

ivfmeerut

I'm sorry to hear about your struggles with restrictive eating and amenorrhea, as well as the recent news about your husband's low sperm count. It's understandable that you're feeling overwhelmed and unsure about what steps to take next. Firstly, it's important to recognize that infertility issues are complex and multifactorial, and there are often multiple factors at play. Your current focus on gaining weight and letting go of your fear of eating is a positive step toward improving your overall health and fertility. It's also encouraging that you have been getting periods again and believe you are ovulating based on your lab results.

Regarding your husband's low sperm count, it's important to remember that smoking can have a negative impact on sperm health, and quitting smoking can improve sperm quality. Encourage your husband to speak with his doctor about smoking cessation resources and strategies. It's also important to follow your doctor's recommendation to wait three weeks before getting another sperm sample and potentially seeing a urologist. condition, there are many treatment options available.

It's important to work closely with your doctor to determine the best course of action for you and your husband. Keep the lines of communication open with your husband, and try to approach this as a team working towards a common goal.