Our Test Results are back...***Updated***

tennisanddance

I had my CD3 bloodwork a month or two ago and all came back normal. DH had an SA done last week and the results were okay. My OB is not very good at telling me the detailed results of the test so I asked her specifically and this is what she told me. The count/volume was great. She said something about 4.5 where the range is 2 to 5. The mobility was slightly low (but I wonder if part of this was the fact that the lab took about 20 to 30 minutes time to get the sample back to the lab, which means it was a total of about 45 to 50 minutes). There were quite a few abnormalities noted though. They suggested that we have him abstain from all alcohol, hot tubs, smoking, etc (which he only drinks occasionally) for 1-2 months and then retest. They are also going to set up an appointment with an RE, which we are looking at about a 3 month wait until our first appointment.  Now I am off to google tons of things about SA results and treatments, etc. Any advice you might have would be greatly appreciated. (And with this, I should probably intro onto 3T as they may have more experience, though I know some of them post on this board also.)

ETA: I went to the doctor's office today and picked up the results.

Volume: 4.5ML

PH 8.4

Forward Progression - Poor, sluggish to fair activity

Motility 50%

Count 70M

Morphology 22% Normal - Noted large heads, tapered heads, amorphous heads, bent necks, thick midpiece, short tails, and double tails

I am also going to post this on 3T in hopes of better understanding what this means for us. Based on this, I would assume pregnancy is still possible but the chances are lower? Any advice ladies?

tennisanddance

LindsRockies:

I wouldn't head off to 3T just yet. 

I would ask for the hard numbers from your OB.  Have her give you the lab sheet.  If she can't go over the results and explain them to you adequately, then you need to get a second opinion from a smarter doctor.

I had to call and specifically ask them for my lab results because when they called me the first time, all they told me was that everything looked good. This time they called and told me that the SA showed a lot of abnormalities and that they were sluggish.

I am kind of surprised by the group because they are highly recommended in this area.

KdgTeacher

I had my CD3 bloodwork a month or two ago and all came back normal. DH had an SA done last week and the results were okay. My OB is not very good at telling me the detailed results Probably because reading them isn't in her realm of expertise of the test so I asked her specifically and this is what she told me. The count/volume was great. She said something about 4.5 where the range is 2 to 5. That sounds like volume, not count.  Count would be in the tens/hundreds of millions (hopefully anyway) The mobility was slightly low (but I wonder if part of this was the fact that the lab took about 20 to 30 minutes time to get the sample back to the lab, which means it was a total of about 45 to 50 minutes). My clinic needs a sample with 75 minutes of MH "giving it." There were quite a few abnormalities noted though. Such as? They suggested that we have him abstain from all alcohol, hot tubs, smoking, etc (which he only drinks occasionally) for 1-2 months and then retest. They are also going to set up an appointment with an RE, which we are looking at about a 3 month wait until our first appointment. Standard in many places.  My wait was 4 months. Now I am off to google tons of things about SA results and treatments, etc. I'd hold off on Google before you have more concrete numbers/answers..)

 

KdgTeacher

tennisanddance:

LindsRockies:

I wouldn't head off to 3T just yet. 

I would ask for the hard numbers from your OB.  Have her give you the lab sheet.  If she can't go over the results and explain them to you adequately, then you need to get a second opinion from a smarter doctor.

I had to call and specifically ask them for my lab results because when they called me the first time, all they told me was that everything looked good. This time they called and told me that the SA showed a lot of abnormalities and that they were sluggish.

I am kind of surprised by the group because they are highly recommended in this area.

Did the RE/RE's lab do the test?  MH's SA was done by a Quest Lab. 

tennisanddance

KdgTeacher:

The count/volume was great. She said something about 4.5 where the range is 2 to 5. That sounds like volume, not count.  Count would be in the tens/hundreds of millions (hopefully anyway) She did throw out a 70 but not sure what that was.

 There were quite a few abnormalities noted though. Such as? She read off quite a few. Double-tails, short tails, thick necks, and some bent.

Based on the responses, I am going to call tomorrow and ask for a hard copy of the test results. And it was at a general lab, not an RE's office.

staycee

our SA had to be into the lab with an hour.

tennisanddance

staycee:

our SA had to be into the lab with an hour.

Did they ask you to put heat on it? Just curious because they gave us a cup with little heat packets to put the sterile plastic sample cup in also. The first time he did it though (which ended up not being tested), they didn't ask us to put heat on it during transport.

melgeorge7189

I agree with pp about getting the numbers, but maybe see if they can fax you the report.  I say that bc an OB ordered DH's 1st SA and I was told by the nurse twice and the doctor once that all of his numbers were normal.  When I asked for specifics, they said his count was 39 mill, which wasn't accurate at all...they were looking at the wrong number. Luckily, I knew I had problems so I made an appt with an RE. She is the one who told me his count was too low...we could've wasted a lot of time not knowing and not doing anything about it.

What we did about it (I posted about this maybe a week ago but my page is screwing up and won't let me get the link) is that DH gave up alcohol almost completely.  He used to have a drink or two five to six times a week.  He gave that up in December and by mid January, his count tripled.  Admittedly, it could be a fluke, but all the other variables are the same. Hopefully it is just as simple as a lifestyle change.  Good luck to you!

kellyrn9956

tennisanddance:

I had my CD3 bloodwork a month or two ago and all came back normal. DH had an SA done last week and the results were okay. My OB is not very good at telling me the detailed results of the test so I asked her specifically and this is what she told me. The count/volume was great. She said something about 4.5 where the range is 2 to 5. The mobility was slightly low (but I wonder if part of this was the fact that the lab took about 20 to 30 minutes time to get the sample back to the lab, which means it was a total of about 45 to 50 minutes). There were quite a few abnormalities noted though. They suggested that we have him abstain from all alcohol, hot tubs, smoking, etc (which he only drinks occasionally) for 1-2 months and then retest. They are also going to set up an appointment with an RE, which we are looking at about a 3 month wait until our first appointment.  Now I am off to google tons of things about SA results and treatments, etc. Any advice you might have would be greatly appreciated. (And with this, I should probably intro onto 3T as they may have more experience, though I know some of them post on this board also.)

 

They're probably talking about morphology here. When you get your SA results, you could post them on 3T. There are a lot of ladies there, myself included, that have dealt with male factor fertility issues.

Just a few things for now - a 45-50 minute range is fine. My office requests that the sample be delivered from home to the office within 45 minutes. I'm sure they don't run back and immediately work with it, so I'm sure your time range is fine.

The unfortunate thing is that 1-2 months may not be long enough to see a difference in an SA from any lifestyle changes he makes. It's usually recommended to retest in about 3 months from any changes.

Best of luck!

tennisanddance

melgeorge7189:

I agree with pp about getting the numbers, but maybe see if they can fax you the report.  I say that bc an OB ordered DH's 1st SA and I was told by the nurse twice and the doctor once that all of his numbers were normal.  When I asked for specifics, they said his count was 39 mill, which wasn't accurate at all...they were looking at the wrong number. Luckily, I knew I had problems so I made an appt with an RE. She is the one who told me his count was too low...we could've wasted a lot of time not knowing and not doing anything about it.

What we did about it (I posted about this maybe a week ago but my page is screwing up and won't let me get the link) is that DH gave up alcohol almost completely.  He used to have a drink or two five to six times a week.  He gave that up in December and by mid January, his count tripled.  Admittedly, it could be a fluke, but all the other variables are the same. Hopefully it is just as simple as a lifestyle change.  Good luck to you!

Good point. Based on what she was reading, I believe she had a sheet from the lab that tells you the normal range and then the result of that specific SA.

Congrats on the higher numbers btw! I believe that I read that post.

My H doesn't drink oftern but has about 4 or 5 drinks maybe one or two nights a month but maybe cutting that out will help.

 Thanks ladies for all the advice. I have to admit that when it comes to all of these tests, I am a bit lost about what to look for or ask.

hopingwaiting

In addition to pp advice, I'd also do any repeat SA at a specialized fertility lab.

ansi29

Hope you can get the results soon to clarify what they were calling "abnormalities." That must be a stressful wait.  I would echo what Kelly said, sperm takes ~72 days to regenerate, so any retesting after making lifestyle changes should be done more than 2 months after making said change. 

Good luck!  

tennisanddance

kellyrn9956:

tennisanddance:

(And with this, I should probably intro onto 3T as they may have more experience, though I know some of them post on this board also.)

When you get your SA results, you could post them on 3T. There are a lot of ladies there, myself included, that have dealt with male factor fertility issues. Thanks. This was my intent with the comment above.