DH's SA is completed, count looks a bit low

katekat8721

So DH's SA results came back. We still have to wait to schedule my HSG before we meet with the RE and we can go over everything, but I noticed that his volume and count looked a bit low and I was wondering what you guys think.

Volume: 1ml
pH: 8.5
Spematozoa rapid %: 40
Spermatozoa slow%: 10
Spermatozoa immotile: 40%
Spermatozoa nonprogressive: 10%
Sperm Count: 10.5
Spermatozoa morphology: 48

To be honest I'm not quite sure how the rapid, slow, immotile and nonprogressive numbers all average out so all I've been focusing on is the count and morphology. 

Isn't 10.5 a little on the low side? Did anyone's DH have a low count due to a fluke and then had a higher count for the re-do?

Thanks!

ShelleyBQ

10.5 million/ml is a little low.  Normal is 20 million+.  Yes, the numbers can vary from test to test, so it would be a good idea to repeat it.  My ob/gen had my husband repeat his after 3 months, because it takes 3 months for your current lifestyle to show in the results (ex: if he quit smoking or drinking now, you wouldn't see the results for 3 months).  But some doctors have the guy do another SA within a couple weeks, just to see if the numbers change, since one sample isn't really enough to conclusively know if there is a problem.

katekat8721

Thanks Shelley! I got off the phone with our nurse and she wants DH to come back in later this week. DH is a pretty healthy, nonsmoker, nondrinker, takes his vitamins every day kinda guy. Hopefully we will know more with the second sample. Until then I should probably stay off Dr. Google!

BellaLux

Hi Kate! Sorry I can't really provide much assistance, as I understand that every clinic may use a different range/criteria. With the results did you also get a "normal range" scale for comparison? In any case, I hope all is well and the repeat shows the same. Good luck!

katekat8721

Hey Bella, yeah it had the normal range listed next to his numbers. He was above normal in everything but volume (they say 2ml is norm) and count (they want 20 mil or more). DH is feeling bummed out right now and I'm just trying to be extra loving to him. I always assumed I'd have problems because my mom did. I didn't really think to prepare us for if/when he had problems!

maggie2324

You actually want a minimum of 40 million total per sample (20 mil/mL in 2+mL) with at least 20 million motile. You only have about 6 million motile there because the count and volume are low. The forward progression looks very good actually, which is very encouraging when you're looking at doing IUI. (Our poor forward progression is what killed our chances with IUI).

Hopefully you can get some improvements in the next sample. As it stands, those numbers are barely good enough for IUI (although 10 million motile would be much better). Good luck! 

katekat8721

maggie2324:

You actually want a minimum of 40 million total per sample (20 mil/mL in 2+mL) with at least 20 million motile. You only have about 6 million motile there because the count and volume are low. The forward progression looks very good actually, which is very encouraging when you're looking at doing IUI. (Our poor forward progression is what killed our chances with IUI).

Hopefully you can get some improvements in the next sample. As it stands, those numbers are barely good enough for IUI (although 10 million motile would be much better). Good luck! 

Dang, that's what I've been reading too. So of the 10 mil only 6 mil are alive and of those 6 mil only 40% are moving the right way. That's discouraging. Hopefully his retest on Monday goes better. Poor DH has been researching this all weekend.