DH's SA results, low morphology

madelyn07 · June 2009

I just got the results of DH's SA that was done yesterday. His count is good (30 million), his motility is good (64%) but his morphology is low. They said it should be 14%, his is 9%. They are going to do a culture to see if there is an infection and we won't know those results until Monday. If the culture comes back negative and his sperm are imparied (she also said there were a lot of round cells) what exactly would this mean for us? She said the sperm may just not be maturing properly. What is done to treat that? She didn't give me a lot of information about it because we can't try this cycle anyway due to my cyst, and she said the doctor would tell us more at our next appointment but that isn't until July 20th.

She told me to pick up a supplement for him to start taking (Fertility Blend, Daily Wellness Company).

I'm honestly really shocked right now. I was 110% sure that our issues were all mine (especially after finding out that I have another large cyst yesterday). I really wasn't expecting this.

Anyone have any knowledge on this issue?

Thanks ladies.

ginger67 · June 2009

My boyfriend is younger then me and super healthy so we were both shocked when the first two SA's came back at 0% morph. I put him on the vitamins,dont remember name, similiar to what you mentioned and our next SA came back at a much improved 16% morph.

cheekyali · June 2009

Some RE's do not even think morphology is an issue, and 9% is actually very close to normal, so I think you guys are in pretty good shape.

ladychicago · June 2009

hey hon... first of all, do a repeat SA. SA results can vary WIDELY depending on the time of the analysis. do another one to confirm what the first one found.

low morph is tough. definitely get him on the vitamins and make sure nothing else is wrong. but morphology is one of those things that is difficult to improve. we're borderline low morph, and our goal has been to use vitamins and lifestyle changes to increase his counts, so that even if the percentage morph stays the same, his overall number of good sperm goes up. does that make sense?

with severely low morphology, couples are often told that IVF with ICSI (where they actually inject a good sperm into the egg in the lab) is their only option.

i know all of this is REALLY overwhelming. (((HUGS)))

madelyn07 · June 2009

Really?!?

Wow...the nurse made it sound like it was really not good at all. She just kept saying that the doctor would fill us in at our next appointment...the doctor would tell us more...since we are sitting this cycle out, she'd rather the doctor inform us of everything else...

Whew. I feel better now. Thanks ladies!

madelyn07 · June 2009

ladychicago:

hey hon...     first of all, do a repeat SA.   SA results can vary WIDELY depending on the time of the analysis.   do another one to confirm what the first one found.

low morph is tough.    definitely get him on the vitamins and make sure nothing else is wrong.    but morphology is one of those things that is difficult to improve. we're borderline low morph, and our goal has been to use vitamins and lifestyle changes to increase his counts, so that even if the percentage morph stays the same, his overall number of good sperm goes up. does that make sense?

with severely low morphology, couples are often told that IVF with ICSI (where they actually inject a good sperm into the egg in the lab) is their only option.

i know all of this is REALLY overwhelming. (((HUGS)))

Thanks LC. We will do a repeat, probably when we go back in July. It will all depend on the results of the culture I guess. If you don't mind sharing, what type of lifestyle changes are you trying to implement? I'll pick up the supplements either tonight or tomorrow but he's in New Jersey recruiting until Sunday so he'll start taking them then, I guess.

And you are right, this is very overwhelming. I just wasn't expecting anything on his end, I guess I shouldn't have ruled it out.

cheekyali · June 2009

Read the entry 'sperm morphology mythology" from a prominent RE at NYU's blog: https://infertilityblog.blogspot.com/search?q=morphology

ladychicago · June 2009

madelyn07:
ladychicago:

hey hon...     first of all, do a repeat SA.   SA results can vary WIDELY depending on the time of the analysis.   do another one to confirm what the first one found.

low morph is tough.    definitely get him on the vitamins and make sure nothing else is wrong.    but morphology is one of those things that is difficult to improve. we're borderline low morph, and our goal has been to use vitamins and lifestyle changes to increase his counts, so that even if the percentage morph stays the same, his overall number of good sperm goes up. does that make sense?

with severely low morphology, couples are often told that IVF with ICSI (where they actually inject a good sperm into the egg in the lab) is their only option.

i know all of this is REALLY overwhelming. (((HUGS)))

Thanks LC. We will do a repeat, probably when we go back in July. It will all depend on the results of the culture I guess. If you don't mind sharing, what type of lifestyle changes are you trying to implement? I'll pick up the supplements either tonight or tomorrow but he's in New Jersey recruiting until Sunday so he'll start taking them then, I guess.

And you are right, this is very overwhelming. I just wasn't expecting anything on his end, I guess I shouldn't have ruled it out.

PP is right... i should have aid that the role of morphology in IF is still kinda unknown. maybe people with 0% morph go on to get pregnant on their own or with IUIs.

DH started taking vitamins, wearing thinner boxer shorts (rather than the boxer briefs he was wearing), is drinking less, and we cut back on the small amount of social smoking we did with certain friends. His counts improved a fair amount (16m to 28m) in 5 months.

madelyn07 · June 2009

ladychicago:
madelyn07:
ladychicago:

hey hon...     first of all, do a repeat SA.   SA results can vary WIDELY depending on the time of the analysis.   do another one to confirm what the first one found.

low morph is tough.    definitely get him on the vitamins and make sure nothing else is wrong.    but morphology is one of those things that is difficult to improve. we're borderline low morph, and our goal has been to use vitamins and lifestyle changes to increase his counts, so that even if the percentage morph stays the same, his overall number of good sperm goes up. does that make sense?

with severely low morphology, couples are often told that IVF with ICSI (where they actually inject a good sperm into the egg in the lab) is their only option.

i know all of this is REALLY overwhelming. (((HUGS)))

Thanks LC. We will do a repeat, probably when we go back in July. It will all depend on the results of the culture I guess. If you don't mind sharing, what type of lifestyle changes are you trying to implement? I'll pick up the supplements either tonight or tomorrow but he's in New Jersey recruiting until Sunday so he'll start taking them then, I guess.

And you are right, this is very overwhelming. I just wasn't expecting anything on his end, I guess I shouldn't have ruled it out.

PP is right...    i should have aid that the role of morphology in IF is still kinda unknown. maybe people with 0% morph go on to get pregnant on their own or with IUIs.

DH started taking vitamins, wearing thinner boxer shorts (rather than the boxer briefs he was wearing), is drinking less, and we cut back on the small amount of social smoking we did with certain friends.    His counts improved a fair amount (16m to 28m) in 5 months.

Thanks. That is encouraging. DH really does need to cut back on his drinking. Of course I've been "hounding" him about it forever but when the doctor told him that yesterday, I *think* the point may have been driven home. And now hopefully with these results, it will be driven home even further.

itsmevkb · June 2009

I'm one of those people who has a husband with 0% morph and we conceived our son with no medical intervention at all. When ttc #2 I had developed some issues which our RE said were the major issues, not the incredibly bad morph. He even said that ICSI wasn't an absolute necessity, although we decided to use it anyway.

You have to understand that a human being is making the determination as to what "normal" sperm look like and then how many "normal" sperm your husband has. It is suspected that non-normal sperm may not be able to penetrate an egg but it's not proven. And, when talking about morph, you also have to realize that even a low percentage could give you plenty of normal sperm if his count is high.

I certainly don't think taking vitamins is a bad idea but I would say ask a ton of questions and really question if the doc says that you need to go straight to IVF solely because of low morph.

itsmevkb · June 2009

Oh, and I forgot to add that I feel very strongly about this because we were told by our first RE that because of my husbands 0% morph that we would probably never have another child and that even if I were able to get pregnant that I would either miscarry or something would be wrong with the baby. I was horrified that he would say such things, specially since he was wrong on all accounts, as evidenced by my beautiful, healthy daughter.

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