Hi - we are male factor IF as well, with both low count and motility. We are going to have our first IUI next month.
We were told to have DH keep hydrated and that may help. Sorry I couldn't help much! Good luck.

We have male IF issues also, motility is low. Hubby just started taking ConceptionXR, coQ10 (200 mg), Omega 3 supplements & l-carnitine (500 mg l-carnitine fumarate and 500 mg Acetyl L-carnitine HCl).

The conception XR is from theralogix.com, the other stuff is from another vitamin company I use online. Theralogix also offers a motility blend that includes extra vitamin D & the L-carnitine but it's VERY expensive that's why I got the l-carnitine somewhere else. The conceptionXR was $45 for 3 months worth.

There is also fertility blend and fertilaid that has alot of the same vitamins that the conceptionXR has but in smaller doses. They also offer different herbs in their mixture, whereas the ConceptionXR does not. They run about $75 for 3 months and they don't include much if any l-carnitine, so I wanted to add that because that's specificially for motility. L-arginine is supposed to help with increasing sperm count.

There was a post on here where a gal had her husbands sperm retested after he took the fertility blend for 3 months, it showed remarkable improvement, if I can find it, I'll send you a link so you can see it for yourself.

I'll let you know if I can think of anything else or you're welcome to message me, I've spent hours researching these along with best places to buy, since I'm hoping to get this fixed and conceive soon.

Awhile back I had posted a thread called "fertilaid vs individual supplements" and one of the readers posted this comment, didn't think she'd mind me copy and pasting since it was already posted in previous thread and not in a personal journal. She obviously saw positives from having her DH take the fertitility blend, I believe she said she bought it at cvs.com or drugstore.com.

I know personally it was nice to hear someone say "this worked for my husband", but I like to know how much it worked exactly. I like seeing numbers and seeing where you started and how it helped.

So my husband takes fertility blend and below's the results of SA in July and Dec to show how it has helped. I believe it is the same cost as fertilaid and can be purchased on drugstore.com with free shipping. Hope this helps and wishing you the best of luck!

count 4.7 - Now 18.18
% Motile (visual) 40low - Now - 53 normal
motile sperm (M) - 6.876 - now 33.47
morphology (Kruger) 2.0 low - now 17 normal

The conceptionXR was recommended by another gal on here who had her RE's office give her a sample, so they must endorse it a bit?? I don't know if any of the formulas/brands are better than the other. I just did my research, reading and figured that the ConceptionXR plus some extra supplements worked best for us, pricewise/timewise, it was gamble. But I liked seeing someone elses results. Gave me hope.

My husband started using Fertility Blend (sold on drugstore.com or GNC for $10 more). These pills have worked tremendously.

Below is a side by side look at his numbers from Sept and Dec 27th - these results are pre-washed)

sperm count 7.65 (SA in july was 4.7) - Now 18.18
% Motile (visual) 44 low - Now - 53 normal
total # of motile sperm (M) - 11.711 - now 33.47
Normal morphology (Kruger) 2.0 low - now 17 normal

He recently got another SA in March when we switched ER's and the next day they emailed me back with all characteristics were normal. Except his white blood cell count was very high which my other ER never noticed I guess and that can cause infertility - easy fix though, he just had to take antibiotic for 10 days. Good luck!

Wow, Polydoly13 our husbands have the same numbers. That's pretty crazy!

Wow - I must look like a dope, I just saw it's my thread you copied and pasted LOL I didn't read the whole thing. I don't mind at all. Anything to help someone out ;)

vmarie, you gave me a good laugh. I remembered you had helped me when I first posted a similar question, so I wanted to pass your info on.

We also got poor results from my husband's SA. My OB told me that his count was good, 46 million per cc, but the quality is low about 25% viable. Is there anything (eating or drinking), other than alcohol, that my husband should avoid? He wears boxer briefs. Would it be better for him to switch to straight boxers?

I am new to this, so please forgive my ignorance if this is stuff I should already know. Thanks for your help.

Seems to be general advice to eat as much fresh fruits/veggies as you can, stay away from processed foods. Limit caffeine, alcohol, tobacco.

Try and add a daily vitamin, specifically zinc, vit D, C, E, folic acid, selenium, omega 3's, coQ10 (is a good antioxidant), l-arginine helps with quantity (maybe even quality), l-carnitine helps with motility. If you search the fertility supplements I mentioned they all list what they contain and in what amounts.

I think boxer briefs are ok as long as there's some wiggle room?? My hubby wears briefs but they are baggy so might as well be boxers. As long as the testes aren't held REAL close to the body, but can descend and "cool off" then it doesn't matter what style. Tight pants aren't good either.

Any changes you make will take 3 months to show results, no quick fix.

Don't worry about "ignorance" - we live in a society where any 15 year old crack whore can get pregnant. Who would think that mature, adult stable women would have to research how to get it done.

Oh some other things I've leanred for helping with male issues, always lay down, elevate your hips for at least 30 minutes post BINGO. Don't go longer than 3 days between "release", if sperm sit in the testes for more than 3 days then they start to breakdown, degrade, whatever. Also only have baby making BINGO every 24 hours, no less than 24 hours cuz it takes that long for sperm to develop a good supply. Some say that hormones are higher in the AM and contribute to better conception.

I think in the feminine product section of the grocery store you should be able to find some soft cups (they are an alternative to tampons) but you can use them for help in conceiving. After sex, you put it in (looks like a diaphragm, would typically catch the blood from AF) but when put in after BINGO, it holds the sperm near the cervix, so hopefully they only have one direction to go.

My DH has always had high sperm count (like 160 mil high) but sometimes they are kind of slow. So we asked our RE about it and the three things he said will help sperm quality are...

1) Do more cardio. This allows the body to pump blood through the kidneys and liver more to remove more chemicals from the Body.

2) Eat more organic food. Food is one of the biggest ways we introduce chemicals into our bodies and there is not a great filter before these chemicals get to the testicles. So reducing chemicals by eating organic (and less processed food) helps.

3) Eat more anti-oxidants and take "sperm juice". What he calls vitamins, LOL. They gave us samples of ConceptionXR which the other ladies have talked about. The nurse said you do not have to buy the ConceptionXR if you do not want, but can get all the same OTC vitamins and take in the same doses. Its just easier in 1 pill and ConceptionXR is not very expensive compaired to some others.

Also, remember it takes 3 months for sperm to grown and mature, so most people say you wont see full results until after 3 months. Good luck!

After reading this whole thread, I feel a little silly for not trying harder with supplements. We had two Urologist tell us there was no hope for a natural conception.

The biggest learning point was no more hot tub for him.

We did an IVF cycle with ICSI and got 9 embryos out of the process. With ICSI 24 out of 25 eggs fertilized. I'm about to start my first frozen cycle.

Thanks for all of the info, ladies! I know doing these things may take our current chances of natural conception of one in a gazillion to one in a trillion but I figure there is no harm in trying to improve those sperm! I also messaged my RE about the Ferilaid to get his opinion. We are also an organic family- I totally believe that may play a role in everything. Again, thanks for everything! best of luck to you all!!

One step that none of the girls mentioned yet was besides having a sperm analysis. Your husband should have a dfi. It's a DNA fragmentation index. The sperm is sent out for special analysis. My husbands reproductive urologist had him do that quite frequently as well. He was also on clomid. He had surgery. Somewhat exploratory in nature. This was at Cornell in NYC. Unfortunately we ended up waiting over a year with all treatments and not significant change. So we used donor sperm and have 3 children. Male factor sucks but there are answers and lots of possibilities. Best wishes. Email me if you need info on dfi

Wow, this thread is great for ideas.
We have male IF confirmed by many SA. Our RE sent DH to the urologists for a quick exam and blood test that came back normal. I feel like the RE just focuses on me, but we think more should be done to find the explanation behind DH's IF.
What's the next step? Go to a second urologist for a second option?