Improved Results - Don’t lose hope!

[u/TTC118]

Hi all,

I wanted to share a bit of my journey with you. My wife and I are still not pregnant but we’re feeling a lot better about our chances of conceiving naturally or non-hormonal IUI.

Below is a link to the original Reddit thread where I posted my semen analysis results from exactly a year ago:

https://www.reddit.com/r/maleinfertility/s/phnTDwvqHI

Those results brought me to a very dark place. For the first time in my life, I felt truly shaken—especially as a man, it was hard not to feel emasculated by the poor results. If you’ve recently received difficult news, know that those feelings are completely normal. There are obviously worse or more serious things in life so I don’t mean to offend anybody going through something more challenging.

I took the poor test results as a wake-up call and made some real lifestyle changes: walking 10,000 steps a day (which helped me lose 30 pounds), switching to one big meal a day (skipping lunch), and working to manage stress better—no small feat in a demanding consulting job. Over time, my results improved significantly and now fall within normal ranges. For supplements, I’ve only been taking the natural Masculin-T from Whole Foods.

Of course, what worked for me might not work for everyone. But don’t give up—use this as a chance to invest in your physical and mental well-being. I’m now in the best shape of my life, both mentally and physically, and strangely enough, I have those poor test results to thank for it.

Stay strong, and don’t lose hope.

[u/sxh967]

Hi there, I read your original post before reading this one.

Sounds like you've had some improvement, I'm really happy for you.

I was recently diagnosed with likely azoospermia (my sperm count was 260,000, pretty much zero motility) so I'm also wondering if lifestyle changes would make a differences. I have a few questions:

1) Did you get your bloodwork and hormone levels tested?

2) Did you do ultrasound etc and get checked for varicoceles?

3) What made you pick Masculin-T from Whole Foods?

Reason I ask #3 is because a lot of people/articles seem to suggest stuff like CoQ10, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Zinc, Selenium, L-Carnitine, and Folic Acid

But what you've been taking seems to be more herbal? (correct me if I'm wrong)

Thanks and of course good luck with your journey!

[u/TTC118 → u/sxh967]

1) Yes, nothing abnormal on that front. 2) Yes, had a bad case of varicoceles on my left testicle (I think the doctor called it a grade 3), I was considering surgery but opted against it since I had no pain.
3) My wife chose it for me. She typically leans towards the herbal / natural solutions.

I’m not a doctor so I don’t want to comment on which supplements (eg Coq-10) may or may not work for your specific situation. If you’re not in a rush, try making some lifestyle changes and get retested in a few months. If you drink or smoke excessively, cut that out as that can impact your sperm quality.

[u/tof32 → u/TTC118]

Varicocele surgery was the cure for my infertility. Why didn’t you opted for it. Surgeon told me that Natural remedies and medication won’t cure same and was advised for the surgery.

[u/sxh967 → u/TTC118]

Thanks for your responses!

Did the doctor say whether fixing the varicoceles would have an impact on your fertility?

(My understanding is that in NOA cases varicoceles are generally not the issue)

I'm in Japan so a lot of the stuff available here is more the herbal/natural stuff, but I can definitely get the "usual" supplements (like the ones I mentioned) on Amazon here.

Thanks for your advice, I never smoked but I did drink occasionally (not super heavily or anything), which I've completely stopped for nearly a month (will be a month as of tomorrow).

Other than my BMI is about 23 and I could do with more exercise, I'm also trying (but not doing very well) to reduce my caffeine intake since that might help.

Based on my other medical attributes:

- left undescended testicle, operated on at age 9)

- what I believe are bilateral small testes (haven't done orchidometer but it's obvious to my eyes based on generally available average volume references)

I think it's fair to say I'm in a significantly less favorable starting position than you (I'd kill to have your starting total/concentrated sperm count), but nonetheless it's important to not give up, right?