Acupuncture

Ok so the last addition to the 'sperm morphology improvement regime' relates to acupuncture.

Acupuncture is something I've always been curious about, I've had it in the past for a hip injury and it definitely 100% helped (the injury cleared up a few days after the acupuncture, coincidence? perhaps, perhaps not).

I've done some reading up on it and there does seem to be some evidence that it can also improve semen parameters.

In Chinese medicine there is a lot of talk of meridian lines & energy flows which can become blocked through things like poor lifestyle or diet. These blockages can cause health problems which can in theory lead to things like poor sperm morphology. Acupuncture combined with Chinese herbal medicine can in help to improve these energy flows, and return the body to its natural state.

In western terms, Acupuncture basically works by having loads of needles stuck into your body at key points, depending on the positioning of these needles, they basically 'sends a biomechanical signal' to the body, which causes a 'biochemical response' in the body.

There are studies here, here and a writeup here which are definitely worth reading. The general consensus appears to be that it can help improve overall sperm health.

Unfortunately a lot of the studies out there have patients receiving 2 sessions a week, acupuncture is a pricey experience, and i simply cannot afford it that frequently! However i wanted to give it a go anyway, so i booked myself in for a session.

The acupuncturist asked me a lot of questions about my health and lifestyle, took a look at my tongue and my semen analysis results, and then stuck a load of needles along my arms and legs and around my belly. She said she'd seen my kind of result before, and believed it to be primarily related to excessive heat in the body.

She theorised that a lack of 'nourishment' in my body (i.e. vitamins) probably wasn't an issue due to my high sperm count, she suspected that my lifestyle was fine, however excessive heat in the testicles was simply destroying the production process.

She suggested i go to a urologist and get checked for a Varicocele, (big vein in the testies that generate a lot or heat). Although my testies look fine to me, there could be a large problematic vein i cant see which could be causing trouble.

She also suggested i wear shorts, boxers, 'ice the balls' regularly, and don't sit down for lengthy periods of time, as this should all help cool things down and hopefully, improve the sperm morphology.

Day 0 - The test results

So today, after 18 months of trying to conceive, I picked up the results of my sperm test.

They're not great;

0% Normal morphology. Zero. The doctor said he's only ever seen one other case like it.

Diagnosis; Severe Teratozoospermia, technically I'm totally infertile.

The doctor informs me Teratozoospermia (aka Teratospermia) is a condition whereby the sperm are simply unable to penetrate the egg due to their shape. In my case the heads are either too big, too small, too long or too short, and the egg just wont allow it. Theres a video on this website which better explains things, anything below 4% morphology and you are classed as having Teratozoospermia.

As things currently stand, 0% morphology suggests i have literally zero chance of getting my wife pregnant, and this thought genuinely saddens me to my very core.

But I've decided I'm not going to sit here and cry about it, I'm going to research the hell out of this condition and I'm going to try and fix it.

I've searched around the internet and cant find much about Teratozoospermia, there're a few websites that provide more information on the condition, but not much support out there from the male perspective (as far as i can see so far anyway). So i figure I'd start a blog to detail my journey. If i happen to stumble across a regime or 'cure' which significantly improves my morphology i figure its best to share it with the world.

The doctor has given me some advice on improving my sperm morphology, and wants to see me again in 3 months for a retest. He said there are a few ray's of hope on my results; The motility (51%) and the volume (437 million) is quite good. Theres a chance a few of my guys are making it to the egg on a regular basis, they just cant crack it.

But If i can get the morphology up to just 1%, that equates to a whopping 4.37 million normal sperm, and our chances of successfully conceiving go up dramatically.

So that's my target, 1%.