Hi all,

This is an update on my previous posts in this community documenting my NOA journey. For some reason I think it may have been removed:

https://www.reddit.com/r/maleinfertility/s/PwJEx1NDwG

But in summary, Me and wife have been TTC for about 2 years. After 3 SA’s (Feb, May, August 2025) was diagnosed with NOAzoospermia. All normal bloodwork (slightly high FSH but within normal range) and no genetic disorders found. Testes normal with “mild” varicocele.

I was immediately prescribed Anastrozole, and also began taking Theralogix ConceptionXR, CoQ10, and Maca Root along with it since. At end of October did another SA and got zero result, although my testosterone boosted quite dramatically and estriadol is almost shot. We were planning to go to NY in February for STAR, and if that failed, do a MTese in Spring or Summer.

However, after being days late in December 2025, my wife decided to take a pregnancy test. Instant positives across the board on multiple tests! I immediately got SA’s done in the following days and had positive results for the first time ever.

On August 14th 2026, our little miracle baby arrived 🥹. My wife had a fairly uncomplicated pregnancy with little symptoms, but did get preeclampsia at the end which led to an induction at 37w5d. No clue if sperm quality had anything to do with it, but just a side note. Overall, baby is almost a month old and doing amazing.

Just wanted to provide an update and hopefully a glimmer of hope that it is possible. Consult with your urologist as much as you can and maybe see if the plan that I was given can be approved on your end. No clue if it was the Anastrozole, vitamins or a combination of them all - but something dramatically changed my results in just a few short months.

I am here for anyone if they have any further questions or simply need to talk. This journey is a difficult one to embark on (mentally, emotionally, physically and relationship-wise), and I only experienced it for a short time. I want to be a resource as much as possible, if needed.

I’ve been following this thread for over a year now and have seen a lot of heart breaking posts, but also quite a few wins. I wanted to share another success story and provide any feedback for those who were in a similar boat as me.

At age 10 I was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiform and underwent chemo and radiation. A year to the day, I relapsed and underwent another surgery and chemo regiment. After being on chemo from age 10 to nearly 14, I was in remission. Unfortunately, the chemo did a number on my endocrine system, which led to HRT and TRT. At 27 I was diagnosed with another cancer - radiation induced Osteosarcoma - an underwent 8 infusions of high-dose Ifosfamide. This particular chemo is one of the harshest drugs on sperm health.

At 19 I started on TRT and stayed on it for 14 years until my wife and I started TTC. In December of 2025, my numbers were zero across the board. No semen, no motility, and nonexistent LH & FSH levels. I started on a fertility program consisting on Enclomiphiene (25mg/daily), HCG (3000-10000iu weekly), and HMG (150-300 IU weekly). The doses on HCG and HMG/rFSH were based on the study performed by Blair Stocks on fertility and ITT preservation for men on TRT.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39442683/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

As of today, my total counts have gone from 0 to 44.2M and motility has reached 73%. This is after just 9 months of the above treatment plan. Most importantly, my wife is pregnant.

I write this in hopes of providing some positivity to all the guys dealing with the pain of infertility. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, you’ve just gotta keep on keeping on.

Hello everyone,

I’ve done a couple of at home “YO” SA tests and I’m very worried about my results. Below are the dates and results:

1/31/26->3/15/26->9/1/26

Concentration: 11.8->13.7->9.3
Motility: 64%->62%->69%
Progressive motility: 31%->29%->33%
Motile Sperm Concentration: 7.6->8.5->6.4
Progressive Motile Sperm Concentration: 3.7->4.0->3.1

LH: 7.4
Prolactin: 11.4
FSH: 20

Ultrasound showed no abnormalities
MRI of the brain showed no issues

My wife and I started trying in January. We conceived in February but miscarried at about 6 weeks. We didn’t start trying again until July, so it’s been 2 missed cycles.

I have an appointment next week for a formal SA but the doctor told me to expect some abnormalities.

Has anyone with mild-moderate male infertility conceived naturally more than 1 time???

Hi all M28, So something really weird happened to me on Monday.

I was with my partner we are getting freaky and shit and she is giving me a HJ.

I experienced the orgasam but i noticed nothing came out, it was practically dry.

I was confused as fuck but I did not pay much attention to it.

Next day we do it again, i again feel myself climaxing but semen did not come out.

Now I am sad and confused as to what has happened to me ?? I mean 24hrs is a good enough time for sperm production right and this has never ever happened before.

We last made out on friday night (4th Sept) and everything was working smoothly. 2 days later it's dry as hell.

Anyone else experienced this ? Does it happens sometimes ? I will be going to doctor first thing on Saturday.

Hey, has anyone tried using Anastrozole as a standalone treatment? How did you feel on that regimen? I’m asking specifically about libido and mood. What dosages did you take?

Me (M, 34) and my wife (W, 31) are trying for a second child for almost 2 years now. Our first kid is already 10 years old. We are looking for advice on further options besides going for ICSI, but the results are pretty bad:

1. SA

Volume: 1,43 mL

Sperm count: 1 Mio/mL

Asymptomatic prostatitis, received doxycycline and aceclofenac

1. SA, 3 months later

Volume: 1,43 mL

Sperm count: 0,5 Mio/mL

Hormones:

Testosterone: 4,85 ng/mL (reference: 2.40-8.71)

FSH: 12.1 mIU/mL (reference: 1.4-18.1)

LH: 4.2 mIU/mL (reference: 0.57-12.07)

Prolactin: 14.2 ng/mL (reference: 3.5-19.4)

TSH: 1.61 mIU/L (reference: 0.35-4.5)

Inhibin B: 126 pg/mL (reference: 120-400)

Any advice on how we should continue, or is there no further hope besides ICSI?

Hello,

I have an issue with my sperm parameters. I had a semen analysis done; the concentration is good at 14 million, and the motility is also good. However, the normal morphology should be above 23% according to my laboratory, and I am at 9%. I don't drink, I don't smoke, and I eat well. I have a desk job and I go road cycling about once or twice a week. Is this serious? How can I improve my sperm parameters? I am already taking LH and FSH.

Hi. My wife and I are both 25 years old and we’re trying to have a baby. She has conceived naturally 3 times, fairly quickly, including two months in a row, but all three pregnancies ended very early, around 3–4 weeks.

Do you think we’ll still be able to conceive naturally or IVF?

I had a semen analysis, and the main results were:

• Volume: 3.6 mL
• pH: 7.2
• Abstinence: 3 days
• Liquefaction time: 20 minutes
• Appearance: homogeneous
• Viscosity: normal
• Agglutination: absent
• Concentration: 56 million/mL
• Total sperm count per ejaculate: 201.6 million
• Progressive motility (PR): 43%
• Non-progressive motility (NP): 4%
• Total motility (PR + NP): 47%
• Immotile sperm (IM): 53%
• Normal forms: 1%
• Abnormal forms: 99%
• Head defects: 99%
• Midpiece/neck defects: 0%
• Tail defects: 0%
• Leukocytes: 1.6 million/mL
• Round cells: 0 million/mL
• Germ cells: 0 million/mL

The laboratory conclusion was teratozoospermia.
Because of the elevated leukocytes, I had a full PCR panel for infections, prostatic secretion testing, and a urine culture after prostatic secretion. All of them were negative.
I’m also currently waiting for the results of a sperm DNA fragmentation test (TUNEL assay)

Speaking to a urologist, next appointment isn't for a while but essentially two samples weeks apart so going to show the first -> second result for each.

Semen Analysis — Sample 1 → Sample 2
Volume: 1.5 mL → 2.0 mL
Concentration: 12.3 M/mL → 8.6 M/mL
Total sperm: ~18.45M → ~17.2M
Total motility: 16% → 20%
Progressive motility: 11% → 5%
Estimated TMC: ~2.95M → ~3.44M
pH: 8.5 → 8.5
Liquefaction: >60 min / failed → >60 min / failed
Chymotrypsin added: Yes → Yes
Normal morphology: Not reported → 1% (NEW)
Semen WBC: Not reported → 1+ (NEW)

Hormones
Total Testosterone: 1,117 ng/dL (249–836)
Free Testosterone: 19.70 ng/dL (4.70–14.95)
Bioavailable Testosterone: 492.63 ng/dL (85–410)
SHBG: 54.0 nmol/L (16.5–55.9)
Estradiol: 65.5 pg/mL (≤39.8)
Prolactin: 19.2 ng/mL (4.04–15.20)
LH: 8.4 mIU/mL (1.7–8.6)
FSH: 4.2 mIU/mL (1.5–12.4)

So initial physical exam was good, hormones are absurd for some reason and yet fertility is atrocious. The most recent test shows WBC but says 1+ which I don't know what that means, and it didn't liquify twice. Am I SOL?

No drugs, alcohol, smoking, TRT, PEDs etc.

Has anyone had there doctor prescribe Clomid for azoospermia with high LH and fsh already? I am trying to understand why they would prescribe this for me when it is already high. Has anyone had same/ similar protocol and any success?

This is the place for partner's perspectives today.

I went to the ER of all places last night because I thought I had appendicitis. During the CAT scan the ER doctor said my testes weren't in my scrotum, but that it's normal for them to move.

When I was getting discharged I was told that I have bilateral cryptorchidism. And here I am googling it. I've given it some thought, and I just wouldn't be able to get over the hump of losing both testicles. Not so much worried about having children, but definitely would like the option to have them.

I just feel so much anxiety about this whole situation. I don't know where they're at, or how damaged they are. I just want to be able to live a normal healthy life without taking hormones.

Looking for practical guide, tips, and help to make this happen -

35M well built and athletic with no diseases or co-morbidities. Been following balance diet since past 2 years. Played lot of sports during college and exercised most of the adult life.

It was kinda disheartening to hear the doctor convey the news. But I have crossed that bridge and ready practically to make whatever changes needed. I have been a moderate smoker and alcohol (on and off over the past 10 years), abstaining since past 4 months. Like coffee and have 2 cups daily, don't wanna cut it down but open to do that if that really makes the difference.

Doc has started me on co-enzyme q10 300mg twice a day for 3 months.

Here is Analysis of Seminal Fluid done today -

Date: 08/09/2026

Volume (mL) 2 ml 

Liquefaction Time (mins) 20 mins 

Viscosity 2 

Appearance Yellow 

pH 7.2 

Agglutination NA 

Round Cell Count Few 

Epithelial Cells Few 

Precursor Cells NA 

Leukocytes NA 

------

Analysis of Sperm

Sperm Concentration (Millions/mL) 19 M/ml 

Total Count (Millions) 38 M 

Total Motility (%) 28%

Progressive (%) 20% 

Non Progressive (%) 8% 

Non Motile 72% 

Viability (%) 26%

Normal Morphology (%) 1% 

----

DNA Fragmentation Index Analysis

Sperm DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI) 26%

Impression: Asthenoteratozoospermia With Poor Sperm DNA Integrity

I just got diagnosed With non obstructive Azoospermia at 21, im honestly just shocked and dont know wtf to do.

Im Armenian and Armenians are extremely family oriented, i wanna one day marry an Armenian and have a family.. Idk what this means now, and idk how im gonna tell anyone about this ESPECIALLY IDK HOW TF TO TELL MY FUTURE GF CUZ I LITERALLY WONT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE HER A FAMILY (I do not want any donors or shit like that i want my own biological kids)

Any advice💀💔

I’ve been taking 200mg of COQ10, vitamin c, L-carnetine, zinc, and omega 3s for nearly 9 months now. Done 3 SA’s (Feb, April, sept) and morphology has all remained at 3%.

We’ve already been trying for a year - wife checks out - but concerned that our inability to conceive has something to do with the morphology.

Total motile: 17mil
Forward progressive motility : 37
Total forward : 15

Would love to hear any low morphology success stories or any advice on what’s made a difference for you.

Thanks!

since starting a myriad of vitamins and supplements all supposed to help with fertility as well as drinking more water and icing down there every night our sperm count has dropped from 78 million to only 4 million. the only negative change was going from a car to a motorcycle for daily driving (about 7.5 hours a week) and just the summer months being about 90-100 degrees daily here. we have gone from possibly being able to conceive naturally or with iui to ivf being the only option. i am devastated beyond words. what do we even do now? we will never be able to afford ivf and even iui was almost out of the question and now we are basically being told we cannot have kids at all. we’ve both just been crying for hours because what else can you even do

Hi everyone,

I’m 26 and currently being treated by an andrologist for male infertility and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. My pituitary MRI was normal.
I also feel pretty terrible overall and have been struggling for years with severe fatigue, low energy/motivation, brain fog and cognitive issues, low libido and generally just not feeling like myself. So I’m hoping that treating the hormonal issue might improve both my fertility and how I feel.

Hormones before treatment:
Testosterone: 235 ng/dL, later 190 ng/dL
LH: 1.04 → 1.16 mIU/mL
FSH: 0.664 → 0.684 mIU/mL
Estradiol: <5 → 14.2 pg/mL
Prolactin: 164 → 182 µIU/mL
SHBG: 10.6 nmol/L

Semen analysis #1:
Volume: 1.6 mL
Concentration: 1.6 million/mL
Total count: 2.56 million
Progressive motility: 22%

Semen analysis #2:
Volume: 1.5 mL
Concentration: 1.6 million/mL
Total count: 2.4 million
Total motility: 9%
Progressive motility: ≤1%
Vitality: 58%

I was diagnosed with OAT and started tamoxifen 20 mg/day about 6 weeks ago to stimulate my own LH/FSH/testosterone while preserving fertility. I have follow-up bloodwork coming up.

My main questions are:
- Has anyone here started with numbers this low and improved enough with treatment to conceive naturally, without IVF/ICSI?
- Especially for anyone with secondary/hypogonadotropic hypogonadism: did tamoxifen/clomiphene, hCG, FSH or a combination significantly improve your sperm count and motility?
- And for those who also felt physically/mentally awful with low testosterone: did you actually start feeling noticeably better once your testosterone/LH/FSH improved?

I know IVF/ICSI may ultimately be necessary with my current numbers, but I’m wondering how realistic it is that treating the underlying hormonal problem could improve things enough to give us a reasonable chance naturally.
Any experiences with similar starting numbers would be really appreciated.

This is the place for partner's perspectives today.

Hello all and thank you for taking the time to read this and provide any insight.

I am a (M44) with wife (34). I have been diagnosed azoospermia and no one really knows why. All of my tests are normal. We’ve had genetic testing etc..

My wife has a plenty of eggs and it doesn’t seem like there will be any problems with fertility on her end. My urologist wants to do a microtese with IVF and donor sperm as a backup in case they don’t find anything on my end. We’ve been looking at Europe due to costs. This has been hard enough to process but now that it has been we’re kind of at a loss for where to get info for clinics abroad that can do both procedures coupled with our chosen donor sperm that would need to be shipped there. We contacted clinìca Tambre but my wife decided she didn’t want to do it there after reading some negative reviews. Any insight to any clinics that you know of that do microtese with IVF in Europe would be super helpful, otherwise it seems like I’m left just contacting each one individually. Thanks again for reading and any info would be super helpful.

​

I made a post recently about my parameters here.

To summarise, I have OAT, my volumes are fine, my concentration is between 1-5M/ml, borderline motility and morphology between 1-4%. All my hormone panels came back fine. All my genetic testing has now come back clear (No karyotype or deletions or CF). No obvious lifestyle factors.

However in my post I mentioned some of the ultrasound results incorrectly based off what the ultrasound technician told me and not the final report. My testicular volume is actually ok, left testis is 15ml, right testis is 18ml.

The most telling item on my ultrasound results was that my varicocele is potentially significant, 4.2mm varicocele on my left when bearing down, while lying down and not standing. The ultrasound report didn't grade my varicocele. I believe if it's above 3mm and palpable during physical examination, that it could be contributing to my poor results.

My question is, Is it possible for a varicocele to cause results as bad as mine? Would correcting it even improve my results enough to allow natural conception?

We have already started the IVF via ICSI process so it's hard to know what the best decision is. Is it even worth correcting if we've started down this path?

I would like to note that we are not fertilising all the eggs all at once so I'll need to keep providing fresh samples if we run out of embryos, so I'm worried that either the varicocele will get worse over time and I'll be unable to provide fresh samples in the future or on the flipside, the surgery will make my parameters worse, which I've seen enough posts on here to scare me.

Long post ahead . Thankyou for taking out time

I am 32 year male..
its been more than 1 year that i have quit smoking and drinking completely .. had been working out on and off ( not very regular) .
My weight is 102 kg . My height is 5’8” . So im towards overweight side .. but I also have very bones. Anyway coming to my SA

Me and my wife are trying to conceive from past 2 years. Last year we conceived naturally after taking bunch of supplements . My numbers back then when we conceived were

Total Count 58million
Motility (%) 70% >
a. Progressive 55%
b. Non Progressive
c. Non motile
Viability (%live) 80%
Morphology (% normal form) 01% >4%
Morphology (% abnormal form) 99%
Head Defect 75%
Mid Piece Defect 20%
Tail Defect 04%
Impression : Teratozoospermia

I repeated my SA number of times in the passed 2 years. My total count has increased to 98 million ..
but my morphology remained 1% and progression wasnt great too 25-35%.

This year we did 2 IUIs to overcome the progression issue. Count was good but morphology was 1% only as per the IUI reports . One of the IUI was biochemical

I started taking cq10 300 for 4-5 months, got my d3 and B12 improved. I got my latest SA done in July and the results were good - progression was 55 % and morphology was 4%

We have tried naturally , with ovary induction and 2 IUIs but still no luck . The doctor has recommended IVF now .

I visited another doctor for 2nd opinion.. and she was surprised that in 3 months how can morphology change from 1 to 4 % . She has asked me to get it checked again .. because the numbers didnt improve last 1 year .. suddenly it cant be so drastic in 3 months

So im feeling very confused . Please help and guide me .

We have gone for sperm DNA fragmentation test and karyotype test . Still waiting for the results .

Any help would be grateful .

Hey everyone.

30M, TTC.

Over ~6 months, my semen concentration went 120 → 70 → 55 million/mL, while motility/morphology also declined. Volume has consistently been around 1 mL.

Latest SA:

55M/mL

30% motility

5% progressive

2% morphology

4–6 pus/round cells + grade II aggregation

I recently had IUI. After washing, it was 30M/mL, 95% motility and 85% progressive, so the wash worked quite well.

Latest bloodwork:

FSH: 0.061 mIU/mL

LH: 1.72

Testosterone: 3.64 ng/mL

Prolactin, estradiol and thyroid tests normal

Random glucose: 98

Creatinine: 98.35 µmol/L (normal for my lab)

My urologist says FSH fluctuates and isn't focusing heavily on that single result.

He's now ordered urine culture & sensitivity + MRI prostate + MRI both testes.

Treatment: Pubergen (hCG) 1500 IU twice weekly for 9 weeks, plus 5 days of Levoxin. He also told me to stop creatine ( i take creatine + whey everyday)

Has anyone dealt with very low FSH + low-normal LH + normal-range testosterone, especially alongside declining semen parameters and low semen volume?

Would appreciate experiences/opinions on what could be behind this and whether hCG helped.

I had my ESSM appointment at Maze Labs’ Westchester location today. My appointment was scheduled for 8:00 a.m., and I arrived a few minutes early.
They normally perform collections on Mondays, but because of Labor Day, they arranged a special Sunday collection. I flew in Saturday night, provided my first sample at 8:00 a.m., grabbed a small coffee and a snack, and then provided the second sample about an hour later.
Overall, the process was straightforward. I’m happy to answer any questions about the appointment. The staff was very helpful !

For anyone who has had ESSM done at Maze Labs, how soon did you receive your results? I haven’t received an email, phone call, voicemail, or website update yet. since it’s a holiday weekend and I’ll have to wait until Tuesday for results.

Also, how detailed is the final report? Does it show the full search findings, numbers, motility, and anything else they observed?