Male Factor Infertility – Looking for Experiences, Success Stories and Improvement

[u/Professional_Fig6851]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for honest experiences from men or couples who have dealt with severe male factor infertility.

My wife is 28 years old and has undergone a full fertility workup. According to our fertility clinic, all of her results are good, and there are currently no known female fertility issues.

On my side, however, we seem to be dealing with male factor infertility.

Semen Analysis #1 (23 Feb 2026)
Raw sample
Volume: 3.0 mL
Sperm concentration: 4.0 million/mL
Total motile sperm (ABC): 2.0 million/mL
Progressive motile sperm (AB): 1.0 million/mL
Total progressive motile sperm (AB): 3.0 million
Morphology: Few abnormal forms
Viscosity: Normal

After sperm wash/preparation
Concentration: 3.0 million/mL
Total progressive motile sperm (AB): 0.5 million
Total motile sperm (ABC): 2.0 million/mL
Progressive motile sperm (AB): 1.0 million/mL
Final volume: 0.5 mL

Semen Analysis #2 (25 Mar 2026)
Raw sample
Volume: 3.0 mL
Sperm concentration: 3.0 million/mL
Total motile sperm (ABC): 2.0 million/mL
Progressive motile sperm (AB): 1.0 million/mL
Total progressive motile sperm (AB): 3.0 million
Morphology: No abnormal forms reported
Viscosity: Low/thin

After sperm wash/preparation
Concentration: 1.0 million/mL
Total progressive motile sperm (AB): 0.5 million
Total motile sperm (ABC): 1.0 million/mL
Progressive motile sperm (AB): 1.0 million/mL
Final volume: 0.5 mL

Background
I’m 29 years old.
I strength train regularly and also practice Muay Thai several times per week. I’m generally in good shape, at a healthy weight, don’t smoke, dont drink alcohol, and eat a healthy diet.

Since March 1st I’ve been trying to optimize everything possible:

CoQ10
Selenium
Omega-3
L-carnitine
Multivitamin
Magnesium
Improved sleep (trying to get 7-8 hours)
Regular exercise
Healthy diet
I understand that sperm production takes around 70–90 days, so I know improvements may take time to show up.

I Will soon take new Sperm tests.

Questions
1 Has anyone achieved a natural pregnancy with similar semen parameters?
2. Did anyone start with numbers like these and see significant improvement later?
3. What made the biggest difference for you?
4. Was a varicocele, hormonal issue, infection, or something else found?
5. Did your clinic recommend IVF/ICSI immediately, or did they advise continuing to try naturally?
6. If your numbers improved, what were your before-and-after results?

I would really appreciate hearing from people with similar starting points, whether the outcome was natural conception, IUI, IVF, ICSI, or significant improvement in semen parameters.

Thanks in advance.

[u/AutoModerator]

Please note: This is a community for men and male perspectives on infertility. Partners and spouses are encouraged to post in the daily recurring partner's thread. If you're new, consider having a look at our most recent community update to gain a better understanding of how this community is different from others. Also, all posts require manual approval which usually happens pretty quickly but might take a few hours. If your post is not approved, consider reading the rules. Hello and thanks for stopping by! As of mid 2025 we're only allowing high effort semen analysis posts with multiple out of range parameters. Please see this Reddit Answers AI response for more information on understanding your semen analysis results. All other male infertility and related discussion is permitted. As always, take any information given as a guide and always discuss further treatment plans with your physicians. Thanks from the Mod Team.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/priyashankar12]

Anyone answer 

[u/DrBrianSteixner]

Before assuming it is irreversible, I’d want a reproductive urology workup: hormones, exam/ultrasound for varicocele, infection/inflammation testing, medication/supplement review, and possibly DNA fragmentation testing. Many men improve if a reversible cause is found, but if counts stay in this range, IVF/ICSI is usually the most efficient path. Best of luck

[u/Professional_Fig6851 → u/DrBrianSteixner]

Hi doc,

Thank you for your reply - much appreciated. I just got full tests today, new SA test. My appointment for ultra sound is in September… but I asked the doctor and he said that only grade 3 would have an impact and If I had grade 3 I would be able to feel it in my sack. Do you have a 2nd opinion on this as this is not something I have read about earlier.

Many thanks in advance.

[u/DrBrianSteixner → u/Professional_Fig6851]

even a grade 2 can have moderate risk of infertility

[u/Mammoth-Drive1856]

See a urologist , my husband had this count , turns out he had varicoceles ( enlarged blood vessels ) in his testicles , had surgery to get them removed , now he’s all good. Count was 2 million before surgery, 3 months post op Count is 30 million.

[u/Professional_Fig6851 → u/Mammoth-Drive1856]

Thank you for your reply - very happy for you and good to hear that improvements can be made.

Do you know which grade they were?

Many thanks in advance.

[u/Aggravating-Wear7222]

We struggled too. Not that low but close. I lived a more unhealthy lifestyle than you so that was a big change for me. My fertility doc said I shouldn’t be wearing spandex tight underwear every day. When I changed it seemed to help I think. It’s hard to say one thing did anything independently . He had me try the fertile fruit underwear and I liked them. 

[u/Professional_Fig6851 → u/Aggravating-Wear7222]

Thank you for time to reply. Did your wife get pregnant naturally? Did your Numbers improve? How Long did it take, etc.

Many thanks in advance.

[u/Aggravating-Wear7222 → u/Professional_Fig6851]

She did get pregnant naturally. My numbers went up about 20-25% across the board. It took 5 months of living with intention to improve my fertility and us get pregnant. 

Wishing you the best of luck!

[u/Professional_Fig6851 → u/Aggravating-Wear7222]

Very happy for you, congratulations.

So just for my understanding, the “only” thing you did was lifestyle improvements and and not wearing tight underwear?

Do you mind sharing how long you TTC before you made these changes?

Thank you!

[u/Aggravating-Wear7222 → u/Professional_Fig6851]

We were TCC for three months before I took a test and found out I was likely the problem. I changed my underwear, used that same company’s supplement program and stopped drinking/ate healthier/no nicotine/slept better/weight training. I researched a ton and just went all in