u/LallyTee

I can't see anything that has been posted about this before so wanted to put the question out there. My husband's SA was very poor - low count, motility, morphology below minimum parameters.

He gave up smoking weed 5 months before doing the SA test because we were TTC so I thought his sperm would have time to recover. Before that, he smoked 1-2 a day for about 10+ years... I've always hated it but it's only TTC that's got him to actually quit.

I wonder if his poor SA result is caused by this history? I know the sperm regenerate every 72-90 days but for such a long time smoking damage must build up over time in the tissues...

Keen to hear from personal experience if this could be a cause. And if it can recover / bounce back if so, or not?

My husband and I have been TTC for a year. I am 29 (nearly 30) and he is 37 (nearly 38)

I was convinced I would be the problem as I have a known diagnosis of lean PCOS and a long history of irregular periods.

We went to the GP a few months ago and they said they would refer us to the fertility clinic given my diagnosis of PCOS, but first had to do all the pre-referral tests.

I had day 3 / day 21 bloods and an ultrasound which all showed as normal for the first time in my life! I had been taking a whole host of supplements before this which had started to regulate my periods and have been tracking BBT with the natural cycles wristband and ovulation test strips which are confirming ovulation is happening. But still a shock.

I started to feel optimistic it could happen naturally but then my husband got his semen analysis back which was very poor - low sperm count, low motility, abnormal morphology all below minimum parameters - eg. showing OAT.

This all took about 2 months and I have been told we have been referred to the fertility clinic but can see nothing on the NHS app. I was told we would have to wait another 6-12 months once the referral goes in for an appointment.

This seems a massively long time whilst we are still in the dark with no advice / support. My husband is now taking his own supplements, avoiding saunas/hot tubs and exercising a bit more but we are not sure what else to do.

We have said in another 3 months if we don't have our NHS appointment we will pay to go to private, but:

- we could pay to see the fertility clinic that our local NHS outsources too and we would see under the NHS (if we waited) - Is that stupid or sensible?

- does going private undermine your NHS eligibility?

- what would we be paying for... Repeat tests, advice, and maybe IVF...?

- is there anything else anyone would advise in the interim?

Feeling at a loss and sad as all I wanted for us post-marriage was to start a family. I was working so hard to manage my own PCOS and health, and now feel demotivated as male factor infertility might be our problem and I don't know how to help my husband manage this or if it is manageable...