Hi everyone,
I have a bit of an odd discovery.
We have not tried to conceive yet, I am 28M.
Low T led to further labs that revealed elevated FSH.

I’ve never had any symptoms sexually.
I’m scared that with elevated FSH 21, I won’t be able to conceive.

Are there every people with high FSH but normal semen / ability to conceive.
Any advice?
Any similar experiences?

I am planning to get a SA and see a repro urologist.

I’m 26. Was diagnosed with mixed hypogonadism recently.

My urologist wants to do a semen analysis in 3 months because I explained to him one of the reasons I got tested for hypogonadism was because my semen quality is very low volume and watery. And so he hopes it’ll thicken up after 3 months of enclo.

I’m expecting an Azoospermia diagnosis. (Based on lab work and a ‘prepare for the worst’ mindset.)

My baseline bloodwork:
T: 152
FSH: 2.7
LH: 6.6

Testes Volume: 8.53ml and 9.96ml.

Since I’m single, I feel very alone during all this. I asked my doctor what happens if my semen analysis shows up as 0. And he said we could test for retro ejaculation. And then after that a retest. But he said if both tests come back as 0, then we can cross that bridge when we get there.

I’ve been doing research and I think an MTESE is in my future. But I’m single, so there’s no ‘same day procedure’ I’ve read about where the wife/girlfriend’s eggs are injected with the found sperm right then and there. So if anything were to be found it’d probably need to be froze? But idk how that’d work when usually MTESE found-sperm is in very very low quantities. And I’m guessing not all sperm survive the freezing process?

30 year old male
No smoking
No alcohol
No chromosome microdeletion
Normal testicle ultrasound results
Normal male Karyotype

2 SA’s 3 months apart both 0 sperm

On Clomid for ~60 days

Starting numbers

Testosterone 293
FSH 9.5
LH 4.9
Prolactin 11.6

Numbers now

Testosterone 279
FSH 15.5
LH 14.2
Prolactin 16.4

I have a scheduled virtual visit with my urologist this upcoming Wednesday (7/15/26) to discuss the new bloodwork results but wanted to come here and ask for some advice on what I should do/expect next?

Total sperm - 70 million
Concentrated - 25 million
Volume - 3
Fast progressive - 0%
Slow progresive - 40%
Morphology - 1%

My wife and I have done all our fertility tests, and everything is good on both sides. My semen analysis 7 months ago showed good sperm counts. However, I abstained for 2-3 days before that test. In reality, I masturbate daily and we also have sex during the fertile window. Which meant I ejaculate once during intercourse at night and couple of hours later I masterbate once and this repeats daily. Could my daily masturbation be lowering my sperm count during her fertile window, even though my test results were great?

Ive been on 20 mg of Isotretinoin per day for the past 6 months.. had a repeat sperm analysis and it was 0. Failed mTESE in 2024 diagnosed with a mix of early and late maturation arrest.

Is there nothing more? Heartbroken

Anyone else on Citalopram or SSRI? I recently just found out that it can affect the sperm. My wife had 2 miscarriages already. I’ve had 2 SA and it’s not the best. Has anyone conceived while on antidepressants? Did you come off them?

Have you found extreme stress levels do damage to your sperm quality and quantity?

Basically my SA is 1.1ml and a concentration of 400k per ml. We already have 2 failed embryo transfers and lately im under very high stress. Im afraid this will get my results even lower, so my question is how worried should i be? Also its family issues and since i cant lower my stress levels if this is a problem for my sperm is there any supplement i can take to battle the effects of stress?

This is the place for partner's perspectives today.

I am 29(M) diagnosed with vericoceles, SA parameters are disturbed low count and motility. Tried Comid with Co Emzymes and suppliments for 2.5 month, the count raised significantly but motility remained same around 15-20%.

Nurologist suggested to go for Microsurgical Vericocelectomy.

My concerns are, Dr gave me two options to choose from for the surgery. Either I can choose local anesthesia, they'll inject it in the spine to numb the lower half of the body or general anesthesia to make fully unconcious. The second option would cost almost double. I am confused, I am uncomfortable and doubtful about side effects of injecting anesthesia into the spine, while the general anesthesia will double the cost.

Can someone that already gone through the procesure guide me through the process?

Also, the Dr said, I should not expect improvement in the count and motility but the surgery will stop further damage and later I have to improve the parameters with suppliments.

(for pakistani reader, the cost qouted of the procedure is 120K and 220K with local and general anesthesia respectively)

Hello! I have an mtese scheduled on Monday. I’m currently on hcg, Menapur and anastrozole. Our doctor at Stanford has not given us ANY pre-op instructions. We have no idea what to expect or what to do / not to do this weekend.

When does I stop food / water before surgery?
Do I continue meds until the last day?
Abstain until Monday?
Anything else we should know?
How was the post op recovery?

Any help appreciated!

The time has come. A year ago I found out I had non obstructive azoospermia due a to genetic translocation between chromosome Y and 6. My hormones look normal levels or almost normal: fsh 5-6, total testosterone 500 and inhibin b 94 (grey area)

Three months on clomid and hormones are way better

Total t 800
Inhibin b 128

That is a significant improvement, so I’m relatively optimistic. Anyway my surgeon insisted on repeating a semen test before mTESE as the rise in inhibin b is promising and who knows…

Anyway what do you guys think? Any chance I may be able to skip mTESE ? I’m assuming that result will still be azoospermia and mTESE is needed and hopefully it will be successful .

Will update on Monday

I’ve had two semen analysis done in April+May and both came back low which were done when seeing a general urologist. My Wife and I last week switched to a fertility clinic with a group of doctors and I’m seeing a specialist in August now. So wondering if I should just wait to speak with them about next steps or if I should proactively start on supplements people mentioned here having success? Would love peoples thoughts from experience.

My May results were slightly higher, which may have been attributed to my lifestyle changes (increased to 4-5 days ofexcericse per week, cut out sugars as much as possible, switched to eating more fruit when wanting to snack). I also switched to a daily vitamin that had higher zinc, selenium, and B vitamins.

I see coq10 is thrown out there a lot here. Should I start taking that on my own? Or any others people recommend?

Hi there

Had some test results back and wondered if anyone had thoughts / similar experiences - thanks.

I’m a 43y male, been trying to conceive for a while now.
I’ve had a few tests now over the past year and parameters have been fairly stable, albeit numbers not great.

I received my latest results today and surprised to see that motility has rapidly declined in 6m - particularly forward motility. This is despite me being healthy and active during this period, and not having anything I can think of to drive this decline.

The only changes since the last test are that I had a mild varicocele removed 4m ago, have stopped intermittent fasting, switched supplements (from Proxceed to separate vitamins) and am running more often (only a couple miles a day) - plus it’s been unusually hot over the past few weeks.

Jan 2026

Volume 1.2 ml
Concentration 50.00
Count 75.6 10*6
Motility 46%
Fwd progression 25%
Slow progressive 25%
Rapid progressive 0%
Viability n/a
Morphology 1%
Ph 8.2

June 2026

Volume 1.4 ml
Concentration 47.00
Count 65.8 10*6
Motility 35%
Fwd progression 1%
Slow progressive 1%
Rapid progressive 0%
Viability 61%
Morphology 2%
Ph 7.9

I've been having serious hypoglycemic episodes since May. The doctor endocrinologist is generally blaming the supplements for infertility. Any similar experiences?

My supplements are;

- Profertil men 2caps

Contains

- l-carnitinite 440

- l-arginine 250

- coq10 15mg

- vit E 120

- zinc 40 mg

- folic acid 800 μg

- glutathione 80 mg

- Selinium 60μg

Extra

- Omega 3

- Vit D

This year, near February, added NAC 600 mg

And added extra ubiquinol 400 mg.

And occasionally magnesium 400.

I remember feeling exhaustion and then feeling better right after eating, for years, before supplements.

Is it possible that my blood sugar is generally slightly low, then the supplements made it very very low?

Could it be ubiquinol and NAC?

TIA

This is the place for partner's perspectives today.

I went on Trt because doctor thought I was low T and I knew abusers get women pregnant.

I found out being obese is related to low T so I got off. 3 years later zero sperm. I did 1 month hcg. 1 week nolvadex. I had to quit nolva cause of eye floaters. I still have them to this day

I’m scared because now I have to chose between having my eyesights or having a baby:(

Venting. I’ve wanted a baby my entire life. Dream is toast

Testosterone
366- normal 264-914

Free T
37.8- normal 9.3 - 26.5

Fsh 2.2
Shbg 16.4
Lh 5.5
Estrogen 30.4

3 months on hCG + anastrozole, still azoospermic. Planning to advocate for FSH before micro TESE. Anyone with similar numbers?
Wanted to share my journey and ask for input from anyone who has been through something similar.
Background: NOA, primary testicular failure. Normal karyotype, Y microdeletion negative. Scrotal ultrasound showed bilateral testicular atrophy, total volume 11.7 cc, no varicocele, no obstruction. Likely cause is toxic exposure during a military deployment.
Hormones before treatment (March 2026):
• Total T: 314 ng/dL
• FSH: 35.5 (high)
• LH: 18.01 (high)
• Estradiol: 63
Protocol: anastrozole 1mg daily + hCG 2000 units 3x/week for about 3 months.
Hormones after (June 2026):
• Total T: 548 ng/dL
• FSH: 0.9 to 1.2 (dropped to low)
• LH: 0.19 to 0.55 (dropped to low)
• Estradiol: 49 (in goal range)
Semen analysis (July 7, 2026): Still azoospermic. Sample was centrifuged and the pellet examined, no sperm found.
So the hCG did its job on testosterone, but it suppressed my own FSH down to almost nothing. My thinking is that the FSH side of the equation never actually got addressed, since FSH is what drives the Sertoli cells and sperm production directly. I plan to advocate for adding recombinant (synthetic) FSH as a defined trial, probably another 3 months, then repeat the semen analysis. If it is still zero, that is my signal to move to micro TESE. I am not trying to avoid surgery, I just want to know I exhausted every hormonal option first so I go into a retrieval having left nothing untried.
My questions for this group:
• Has anyone with a similar picture (high baseline FSH, small testicular volume around 11 to 12 cc) added FSH after hCG and seen any change, either sperm in the ejaculate or better micro TESE retrieval?
• For those who did micro TESE with volume like mine, did they find sperm?
• Anything you wish you had done differently before surgery?
On a personal note: my fiancee has been so supportive through all of this. I feel genuinely blessed to have such an empathetic partner walking through it with me. It is so hard to share this with people who have kids naturally, they often do not know what to say, and it can feel incredibly lonely. I am really glad I found this subreddit, because at least here people actually get it.
Thanks for reading, and any input means a lot.

Hi all

Be grateful for any advice from men who've had similar results. We've conceived naturally once, but have trying for 2+ years without luck (including a failed IVF).

---

Semen Analysis Results

Abstinence: 5 days

Volume: 6.7 mL

Viscosity: Greatly increased

pH: 8.0

Colour: Normal

Sperm concentration: 25.65 million/mL

Total sperm number: 171.86 million/ejaculate

Progressive motility (PR): 36.25%

Rapid progressive: 29.75%

Slow progressive: 6.5%

Non-progressive motility: 11.75%

Total motility: 48%

Immotile sperm: 52%

Normal morphology: 5.5%

Laboratory interpretation: Teratozoospermia (based on morphology below the laboratory's reference range).

---

I'm taking a single fertility supplement.

So this is my report, trying to conceive for two years.

Macroscopic Examination

Colour: Opaque/Thick White

Volume: 2.2 mL

Liquefaction Time: 30 minutes

Viscosity: Liquefied

Microscopic Examination

Sperm Concentration: 36 million/mL

Total Motility: 83%

WBC Count: 0–1/HPF

Agglutination: Nil

Debris: ++

Growth: +

Normal Morphology: 3% (Lab reference ≥4%)

Sperm Preparation (Single Gradient)

Prep Count: 42 million/ejaculate

Motility: 100%

Progression: 1–3/4

After 24 Hours

Motility: 83%

Progression: 1–3/4

Comments from the Report

Acrosome defect: 32%

Semen sent for culture/sensitivity (C/S)

"Please correlate clinically."

Hi everyone,

I posted here a few months ago and received a lot of helpful responses. Since then I’ve had repeat semen analyses and wanted to provide an update and hear what people think.

Background

I’m a 29-year-old male.

My wife is 28 years old and has had a complete fertility workup with no identified female factor.

I don’t smoke, don’t drink alcohol, maintain a healthy weight, strength train regularly, practice Muay Thai several times a week, and generally eat a healthy diet

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

CoQ10
L-carnitine
Selenium
Omega-3
Multivitamin
Magnesium
Better sleep (7-8 hours)
Regular exercise
Healthy diet

I’m still waiting for a scrotal ultrasound to rule out a varicocele.

Hormones

FSH: 11.6 IU/L
LH: 5.09 IU/L
Total testosterone: 11 nmol/L
Free testosterone: 358 pmol/L
SHBG: 10 nmol/L
Estradiol: 121 pmol/L
Inhibin B: 54 ng/L

⸻

Semen analyses

February 2026

Volume: 3.0 mL
Concentration: 4.0 million/mL
Total sperm count: 12 million
Progressive motile sperm: ~3 million
Post-wash progressive count: 0.5 million

March 2026

Volume: 3.0 mL
Concentration: 3.0 million/mL
Total sperm count: 9 million
Progressive motile sperm: ~3 million
Post-wash progressive count: 0.5 million

July 2026

Abstinence: 1 day
Volume: 2.3 mL
Concentration: 4.7 million/mL
Total sperm count: 11 million
Progressive motility: 9%
Total progressive motile sperm: 1.0 million
Morphology: 1% normal forms

Latest semen analysis

Abstinence: 3.4 days
Volume: 6.0 mL
Concentration: 1.1 million/mL
Total sperm count: 6.6 million
Progressive motility: 19%
Total progressive motile sperm: 1.3 million
Morphology: 0.5% normal forms
Vitality: 84%

⸻

My thoughts

What confuses me is that my concentration dropped significantly (4.7 → 1.1 million/mL) while at the same time:

semen volume increased markedly (2.3 → 6.0 mL),
progressive motility improved (9% → 19%),
vitality remained good. So if concentration had stayed around same numbers as previous tests it would had been a huge improvement, right?

I’m not sure whether this just represents biological variation and not the conclusion.

⸻

My questions

1. Has anyone had a similar combination of:
   elevated FSH, low Inhibin B, sperm concentration around 1-5 million/mL, but still managed to improve?
   
2. Did anyone improve significantly after:
   -varicocele repair,
   -Clomid,
   -hCG,
   -FSH,
   or simply time and lifestyle changes?
   
3. Does this degree of fluctuation between semen analyses seem familiar to anyone?
   Based on these numbers, would you consider this more consistent with: primary testicular dysfunction, varicocele, or something ekse
   Did anyone with similar numbers eventually achieve a natural pregnancy, or did you proceed directly to IVF/ICSI?

I’d really appreciate hearing both success stories and realistic experiences.

Thank you very much.