5 ms·

4x is a large jump, is that referring to sperm count? It might be anecdata but given that you were seeing a fertility specialist it could be more valuable to he

4x is a large jump, is that referring to sperm count? It might be anecdata but given that you were seeing a fertility specialist it could be more valuable to hear your lifestyle changes rather than much of the noise that is out there.

jonplackett 6y ago
It’s certainly anecdata since it’s just me but it was multiple tests over that period and showed a steady increase from not going to work for IVF to the level where it would. They test a number of things from total count, count per ml, motility, correctness of shape. Everything went up. The shape was my main issue and that was the thing that increased 4X I should say I also took some supplements too. The problem with all this is isolating your variables - since you’re on a very limited clock and sperm tests cost £200 you don’t have time or money to figure out which things made the most difference. You just try everything and hope you got some of the right things. All the things I listed above have some evidence for them affecting sperm so I just cut them all out.
- admiral33 6y ago
  How did you cut out tap water, heat, microplastics, teflon, and the western diet?
  - jonplackett 6y ago
    Not completely obviously! Micro plastics was hard since you kinda have to choose between bottled water or tap water! We got a water filter for this one. Heat meant loose underpants and no warm baths ever. Teflon- easy. Replace with a carbon steel pan. Improve your chef skills AND sperm! Western diet is basically high sugar and refined carbs. Just didn’t eat anything with refined sugar on the label in any amount whatsoever (I lost weight fast) also switched to organic meat and dairy to minimise antibiotics. Can’t say if that made any difference but at least I was being nicer to animals
    - DoingIsLearning 6y ago
      > We got a water filter for this one. Is that enough? I keep reading about how microplastics can be too small for a carbon filter and that you would need a reverse osmosis device, to completely remove plastics. I can't say am really sold on using a device with a plastic membrane to completely remove plastics. All the online materials on the topic are for the majority just product placements, it feels very disorienting to be able to make a data driven decision. Do you have any insight.
      - ejolto 6y ago
        > Is that enough? It must have been enough since his sperm count increased 4x, no? Either the filter worked or microplastics don't effect sperm count much.
        ceejayoz 6y ago
        I’ve got an anti-tiger rock to sell you… “Something changed, therefore this must be the reason” is a fallacy if there isn’t additional supporting evidence.
        Accacin 6y ago
        To be fair, this is a personal story and not a scientific study.
        ejolto 6y ago
        We are talking about an anecdote here, not giving general advice based on scientific literature. That said. If I lived in a village that was attacked by tigers regularly for 6 months, and I installed a tiger filter which stopped the attacks, I would gladly pay 30 bucks for that ($30 is what a faucet water filter costs). Disclaimer: I don't own a water filter or a tiger filter.
    - Nilef 6y ago
      Would love to hear more about the mind of brands/foods you ate with no sugar. I’ve attempted this before and it’s extremely hard to find products with 0 sugar! Guessing you avoided the local Tesco?
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- xkv 6y ago
  > I also took some supplements Which ones? Our specialist recommended CoQ10
- AuryGlenz 6y ago
  For what’s it’s worth my tests were all over the place (as low as 12mil total and as high as 80) with no large lifestyle changes. My doctor at Mayo said that’s normal and they look at the average over a year or so. Also, in case it comes up in the future, doing you own sperm counts on a microscope isn’t that hard. I didn’t bother with morphology and the like as that was typically fine, but total counts are easy.
rhinoceraptor 6y ago
4x is totally believable, I did two 25 day rounds of clomid so I could cryobank and I saw over a 10x jump in less than a month. The reason why is pretty obvious, I'm overweight so I'm aromatising more. Taking clomid blocks the estrogen negative feedback loop in the hypothalamus, so you make more GnRH, so therefore more LH/FSH. The whole endocrine disruption thing seems pretty sketchy to me. If you're infertile and/or have low testosterone, chances are your diet and lifestyle are horrible.

jonplackett 6y ago

It’s certainly anecdata since it’s just me but it was multiple tests over that period and showed a steady increase from not going to work for IVF to the level where it would. They test a number of things from total count, count per ml, motility, correctness of shape. Everything went up. The shape was my main issue and that was the thing that increased 4X I should say I also took some supplements too. The problem with all this is isolating your variables - since you’re on a very limited clock and sperm tests cost £200 you don’t have time or money to figure out which things made the most difference. You just try everything and hope you got some of the right things. All the things I listed above have some evidence for them affecting sperm so I just cut them all out.

admiral33 6y ago
How did you cut out tap water, heat, microplastics, teflon, and the western diet?
- jonplackett 6y ago
  Not completely obviously! Micro plastics was hard since you kinda have to choose between bottled water or tap water! We got a water filter for this one. Heat meant loose underpants and no warm baths ever. Teflon- easy. Replace with a carbon steel pan. Improve your chef skills AND sperm! Western diet is basically high sugar and refined carbs. Just didn’t eat anything with refined sugar on the label in any amount whatsoever (I lost weight fast) also switched to organic meat and dairy to minimise antibiotics. Can’t say if that made any difference but at least I was being nicer to animals
  - DoingIsLearning 6y ago
    > We got a water filter for this one. Is that enough? I keep reading about how microplastics can be too small for a carbon filter and that you would need a reverse osmosis device, to completely remove plastics. I can't say am really sold on using a device with a plastic membrane to completely remove plastics. All the online materials on the topic are for the majority just product placements, it feels very disorienting to be able to make a data driven decision. Do you have any insight.
    - ejolto 6y ago
      > Is that enough? It must have been enough since his sperm count increased 4x, no? Either the filter worked or microplastics don't effect sperm count much.
      - ceejayoz 6y ago
        I’ve got an anti-tiger rock to sell you… “Something changed, therefore this must be the reason” is a fallacy if there isn’t additional supporting evidence.
        Accacin 6y ago
        To be fair, this is a personal story and not a scientific study.
        ejolto 6y ago
        We are talking about an anecdote here, not giving general advice based on scientific literature. That said. If I lived in a village that was attacked by tigers regularly for 6 months, and I installed a tiger filter which stopped the attacks, I would gladly pay 30 bucks for that ($30 is what a faucet water filter costs). Disclaimer: I don't own a water filter or a tiger filter.
  - Nilef 6y ago
    Would love to hear more about the mind of brands/foods you ate with no sugar. I’ve attempted this before and it’s extremely hard to find products with 0 sugar! Guessing you avoided the local Tesco?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
xkv 6y ago
> I also took some supplements Which ones? Our specialist recommended CoQ10
AuryGlenz 6y ago
For what’s it’s worth my tests were all over the place (as low as 12mil total and as high as 80) with no large lifestyle changes. My doctor at Mayo said that’s normal and they look at the average over a year or so. Also, in case it comes up in the future, doing you own sperm counts on a microscope isn’t that hard. I didn’t bother with morphology and the like as that was typically fine, but total counts are easy.

rhinoceraptor 6y ago

4x is totally believable, I did two 25 day rounds of clomid so I could cryobank and I saw over a 10x jump in less than a month. The reason why is pretty obvious, I'm overweight so I'm aromatising more. Taking clomid blocks the estrogen negative feedback loop in the hypothalamus, so you make more GnRH, so therefore more LH/FSH. The whole endocrine disruption thing seems pretty sketchy to me. If you're infertile and/or have low testosterone, chances are your diet and lifestyle are horrible.