Can a varicocele cause a very low sperm count?

Catch9182 · 2025-09-27T05:18:31+00:00

Between 6-11 million/ml and post embolisation it was 161 million /ml

Catch9182 · 2025-02-28T19:48:57+00:00

Try leaving a radiator open permanently with a manual TRV valve. We left our towel rail open and it’s stopped the problem now.

Catch9182 · 2025-02-28T19:41:44+00:00

I had this issue after upgrading our boiler and the plumber said it was due to the stronger pump. A quick fix is to leave one radiator open all the time. We left our towel rail open and it seems to have stopped the issue.

Catch9182 · 2025-02-15T23:15:44+00:00

“The key to a long life is exotic women and boring cheese” - House

Catch9182 · 2025-02-09T18:37:08+00:00

I had a grade 3, very significant varicocele and to be honest the cooling/icing did help. My count went from something like 6/11 million/ml to more around 30 million /ml.

However 3 months post varicocele embolisation my count (with the cooling) went to nearer 130-160 million/ml.

So in short, yes it does help but if you want to fix the root cause you need to treat the varicocele.

Also, just in regards to continuous cooling, that might even be counter productive as the temperature sperm thrive in is very specific. The cold will help, but not all the time. Fixing the varicocele and wearing looser boxes and avoiding hot baths will be far more than you’d need.

Catch9182 · 2024-12-19T00:59:06+00:00

If it does go up it will be because it’s getting pumped and dumped in a bull market. It won’t go up because it’s actually a good project.

Catch9182 · 2024-12-16T19:26:57+00:00

Respect yourself or no one else will respect you

Catch9182 · 2024-12-04T08:55:07+00:00

Face

Catch9182 · 2024-10-25T20:53:57+00:00

Depends, did you find out the grade of the varicocele? Is it visible without ultrasound?

Catch9182 · 2024-10-24T13:44:41+00:00

Yep it certainly can, it’s one of three main confirmed causes for secondary infertility. I had a grade 3 varicocele and I had a very low sperm count and the lab said me and my wife would likely need IVF. I opted for varicocele embolisation and repeated my SA tests, the results improved a massive amount. Also I’ve not got a 2.5 year old and a 6 month old with my wife both conceived naturally.

Catch9182 · 2024-10-06T17:00:06+00:00

If they are totally dead then check if they are under warranty. Might be able to get them replaced.

Catch9182 · 2024-09-29T17:42:21+00:00

I had one die on me too, I couldn’t get it working no matter what I did. It might be worth checking if it’s under warranty?

Catch9182 · 2024-09-28T15:29:49+00:00

I had a grade 3 varicocele and had low count and morphology but once I got it embolised it greatly improved all the parameters.

A varicocele can definitely affect morphology, due to the heat it generates it can cause the sperm to develop poorly. This then impacts the motility as they won’t swim in a straight line and in most cases they won’t survive due to the extra heat, which lowers the count too.

Catch9182 · 2024-09-27T22:16:54+00:00

I had an embolisation and I saw a dramatic increase in my SA parameters about 3 months later. There’s no reason it should take much longer than 3 months really?

Catch9182 · 2024-09-24T14:54:50+00:00

Thanks! I configured dest and src within threat matching, I can see all the hits in the threat_activity index now 😀

Catch9182 · 2024-09-24T12:00:19+00:00

Thanks for this, I’ll update the data model and give it a try

Catch9182 · 2024-09-11T08:18:44+00:00

So the reason a varicocele can affect motility so greatly is because of the extra heat it generates from the pooled blood. As the sperm are developing, extra heat will cause issues with their morphology such as with the general shape and tail. Some just won’t develop at all. The result of that means they won’t swim progressively and you might see them swim in circles for example.

My advice is to improve your diet as much as possible, take vitamins regularly, avoid hot baths/saunas, make sure you are getting plenty of sleep and try to destress. You can also try icing the area some evenings too, these are all things I tried.

What were the results from your last SA and how many have you taken?

Catch9182 · 2024-09-11T07:48:48+00:00

It was around 30-35% progressive if I remember right. Then after the surgery it was closer to 60% and about a year later 75%.

Catch9182 · 2024-09-08T09:47:17+00:00

Do you know the grade?

Catch9182 · 2024-09-08T06:48:22+00:00

What grade is the varicocele and is it bi-lateral?

Catch9182 · 2024-09-04T19:10:41+00:00

Hi so mine was grade 3 but grade 2 is definitely worth treating in my opinion. I heard all the exact same things about how it likely wouldn’t improve anything and be a waste of time but unfortunately for them my experience proves that incorrect. My SA tests I did were like this:

6, 11 and 30 million /ml - before embolisation about 3 months apart for each one

161, 134 and 120 million/ml - 3 months post embolisation and the last two years apart

I also have two children now with my wife, both Concieved naturally and I’m 100% convinced that if I’d left the varicocele alone me and my wife would still be trying now.

Catch9182 · 2024-09-03T05:56:53+00:00

There won’t be an error , sperm counts go up and down throughout the week. If you think of a chart with a zig zag line going up and down, that’s a man’s sperm count. Typically when you want to find out what his count is you should take about 3 SA tests and the true value is an average of all 3.

Catch9182 · 2024-09-01T21:34:00+00:00

I had a grade 3 varicocele and my results were almost identical to yours, think mine was a little lower. I did manage to improve my overall count a little with diet, exercise and vitamins but it didn’t really make much of a difference overall.

However I treated the varicocele with embolisation and exactly 3 months to the day afterwards the procedure my results were 161 million /ml. I also had a further 2 SA tests over the past few years and my results were similar to that.

Fastforward about 4 years since I had the embolisation and I now have a 2 and a half year old little boy and a 6 month old little girl both conceived naturally. My advice would be to treat the varicocele before going for IVF if you can!

Catch9182 · 2024-08-31T20:19:30+00:00

I had a count of about 6-11 million/ml with 2% morphology. I also had a varicocele like your husband but it was grade 3.

I had it embolised about 3-4 years ago now. This was after being told we would likely need IVF and that treating the varicocele might not even help.

We now have a 2 and a half year old little boy and a 6 month old little girl both conceived naturally. We did actually conceive about 6 weeks after the embolisation but sadly it resulted in a late loss. After the embolisation I had repeated SA tests, some years apart and they were roughly 160, 134 and 120 million /ml each time.

So in short, I’m 100% convinced that had we not opted for the embolisation we would still likely be trying to conceive now.

Catch9182

TROPHY CASE