My Vasectomy Reversal

Since I’ve started taking prenatal vitamins in order to be prepared for conception, I wondered if Rich should be supplementing too. It turns out that he should.

Based on several books and online resources, I learned that there are many vitamins and nutrients that impact sperm production and quality. In no particular order, here they are:

Seminal fluid and sperm cells are high in antioxidants, so a deficiency will result in low sperm quality and potency. Vitamin C keeps sperm from sticking together (called agglutination) and reduces the number of abnormal sperm, while vitamins A and E help improve mobility and viability. Getting Pregnant recommends 10,000 IU’s of vitamin A, 1500 mg of vitamin C, and up to 800 IU’’s of vitamin E a day.

Men low in zinc have reduced sperm count, however high zinc can also cause infertility. Getting Pregnant recommends that men take up to 100 mg per day.

Some research suggests that calcium and vitamin D improves men’’s fertility, and TTC men should get at least 1000 mg of calcium and 10 mcg of vitamin D a day.

I decided the easiest way to go would be for Rich to take a men’’s multivitamin. It doesn’’t quite bring him to the levels suggested in my reading, but since we eat a pretty healthy diet anyway, I’’m comfortable with that. If his sperm count or quality is low (he hasn’’t received his test results yet, so we don’’t know if this is the case), we may add more vitamins A, C, and E.

There are other suggested supplements that may also help with low sperm count and quality. Arginine is needed to make sperm, and supplementing can increase sperm count. Selenium increases sperm motility, and vitamin B12 can increase sperm count. L-carnitine is necessary for normal sperm cell functioning and supplementing can improve sperm motility. Finally, Coenzyme Q10 will increase sperm count and motility.

Resources

Books:

• Getting Pregnant: What you need to know right now
• The Mother of All Pregnancy Books

Articles:

• Dads to be: Diet changes to boost your fertility
• Eating for fertility food plan
• Male infertility

Related posts:

• Vasectomy reversal success rate
• TTC diet and nutrition

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