Male infertility specialist Dr. Bastuba explains when sperm count generally improves once a man starts treatment for infertility.
Dr. Bastuba:
Well, when a male is going to respond to whatever therapy it is, we talked about 70 to 80 days for this development cycle for sperm cells to go from the spermatogonia – the stem cells, and yes the testicle is one of the more significant repositories for stem cells in an adult male, to go from the stem cells all the way to the mature spermatozoa takes about 70 to 80 days.
So what I typically tell a male is anything good we do for sperm, probably we’ll measure that improvement with a semen analysis in the four to six-month range because that allows for a couple of cell cycles to go through this complete process, clear through the system, and that’s when we typically see improvements in the semen analysis.
And the same point, such things as nutritional supplements, which are a hot topic for many couples. If we use the same type of theory, if someone is going to start on a nutritional supplement what I tell them is, “Plan on thinking about taking that in the four to six-month range and we may see some improvements in sperm count. We may see some improvements in the motility, how many of the sperms are swimming around, but look at it more on the four to six months range.”
Anything good we do for sperm, we think about taking four to six months to have its complete impact. If you stop smoking, if you get out of the Jacuzzi then these things typically will be looked at over that range of time.
About Dr. Martin D. Bastuba:
As San Diego's leading subspecialist in male fertility and male and female sexual dysfunction issues, Dr. Martin Bastuba gives hope to couples who have been unable to conceive, and to men and women who are experiencing the anxieties and frustration of sexual dysfunction. He offers complete diagnosis, treatment, prevention techniques and education for his patients.
Visit Dr. Bastuba at his Web site