u/Anxious_Comment_4622

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to get some perspective because I feel a bit lost after our latest appointment.

My husband (36) and I (30) have been trying to conceive since January 2025. We actually got pregnant very quickly in October 2024, but unfortunately had to terminate in January due to trisomy 18 diagnosis. Since then, we haven’t been able to conceive again.

Over the past year, my husband has had multiple semen analyses showing:

• low motility ( between 21% and 24%)
• low vitality
• elevated DNA fragmentation (36%)
• high leukocytes (between 2.5 to 3)

So there’s been a consistent pattern.

We recently did a semen culture and it came back positive for Enterococcus faecalis. From what I understand, this can create inflammation and potentially impact sperm quality. He’s been prescribed doxycycline for 7 days.

On my side, things seem mostly normal so far:

• regular cycles
• ovulation confirmed (currently around day 12 with an 18mm follicle)
• AMH 1.75 (I’m 30)
• HSG in February showed open tubes
• uterus looks normal on ultrasound

One thing that came up recently is that my lining was ~5.9mm on day 12, so we’re rechecking that in a few days.

What’s been confusing is that our doctor doesn’t think the bacterial finding is the main reason we haven’t conceived, and even mentioned “unexplained infertility,” which honestly threw me off given the consistent sperm abnormalities and now a confirmed infection.

I went into the appointment thinking we might finally have a clear explanation, so I think I got a bit emotional when that wasn’t really acknowledged.

I guess I’m trying to understand:

• Has anyone had a similar situation with a bacterial finding in semen affecting sperm quality?
• Did treating it improve things (motility, DNA fragmentation, etc.)?
• Is a 7-day antibiotic course typical for this kind of situation?
• Would you consider this more likely male-factor driven, or does this sound more “mixed/unexplained”?

I’m trying to stay grounded but also not ignore something that seems potentially important.

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.

Thanks so much 

Hi everyone,

Looking for some insight from people who’ve dealt with male factor issues.

My husband (36) is in very good health no smoking, no alcohol for years, exercises regularly, eats well, sleeps well. Despite that, over the past year he’s had multiple semen analyses showing:

• low motility ( between 21% to 24%)
• low vitality
• elevated DNA fragmentation (36%)
• high leukocytes (between 2.5 to 3)

So there’s been a consistent pattern, not just a one-off result.

We recently did a semen culture, and it came back positive for Enterococcus faecalis. The antibiogram showed it’s sensitive to several antibiotics, and he’s now been prescribed doxycycline for 7 days.

What’s confusing is that the doctor didn’t seem to think this is a major issue or the main cause of our difficulty conceiving, even with the combination of leukocytes + DNA fragmentation + motility issues.

A few questions for anyone who’s been through something similar:

• Has anyone had E. faecalis show up in a semen culture?
• Did treating it improve motility / DNA fragmentation?
• Is a 7-day course of doxycycline typical, or is longer treatment sometimes needed in these cases?
• Did you see noticeable improvement after treatment, and if so, how long did it take?

Would really appreciate hearing real experiences, especially from anyone who had a similar pattern of results over time.

Thanks a lot