I think i seen the sperms!

[kme]

HI, I put a sample of dhs sperm under the microscope today and i'm pretty sure that i seen little sperms wiggling around!!!!!
I had the scope on 450X it is only a kids one. I put a drop of it on a slide and smeared it out and had a look, i could see all these wierd things floating by (i think that was debris) and that these little tiny black oval things wiggling and wiggling out of the screen( i think they were trying to get away from the light) i had to keep chasing them. I couldn't really see there tails though. I counted about 10 just in one screen. 1 of them though was sort of stuck to debris or something and it just keep wiggling and wiggling and not going anywhere. What does these mean?
does that sound right i'm sure they were sperm?
Thanks Kim

[rich]

Kim,
It sounds like you have succeeded. The tails are hard to see as they are translucent and if the scope is ever so slightly out of focus they disappear. Also against the milk background the tails tend to disappear. As for trying to get away from the light they aren't as they aren't photophobic but the light gives heat and they may be trying to get away from that. In most counting situations they use a cool light like flourescent or led to keep heat down as it kills them. The movement being fast like that and if it appears to be going in a straight line is your class A swimmer. Now debris in the semen is all kinds of garbage from dead sperm, cells, mucus, pus cells, etc. The other thing is semen is not a solution or suspension that is homogenized but depending where you get the sample. The initial squirt contains 90% of the sperm with following being mainly made up of the seminal fluid from the prostate. Now the fluids from the prostate, ejaculatory ducts and vas are different in thickness and consistancy plus different specific weights and this is why you see things floating as the denser layers are settling while the lighter ones are rising. The wiggling and not moving could be antibodies which you can't see holding and impairing the swimming of the sperm. Keep going girl you're doing great.

Rich

[kme]

Thanks Rich, we are so excited and I am so relieved to know that there is some sperm in there. I think the sample that we used wasn't the first squirt as dh wasn't so quick in pulling out(if you know what i mean).
so we will try to get a sample from the first bit next time.
Thats what it looked like, they were swimming in a straight line. except for that one that was stuck to something it was just wiggling in the same spot, it did looked a little clumped.
i was a bit disappionted that i couldn't see the tails, i almost could but this scope is really crap, i wish i had the scopes that i used in my chemistry and biology course that i did in college, they were excellent.
we have been talking about it alot and reading alot of info and we do think that we have "cleaned the pipes" out enough and we are going to start trying for a baby straight away just incase anything happens down there.
I have read so many people that wait and there dh have good first s/a and then the next s/a they have none or less.
So i ovulate next week so we are going to start trying, i'm not getting my hopes up really high though because i know that dhs count wouldn't be that great and conceiving would be highly unlikely. but here goes!!!!!
Kim

[rich]

Kim,
If your worried about the count doing it every other day during your fertile window should do the job and continue the rest of the routine. I agree the scopes as toys don't have the fine control adjustment knobs which the college student microscopes had. Now your DH count may not be as bad as you think because of the vits and the extra friskiness can and will raise counts. This is one area where the term don't use it, you lose it really counts. Good luck and enjoy yourself.

Rich

[nlhunter10]

This is my first time up on this web sight and I'm not sure this is were I am suppose to post this, but I'll give it a try and see what happens. I was reading about the scope you used. We are 2 weeks post VR. We are looking into getting a scope. Would like to find one for under $100. Any suggestions on where to look. What about the one's from Target or Walmart. Would they work? Walmart has one called a Meade 51-Piece Student Research Microscope/ 9260 for just under $100? What do you think?

Thank you

[rich]

Dear nlhunter,
The microscope can be picked up at Walmart and ToysRus or for that matter a Pawn shop. What you are looking for is a turret type with multiple magnifications. Some sites like Kopelli have all the needed equipment for S/A at a reasonable price. To do morphing studies you need a minimum 400 power, To really see motion 200 power. I don't know the specs on the Walmart model but if it meets the above it will do the job.

rich

[nlhunter10]

Rich,

Thank you for your help. Can I ask a couple more questions? What is a "turret type" of microscope? And can you give me the web address for Kopelli? And lastly, what is a reasonable price for a microscope to do an at home SA (just the basics..to see if semen is present)? $30, $60, $100. I don't want to pay for more than I need, but do want it to work.

Thank you!

[rich]

Sure nlhunter,
Kopelli web site is www.fertilityformen.com.
A turret microscope is one which different magnifications can be viewed 100X,200X and 400X. The price depends on the quality of the lenses and a $30-60 will do if looking just for movement. Also put a coverslide on the drop of semen as sperm are translucent and if you don't thin the sample all you will see is white with an occasional blackdot which is the banding of the sperm or the DNA center otherwise you will see squat. Sperm take on the background color if the semen sample is too thick. I hope this helps.

rich