T1 diabetes in men and infertility

Hello there I am new to this group.

I do not have diabetes myself but my favourite person in this world does.

I need some help and advice from dads with diabetes in relation to the journey of trying to conceive when having diabetes.

For the last 2 years we have been trying for a baby and in February I managed to conceive but sadly it ended in a missed miscarriage at 7 weeks. This miscarriage is one of the most painful and soul destroying experiences I have ever lived. After this MC I started researching what could have happened and I started reading into genetics( DNA and chromosome pairing)which is the cause of the vast majority of miscarriages when it goes wrong. I have found a couple of studies from reputable sources that men with diabetes have a much higher number of damaged sperm (DNA fragmented they call it) than healthy sperm. When damaged sperm fertilises the egg the pregnancy will end up in miscarriage due to the chromosomes not being right.

I am absolutely terrified of having another miscarriage and for what I'm reading we have a pretty high chance of it happening again. I would really appreciate your advice and positive stories in relation to conceiving when the future dad has T1 diabetes.

I have obviously thought that the quality of my egg could have also been the cause of this miscarriage and I have read books and doing everything I can to improve my own fertility.

I would be very grateful if you could share your stories with me.

Thank you very much.

searley said:

I don’t have a child…. But I’m on fertility treatment

With my T1 I suffer low testosterone and low sperm count

The go can order a testosterone test and if your trying for a child can refer you to an endocrinologist who will do a sperm count and prescribe meds to increase if needed and if no joy after 9 months will refer on for ivf

Click to expand...

Thank you very much for your answer

My husband has had a semen analysis and came back fine, they check his count, morphology,motility and all that. However the issue is with the DNA content in the sperm that gets damaged and a normal sperm analysis won't pick up on that.

Thank you again, very much appreciated.

Rokaab said:

One thing you should also consider (and this may sound harsh) is that non-diabetics also have miscarriages, it could be either side of the egg-sperm combination that had the issue so don't just concentrate on his side - for a start it'll feel awful for him if it looks like he's having all the tests, will make him think its his fault entirely

Click to expand...

Thank you for your answer.

I am not concentrating on his side at all. Before researching about sperm DNA and diabetes I read a book on how to improve egg quality and have done a lot of research on egg DNA issues. I found supplements, a special diet and other lifestyle changes I can make to make my eggs more fertile and reduce the risk of miscarriage. But once I finished with my side , I then started looking into his. I just want to do ALL that's under our control to prevent a future miscarriage.

Ushthetaff said:

I’ve been type 1 since I was 17 I have 4 healthy children oldest 34 youngest 21 , I had a vasectomy after my1st two then had it reversed and had another 2 , so I guess I’m quite fertile not any more though had the snip again and it’s not going to be reversed again ,

Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your answer

This makes me feel much better and give me hope! Thank you!!

Grant_Vicat said:

My daughter was born in 1984 at a time when I had been Type 1 for just over 25 years. My mother (not diabetic) had a miscarriage in 1956. my brother in 1957, me in 1958, my sister in very late 1959 and a final (on doctor's advice) miscarriage in 1960. Life is certainly unpredictable, but that doesn't lessen your awful experience. I'm not sure anybody can give realistic advice, but nobody is to blame and I can only wish you both contentment

Click to expand...

Thank you very much for your answer!

This make me feel more hopeful, Thanks!

lucylocket61 said:

MY friend's husband is T1, has been since the age of 8. They have 4 children all conceived naturally.

I have had a number of miscarriages, until they found I had Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome. May be worth googling PCOS. All the best. I have 3 healthy children now.

Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your answer

This gives me hope! I do actually have PCOS myself and I am on supplements and on a diet to improve egg quality I also take medication to boost ovulation and it's how I became pregnant. It makes me feel much better my hubby's diabetes might not be the problem as it's something we can't change, I rather knowing is something that can be improved or fixed.
Thanks again!