I'm shooting blanks - need a male fertility specialist in Bangkok

[Katsura]

Me and my wife are having trouble to conceive (have been trying for almost two years). We went to Bumrungrad for a check up and it turns out my sperm quality isn't good (sperm count very good, motility mediocre, morphology at 0%). It was quite a shocker since I'm in my early 40s. 

The doctor there said there's nothing I can do and he recommends we do IVF, which of course costs a fortune especially at Bumrungrad. We were then lead to the office of a nurse who gave us their sales pitch on IVF (a used car salesman got nothing on that lady...). That left a bad taste in my mouth and it became clear to me what a money hungry business Bumrungrad is. 

At home I did more research and it turns out there is plenty I can do to improve the quality of my sperm (loose fitting underwear, no hot showers, supplements, etc). Varicocele (varicose veins in the scrotum) could also be a cause which of course the good doctor at Bumrungrad either didn't know about or he didn't bother to mention in interest of pushing IVF.

Long story short: Does anyone know a trustworthy male fertility specialist in Bangkok I could go to next to take a gander at my jewels? 

[dj230]

Don't know any male fertility doctors in Thailand but there is a medicinal route of hCG + hMG to induce fertility (injections), I knew a few people who did it and were successful. 

 

If I remember correctly hMG is a bit pricy, at least in America, hCG is fairly cheap.

 

Best of luck 

[Katsura]

7 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Bumrungrad or Bangkok  hospital.  Fertility treatment is very expensive all over the world.  Before you criticise hospitals for charging for Fertility treatment you might consider how selfish your desire to have a baby actually is.

Yeah I'm well aware that it's expensive everywhere and I have no problem paying for it. What I didn't appreciate though from Bumrungrad that they weren't even considering other options before reaching immediately for the top shelf whiskey. They said that IVF is all that's left for me to do which is demonstrably not true. 

 

My bad though for assuming a for profit hospital would have at least some integrity. 

[ourdon]

Try a second opinion or even a third when you find legitimate practioners.

 

Search internationally for someone or some clinic you trust (a bit).  Contact them and see if they have a doctor they know or have worked with in the same field of research in Asia.  If yes contact the doctor.

Be prepared to travel.  You are looking for the right physician in an area from Joburg to Tokyo

[Sheryl]

You would know if you had a sizable variocele.

 

It used to be thought that with  0% morphology, IVF was necessary but it has since been shown that some men (about 29%) can still reproduce without it. See:

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5227671/

 

Note however that more than 2/3 of men wwith this do nto succeed with natural conception, i.e. it is possible you will end up needing IVF, but you can try alternative approaches first.

 

If you smoke, stopping is important as smoking is a significant cause of abnormal sperm morphology. Stopping smoking alone will often bring sperm back to normal within about 6 months.

 

Beyond that, healthy diet and exercise and possibly nutritional supplements can help.

 

You really do not need a doctor for any of those measures. I would suggest to try them and then, if still no pregnancy within a year, get a repeat sperm count.

 

In terms of where to go, these 2 fertility clinics are well recommended and both would be less expensive than Bumrungrad:

 

https://jetanin.com/

 

http://www.nawabutrsiam.com/

 

The second one is usually more affordable than the first and many of the top infertility specialists from Chulalongkorn work there.   Prof. Kamthorn Pruksananonda is especially well regarded.

 

 

[richard_smith237]

Dr Somjate & Jetanin… (Soi Chit Lom, Bkk) 

 

First hand success there.
I know plenty of other couples he’s helped with IVF.

[dj230]

6 hours ago, Katsura said:

Yeah I'm well aware that it's expensive everywhere and I have no problem paying for it. What I didn't appreciate though from Bumrungrad that they weren't even considering other options before reaching immediately for the top shelf whiskey. They said that IVF is all that's left for me to do which is demonstrably not true. 

 

My bad though for assuming a for profit hospital would have at least some integrity. 

I can't speak on Bumrungrad but the treatment at Bangkok Hospital was the complete opposite.

 

I took a girl to the Bangkok Hospital ER for abdominal pain, said she needed to get surgery to remove her gallbladder, explained all the options and even said that a government hospital would provide the same level of treatment quality and be cheaper. 

[richard_smith237]

8 hours ago, Katsura said:

Yeah I'm well aware that it's expensive everywhere and I have no problem paying for it. What I didn't appreciate though from Bumrungrad that they weren't even considering other options before reaching immediately for the top shelf whiskey. They said that IVF is all that's left for me to do which is demonstrably not true. 

 

My bad though for assuming a for profit hospital would have at least some integrity. 

My Wife and I messed about with IUI for a couple of years, spent a chunk of change.

 

I then searched this forum and came across Jetanin - We went along had a chat with Dr Somjate and dived straight in for IVF icsy...    My Wife was pregnant about 6 months later - we had our Son 8 years ago. 

 

I’ve recommended Jetanin to friends who’ve had the same experience - their Wives fell pregnant on the first attempt at IVF. 

 

The husband of my Wife’s friend was considered infertile. The managed to actually extract some sperm (what they did makes my eyes water - needle extraction) - they had twins. 

 

While there are never any guarantees, We have personally had a good experience at Jetanin and those to whom I have recommended the hospital and Dr Somjate have also had the same positive experience. 

 

Total Costs: +/- 330,000 baht (start to finish for all the treatments and IVF icsy treatments / scan etc at Jetanin) - the delivery charges at Bumrungrad were on top. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

Off topic and/or judgemental posts have been removed

[Sheryl]

10 hours ago, Katsura said:

Yeah I'm well aware that it's expensive everywhere and I have no problem paying for it. What I didn't appreciate though from Bumrungrad that they weren't even considering other options before reaching immediately for the top shelf whiskey. They said that IVF is all that's left for me to do which is demonstrably not true. 

 

My bad though for assuming a for profit hospital would have at least some integrity. 

 

As I explained, it was until quite recently thought that IVF was the only option for results like yours. Info to the contrary is  new and many doctors are still unaware of it. Not everyone keeps up with literature.

 

I think this, rather than a nefarious desire for profit, was likely the reason for what you encountered.

[Sheryl]

Another unhelpful post has been removed

[Katsura]

21 hours ago, Sheryl said:

 

As I explained, it was until quite recently thought that IVF was the only option for results like yours. Info to the contrary is  new and many doctors are still unaware of it. Not everyone keeps up with literature.

 

I think this, rather than a nefarious desire for profit, was likely the reason for what you encountered.

Good point. That might explain it. The doctor was an older gentleman and he might not have the latest info. 

I still didn't like the sales pitch we got from a nurse afterwards. I felt like buying a used car rather than getting healthcare. 

[EricTh]

On 2/25/2022 at 8:50 AM, Katsura said:

Yeah I'm well aware that it's expensive everywhere and I have no problem paying for it. What I didn't appreciate though from Bumrungrad that they weren't even considering other options before reaching immediately for the top shelf whiskey. They said that IVF is all that's left for me to do which is demonstrably not true. 

 

My bad though for assuming a for profit hospital would have at least some integrity. 

 

Some (not all) of these private hospitals charge high fees just because they think most farangs can afford it given their stronger currency.

 

Of course, the waiting time and quality of care would be better than state hospitals.

 

It's a good idea to shop around and not be restricted to only Bangkok. Why not try the other private hospitals in other less expensive cities?

 

In the meantime, try to stop smoking (if you are), and have enough zinc in your diet.

Edited February 26, 2022 by EricTh

[EricTh]

Regarding zinc, it's better to eat natural zinc (and not those multi-vitamin synthetic zinc which is not as good).

 

Oysters is the richest source of natural zinc , so you can eat oysters everyday and see the results.

 

Avocado is also good for healthy fat that is essential for producing sperms.

[Katsura]

Apologies for resurrecting my old thread but I have an update to my story, which might give other men hope if they find themselves in a similar situation:
 

After I got the diagnosis at Bumrungrad I went on a research spree on the internet to see what can be done to improve sperm quality and I started doing the following: 

- Started taking FertilAid supplements (FertilAid + MobilityBoost + CountBoost)
- Started also taking multivitamins, fish oil, zinc, vitamin D and Co-Q10 

- Stopped taking long hot showers

- Started wearing loose fitting underwear

- Started exercising more 

 

After 3-4 months I went to do a semen analysis again (this time at Jetanin) and when I went to sit down with the doctor to discuss the results he basically said "why did you come to do the test? All your test results are excellent". Once I showed him my old test results he almost couldn't believe the difference and he said "what ever you are doing, keep doing it."

 

 

 

[scubascuba3]

21 minutes ago, Katsura said:

Apologies for resurrecting my old thread but I have an update to my story, which might give other men hope if they find themselves in a similar situation:
 

After I got the diagnosis at Bumrungrad I went on a research spree on the internet to see what can be done to improve sperm quality and I started doing the following: 

- Started taking FertilAid supplements (FertilAid + MobilityBoost + CountBoost)
- Started also taking multivitamins, fish oil, zinc, vitamin D and Co-Q10 

- Stopped taking long hot showers

- Started wearing loose fitting underwear

- Started exercising more 

 

After 3-4 months I went to do a semen analysis again (this time at Jetanin) and when I went to sit down with the doctor to discuss the results he basically said "why did you come to do the test? All your test results are excellent". Once I showed him my old test results he almost couldn't believe the difference and he said "what ever you are doing, keep doing it."

 

 

 

Did you get a repeat test after your initial test? you know to make sure the results were correct 

[Katsura]

On 11/1/2022 at 3:39 PM, scubascuba3 said:

Did you get a repeat test after your initial test? you know to make sure the results were correct 

No I didn't but I had a test about half a year before the test at Bumrungrad which showed slightly better, but still poor morphology. 

[IvorBiggun2]

My wife came to me 17 years or so ago and said 'I want a baby'. She already knew I'd had a vasectomy reversal that didn't work in the past. Anyways she was determined and did a bit of homework. Cutting a long story short. She found out that even after a vasectomy men still produce sperm. But due to time the sperms tail stops swimming in a straight line. To have a baby you need to have your sperm collected via a needle. The sperm is then quality assured inspected and the tail is separated from the head. The head was then united with an egg from my wife. Only good eggs used. My wife produced 14 good ones as I recall. My memory ain't that good these days but that's as best as I recall. 

First go we had a daughter. Tried again for a brother and got boy-girl twins 17 months after. Enough at 3.

Anyways the clinic we used is the Nawabutr Clinic in Bangkok.  http://www.nawabutrsiam.com/

Good luck.

Edited November 14, 2022 by IvorBiggun2

[Lacessit]

Perhaps the OP might want to consider adoption as an alternative.

[IvorBiggun2]

3 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Perhaps the OP might want to consider adoption as an alternative.

We tried that initially. Gave up at the first hurdle. Too much red tape and bureaucracy. No private agencies in Thailand. 

[Lacessit]

2 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

We tried that initially. Gave up at the first hurdle. Too much red tape and bureaucracy. No private agencies in Thailand. 

Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar?

[Boomer6969]

5 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

We tried that initially. Gave up at the first hurdle. Too much red tape and bureaucracy. No private agencies in Thailand. 

Mostly for lack of business as the vast majority of adoptions occur within families. 

Edited November 14, 2022 by Boomer6969

[IvorBiggun2]

On 2/25/2022 at 5:18 PM, richard_smith237 said:

the delivery charges at Bumrungrad were on top. 

We had all 3 children born free at a local government hospital. My wife wanted it that way. Doctor did caesarian deliveries to leave nothing to chance.

Edited November 14, 2022 by IvorBiggun2

[IvorBiggun2]

4 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar?

You forgot the UK.

Edited November 14, 2022 by IvorBiggun2

[Lacessit]

33 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

You forgot the UK.

Wicked.

[Sparktrader]

On 2/25/2022 at 8:50 AM, Katsura said:

Yeah I'm well aware that it's expensive everywhere and I have no problem paying for it. What I didn't appreciate though from Bumrungrad that they weren't even considering other options before reaching immediately for the top shelf whiskey. They said that IVF is all that's left for me to do which is demonstrably not true. 

 

My bad though for assuming a for profit hospital would have at least some integrity. 

All money these days. Google is better than drs.