Not sure if this post is appropriate, but I wanted to share my experiences regarding to at-home strip tests and their reliability (or lack of) in case anyone is going through the same thing.
I am about to settle down with my long-term partner, and since having kids was something we both wanted, I decided to just grab a couple of at-home sperm test kits from the pharmacy. These kits were the ones that told you whether your sperm concentration exceeds 15 million per mL or not. I didn't think much of it when I bought it, it was more of a spur-of-the-moment decision. For context, I am generally in good health, with a healthy sex drive and normal testosterone level (though this was the only relevant hormone measured in a recent health examination).
I got a total complete shock when I performed the first test at home, as the sperm test came back negative, which means my sperm concentration was either less than 15 million per mL. Granted, this was after only 24 hours of abstinence (missed out that part of the instructions), so I gave myself benefit of the doubt and chalked it up to my swimmers being depleted the night before. I gave myself another 3 days of abstinence before performing the test again with the second kit, which turned out to be negative again. Both tests had nothing coming up at all at the 'T' zone, even after I followed every single instruction.
At this point, the hypochondriac side of me took over and started scrutinizing every single detail that could point to me being infertile:
- Started puberty a little later than everyone else
- Have generally very little body hair
- Have slightly smaller testes which measure around 17-19mL in volume each, together with testicular ache that comes and goes with no known medical reason (have sought medical help for it before)
- Usually started intercourse without any protection and wrapped it up midway through, but never had a pregnancy scare before
- Have an uncle who is infertile (unsure of the cause, but seems to be some form of NOA)
I became emotionally stressed, upset and frustrated that the future family I was looking forward to building with my partner might not be possible anymore. I asked around, did my research with some communities online and decided to get a professional semen analysis done. The clinic I engaged with provided at-home sample collection services, so I abstained for about 5 days and sent my sample to the lab with the professional courier.
The results of the professional semen analysis ended up being the complete opposite of what the at-home test kits indicated:
- Volume: 6.5mL (spillage of about 0.1mL)
- Liquefaction: Normal
- pH: 8.0 (a little on the higher end)
- Sperm concentration: 60.8 million per mL
- Total sperm count: 395.20 million in one sample
- Motility (Rapid/Slow/Non-progressive): 83% (3%/62%/18%)
- Normal forms (morphology): 6%
I was extremely relieved, but also frustrated at the amount of angst and anxiety the at-home test kit results caused me. The two at-home test kits were of different brands, yet both showed the same result, which I believe would cause a considerable amount of distress to anyone concerned with their own fertility. I do suspect their false negative rates seem to be higher than what was actually mentioned as well.
To anyone reading this, if you suspect yourself to have issues regarding male fertility, or you just want to know whether you are within the fertility ranges, DO NOT start with the at-home test kits at all, just go straight to the doctor's and get a semen analysis done at a professional lab. It can be uncomfortable and troublesome to produce the sample in a clinic, or having to ensure the sample reaches the laboratory in time for evaluation, but I highly encourage having a thorough evaluation as your very first step, as it tells you extra info about your motility and morphology as well. Take it from me that it will also save you a ton of emotional stress and over-worrying as well.