Oh meh.... this may be why Im not getting pregnant

[Loola]

Ive just read to articles saying that anti-depressants may cause temporary infertility in men. My OH takes Seroxat - needlessly I reckon as he is not depressed, but you cant just come off them, you have to wean yourself off over a long time. This may be why we havent conceived yet. Joy.

Anyone else in the same boat?

 

[Chrissy1]

Oh loola that's pants for you. do you think your DH will be able to come off them?

Does the report give any statistics of the chances of it making him infertile or not?? It could be that it's just a very small chance.

 

[marge]

Not in the same boat exactly but I've suffered with depression for the last 7 years and been on anti-depressants on off since then. I know when I'm ready to come off them and wean myself off over a few weeks. But I think you have to want to come off them.

My DH said that we could not start TTC unless I was off them. Havent been on them since begining of 06

Does he want to come off them? Has he seen the doc about coming off them? I tried Seroxat once and they made me really ill

I've never really read up on infertility being linked but hope it isnt going to be a big factor in you TTC

to you

 

[kmac]

Oh Loola that's a shame you have found that out.
Maybe you should have a chat with a doc and find out exactly what the situation is - looking things up on the internet can make them seem worse than they are! It might not be that much of sn issue.

 

[CB23]

but at least you have found out and can go talk to the doctor, hope your OH can come off them with time

 

[Redshoes]

I've been on Seroxat in the past, and I just stopped taking them, didn't take GP advice to do it slowly as I felt ready to move on. However, I know nothing about your OH but I would say maybe go see GP and ask about if it does/can effect his sperm, and how to combat it or lower OH's dose if possible? Zinc and Selenium, brazil nuts, green leafy veg, all are great for sperm mobility. I'd definitely ask your GP, and I hope it isn't effecting your ttc, very best wishes Loola

 

[Loola]

Thanks everyone My OH has been on them since Ive known him. He has never been depressed but he used to get really bad panic attacks - mainly due to his excessive party lifestyle and a chemical imbalance (if you know what I mean). He doesnt do any of the partying anymore and leaves a completely normal lifestyle. We both agree that he doesnt need to be taking the pills anymore. He took the last one that he had last night. Im hoping that he doesnt get anymore but that really depends on how rough he feels if he stops taking them straight away. It can make you really sick and cause depression to just stop taking them, due to the seratonin levels in the brain changing so suddenly. He has been on them for years and years now, and Im quite angry that his Doctor hasnt even asked him whether he needs them anymore, he just keeps giving repeat presciptions.

I am really upset about this - the side effects that are printed with the medication do not say anything about causing temporary infertility - they just say that they can cause sexual dysfunction e.g. lack of erection, trouble reaching orgasm or no ejaculation. Thankfully my OH doesnt have any of these side effects, but looking at these articles:

http://www.healthcarerepublic.com/news/GP/603012/antidepressants-cause-male-infertility/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2006/oct/24/medicalresearch.drugs1



it does look like anti-depressants can cause temporary infertility. I guess the only thing we can do is to go to the Doctor and have a sperm count test. I feel like we have been wasting our time over the last 9 months TTC if there has been a problem and we didnt even know about it. My OH is more than happy to come off them, I have told him that it is fine to put TTC on hold until it is all sorted out, but he says we can still try just incase.

Hopefully OH taking Zinc will help reverse the affects of Seroxat. We are going to have to see a Doctor though as this will drive me insane not knowing if its the cause.

 

[marge]

loola

I agree that the doctor is really bad not checking that your OH needs the pills anymore and just dishing out repeat prescriptions is terrible!

I can understand how you feel the last 9 months of TTC have been a waste of time.

I hope everythig gets sorted for you very soon

 

[Loola]

Thankyou. OH and I are going to see the Doc tomorrow hopefully. OH was going to go by himself but I have asked to go with him as I know OH wont ask the right questions. I think that we may end up having fertility tests because of this too so Im a little nervous! You never know it may not have affected his sperm count, but the likelyhood is that it has. I cant bare not knowing anymore so they better let us be tested, I cant waste another 4 months, waiting to get to 12 months of TTC.

I feel so down, all my hope has gone at the moment. We should be BDing now as Im approaching ovulation, I just havent got the mental energy anymore.

 

[Rosebay]

Oh bun (()). My OH is on Prozac (has a different name but it's the same drug) and I did worry about this but it didn't seem to make a difference. I think it tends to be the fact that sex drive can go down and erectile problems etc rather than sperm count but I'm not 100% sure. I think you're so right to go to the Dr to ask though as it's good to know for sure.

Don't let him stop straight away though as my OH came off another kind (I think it was Seroxat or something like it- a more anxiety one than Prozac anyway) and even though it was a gentle withdrawal he got nasty dizzy spells and funny headaches and was a bit freaked out by it. Not all people have that but just watch out for it. One dizzy spell he had when he was swimming which was scary.

Huge hugs hun
Good luck at the Drs
+++

 

[sookie]

Hi Loola,

It's great to be informed and I hope that the doctor will be able to answer your questions.

The chances are though that it has not had a real impact on his sperm count. Sometimes all the info on the Internet can be a curse rather than a help!

While 9 months is a long time to ttc it's still normal and there is probably nothing wrong. Don't give up trying now, you'll regret it if you miss ov this month. When my DH got his sperm count results and we found out they were borderline infertile (2% chance of conceiving with those levels) I wanted to give up. But after a while I realized that it wasn't conclusive and we needed more tests, and that takes time (3 months between each test). I wasn't prepared to give up while I waited to find out if the results are permanent or not! Keep going, it's more fun.

 

[Loola]

Thank you so much I had a tearful moment earlier when OH was still sleeping and I went to visit my family. It cheered me up a bit but seeing my little niece and nephew did kind of make me upset too, as I want a little one of my own so much!

When I got back I had a talk with OH, its so hard not to put pressure on him. He's been feeling really ill over the last few days, and Im worried that we are going to miss ovulation this month if he's not well. He has agreed to make an appointment with the Docs tomorrow so that we can ask some questions. I got upset talking to him. I really feel that everything is against us. He is on anti-depressants, is very overweight and until very recently drank way too much alcohol. Even though all of these things are partly his fault, I know he is trying so hard so I cant be angry with him, Im just so frustrated. Until we see the Doctor and have tests done my mind will not be at rest.

Hopefully we will have some answers soon. I pray that if we do have a problem its easily fixable.

 

[fluff]

I think you're right to talk to the Doctor... I did a quick google there on the drug and it does talk about low sperm count and motility... so that could have an effect - and is so... then surely this is good news if the Dr. can wean him off it as this could be a fresh start to things for you...

Although it's hard to find this out... I think it's great that you did, because otherwise you could have continued wondering why things weren't working out - at least if you know, you can do something about it

Try not to get down hearted... and even if it does have an effect on sperm, I see no reason to not carry on trying while he comes off the drug because you never know... when you're not trying so hard, might just be when the BFP sneaks up on you...

 

[Loola]

Thanks Fluff, you are of course very right!!

My OH and I had another long chat about things last night, which turned into me speaking in a very high pitched whiny voice and him getting very narky with me. He said that TTC was taking over my life and I think of nothing else, which is true and he couldnt believe that only now have I got upset about all these things (his weight, drinking and seroxat use) when he's finally starting to do something about it, which again is true, so I felt pretty bad about it.

Anyway he has now starting weaning himself off the seroxat and hopes to be off them entirely within a month. Hopefully with him eating healthily, walking with me every night, not drinking and taking the supplements that Babydust has donated to us (thank you!) his sperm count will become more healthy too, so its looking good for the future.

Now the hard part is going to be how the hell Im going to chill out about the whole TTC thing and become more patient?

I am still going to go to the Doctor just because I really need to feel reassured that we are doing the right thing. I would also like to get myself checked out, so If I have any problems they can be addressed straight away. Ill give OH 3 months before he has to be tested, hopefully all the bad things will be out of his system by then and he will have a new batch of healthy sperm. I am feeling alot more positive now.

 

[fluff]

That's great to hear that you're feeling more positive about things - that's the spirit! Hopefully a clean start will do you both good, and the talking (even if it lead to some narkiness) has got some skeletons out of the closet and everything out in the open.

Wishing you all the best... hopefully this new start and new healthy living will be just what the doctor ordered!