Can drugs damage your "eggs"?

[silicea]

Hi

I have been taking various medications for depression/ bi polar for a number of years. I also sometimes take tranqulisers for my anxiety and sleeping pills for my insomnia, and then various herbal remedies. I'm 31 and still want to have children (in the next few years).

Can all these drugs affect/ damage my eggs? Or make me infertile? Or could I have any problems conceiving? I know that eggs are not "made on request" like sperm, but women are born with them, hence my concern?

[feelbad]

This is kind of an iffy area and would probably have to be fully evaluated by a doc who is very knowledgable on genetic types of issues or possibly an ob with that particular type of experience.i have heard of certain drugs affecting the sperm and eggs in people wh have taken certain meds.this would all boil down to just what the med is and its mode of action.kind of hard to tell right out which meds those would be.Sorry i couldn't be of more help to you.maybe your pharmacist would either be able to tell you or at least point you in the direction of someone who could.just a thought.good luck,FB

[silicea]

Hi Feelbad,

Thanks for your reply, although it's not really reasurring ;-) My doc and gynea told me there is no risk (Unless pregnant, then it is better to go off medication). But I just want to make sure - this thought occured to me recently, when my sister in law got pregnant - she's never been on any meds and is 5 years younger. I'm nearly 32, been on a coctail from hell, and not going to get pregnant for another year, at least...

Which meds did you hear about? Or is it too much to mention? Is there a list somewhere? I tried a google search, but not really successfully....

Thanks!
silicea

[Merimac]

Originally Posted by silicea

Hi

I have been taking various medications for depression/ bi polar for a number of years. I also sometimes take tranqulisers for my anxiety and sleeping pills for my insomnia, and then various herbal remedies. I'm 31 and still want to have children (in the next few years).

Can all these drugs affect/ damage my eggs? Or make me infertile? Or could I have any problems conceiving? I know that eggs are not "made on request" like sperm, but women are born with them, hence my concern?

As we age, our eggs become less viable. This means that sometimes it takes longer to become pregnant and the ratio of problems to no problems becomes a little unbalanced. The problems with drug induced birth defects is that it is hard to tell whether the drug affects the egg or affects the conception process which in turn leads to the birth defects if any. We do know from some research done by Scientists that women who plan to become pregnant, need to be off any drugs that they can reasonably do without while pregnant, and that before they plan to become pregnant, the woman should begin taking the prenatal vitamins that she would be prescribed if she was already known to be pregnant. The neural tube defects caused by low folic acid seem to be a problem. Folic acid levels can be affected by some anti-depressant and anti anxiety agents. Depression in general can lower appetite and nutrition standards so that it is a complex issue. Plan for the pregnancy well in advance of actually conceiving by getting into the best possible health.

[silicea]

Thanks Merimac