Author Topic: Is it possible the drugs we take lowering our fertility ? (Read 9529 times)

panda · « **on:** April 15, 2009, 02:41:14 am »

Hi girls... Haven't been here for a while ..
Unfortunately nothing has been changed for me . I dont remember if I have updated but on Sept. I got pregnent and it last only a month then I had another miss cariage ...(the 2ndone)since then I can not get pregnent and I wonder is it possible the drugs we take has anything to do with that ? could it be it destroy our eggs ? I dot know what to think any longer

Ann · « **Reply #1 on:** April 15, 2009, 06:22:25 am »

Hi Panda,

It would help if we knew what drugs you're on (all of them). Some of the meds cannot be taken if you're pregnant or trying to get pregnant.

Ann

panda · « **Reply #2 on:** April 15, 2009, 11:24:56 am »

Well my dr switched the meds since I decided first I want to get pregnent, few years ago $:-\$
Now I am on TMC, Reyataz, norvir and Didanosine.

My Dr. says there meds were tested to be ok during the pregnancy period...

panda · « **Reply #3 on:** April 16, 2009, 12:51:17 pm »

Today I got another negative answer for my pregnency test.
I am so sad..I feel like this wont happen to me.
I can not help wondering if the medications we are taking has anything to do with mt i-fertility...

Ann · « **Reply #4 on:** April 16, 2009, 02:06:57 pm »

Panda,

I've never heard of the hiv meds affecting fertility. It is possible that some might cause miscarriage, but you're not on those. (ones like Sustiva can cause birth defects, which may in turn be noticed by the body and the embryo expelled by the body)

It might be time for you to visiti a fertility clinic. Just because you have hiv and are on hiv meds doesn't mean that is the cause of your conception problems.

Have you read through the Pregnancy Lesson?

Good luck, keep us posted.

Ann

panda · « **Reply #5 on:** April 16, 2009, 06:26:17 pm »

Thanks , well I am on fertility clinic ... this is how I got both pregnancies... I was on one clinic , got pregnent, mis carriege, then switched to another one, got pregnent , another misscariage and today I went to see a new dr. well , prof. actually , very nice, we'll try work with him and see how it goes.

Ann · « **Reply #6 on:** April 16, 2009, 06:44:33 pm »

Panda,

If by TMC, you mean the new drug Rilpivirine (TMC-278), you need to talk this over with both your hiv specialist and your doctor at the fertility clinic. It's so new that there haven't been studies on its effects in pregnant women. I believe the same goes for the Reyataz. There are charts in the lesson I linked to above which detail which meds can and can't be used.

If your fertility doc isn't experienced with hiv in pregnancy, then you might want to try to get a referral to one who is experienced. Your hiv doctor might be able to help in this regard. Be sure your fertility doc knows what meds you're on.

Again, good luck and keep us posted.

Ann

panda · « **Reply #7 on:** April 18, 2009, 05:44:39 am »

well , unfortunately here in Israel there is no such thing fertility specialist who knows mch about hiv .. they all trust the info I give them from my hiv dr.
My hiv dr. tsays there is no connection of my diificulties of trying to get pregnent and the hiv status/meds... but you know.. how can they know realy for sure ? same about the drugs, since I have resistance for some of the medications the current combination is all I can take for the pregnancy period... he said he checked about the tmc.. actualy the origina plan was like that:
I was taking stockrin when we frst decided on having a baby so my dr. said I should switch the stockrin to Kaletra, I didn't was to hear about the Kaletra due to bad lipo(lipodistrophy) I had so after checking agian he found for me the viramue - no lipo and approved for pregnancy, so we started and within 2 weeks I developed Stevens Johnson syndrro and I almost passed away...
then my dr. said there os no other choice but to get back to the kaletra and I was taking it with videx and viread... then few years later i have high protein in my urea and high creatinin and had to quit with the viread and the only option was the tmc which in from the family of the viramune, so my dr. checked if its possible to take it and I started taking it very carefuly and lucky it went ok and the protein in the urea went down along with the creatinin ,
Then suddenly my lipo profile jumped very high and we tried to take it off and got reyataz and norvir instead but i developed yellow eyes and high bilirubin so we stopped and 2 month ago I got back to the reyataz and norvir and for now all it ok ..
So, this is my current combination...
I feel so lost.. the information here is not like for you guys in usa or even europe... in israel its a bit complicated... most on the goverment budget goes for security and thse on going bluddy wars... the health is less important I guess... u know that only on Aug.2009 it will be possible for woman hiv carrier to get the procedure of .. I dont know the english translate .. tube insemination ... this is going for years in court ...

Ann · « **Reply #8 on:** April 18, 2009, 07:16:19 am »

Wow Panda, I can empathise with the difficulties you face. It must all be very frustrating for you. I hope your partner is understanding and supportive.

(and the thing about the military budget taking precedence over the health budget is an all-too-familiar problem in many countries)

I think the phrase you're looking for (in English) is either artificial insemination, or in-vitro insemination, where the embryo is fertilised in a test-tube. It's amazing that this procedure is only being permitted in Israel for poz women this year. There are still too many people who think poz people have no right to having a family - and that's just so wrong.

Would it be possible for your hiv doctor and your fertility doctor to communicate directly with each other, instead of using you as a go-between? It's vitally important that your fertility doctor has up-to-date information on hiv and pregnancy and understands your personal treatment history and general health.

There is another very informative publication on hiv and pregnancy available from the UK organisation i-Base.

http://www.i-base.info/guides/pregnancy/

It is also available in a PDF version, which you may want to print off and give to your fertility doctor. If you go through the main publication index page, you can also select from different languages, so if your doctor's first language is listed, it may help to download and print the publication in the relevant language for him. http://www.i-base.info/about/downloads.html

And please keep in mind that it may not be the hiv and/or hiv medications that are causing your problems. Some women are just unlucky when it comes to carrying a baby to full term, and it's heartbreakingly sad.

I have an appointment at my hiv clinic this coming Tuesday. If I manage to see my consultant (rather than a registrar) I will pick his brains for you. He has a lot of experience with hiv and pregnancy and he's also an hiv pharmacologist, so he should have a good idea as to whether or not the meds you're on could be causing the miscarriages. I can't promise I'll be able to speak to him, but I certainly will try. (he's used to me picking his brains for the benefit of forum members.)

Ann

panda · « **Reply #9 on:** April 18, 2009, 09:18:23 am »

Thank you so much

It is so good to know there are pepole outthere who can assit ... I appreciate it a lot.
As for my misscariage, I forgot to mention the most important fact ;
There was an Israeli research for on going misscariage that found the main reason is aspicblood / thick blood ... so I wanted to get this test done bt as usual , the very expensive and thegoverment pays for it only if u had 3 misscariage or family background so since I had "only" 2 I invented a family background and they gave me the approval , so I did the test and it was found I do have thick blood, they test like 12 protein factors in the blood and one of them which is called factor8 was found in a very high level so I went to see a specialist who confirmed to me that it looks like this is my main reason for the abortions (natial abortions/miss cariage) and he told me that one I will get pregnant I will had to take the clexan injections to the belly every day for thining the blood, this was sort of a reliefe BUT what I dont understand is why it is taking me so long to get pregnent , for 4 years of trying to get pregnent I success only 2 times (In which both ended up miss cariage), this is what I prefer u will ask the dr. if you will get to see him if its possible that the medication we take over the years are lowering the fertility, I mean if it has such huge impacat on my body (the lipo) how can I know it is not the reason for my low fertility ?

So anyway , now I switched a fertility specialst , he is a professor and he told me he doesn't think there is a connection for not being able to get pregnent , I will start these pills called ikaklumin for producing more folliciles cause up untill now we did the insemation (the regular one) based on my natural ovulations and we came up every cycle with 1 or 2 folliciles and with these pills the idea is to get more so the chance of healthy egg is higher...

My husband is negative... he is very cool and not getting panic from all this situation but I do cause my clock it tiking I am 34.5 ..

Ann · « **Reply #10 on:** April 18, 2009, 10:27:17 am »

Hi Panda,

I don't know if you're aware, but having any infections such as chlamydia or pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in the past can cause scar tissue to form inside the fallopian tubes, and this is one of the leading causes of difficulty in conceiving. It's totally possible to have something like chlamydia without symptoms, and so never get treated for it. Up to 60% of women with chlamydia NEVER have ANY symptoms.

If the fertility clinic hasn't already checked you for chlamydia and if they haven't checked your fallopian tubes to make sure they aren't blocked, it would be a good idea to have this done.

I'll still ask my doc next week - I'm a little concerned about your use of TMC.

I hope you have some results from the new drug you're taking. Good luck.

Ann

panda · « **Reply #11 on:** April 18, 2009, 12:37:12 pm »

Hi , never heard on the above ... and as far as I know I didn't have it

Anyway , I am on the TMC for a while and so far the # are good ...
About the pregnancy and TMC my hiv dr. said he checked but .. I will be happey if you can also check.

Ann · « **Reply #12 on:** April 23, 2009, 11:03:21 am »

Hi Panda,

I didn't get to see my consultant on Tuesday, but the registrar I saw introduced himself to me as Dr Khoo's SENIOR registrar, and he did seem much more knowledgeable than most of the registrars I've seen there, so I asked him about the meds you're on, after explaining your situation.

He said that in no way would he advise a woman on TMC to attempt to conceive as so very little is known about this very, very new drug and its use during pregnancy - and because of the fact that it's in the NNRTI class of hiv meds.

The NNRTI class includes - Intelence (etravirine, TMC-125); Rescriptor (delavirdine, DLV); Sustiva (Stocrin, efavirenz, EFV); Viramune (nevirapine, NVP) and; Rilpivirine (TMC-278). (source)

Viramune is the only NNRTI option recommended for use during pregnancy (source) - could you take Viramune instead of TMC?

He said Reyataz is also not recommended, also because of the lack of information in conjunction with pregnancy - but he wasn't as worried about Reyataz as he was the TMC.

Reyataz is classified by the FDA as a pregnancy category B drug. Pregnancy category B means that animal studies have failed to demonstrate a risk to the fetus, but there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. (source)

I'm sorry to have to give you this news about TMC. I wish I had better.

Hugs,
Ann

panda · « **Reply #13 on:** April 26, 2009, 10:42:13 am »

GOD !

I can not take viramune since I had the steven johnson last time I took it...
The TMC was given to me as a replacement to the viread since the viread did problems with the kidney... the reyataz i take a long with the norvir instead of kaletra that jumped my fat profile .

I just dont know what to do ..
My dr. said he did checked about the TMC before he gave it to me ...

What do I do now ?

Ann · « **Reply #14 on:** April 26, 2009, 12:04:42 pm »

Panda,

If I can find my doc's email address, I'll email him this week and ask HIM about TMC. Other than that, I don't know what to tell you. I'm surprised your doctor OKd this drug for you for during pregnancy when it's so new and so little is known about it, but who knows, maybe there's info out there the registrar and I aren't aware of. If anyone will have a better idea, it would be the Wizard of Poz (my consultant).

I let you know when I hear back from him.

Ann

panda · « **Reply #15 on:** May 01, 2009, 09:57:03 am »

Dear Ann ,

I checked once again with my Dr. about the TMC... I was very upset and told him that he is responssible for my health , we are ion very good relations.. he is my dr. for over 10 years , i can call him day or night ..
He told me he checked all his sources and TMC is approved , it was tested on rats and there were no evidence for any problem during pregnancy... he told me there is no drug company that will published OK for taking it for pregnant woman for insurance issues ... cause there is no gorup of woman being actualy tested with tmc while hey are pregnant ... so the recomandation is that it was tested ok on rats .

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Author Topic: Is it possible the drugs we take lowering our fertility ? (Read 9529 times)