Remicade and it's effect on male Fertility

[Maryam]

Hello All,

I joined this forum about a year ago. My husband has crohns he was diagnosed when he was 15. He is currently on Remicade every 8 weeks. We are thinking of starting a family. I am concerned if Remicade has any effect on male fertility or its effect on fetus. We recently saw his GI and he said that there is nothing to worry about. But, I am still not convinced. Alos, does Predniosne has any effect on fertility. He has been taking pre on and off. He has never been on it for a long period of tim.

Has any of the members have had this experience? Any suggestions and advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[Lydia]

Remicade is an antibody. I dont see how it would affect sperm. The only drug you should not take while trying to conceive is methotrexate. All other drugs are IIRC. I wouldnt worry about the short term use of pred.

I am also on remicade and I am trying to get pregnant. It is a pregnancy cat. B drug.

 

[Healing]

I have heard that you should be off immunosupressants for at least 6 months but that is for women. I would not be real comfortable with my husband being on that and wanted to start a family.

I would do as much as you can for research and get second opinions. The last thing you want to do is harm the baby.

I would start with Remicaid's website.

 

[Lydia]

You can take biologics, immuran and 6MP while pregnant. Although immuran and 6 MP are class D drugs this was only classified at levels used for organ recipients which is a much higher level than a crohns patient gets.

The only drug completely contraindicated with conception and pregnancy is methotrexate. The recommendation is to stop 3 months before conceiving for both men and women.

Flaring is way more risky than drugs. Inflammation anywhere in the body increases the risk of miscarriage for women. Flaring is also bad when you are a new parent, as it robs you of the awesome experience.

If you are really worried get a second professional opinion.

 

[Healing]

I think just making yourself as well advised about everything is the best option. That is what I have learned. Also others experiences with treatments. This seems to be a great spot to learn about experiences others have had with flares, remissions, treatments, etc.

 

[JustMe]

Hello! I joined this site just to answer your question. (feel special!) :ycool: I thought you'd like to hear that my husband has been on Remicade every 8 weeks since before we met (about 4 years ago) and last week I gave birth to our second son. Both boys were born healthy and beautiful. Since we managed to conceive practically the second we decided to have a kid, I'm thinking fertility isn't affected either. Personally, I would say you have a big 'ole green light to start your family! Good luck and have fun!:allright:

ETA: Forgot to mention, my hubby hasn't been on prednisone in a really long time so I can't vouch for that one. If your husband is only on it occasionally then you could eliminate the worry on that one by makin' the baby during the in-between times. Have you considered talking to your OB/GYN? They tend to be a very conservative lot when it comes to medicines and fetal health. They will tell you definitively if there is even the slightest concern.

 

[Maryam]

Oh thanks a lot for joining. it makes me feel special. I feel much better after reading your reply. He hasn't taken Pred recently he did in the past. I have an appointment with an OB/GYN I will ask her.

thanks again.

 

[sarah986]

Hi im new here and was just wondering if there are any more stiories of people conceiving when on remicade (inflixamab). When my husband was finally diagnosed with chrons disease we were just starting to try for a baby. But then he got quite bad, they tried prednisolone and azathioprine 1st but after 4 weeks he was still geting severe pain, and he was constantly being sick. They then suggested starting remicade, at 1st he was cautious(he was afraid of it effecting his fertility) but we then decided to go ahead as i was already pregnant, and by the time we wanted to try for another baby he would be off it, and from what information we had there was no evidence to suggest that there were any side effects like this. However in August i lost the baby at 14weeks. All we want to do is try again but we are afraid that with him being on remicade it may cause problems with our baby.

Hope some one out there may be able to help.

 

[SarahAnne]

I was on Remicade for several months in my 20's when I was very, very sick. I hadn't had a menstrual cycle in over a year, and the Remicade actually turned everything around. After a few infusions I got better and better, gained more and more weight, and then realized I was pregnant!

I never had a period, I must have gotten pregnant during my very first cycle and the Remicade had no effect on my baby or pregnancy. I was so underweight that I didn't know I was pregnant until I was 14 weeks along, I thought I was just gaining my weight back. I stopped the Remicade after I discovered I was pregnant, but I had a very wonderful pregnancy. That may just be me, it was the same with my 2nd one, no morning sickness, Crohn's pretty much went away and I could eat just about anything I wanted.

I would definitely talk to my OB/GYN before trying again, 14 weeks is very early and the miscarriage might have absolutely nothing to do with the meds. Good luck to you and your husband!

 

[sarah986]

Thanks for your response. I dont think meds had anything to do with my miscarriage as he either hadnt started any or had only jus started them the week we conceived, he hadnt started the inflixamb at this stage. My husband is afraid that it may cause the childs immune system to be weak. So glad i found this forum as i have seen so many positive stories already. If it was up to me i would have started trying as soon as we miscarried, if i have another pregnancy to focus on i wont keep thinking about the one we lost all the time. How long have you been on inflixamb? Have you had any side effects, and has it helped you? My husband has quite a few strictures, and inflamation still has not all subsided, he still has pain from time to time, and always has the sensations of the food passing through. He has only been on inflixamab for 4months now tho so hopefully it will help him improve and he wont need surgery.

 

[SarahAnne]

I was on the remicade for several months in my late 20's. I never had any problems with it back then. I started it back up about 5 years ago and had a reaction to it, so I stopped it at the time. The reaction was a mistake of the infusion lab not pre-medicating me.

I started the remicade again several months ago, no problems. I have never had any side effects from it specifically that I can determine. I am very tired the day of infusion and the day after, but it is from my pre-meds. The remicade helped my stricture a lot until scar tissue required surgery. Is your husband on any other maintenance meds, or just the remicade? Some people start feeling better after the very first infusion, for others it takes a few to build up in the body. I hope it continues to help him.

 

[sarah986]

He's on azathioprine 125mg, pentasa 50mg 4times, omeprozole 40mg, as well as supplements for immune system, and protein drinks. It took 3doses for his to start working, and he starts geting sore around the 7th week until about a week after he gets it again, but he would prefer this than to have to go for surgery. He has started getting stiff and sore joints but it only lasts for about 2 weeks after infusion. Going to talk to his consultant about it again next week then talk to obgyn and hopefully start trying next month. Thanks for your help, and i hope your meds continue working so well for you.