Citalopram and trying to conceive

[Vav04]

Dear Doctor

I have been on Citalopram since early 2009, initially on 10m, then 20 for a couple of months, and then back to 10m. I have been trying to conceive my second child since June 2009 without success. (I am almost 32 and have a 5 year old child).
I am now taking it every other day and trying to get off it. Is it possible that the drug affects female fertility? I have found some information on the Net reg. trials showing that it could reduce fertility in men, but no mention of how it affects a woman's chances of conception.

Any info will be much appreciated!



I am planning to talk to my GP about it, but would be

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
Celexa as it is also known is UNLIKELY to affect your fertility especially at such a low dosage.  It may cause impotence or reduced sex drive in men.  It can also cause reduced libido in women.  In the case of Maria, her doctor probably took her off of the drug because there is limited data on use in pregnancy.  It SEEMS to be pretty safe, but we used Paxil for years too.
If you are on such a low dose to start with, it may be that you can slowly taper off and see if it helps, then remain off during pregnancy.
Other things to consider for fertility are:
Do you ovulate regularly (monthly cycles?)
Does he have a normal sperm count?
Are your tubes open or blocked?

Ask you GP about some baseline tests such as thyroid levels, prolactin levels, progesterone levels, FSH levels, semen analysis, etc.
Good luck!
Dr B

[northernsunshine]

I've been on celexa 20mg for almost a year.  Doctor knows i've been ttc and they say the benefits of me being on the meds rather then off, outweigh any small negative effects it would have a on the pregnancy.  However, i too have been ttc for almost a year but have yet to be successful.  Every blood test and sperm test have been normal.  My vaginal ultrasound went well.  We are trying to schedule a HSG test but timming just seems to be off every month or the doctor can't schedule me in.  Hopefully it will be done soon and i'll get some answers.

[Maria09]

I was taking citalopram but my doctor took me off it because I wanted to try to conceive