Get access to over 1,300 articles and reader Q&As
My husband and I have been trying to conceive for almost a year. He recently started seeing an ED therapist, who said it is likely the multitude of antidepressants he was put on as a kid, prolonged use of cannabis, and his current bipolar medication are contributing to his inability to perform and our inability to conceive. What is the likelihood of being able to conceive with male use of antidepressants? Are we doomed unless he goes off the medication that helps him stay afloat?
—Manic on Multiple Fronts Now
First, let me say I’m sorry you are dealing with this. Struggling to conceive is difficult enough without vague diagnoses that leave you with impossible choices.
The evidence on antidepressants and male infertility is not enormously conclusive. There is some work suggesting that SSRIs, in particular, may impact sperm concentration and motility, but this is mostly in vitro work, and it isn’t always clear whether that would translate to decreases in realized conception. A lot of these studies are in rats, which are good models for humans, but not always that precise. Work on non-SSRI medications is even less broad. SSRIs can also contribute to lower sex drive and erectile dysfunction in men, which can impact fertility.
Cannabis is also known to lower sperm counts, although, as with most things that impact sperm, this effect is reversible (since sperm is consistently produced over time). My read is that your husband is no longer using cannabis to manage his diagnosis.
Overall, it is possible that the medications he is on are impacting his sperm. It is also possible they are not, or that despite any impacts, his sperm parameters are fine.
This leads me to my main piece of advice here: get his sperm tested directly, and see what is going on. Without that information, this is all speculative. If there are issues with his sperm, you can then consider solutions. Sperm regenerates on a scale of a couple of months, so if your husband changes some behaviors in the short term, you may be able to quickly learn what is working.
Community Guidelines
Log in