Any link between infertility and allergies/antihistamines?

[geeup]

I have asthma and eczema and over past 10-15 years have taken antihistamines very frequently (at least once a week, sometimes several times a week) to cope with pet allergies and hay fever etc. Nothing prescribed just loratadine and most often citirizine. I have now been ttc for 2 years, two failed fresh IVF cycles (one a chemical pregnancy) and starting to wonder about having immune testing.
Does anyone know if there's a link between either allergies and infertility or use of antihistamines and infertility? Have tried google but haven't found much. Thanks for your comments.

I believe that taking antihistamines can affect the amount of cervical mucus you produce so therefore fertility.
I also suffered hay fever for many years and took off the shelf antihistamines through spring and summer.
When I finally got my surprise BFP naturally after 6.5 years of ttc including 2 ivf cycles I wasn't taking any antihistamines (as it was winter) and I had cut out certain foods which could have been making my polycystic ovaries worse things like gluten, dairy, processed foods. I took supplements for fertility and ate a very healthy diet with lots of superfoods prior to conceiving naturally for the first time ever. So for me personally yes there is a very strong link between what was going in to my body and my fertility.

Thanks mother that's really interesting. Sorry if it's tmi but did you notice a difference between your cm from being on and off the antihistamine? I definitely don't produce much but tried preseed to replace it

I think my cm was more noticeable when not taking antihistamines. We also used various different brands of 'sperm friendly' lube, I was using conceive plus when I conceived. Have you tried homeopathic remedies for your allergies? I did pollena and local honey for my hayfever x

I don't know if they affect fertility but last year when I had a massive skin allergic reaction my GP asked if I was taking antihistamines and I advised I had been but wasn't sure if I could be pg due to where I was in my cycle so had stopped and she said not to take them as I could be pg. So perhaps worth speaking to maybe pharmacist to see which ones are ok to take when there is a chance of becoming pg.

Thanks soapy. It's more than I wonder if there's a link between an over active immune system which causes asthma etc and the same immune system maybe killing off sperm or embryos. Maybe it's nothing but I just wonder if it's the same natural killer cells for example. I don't really understand the biology of the immune system.

I have a dust allergy and hay fever. I take ceterizine all year round, including for my whole pregnancy. Took us about 8 months to get pregnant but I do have a weird cycle. The first month I used pre-seed is the month I fell pregnant, but I think it's probably more to do with us trying at the right time that month. My now 14 month old has a milk allergy; babies whose parents have some kind of allergy are more likely to have one themselves

That's interesting. And reassuring you did get pregnant! Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree. Thanks for replying and hope your baby grows out of their milk allergy! Apparently that can sometimes happen?!

Gee, I have same concerns. I have a terrible dust allergy all year round that can make me very ill. I sneeze so often I even worried about managing not to sneeze during the two minutes it takes to do the embryo transfer! I had a failed fresh transfer of a top quality embryo, and thought exactly the same about my immune system. I have a FET transfer in 3 days time, so we shall see. Wishing you so much luck. x

Sorry geeup just reread about you having ivf so my comments were probably not much help. I completely see where you are coming from as if allergic reaction is an over response then you find yourself wondering what else your immune system is overreacting to. Are you able to chat with your clinic about their thoughts? Best of luck.

Ah good luck Scottish. Interesting to hear you are thinking the same. Very best of luck with your FET. I'll be having my first (after two failed fresh) in about a month. Hopefully we'll both get proved wrong!

I will chat to them soapy but they're an NHS clinic and very conservative so tend to dismiss any chat about immunes testing etc. Might have to go private for that...

I asked my clinic to add steroids to my protocol, but they said it is too early to justify this (ie only one failure so far). I wish I had pushed more. If this cycle fails I'm definitely adding steroids next time as a precautionary immune measure. Good luck for your fet x

Thanks gee. And yes hopefully she'll grow out if the milk allergy. Best of luck for your ttc x

Geeup have you heard about the effects that spirulina can have on rhinitis? I am a huge fan of super foods (did I mention this before? Lol) as an alternative to pharmaceutical drugs, could also be worth trying as it has so many other health benefits too.....

I'll take a look - thanks!

I know this is a really old thread, but after multiple chemical pregnancies, I took antihistamines as soon as the pregnancy test showed a faint line (for 5 days in a row), and they finally got darker and I've got a lovely little 1 year old to show for it. My body seemed to be attacking the embryo. My CRP was testing high so I always wondered if my body just creates too much histamine, so antihistamines in my opinion worked for me. @geeup I hope you ended up getting your little bundle of joy xxx

What other superfoods were you taking that may have helped?

Can you update on your pregnancy journey, so hope it went well.🙏

Can I ask if you had a successful first transfer if not did you then try the steroids for the 2nd🤔💕

@Digon my 1st FET did indeed work, and she's nearly 7 now! I went back years later for another FET, which also worked (he's now 2!). So in the end I didn't need steroids. I strongly believe my fresh transfer failed as my body wasn't ready, I was still in pain following the egg extraction. There is a lot of evidence that shows FETs are slightly more successful than fresh transfers statistically.
Wishing you all the very best with your treatment x

It’s so good to hear about the successful transfers 😊 so pleased you were one of them. Can you remember if you found any informationon on the steroids aspect before your transfer? I can’t find anything on this.🤷‍♀️

@Digon I'm afraid I didn't look into it much so I dont have any info. The only add on I did was embryo glue. And I also had acupuncture for 1st FET, but not 2nd. Our issue was male factor so there weren't any issues on my side, so I think steroids would have just been a placebo effect for me anyway! Hope you find info x

So kind of you to take the time to reply I appreciate it.💕