radiation and fertility

Have you ever heard of radiation from recurrent ablations causing difficulty with fertility? I'm 28 and I've been trying to conceive for about a year with no success. I know it's not a long time, but after 7 ablations and 2 pacemaker surgeries, I've been thinking... Should I be concerned?

6 Comments

fluoroscopy

by mereiriz - 2012-08-19 01:08:06

Thanks for your words, Tracey. I've been to the doctor and I've had the regular tests and everything seems to be fine. My husband hasn't though. Maybe we should check that.

And regarding the type of radiation, you're right, Don. I'm mostly worried about the fluoroscopy used to place the catheters at the right places. Most of my procedures have been 6 to 8 hours long (sometimes more). The thing is that I've seen what the staff use to protect themselves and I know that the patients don't get the same protection. It usually is ok because we're not supposed to get exposed as much as they do. My question is: how much is too much? Your suggestion of going to the hospital and asking them is a good one, but unfortunately impossible for me at the time. I live in Puerto Rico and my surgeries were in the US. Local hospitals tend to work very differently.

Radiation Shielding

by donr - 2012-08-19 05:08:16

I'm glad to know you realize the situation you are up against.

The staff wears all that protection because they are in the room every time they do a procedure. That can, over the years, create a lot of stray exposure. You are there a relatively few times so should not get as much, If the equipment is properly shielded AND (that's really a big and) it is properly maintained, it should minimize the amount of stray radiation there is for your ovaries. For decent resolution on the fluoroscope, the source head should have been very close to your torso. That would also reduce the amount of stray radiation that the rest of your body gets.

I suggest that you write the hospitals where you had it done & ask them the question. Explain your whole reason for asking. The worst they can do is blow you off w/ a dumb answer. Address the letter to the hospital CEO, Attention: Radiation Safety Office. They will find the right person to send it to. They ALL have such an office.

Sparrow hit one part directly on the head, however. Though indirectly. It takes one heck of a lot of radiation to cause sterility in a human. Perhaps as much as it takes to cause other ills, like radiation related cancers. A greater effect is genetic damage to the egg/sperm & any potential fetus that may exist at the time of exposure.

Don

Don

Did some Gogling for you...

by donr - 2012-08-19 06:08:31

...and guess what I found!!! Yep - a report on JUST trhe question you asked - well perhaps indirectly, but it addresses the amount of X-radiation you got.

Here's the link.
circ.ahajournals.org/content/84/6/2376

You'll have to copy & paste it, but it works. To read it, you have to go to the right center column & come down till you see "PDF free" Click on that & the entire article will show up in PDF format. Now, it's a 1991 article, but at least it's a start point.

Don


...

fertility

by Tracey_E - 2012-08-19 11:08:20

I've never heard of ablations causing fertility problems and it's unlikely it's the pm. One in four couples has trouble conceiving on their own, a much higher percentage than you'd think. One year of trying is when it's time to go talk to your dr and get some basic tests done on both of you. I have hormone problems (unrelated to my heart problems), so I went the fertility drug route. It wasn't fun or cheap but it wasn't as awful as expected and most important of all, it worked. My babies are 14 and 15 now, both pregnancies with my pm. Good luck to you.

DEpends on the kind of radiation!

by donr - 2012-08-19 11:08:33

I don't think you have any fears of radiation from the ablation itself causing fertility problems. It's the WRONG kind of radiation - [perhaps laser light, or electromagnetic from a radio-frequency device]. That is very short range in its effects & does not last long enough at any rate to cause fertility problems.

Your concern is side effects from ionizing radiation - X-Rays. I suspect that they use real time X-ray/fluoroscope to guide the equipment inside your heart while working. Unless they take few or no precautions about stray radiation striking your ovaries you should be safe. Remember that the people operating the equipment get exposed to the same stray radiation that the rest of your body does, so they have a vested interest in keeping that under control.

In 2012, X-ray equipment is much better & safer than it ever has been. The imaging sensors are far more sensitive, requiring far less radiation to generate an image, than ever before. Not only do they require less total radiation, they can work w/ less intensive radiation.

Why don't you walk in to the office of the hospital radiation safety people & explain your situation & ask them to discuss how they protect you from excess radiation? EVERY hosp has such an office. They go by different names/titles, but they do exist.

Have you ever noticed that when you enter an X-ray room that there is a very prominent sign telling women to tell the operator if they think they might be pregnant? That sign is there for a reason - the radiation safety people require it. They should be very glad to talk to you.

Don

thanks

by mereiriz - 2012-08-20 04:08:31

Thank you very much, Don! Really appreciate the time invested in this.

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