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Allopurinol & decreased sperm volume

Posted , 5 users are following.

ross86462
ross86462

I've been taking 300mg Allopurinol for a few months now, and suddenly my sperm production has dropped significantly. Is this a common side effect with the medication? Would it be worth mentioning to my GP on our next visit?

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • philip_53291
    philip_53291 ross86462

    Posted

    I've never heard of it. Depends on your age I suppose. If you're in your fifties it's entirely normal (change of life). How do you know it's dropped if you haven't seen a doctor?

  • rustygecko
    rustygecko ross86462

    Posted

    Both allopurinol AND colchicine are known to reduce sperm and semen quantity in most users. This is reversed in stopping taking the drugs in under 90 days. 

    10/10 for noticing!

  • paul6676
    paul6676 ross86462

    Posted

    As this is reversed in approx 90 days, what are the health implications of stopping Allopurinol? Would it be an increased likelihood of an attack or something more sinister?
  • rustygecko
    rustygecko ross86462

    Posted

    Allopurinol will increase your chance of an attack for most people for 5-13 months (depends on how long it takes to flush out the monosodium urate in your body. There are some people who take up to 33 months, but attacks will decline sharply.

    After that attacks will be rare.

    The down side of not taking allopurinol are inflammation through the entire body leading to a marked increase in blood vessel issues, heart attack and stroke; as well as kidney disease and some cancers. Gout itself will cause damage to the affected joints. Also risk of trophy’s.

    Standard therapy is to give colchicine to stop the gout attacks as soon as they begin. I’m 2 years or so into taking allopurinol, my trophus have gone, and I cannot remember the last attack I had. I used to have pins and needles in my hands and arms - that’s gone too. I’d kid the guy who invented allopurinol (I say that knowing the drug is 70 years old and the inventor is long gone)

    NB do not take allopurinol if you have kidney problems or if you are of Han Chinese | Thai | Korean ancestry. If you have a skin reaction in the first couple of weeks stop taking it and seek medical help. 

  • Guest
    Guest ross86462

    Posted

    Do you mean sperm or seaman ?

    Either way, it's not something I have heard of

    • rustygecko
      rustygecko Guest

      Posted

      Seamen (sic) would certainly be easier to count; however from memory the research was a reduction in both sperm count and semen volume.

      The reason I suspect that this reduction is not highlighted is

      a) most people on it aren’t trying to procreate;

      b) human ejaculate contains 200-250 million sperm - we can afford to lose a few;

      c) many doctors don’t even bother to read the important stuff about allopurinol, so you can  hardly expect them to bother with the small print.

    • paul6676
      paul6676 rustygecko

      Posted

      So if a person wanted to have a child whilst taking Allopurinol, would they need to come off the meds or should they still produce enough to not have any problems?
    • rustygecko
      rustygecko paul6676

      Posted

      For most men, in decent health even with the knock down effect of allopurinol - they’ll be okay I suspect: “only one needs to get through.”

      The age and health and fertility of the potential mother is very important. If the woman is having periods on a 28 day cycle she’s probably fertile; deviations from 28 days indicate lesser fertility.  Age is of course a significant factor in female fertility. (It is in men too, but less).

  • Guest
    Guest ross86462

    Posted

    Seriously, it's not a problem, but from a broader point of view, the planet is horribly overpopulated by human beings, so don't worry about it. 

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