QuestionQUESTION: Hello. My wife and I are going to be trying to have a baby soon. I'm 32 now, but in the past I did a lot of drugs like vicoden and oxycontin. I'm worried about my baby coming out with problems. Have you heard anything about this and what doctor do I go see to have my sperm checked out before hand?
ANSWER: Narcotics like vicodin and oxycontin pass through the system fairly quickly. Because of this, I doubt it would have any affect on your sperm now if you've been clean for a while.
If you delved into other drugs, however, you may want to get a genetic profile from a doctor. LSD (aka 'acid') is known to cause chromosomal damage, which may be passed to your offspring.
Please let me know if I can help you with anything else!
Best wishes and good luck,
Helen =)
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QUESTION: thank you for your answer. my follow up is that if i want to get a genetic test like you said, what type of doctor, specifically, and what do I ask them for, specifically??
Thank you.
AnswerIf you are on a health insurance plan, you would need to get a referral from your primary care physician. Explain your concerns and your doctor will most likely schedule you to have blood drawn and then have you schedule an appointment with a geneticist or a genetic counselor.
Best wishes!
Helen =)
