Does having TB in your past mean infertility issues?

[NothingIsImpossible]

My wife had Pulmonary TB (her lungs) about 3 years ago, and was treated for it. At the time she was far into the TB when they found it. Obviously its been gone for years but still has lasting side affects. She is panicking because she was told TB vastly reduces the chances of getting pregnant. Is this true? I tried researching but couldn't find a solid answer. At best I seen those who have fertility issues had Tb in their ovaries, uterus...etc. Not their lungs.

 

[heliumskylark]

I work in maternity and sexual health. My knowledge of TB is a little shaky as we don't come across it a great deal here, but my understanding is that genital / pelvic TB can make it difficult to conceive because of the damage to the fallopian tubes. If conception does take place there is a significant risk of ectopic pregnancy, where the baby develops outside of the womb, in which case it's not normally possible to carry the baby to an age where it can survive.
Pulmonary TB on its own doesn't affect fertility, as long as it doesn't spread (via the bloodstream) to the pelvis / reproductive organs. One potential difficulty is that pelvic TB is often symptomless, so it's possible to have it and not know. However, if your wife was treated for her PTB I would expect that that would also have killed any bacteria that might have spread to her reproductive organs.
If she did have any pelvic TB, the effects would depend on how long it was untreated for and whether her body was able to repair the damage caused.
If she's concerned that she had pelvic TB, get her to speak to her OB/GYN. I should think they'd be able to pick up any scarring or damage on an ultrasound (but don't quote me on that). Or if you have access to a Dr specialising in tropical medicine they might be a good bet too. But reassure her in the meantime that having pulmonary TB is not in itself a fertility concern

 

[NothingIsImpossible]

She sees a OB/Gyn tommorow so I'll make sure we ask them about that too. Especially if they can do a test to see if there was damage. For me I told her even if shes ok I'd be more worried about passing on bad genes from our health problems. Seizures, severe asthma, vision issues, migraines, learning disabilities and so on. So far we have "made love" I want to say about 15 times without protection and she hasn't gotten pregnant. Though I told her its not like you get pregnant on the first try. Its different for everyone. I read one place the average times is about 158 before pregnancy occurs. Not sure how accurate that is though.