Question
Why do I get amnesia with alcohol and efavirenz?
2 June 2016. Related: All topics, Drug interactions, Side effects.
Hi, thank you for all the information you provide us. It´s very useful. My question is: why do I experience amnesia when I drink alcohol?
I´ve been taking ATRIPLA for about 3 months and I feel very well. But Im a little bit concerned about this effect. Last Saturday I went to a party and drank 5 or 6 glasses of wine (this is a regular amount of wine for me). I usually don´t get too drunk with it, but when I woke up the next morning, I couldn´t remember many details of the previous party.
Is this normal? is it a side effect or there´s something wrong with me.
Thank you very much for your assistance
Answer
Hi
I am pretty sure that forgetting things (anmnesia) is a very common side effect of alcohol. This is with or without HIV and with or without efavirenz.
You drink enough and everyone will do things they forget the next day. And as we get older, tollerance to alcohol probably goes down so even a few drink can cause this.
Becasue efavirenz can affects your mood it is plausible that the similar mood changes from both alcohol and efavienz, will make side effects fo both drugs worse.
Best practical advice is to be careful when drinking – maybe a little less with help this problem.
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