Question
Can I drink alcohol with Atripla?
29 April 2010. Related: All topics, Side effects.
Does ‘an empty stomach’ mean no drinking alcohol either? And if so what are the consequences? Could one develop resistance or stop the medication from working at their full potential by drinking alcohol? I have been on Atripla for the last three years and although I am careful not to eat for at least two hours before I take my meds I have a glass or two of wine (sometimes three). Should I worry? Thank you
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Drinking wine before taking Atripla will not cause resistance to the medication. If you forget to take the medication because you have drunk too much wine it may cause resistance.
Drinking alcohol will not stop the medication from working. The recommendation to take Atripla on an empty stomach is to reduce side effects to the medication such as nausea, dizziness, trouble sleeping and so on. Excessive alcohol consumption can sometimes make these side effects more severe.
Alcohol in moderation should be fine. Excessive use of alcohol can cause problems. As with all medications, HIV treatment is filtered from the blood by the liver. Excessive drinking can cause damage to liver which can be more severe if you are on HIV medication.
Hi Joe, how high is your viral load reading? As long as it is below 200, regardless of it being detectable or not it would still be considered undetectable. Do you know what your previous viral load test results have been?
I have been on Atripla for 3 years now, and no matter what, I cannot consistently be undetectable. It ranges every 3 months for no trace, to not detected <2. I have been so distraught because I never miss a dosage, always wait 2-3hrs after eating. I have asked my doctor to move me to another medication, but he believes this one is working. I wish I could understand why it fluctuates ever few months.
Been on Atripla since it became available. Guessing 8-10 years. I don’t have any noticeable side effects. We tried updating to 2 state of the art drugs, and I got bad diarrhea, from both. Have been undetectable for over 20 years, though the earlier drugs gave me intestinal issues, as well.
Love Atripla.
I have had quite a few drinks after taking Atripla and it has been fine. The only side effect I have experienced is definitely the dizziness and the feeling of being drunk. However, I definitely recommend other Atripla “drinkers” to take it “safely”…. Do not worry. I for myself have been diagnosed as “undetactable” for several months now… so don´t fret about it… I love ATRIPLA!!!
Hi Mauricio,
Thanks for letting us know.
I was scared because I thought alcohol would make Atripla stop working. Last week I drank 1 glass of vodka two hours after I took Atripla and I was like “omg what have I done?!” but what I noticed indeed was that with that only glass I was so dizzinned a while later like (if I was too drunk) and I thought “but I drank only one glass, wtf?” Now I understand why. Thank you for the info
HI Babs, What is disinvest, I don’t think I understand it.
I experience disinvest when I take the medication and makes me me sweats a lot