Question
I am HIV positive – can I drink alcohol or eat pork?
7 January 2017. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Starting treatment, Supplements and herbs.
Hello,
I’m 29 years old and have been HIV positive for almost one year. I have known about my status since December last year. I’m currently living in Germany due to studies and I would like return to my country (Mexico) at the end of this year. My questions are:
1) I have attached the results from the last analysis that have been done and I would like to hear your overall opinion on these and if I should focus in some particular issue.
2) I’m aware that between the last two analyses I went to a party and I drank too much alcohol (about 1.5liters) and I regret it. When you are not on therapy is the alcohol more likely to affect me than when I am on therapy? I mean does it decrease my CD4 and increase my viral load? I don’t want to drink alcohol anymore but it would be nice to know.
3) The Dr. suggested I should not eat pork. I am making big changes in my lifestyle (diet, exercise, etc) and I would like to know if it is possible to estimate when I should start the therapy? I’m worried since I don’t know if I’m going to stay in Germany or move back to Mexico. I’ll be able to know by the end of this year but not before.
My Dr. provided me with this website and I find it amazing with all the information that it’s available for us to learn about the subject.
I really want to thank you all for the great work you do!
Answer
Thank you for your question, and for the feedback – and for your doctor :)
I will try and answer your questions according to the numbers you have given above.
1) Firstly, we are not doctors but HIV treatment advocates.
Monitoring your blood tests you should focus mainly on your CD4 count, your CD4% and your viral load. If you have changes in your liver enzymes, cholesterol or kidney function tests then you would need to monitor those as well.
2) Drinking alcohol will not affect your viral load or CD4 count. T
Moderate alcohol use should not be a problem. It is your decision if you don’t want to drink anymore but it should be because it is what you want to do rather than because you are HIV positive.
The reason you may have been to told to avoid excessive alcohol is that excessive alcohol use can damage the liver. The liver is the organ that filters drugs from the blood so if the liver is damaged then the body has trouble with the HIV treatments.
However, an interesting study showed that HIV positive people not on treatment, might have higher levels of alcohol, (than on ART).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22495786
Also excessive alcohol use can mean that people on medication may forget to take their treatment. This can lead to resistance which means the medication will no longer work.
3. Being HIV positive doesn’t mean you need to change your diet – other than to a more healthy one. A more healthy lifestyle is good for lots of reasons but can still eat the foods your want, including pork. Perhaps ask your doctor the reason they said this.
4. Since 2105, HIV treatment (ART) in generally recommended for everyone, even at high CD4 counts. This means it is good for everyone to think about HIV treatment.
If there are practical issue that mean you cant get treatment for a short time, then if your CD4 count is very high (over 500), this is usually also okay.
Once on treatment your viral load should become undetectable within the first three months.
This Introduction to ART has lots more information.
This answer was updated in January 2017 from a Q&A first posted in May 2010.
Hi. Unexplained weight loss, like other symptoms, is something to talk to your doctor about. This is in case it is a symptoms of something else and not a side effect of treatment.
Is it right 2 loose weight even if your cd 4 count is high
Hi Sam,
It’s worth asking at your clinic first incase there are already support groups in your area. Or if you tell me where you live I can check for you. If not the clinic may be able to help you set this up.
There’s lots of info online about setting up support groups. Try this link for some general info. You could also try online forums such as myHIV and poz.com to speak with other positive people and find out their experiences of doing this in the past. If you have any questions about this please let me know.
Hello,
I am HIV positive for over two years now, have done a CD4 last month of 365 and i started treatment five days now, i am thinking about make a support group of people living with HIV. how can i go with that?
Hi Kgotso, I’m sorry to hear about your friend’s recent diagnosis. It’s great to hear that she has a friend to support her though. You might find our guide to testing and transmission, and our combination therapy guide, useful.
hi… my friend just recently found out shes hiv positive. she stays wit me nd she has only shared dis with me only, the new bf doesnt know, am worried about dat as she doesnt like condoms, so i dnt knw hw they surviving as dis guy has also stated dat he doesnt like using condoms. my other problem is she doesnt eat much, i always force her to eat, bt now i dont want to be like am nagging as am worried about her.
Hi Leletu,
It’s important to take care of yourself but being HIV positive doesn’t mean your should eat any specific foods. Your CD4 count is very good which means your body is still strong. You will need to take some medicines to help prevent your baby being infected. You can read about this, and other questions to do with pregnancy, in our online guide. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Hey I am HIV positive and I’m 3 months pregnant what should I eat or not eat? My CD4 count is 741
I tested positive last year in March and I was using vitamins as I was told by my doctor as my CD4 was 287. Then this year in January I changed to ARV’s so I took them without missing any days. In June I forgot my medication as I went to another province for a month. In July I went to the doctor for my CD4 count check and find out has been increased by 467. On the 10 September went to another clinic to test and found I’m negative. I would like to find what happened or how so as initially was found positive now I’m negative and after I missed my medication for a month and results came as CD4 count increased. Please help to understand the situation.
Hi Lunga,
There are two separate questions here. Firstly why have you tested negative. This is likely to be because the HIV treatment has reduced the amount of HIV in your body, making it harder for the test to detect it. This is explained here. This does not mean you are HIV negative. If you stopped treatment HIV would start to replicate and you would test positive again.
Secondly, why did your CD4 increase when you missed meds for a month? It sounds like you have been very lucky. Missing meds can lead to drug resistance, which can stop your treatment from working. If you are having difficulties taking your treatment every day let your doctor know.