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.
Am 28 years old and for the past 5 to 6months now have not tested alcohol and am Hiv positive but I have sleepless night and think too much get slim every day and I take my medication serious
Hi Tumelo,
Its not possible for me to say how you should tell your boyfriend. However, until your viral load is undetectable you will need to use protection.
Hi i am tumelo from pretoria i was diagnosed with hiv in 2016 but i couldn’t believe than from then till 23 October this year that’s where i have realised that i have to test again i found out that the test i made in 2016 where real i decided to take treatment emidiatley because i have kids i had to think if i die who will take care of them but since i am on arv’s i am fine i don’t have any side effects i have only one problem my boyfriend doesn’t want to use a condom i didn’t reveal my status to him i don’t know what to do because i am afraid to tell him the reason for us to to use condom friends please help me with advice my question is should i tell him
Hi Maria,
Thank you for your post, and for sharing some of your story with us.
Hi Team,
Firtly I would like to commend you guys on doing such a great job in terms of providing us with information about this disease.
Im 27 and I got diagnosed in May 2018.
It was a bit of a shock but not too much as I knew that I had not done everything to protect myself.
I’m a very strong person mentally and the first thing i did was that i forgave myself. I didn’t even want to try to find out who had infected me as it wasn’t going to change anything, and i didn’t want to harbour any feelings of hate towards the person i suspected, he is one of my good friends and i don’t want to lose the friendship.
I only started on medication on the 5 August 2018 and Im very lucky in that i experienced no side effects whatsoever, im on Tribuss. I was even worried that they’re not working lol.
Im going for my blood tests beginning of November so hopefully my CD4count will have increased and the viral load dropped, it was only 2800 when i started on meds.
I only told my best friend about my diagnosis and she is amazing in that she didn’t bat an eye when i told her and that just made me love her more.
I made the decision not to tell my family as we have gone through a lot and it would kill them more to know, my mom suffers from hypertension and I dont want her worried about me. My younger is getting his life together and trying to build a life for himself and I don’t want him sidetracked because of me.
I can honestly say that mentally I’m in a good space about everything, I take my meds religiously, I don’t drink much and i have relatively good lifestyle. I haven’t had sex though since the diagnosis, i want to wait until my VL is undetectable.
I made the decision to not have kids, and that’s the only time i get to feel some type of way about the disease, when i think about kids because I’ve aways wanted them. I know i can have them but I dont want to take the risk.
Anyway, thank you guys for this website.
I’ve learned so much more that I didnt know and keep up the good work.
Hi clauthilda,
Its common that for people to be given both ARVs and TB meds if they live in a TB prone zone. Yes it OK to take them together. Do you know what your brothers CD4 count is? If he’s feeling very weak then he should talk to a doctor.
Hi a’m clauthilda my brother is hiv positive so he just started arv’s and another medication on clinic they said that medication is for protecting him from getting tb but he keeps on cough and he does not have power to walk to breath and his joints are painfull so its okay to mix arv’s with other medication
Hi Joseph,
What drugs (ARVs) are you taking? What’s your viral load and CD4 count? Mild side effects are common in the first week or two after starting ARVs. But usually these quickly go away.
I live In nigeria..i took the drug last night before bed and I woke up this morning to the after effect..it was horrible,i felt like dieing
Hi Joseph,
I’m sorry, finding out you’re HIV positive can be a tough time for all. But no matter how you feel now now, it will get easier. Please see this link.
It’s great that you’re starting treatment (ART). You can see a lot of info about starting ART in this Introduction to ART.
If you are taking meds that contain efavirenz it’s a good idea to take them before bed, just to make sure the side effects can happen when you’re asleep.
What country do you live in Joseph? There could be a local support group for you.