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 Nnenna, do you know what your viral load was at this test? and have you remained on treatment between your tests?
AM A HIV PATIENT BUT MY WORRY NOW IS THAT MY COUNSELLOR CALL TO INFORM ME THAT MY RESULT SHOW DICTATED INSTEAD OF UNDICTATED . WHAT WILL I DO？
Hi Sd, I am sorry to hear you have just found out. How are you doing? Why do you not want to take treatment? What about the clinic causes so much stress? Unfortunately there are no tablets that can be used to ‘boost’ your immune system or help improve your health. The only way to treat HIV is with ART. This is used to suppress HIV and allows your body to naturally recover its immune (CD4 count) system. Do you know your viral load and CD4 count?
Hi.Im hiv i just find out 3 days ago. The thing is i dont want to take the treatment but i prefer to buy tablets or medication That can boost my immune system to eat food that good for my body. I drink few glasses of once in three months or more i go for sex twice or 4 time a year i prefer to keep myeslf busy too avoid too much stress because i can feel that if im gonna go to the clinic for treatment i will die with no time of stress…So i need your advice of the types of tablets i can buy and i will like to know if im too much at risk or not….When i think clinic i feel like im dying already. Thank you in advance.
Hi Keshav, yes you can do both of these things. Being positive will not stop you drinking alcohol or eating chicken. Neither of these will interact with your medication or cause further problems with your health. Though drinking alcohol sensibly is important, more so that you do not miss taking your HIV medication. Drinking in moderation will help to keep you healthy in comparison to drinking too much.
I have positive ,if can i drink alcohol,eat chicken ,is any side effect cause plz tell me
Hi Endurance, please follow this link for more information: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
Hi there,
I would like to ask a few questions. I’m a Nigerian and I live in Nigeria. A couple weeks ago I had unprotected sex dated 21-22 and on the 26th of October 2022… Ever since have been having some mixed feelings ever since. Before then I was sick and down with fever which I was receiving treatment… so I went for a hiv test on the 19th of November 2022. The result was negative. I got relived but still after going on online checking all the symptoms of HIV has been giving me sleepless night and worries and it has affected my weight. Pls I would like to ask when can I go for another text to be sure of my status! Tho I’m having some body aches/pains and I don’t want to believe I’m positive yet as I was told to go for a full blood count test to know if I’m still having a little typhoid.
Pls help me and put me through.
Hi Taylor, no she is not at risk. As you are on established medication and your viral load is suppressed, there is no risk of transmission. This is because when on treatment and your viral load falls below 200/undetectable, you cannot pass on HIV. This is supported by U=U: https://i-base.info/u-equals-u/
U=U is a campaign backed by doctors and is research supported. It has demonstrated that those with suppressed viral load cannot pass on HIV. This is regardless of the type of relationship and type of sex.
Hi,I’m on ARV for almost ten years now and I’ve been doing well with my treatment and I’ve been suppress for almost the same years mentioned (10 years). I have only one partner and we are married and she is hiv negative. My concern is,is she not at risk for infecting her if we decided not to use condom.