Question

Does alcohol interact with HIV meds?

22 December 2010. Related: All topics, Drug interactions, Side effects, Starting treatment.

Hello,

I am still without any treatment but with relatively high viral load (80000, 55000, 140000), CD4 always between 650 and 770. My doctor has started speaking about the treatment which may be possible for me after the next checkup and he’s tested me for the HLA B*5701 test to determine my sensitivity to abacavir. He spoke about me starting on the combination Kivexa and Efavirenz.

My question is whether are there any interactions of this combination with drinking alcohol? I am used to going out once or twice a month and drinking moderately (to be in a good mood, not to be completely drunk). I have a friend who takes Kaletra and Combivir and he tells me me he feels quite bad if he takes his meds and drinks after that. His solution is that when he goes out, he doesn’t take his evening dosage to be able to drink. I would like have some meds that would not cause me a similar problems (as I wouldn’t like to skip any dosage only to can go out once or twice a month). I will speak about that also with my doctor, but I would like to know more opinions before, if it’s ok to drink with the meds I am meant to be starting or if it would be better to look for other meds. Thanks.

Answer

Answer: Charlotte Walker

Thank you for your question.

Firstly I should point out that abacavir is not recommended for people with a baseline viral load over 100,000. If your viral load is already 140,000, even with a high CD4 count, you should not be taking abacavir or Kivexa which contains abacavir.

For more information please follow this link.

Alcohol does not interact with HIV medication in a way that will stop the medication from working. However, some people find that taking alcohol at the same time as taking HIV meds does cause side effects such as vomiting, diarrhoea and nausea. It is important to note that this does not happen to everyone and side effects to HIV medication is very individual. Some people get side effects whilst others don’t. Just because your friend has problems taking his meds with alcohol doesn’t necessarily mean you will. Unfortunately you cannot predict whether or not you will get side effects until you start taking the medication.

If you do find that you are getting side effects then you should speak to your doctor about changing your combination until you find the right combination for your body and to fit in with your lifestyle.

For more information on side effects please follow this link.