Question
Will alcohol make my HIV meds less effective?
6 July 2011. Related: All topics, Drug interactions, Living with HIV long-term.
I am confused about alcohol and whether it is advisable to drink when I am on meds. I am on atazanavir, ritonavir & Truvada and since starting my meds (5 months ago) I havent had a drop of alcohol. I have wanted to take care of myself (as I have always in the past) and not put unnecessary burden on my body and liver esp now that I am on these heavy burdensome drugs.
However, I now really want to have a drink – not a lot, but a drink now and again. am I allowed to? I read a lot of confliciting articles – some say dont drink at all and other say yes you can have a drink. I feel that I should not have anything and I really need to look after myself even more now but I would like to have a drink with dinner or when out with friends.
What guidelines are there? and, more importantly, will it make my meds less effective?
many thanks for your help, support & advice
Answer
Thanks for your questions that are important for lots of people.
The reason for some of conflicting articles you have read are likely to be related to how much someone might drink.
On the one hand, there is no direct interaction between HIV meds and alcohol. Unlike some other recreational drugs, alcohol doesn’t increase or decrease levels of HIV drugs. It is fine to take your meds with a beer, or to have a few drinks over dinner with friends.
Guidelines for HIV-positive people are therefore the same as for the general population.
Here is a link to information about UK recommendations.
Here is a link to an online calculator to see how much you drink.
The NHS recommends:
- Men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day
- Women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day
‘Regularly’ means drinking this amount every day or most days of the week.
However, while your HIV meds work just as well with or without a drink, you might not work as well :)
Lots of studies have linked routine or heavy alcohol use with a risk of lower adherence – missing doses of your meds – and this then increases the risk of drug resistance and treatment failure.
For some people and in some communities, alcohol is such a significant social problem that alcohol use is an exclusion criteria for accessing HIV treatment.
I’d also add a comment to your reference to HIV drugs being ‘liver burdensome drugs’. This is a common misconception and often scares people from using treatment that is actually very safe.
You liver is built to filter all sort of toxicities. This includes toxicities from medicines, herbs, alcohol, cigarette smoke and food etc. It is usually a good study organ. Although HIV drugs, like any medicine, have the potential in some people to affect the way your liver functions, for most people they have little or no impact.
Routine monitoring on treatment includes checking liver enzyme levels (usually LFT or AFT) and very few people need to switch or stop treatment because of liver problems. When problems develop, these are almost exclusively in people who also have viral hepatitis infections (especially HepB or HepC) or where heavy alcohol use has caused problems.
Hi, My partner was just tested positive few weeks ago, but everytime I check my result come back negative.We’ve been dating for 6 years now and we use to always have sex without condom.So is it possible that I am not infected as the result always says this? If I am not,can I still have sex with my partner without a condom although she is on Tribuss and Centrum treatment.Please advise urgently
Hi Andrew
Great that your treatment is working and you are in control of your life and what you want to do.
A few drinks are fine – but set an alarm and check your pill box to make sure you never miss the meds.
If you want to contact other people in California, perhaps look at the online forums at aidsmeds.com and poz.com.
Good luck.
Hi Andrew
I’m sorry to hear about your diagnosis and that you were unlucky to catch HIV when you were first learning about sex. You seem to be dealing with this very well and are not letting it stop you doing the things you want to do in life. So long as you take your meds each day, they’ll continue to work. If you want to contact other people in CA and the US have you seen the forums at aidsmeds.com – they are a good place to talk about anything relating to HIV and there is a related contact group at poz.com.
Great that your treatment is going well.
thank you.
i got diagnosed with hiv at 17 VL @ 122,000 and cd4 @ 322. my doctor said i most likely got infected the first time i ever had intercourse. anyways. being positive is a great eye opener, but im sad when my friends go to clubs and parties i want to drink along with them but im scared atripla is not going to work, i go see my dr every 6 months & i been drinking alot 1-2 hrs before i take atripla @ midnight. but if you guys say if alcohol doesnt make it resistant, then im not going to drink my life away but i wont feel guilty if i do happen to drink. i live in ca in the sgv 626 if anyone wants to talk to me or know about social groups contact me.
thank you!
hope u guys are great!
Your rights at work will depend on your job and the details of your contract. The THT or your local support group should be able to help with legal advice on employment issues.
It sounds like efavirenz is affecting you quality of life more than it should do. If this is the case, then switching to an alternative HIV drug is easy. There are many to chose from and this will be better for you in the short-term and long-term.
Please call the phoneline if you;d like to talk this through. Or talk to your doctor about how this is affecting your life and it should be easy to switch.
I have been on meds for around 2 years I started on Sustiva and Truvada, I am now on Atripla at first everything was great but recently I have noticed more changes such as sleep patterns changed (cant sleep) sweating lots at night aching joints and muscles dizziness feeling faint and other various effects. This has resulted in calling in sick at work and I am worried about losing my job altough I have only called in twice, what rights do I have at work help.
Thank you.
Thanks, glad the info was helpful :)
Thanks Chris, you make good points. The fear of side effects is much worse for most people than the reality.
It is very interesting that despite the advances made in medications and improved side-effect profiles there seems to be a view that HIV meds are extremely harsh on the body. I wonder if this mis-conception is adding to problems with people actually having an HIV test and also delaying treatment for as long as possible.
Acheieving viral supression is the key aim of HIV treatment and as shown in the SMART Study provides better outcomes for HIV positive individuals despite any negative effects meds may have.
Wow! You’ve just answered everything I wanted to know. I also do drink occasionally. Thank you. I’m glad I don’t have to worry anymore.