Douglas T. Dieterich, M. D.Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Cabrini Medical Center
Assoc. Prof. of Medicine NYU School of Medicine
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. I would like to know if alcohol interferes with the absorption of the HIV drugs? There are no warning labels on the prescriptions regarding this. If a person has good liver test results and enjoys 2-3 drinks a day in the evening (shortly after their second daily HIV drug dosing) will this hinder the effectiveness of the drugs?
I went from 650,000k copies 4 months ago, down to 1,700 today (T-cell count was 135, now up to 335). Without alcohol, do you think I would have been at zero copies or does it normally take 6 months to see a zero viral count?
P.S. My liver, cholesterol and blood pressure results all show normal or better than normal.
Douglas T. Dieterich, M. D.
Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Cabrini Medical Center
Assoc. Prof. of Medicine NYU School of Medicine
Good question! Alcohol has no major effects on absorption of HIV meds. However little is known about the metabolism of HIV medications in the presence of alcohol. The NIH is putting out a grant about this right now in fact because so little is known about it. Most experts agree however that 2 drinks a night should be your limit not 3.
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