Recreational Drugs and HIV ·
Recreational drugs and HIV health
Every person is different, therefore it is difficult to know what effect taking drugs will have on your health. Even if you have taken drugs in the past before you became infected with HIV, it is worth remembering that your body may not deal with drugs in the same way as before you were positive.
Taking drugs can weaken your immune system, possibly because some of them may have direct effects on the immune system but more because staying awake when you’d otherwise be asleep suppresses the immune system.
They may also have physical effects on your health. For instance, smoking marijuana/hash/pot can irritate the lungs, which could leave you more vulnerable to serious lung infections.
Taking recreational drugs if you have HIV and hepatitis is likely to put extra strain on your liver, as it’s the organ which deals with clearing out toxins. It will already be working harder because of the hepatitis infection and hepatitis medication and taking recreational drugs will put added strain on it.
Your mental health may also be affected by taking drugs, which may cause or worsen mental, psychological or emotional problems. If you feel you are using drugs as a way of dealing with HIV or other issues, you should try speaking to someone involved in your care for advice and support.
Recreational drugs and antiretroviral therapy
Taking recreational drugs alongside some antiretroviral drugs can be dangerous. Certain HIV drugs can boost the amount of recreational drugs in the bloodstream, especially the drug ritonavir (Norvir, also in Kaletra) which boosts the level of both other protease inhibitors and many recreational drugs, including ecstasy, GHB, methamphetamine and Viagra. People have died from ecstasy, methamphetamine and GHB overdoses because of interactions with their HIV drugs, so take care. In contrast, some antiretroviral drugs can lower methadone levels.
If you are going to take recreational drugs, you should start with a lower amount than HIV-negative friends, keeping in mind you never know how much you are going to get. Don’t be scared to speak to your consultant about any recreational drugs you are taking, as they will be best placed to advise you as to how they may affect you.
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