For people living with HIV/AIDS, the use of occasional recreational drugs may seem tempting during periods of good health. But, for those taking anti-retro-viral medication, this is extremely dangerous.

Both recreational drugs and anti-retro-viral medication are metabolised in the liver. As both
drugs are broken down by the same pathway, a drug like Ritonavir would have the primary route, leaving the other drug unmetabolised. A fatality reported in the UK was directly linked to this process.

The postmortem of this patient, who had consumed two and a half ecstasy tablets, showed that there was an equivalent of 22 ecstasy tablets in his liver, hence the overdose. Other drugs, like cocaine, could inhibit the absorption of valuable medication by as much as 50%! Even alcohol is seen as a contributing factor to reduced absorption levels.

NAPWA (National Association of People Living with AIDS), who issued this information, states
that this information should not be seen as condoning drug use but, 'given the high incidence of recreational drug use, any information on the dangers and side effects of drug interaction should be distributed as widely as possible.'

NAPWA can be reached on (011) 725 2831

Thanks to Elle Man

 

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