It is thus important for an HIV-positive person to talk openly to his or her health care provider about drinking. For those who drink more heavily at social functions, it is important to think about what can be done to increase the chances of playing safer, even under the influence. Keep condoms, dental dams, and lube handy and use them. Using alcohol, metamphetamines and other drugs can also cause a person to miss his or her medication doses, in addition to clouding that person's judgment about safer sex. For example, alcohol may impair judgment by causing sleepiness after drinking and interfering with medication taking.
Recreational drugs can also weaken the immune system.
If quitting is difficult, even cutting back on consumption of alcohol and other drugs can help. It is important to ask a health care provider or treatment advocate about them. Deliberate missing of doses due to uncertainty about interactions with recreational drugs can be avoided by learning about interactions between anti-HIV medications and recreational drugs. Little is known about possible interactions of recreational drugs with HIV medications. There may also be interactions of AZT with methadone, which increases AZT levels.