Some HIV drugs interact with chems, recreational and street drugs, methadone, vitamins and supplements and over-the-counter medicines.
Interactions can be complex. They can increase or decrease levels of the HIV drugs or the other drugs.
It is therefore important that your HIV doctor and pharmacist know about other drugs or supplements that you take, even if you use them rarely and even if they are not legal.
Your doctor will treat this information in confidence.
Although alcohol does not interact with HIV drugs, the side effects of alcohol might lead to missing doses. This is because alcohol can change your mood, priorities and sense of time. It is easy to forget your HIV meds including if you oversleep the next day.
For these reasons, people who drink more alcohol have a higher risk of ART failure. This is another thing that it is good to talk about with your doctor.