Drinking, Medication, blah blah blah

potpourri

So a friend (real friend, not a "friend") has been on a medication (Isoniazid, for the treatment/prevention of tuberculosis) for the past nine months. Her doctor cautioned her not to drink while on the medication.

Apparently, usually people are put on rounds of this medicine for six months, not nine, but the doctor put her on nine for safety's sake? Anyway, she is leaving soon, and she wants to be able to drink with us before she leaves. She was supposed to stop taking the drug in five days (the tenth), but she hasn't taken her medication yet today, and wants to drink tonight. Apparently, the reason you're not supposed to drink while you're on the medication is because it's damaging to the liver, like how you're not supposed to binge drink while taking ibuprofen. She's had sips of wine and been totally fine. She's been having liver panels for the past nine months and apparently they've been turning out totally fine.

So we're all happy that she wants to drink and all, but we're naturally a little nervous about cutting things short, even by five days (although that's still almost three months over the normal period). Can anyone weigh in on this? Anyone know more about this stuff? More information is readily available, she's in the room with me.

VThornheart

I would play it safe if I were her.

Liver's not a thing to be messed with, neither is taking medication for less than the prescribed period of time.

I will note, however, that I tend to lean toward the paranoia side on these kinds of subjects. I wouldn't mess with what the Doctor said.

TL DR

The danger isn't just that it will decrease the effectiveness of the medication, there are serious ramifications for the liver. Call her doctor or a pharmacy to find out how long after taking the medication alcohol is to be avoided. There isn't much more information to be had on a gaming webforum.

potpourri

What if we're talking about like, two beers? The internet is saying that drinking in extreme moderation is fine, but hell, that's the internet.

oldsak

General rule of thumb: do what the doctor tells you.

Also, there's the old saying, "better safe than sorry."

Even combining alcohol with something as common as acetaminophen can have disasterious effects on your liver. Is it really worth the risk?

vonPoonBurGer

oldsak wrote: »

Even combining alcohol with something as common as acetaminophen can have disasterious effects on your liver.

Ibuprofen and booze are fine though, because they're not both processed in the liver (sister's a pharmacist). If your friend's doctor gave her Isoniazid and said "don't drink", it's probably because Isoniazid is processed in the liver. So that'd be a big negative there, Ghost Rider, the (liver) pattern is full (of Isoniazid). Seriously, it's not even remotely worth the risk.

Rainbulimic

Don't stop taking the medication!!
TB is a VERY VERY infectious illness. It takes <10 viable cells to cause an infection and if you don't follow the course of treatment to the end it can rapidly result in a re-infection of a more resistant strain that will result in taking the entire course of treatment again. Take the <i>entire</i> course. It was prescribed for a reason.

Also, adding another vote onto how much alcohol and certain medication can really affect the liver. Does she really want to risk liver failure for one night's worth of drinking fun? You can have fun without drinking...

TL DR

potpourri wrote: »

What if we're talking about like, two beers? The internet is saying that drinking in extreme moderation is fine, but hell, that's the internet.

Call a pharmacist, they will know their shit.

Seriously. Any pharmacist. There are 24-hour places all over.

Fantasma

Your friend should grow up and control her impulses, tuberculosis is very difficult to cure illness that can be transmitted just by coughing.

Rhino

I had tuberculosis. The doctors didn't find it till it was "too late". They never gave me any medication for it. I have scar tissue on my lungs. I never died from it. People in middle ages had quite a fickle of a time with it.

Don't take drink on medication that says not to while taking it.

wasted pixels

I'm assuming that at this point the drinks are already drunk, so this bit of advice won't probably reach you in time. She's absolutely fine if she keeps it to one or two drinks, but it's really important that she takes her normal dosage anyway. Small amounts of alcohol while on Isoniazid aren't a huge problem, but more than two drinks or consecutive days of drinking would be a very bad idea, and skipping a dose is also a very bad idea.

Seaborn111

wasted pixels wrote: »

I'm assuming that at this point the drinks are already drunk, so this bit of advice won't probably reach you in time. She's absolutely fine if she keeps it to one or two drinks, but it's really important that she takes her normal dosage anyway. Small amounts of alcohol while on Isoniazid aren't a huge problem, but more than two drinks or consecutive days of drinking would be a very bad idea, and skipping a dose is also a very bad idea.

this.


oh and keep in mind...lungs are pretty important and difficult to repair/replace.

Liver is hotswappable.

Rhino

Seaborn111 wrote: »

Liver is hotswappable.

if you can find a donor and have really good insurance?

Liver are a bit more hard to come by and expensive then scsi drives. :P

Fantasma

Rhino wrote: »

Seaborn111 wrote: »

Liver is hotswappable.

if you can find a donor and have really good insurance?

Liver are a bit more hard to come by and expensive then scsi drives. :P

She also needs to consider that she will have to take medication for her lifetime to avoid rejection.

DragonPup

Fantasma wrote: »

Rhino wrote: »

Seaborn111 wrote: »

Liver is hotswappable.

if you can find a donor and have really good insurance?

Liver are a bit more hard to come by and expensive then scsi drives. :P

She also needs to consider that she will have to take medication for her lifetime to avoid rejection.

Medication that can do horrific things to your immune system. Tell your friend to not be an idiot and listen to the doctors.

BetelguesePDX

Stopping a few days early is no big deal. Having a couple of beers or a glass of wine is no big deal. Take this from a doctor. Of course if you want to be 100% conservative then keep taking the medicine and avoid booze. But will something bad happen if you do otherwise? I'd put the chances at less than 1%.

As for the 6 month vs 9 month regimen. The recommendations are based on kinda shaky science with the 9 month regimen proven to be just a little bit more effective. The more conservative (obsessive-compulsive, anal-retentive, call it what you will) tend to recommend the 9 month regimen.