Hello. I am currently on abacavir/d4t/Viramune. My health is good (t-cells 220, VL 1000). I would like to know what interactions certain recreational drugs have with this combo...specifically cocaine. have any informal studies been done, and could a one to two time experience be dangerous? I understand you couldn't possibly advocate using recreational drugs, however I will be attending Mardi Gras next month and want to be fully informed of any possible effects doing a line or two may have. Thanks for your time.

sure.

Sadly, in general, there is minimal info to guide us. There have been a few test tube studies however suggesting that cocaine, including "crack", can actually cause some increase in viral growth. This comes from a few test tube studies done over the years. And we also know with some degree of confidence that even occasional cocaine can increase your risk of heart attacks over the years, as its use causes damage to the arteries of the heart vessels.

So - hopefully you can have the outrageousness of MG without any deleterious effects from particular indulgences. There are plenty of other distractions around... so perhaps they can replace whatever it is you get from cocaine?

good luck.

CC