Atripla/isoniazid and Alcohol = DUI?

[brocktonc]

A terrible question to ask before I go to my doctor - however, I am not a drinker per say.  However, I take Atripla, am now taking Isoniazid for inactive tuberculosis.  Last Saturday I met friends and had a couple of glasses of wine with dinner, then after dinner a couple gin and tonics - a rare night out.  I then went to sleep for two hours since I was feeling the affects.  When I woke, I drove home but was pulled over for weaving.  I blew a .18 !  OMG.  I couldn't believe it!  Could I really have been that drunk?  or are their side affects of these drugs and my liver other than the normal 'don't drink alcohol with any medication'?  I take full responsibility for my actions - but Im' totally perplexed as to why this happened....

[Ann]

Hi Brock, welcome to the forums.

I would have thought that a couple glasses of wine plus a couple gin and tonics would put you over the limit even if you weren't on the meds. Your blood alcohol levels can be elevated even when you don't necessarily feel drunk.

I've known people who aren't on any meds for anything who have had a night out, plus a full night's sleep, and get pulled over and charged with being over the limit the next morning on their way to work. And these are people who weren't shitfaced, they had similar amounts to you.

Ann

[brocktonc]

Thank you for your response.  I guess I'm just a bit frustrated with trying to better understand how this happened.  I'm aware that about a drink an hour is what it takes for the liver/body to process alcohol.  Knowing I had roughly 6 drinks in 4 hours, plus a 2 hour nap, just made me question the liver's ability to process the alcohol mixed with the prescription medication.   I'm not trying to make an excuse, nor find an reason to hide my poor decision making, or make myself feel wrongly accused - just confused at the amount and the time frame.  However, thank you again for your response.  Brock

[PozBrian]

Hi,
  I've been on isoniazid (INH) a month longer than Atripla. When I started the INH my Dr said to stop drinking, period. Well I did for a while, but even now it isn't more than one or two drinks, once or twice a week. Anyway, my Dr told me that INH was so bad for livers that it wasn't until recently that it would be given to patients over 35 years old. If someone over 35 had latent TB nothing would be done unless the TB went active.  Recently, it was apparently decided that the risk of liver problems is less than the risk of active TB.
  Given what my Dr told me it's not too surprising that your liver wasn't very efficient metabolizing the alcohol. Fortunately I live stumbling distance from my favorite watering hole and as I said I rarely drink more than two. I   haven't noticed it taking longer to "sober up" than before. The few times I have had more than two drinks it may have hit me harder, tough to say.

Brian

[buffaloboy]

I note you say that this was 'a rare night out' for you but I'm  just wondering if you used to drink a lot more than that when hitting the town in the past? If so, you may consider a couple of glasses of wine and 2 G&T's to be not that much. For some people though, including myself, that amount of alcohol would have me pretty much wasted.