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Taking Pegasys Shots And Ribasphere. Blood Level Normal. Safe To Drink Alcohol?

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Posted on Fri, 19 Apr 2013
Question: I am currently taking pegasys shots once a week and ribasphere 200 mg twice a day and my blood levels are good I have no side effects and my birthday is coming up and I would like to have a couple alcoholic drinks and I am wondering If that would be ok as long as I don't over indulge. Will it effect the medication?
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Answered by Dr. Enrique Molina (4 hours later)
Hi XXXXXX,
I am glad you are undergoing therapy and you are trying to get rid of the doctor probably told you, the treatment is not near 100% curative, and if you are taking that treatment (pegasys and ribasphere) without the new pills available in the market (incivek and victrelis), then your chances of cure are about 40-50% depending on multiple factors (type of virus, genotype, IL-28b genetics, the amount of scarring on your liver, etc).
I would suggest you avoiding alcohol while on therapy. You can celebrate with a non-alcoholic beverage, and then wait a few more weeks or months to celebrate the end of treatment with an alcoholic beverage, and hopefully a big celebration that you achieved a cure.
I am also wondering why you are taking only 200mg of ribasphere twice a day, and not a higher dosage (the dose is usually 1000 - 1200mg in total a day). It may be because your doctor noticed you were anemic or have renal dysfunction, but the fact that you are on a lower dose already decreases your chances of success. Therefore avoid anything that could decrease your chances by any means, such as alcohol.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Enrique Molina

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :2004

Answered : 364 Questions

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Taking Pegasys Shots And Ribasphere. Blood Level Normal. Safe To Drink Alcohol?

Hi XXXXXX,
I am glad you are undergoing therapy and you are trying to get rid of the doctor probably told you, the treatment is not near 100% curative, and if you are taking that treatment (pegasys and ribasphere) without the new pills available in the market (incivek and victrelis), then your chances of cure are about 40-50% depending on multiple factors (type of virus, genotype, IL-28b genetics, the amount of scarring on your liver, etc).
I would suggest you avoiding alcohol while on therapy. You can celebrate with a non-alcoholic beverage, and then wait a few more weeks or months to celebrate the end of treatment with an alcoholic beverage, and hopefully a big celebration that you achieved a cure.
I am also wondering why you are taking only 200mg of ribasphere twice a day, and not a higher dosage (the dose is usually 1000 - 1200mg in total a day). It may be because your doctor noticed you were anemic or have renal dysfunction, but the fact that you are on a lower dose already decreases your chances of success. Therefore avoid anything that could decrease your chances by any means, such as alcohol.