AboutDr. Ravindra Bhaskar Ghooi Expertise I can provide information on drugs and medicines, their actions, uses, interactions and adverse effects. To avoid confusion, generic names of
medicines may please be provided. I am a pharmacologist, having worked
on animal and human pharmacology, and presently I am the Dean of Bilcare Research Academy, where we teach courses on clinical research. We dont work on saturdays and sundays, hence questions reachng me on these days will be replied on Monday, please bear with me.
Question Dr,
I hope you can help me. I have recently been diagnosed with uveitis/pars-planitis and vascular retinitis. I have been on 20mg of prednisolone for over 2 weeks now and my doctor started me yesterday on 1000mg og Cellecept. I am ashamed to ask this but I need to be honest I dont consider myself an alcoholic but I do like a drink at the weekend (1 bottle of wine and 6 beer, if im out posibly 10 vodkas and redbull), the embarrassing bit about this is alcohol is a big part of my life, I cant really enjoy myself socially without it and I am worried that if I drink on my medication I may die in my sleep or have a bad reaction. If im honest I dont want to cut down my alcohol consumption drastically but if there is a risk that I could die or lose my sight I will have to do something. So my question is is it safe to drink on my medication?
Also I have asthma and I smoke and although I have only been on cellcept for two days I feel a shortness of breath is this normal? I am due to see my doctor on monday again for bloods and a review.
Thank you for taking the time to read my question I really hope you can give me some advice and maybe good news.
Thank you
Jenny
Answer Hi Jenny,
I must commend you for being honest. This is one trait that is lacking in most people today. Now I shall answer this question not as a medical specialist but as an individual. Each of us has some likes and dislikes. You like alcohol (so do I) there is nothing to be ashamed of it. Though some people might look down upon people like you and me, at least we are honest about it. I am often surprised about people who like things like tea. I have never drunk a cup of tea in my life and never missed it. I dont think people who like alcohol are abnormal, simply because alcohol puts you in a better mood than tea ever can.
I have gone through the available literature and nowhere has there been real evidence that alcohol can cause blindness or death in the amounts that you use. 1 bottle of wine and 6 beers is no big deal, because I think in UK a beer is only 350 ml or so. In my country a beer is 650 ml. By 10 vodkas I guess you mean about 10 ounces, is that right? And this is on the weekend, so I dont think that you are overdoing it.
Shortness of breath is reported in 3 to 20 % of patients who are on cellcept and steroids. None the less you are aware that smoking is not the best thing for one who has asthma. Yet if you have bee smoking for long, cutting down on it may help.
I am certain that you are not going to die or lose your sight due to alcohol or smoking. Most doctors wil tell you otherwise. For some rason they tell everyone nt to drink and smoke. But let me be honest, whenever my friends get together (most of them are doctors, one oncologist too) they all drink and smoke quite a bit.
I wish that good and honest people have a long life.
Best wishes
Ravi Ghooi
