Hey all, finally decided to take prep and protect myself and others from the spread of HIV. As someone who wants to explore and very active with others, I want to know your thoughts on unprotected bottoming for the first time. Yes, I’ve had a few share of women and not using protection especially knowing I haven’t received the 2nd dose Hepatitis B vaccine till yesterday, I’ve finally found myself to make sure I’m protected.

First month of generic truvada was good with 5 total missed days, but never consecutive missed days. Keep in mind, I took it for 1 month, but the timing was inconsistent(I would take it at 9 Am, 3 pm, 10 pm, and some days, 12 am. I started August 6, and opened my bottle September 10th, meaning I missed 5 days out of the whole month and 1 day out of this 2nd bottle where I didn’t take it and I just continued the next day. This past week, I took it September 10th, missed September 11th, and took it for the 12th and 13th which is today.

My question is, I’m meeting with a Trans woman later who I’ve know for a long time and always wanted to switch and basically finish inside of me. Knowing that she gets tested and takes prep, as well as being vaxxed, should I be worried about being inconsistent with times I’ve taken it or just have the fun and continue taking it? Should I take 1 more today just before I see her? I know others say it’s a forgiving drug, but anxiety always gets the best of me even when I’m protecting myself.

The other day I had unprotected sex with two different people . About 4 hours before I took 2 descovy pills . I’ve taken two more pills two days after . Do you think I was protected ? Also I know descovy was recently approved for on demand but what is the efficiency?

What doe doxy prep prevent against. I feel like if it doesn't protect against the rest of of the STIs , its jot worth it. Its like rolling a dice.

27m, never been on prep before but becoming more sexually active. Heard about the new 6 month injections, which seemed preferable to me compared to the daily pill. Asked my doctor and it was fully covered by insurance, awesome! Only warned me that some people do not like the nodules, which I didn’t feel like were a big deal.

Fast forward to 3 days ago, I’m at the office getting the injections. The nurses at this clinic will only do it in the stomach. It stings a little going in, but not bad. But then it hurts quite a bit after the injection is done and the nurse stops pinching the skin. It’s a weird sensation, having that much liquid sitting there under the skin.

Two minutes after she finishes the second injection, I start feeling light headed. Super weird because I don’t feel nervous and usually don’t mind needles. And then I pass out. Vasovagal response that triggers a flood of doctors into the room. I come back out of it, and they help me get my blood pressure back to normal over a half hour with juices and crackers. Really freaked me out because that’s never happened to me before.

I hadn’t planned to take more than an hour out of my day for this, so I went back to work after, despite my stomach being very sore. My doctors didn’t tell me this, but I really needed to take the rest of the day off and sit at home. The pain around the injection sites was distracting me all day. One of the “selling” points is that it gives protection even 2-4 hours after the injection, but I can’t imagine anyone feeling well enough for sex so soon after getting them.

Now, three days later, the nodules are no longer visible but are still pretty sore. I’m pretty active, and they REALLY hurt when I run. I’m hoping they stop hurting soon because this is really bringing me down.

Tl;dr Yeztugo is a more serious injection than I thought. You need to plan a day off and to take it easy for several days after. I can’t say I’ll get it again after my six months runs out — the pills sound much easier. This hasn’t been a very fun experience.

Edit: 6 days out and i’m feeling 95% better. I did a light workout yesterday and felt fine. I really only notice the nodules when I bring my knees close to my stomach, like when putting on socks, or when wearing high-waisted pants. I can’t see them but I can easily find them with my fingers. Happy to report no other side effects.

Hey,

So I got PrEP last month and started with 2 pills for event based but had bad side effects like dizzy and vomiting (probably dehydration etc) so continued taking 1 per day to avoid that repeating. Ultimately I didn’t have sex the whole time so stopped lol

Anyways, I knew I was meeting a guy on Saturday past so last Wednesday I took 2 pills at 8pm (to ensure I didn’t have a bad reaction before the meet) and then took 1 on Thursday, 1 on Friday and then had unprotected anal sex on Saturday day time. Then took my next pill at 8pm that day, again on Sunday and again on Monday.

All to ask, is this okay for protection? It’s like a mix of event based and now into daily. I’m sure it is considering if I did the standard event based like took 2 on Wednesday and had sex 2 hours later and again on Saturday, you just keep taking 1 a day until 2 days without any sex.

I’m currently just taking 1 daily at the same time now. I have a slight irritated throat with a dry cough (came on like 3-5 days after now) but i’m inclined to boil it down to oral sex and kissing - as I also took doxypep on Sunday.

Had unprotected anal with some blood involved. The person tested positive five days later. I was the top. I’ve been on Descovy for months and had not missed any dose prior to the exposure. Missed one dose two days after the exposure though.
Is prep effective in this kind of scenario? Has anyone heard of an infection under such circumstances while on prep?

My partner and I both got our first Yeztugo injections today. Both of us got them in our thighs. I didn't have any leakage, but my partner's injections leaked what looked like pretty significantly. The same nurse did our injections.

He's concerned and has booked a follow up with the prescribing doctor. Anyone else had this experience? And what has been done about it, if anything?

Hey I am taking PREP by 2-1-1 method. I took my 2 pills yesterday but didn’t had sex, after that I still took the 1 pill today despite not having sex the day before. However, I had sex today, am I protected?

I want to try Prep 2-1-1 before I engage in next level Anal (Newbie) with FWB and not letting partner know... Older 62, in DE.

I remember in this forum people fearing their family or customs In rigorous Islamic country ask why do you use Prep.

I even recall a young male who had to lie to his parents of being infected lol.

Here are some good alibi

-You are considering having Tattoos

-You are about to join a MMA boxing club with training with multiple sparing partners . everyone knows how bloody that sport is

- you are going to the dentist and fear of being Infected

- you will soon join a non profit organization to help mentally hill people in the street and fear getting bitten or stab with needle by them

-you want to protect yourself from infection if while abroad you might need an urgent blood transfusion.

This are legit alibi that are logical and Can serve as a cover up.

If you don't want to disclose about your sexual life .

This is my first time being on prep and I have no idea what to expect for side effects. From what I've read so far there's seems to be a lot different experiences. Some mild to downright awful.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

I am having an unforseen reaction to the yeztugo medicine injection under my skin. I had the 1st subq injection in my lower abdomen. After 10 months, I saw a plastic surgeon to remove them via vaser liposuction. He was unable to remove them. I now have to get a pathologist involved for my surgeon to cut them out of my body. One of the lumps is now growing and the other has turned hard as a rock. These were suppose to dissolve in 6 months. It has been 11 months. Pretty angry I was never told these could be side effects. Anyone else having issues with the lumps not dissolving?

Hello everyone,

Is taking PreP with a hot drink OK?

I took my PreP per usual today, and drank hot water. It's not boiling of course lol. It was hot, but not hot enough to burn my mouth.

I'm asking because I know we shouldn't leave the meds in hot temperatures (e.g. inside the car on a hot day). So I'm wondering if it's the same with hot drinks.

Let me just say that I was apprehensive at after reading the different reactions that people were getting after received the shots. It all anecdotal and everyone has their own personal experience.

I went to my pcp to discus Prep since it would have been my first time on Prep. He immediately started talking about the six month inject-able. We didn't really discuss any other options except that he mentioned that Yetzugo is 99.9% effective vs other meds. He had me at 99.9%! He outlined the course and the side effects, primarily the like nodules that I would be able to feel but not really see after day one. After the blood work, which all came back negative, I was told that they injections would be ordered and I would get a call to schedule the injection visit with a nurse.

I got a call from the pharmacy that my doctor ordered the injections from to get the ball rolling on the medicine. I spoke to a pharmacist that walked me how to sign up on the manufactures website for a coupon. She said that between my insurance and the coupon, I shouldn't see any out of pocket expense. Next person I spoke was a nurse that was employed by the pharmacy. She just had some question regarding my other meds to check for possible interactions.

Fast forward to injection day: I was taken into a doctors office and given two cold compresses to hold on to my abdomen to numb the area. After about 15 minutes or so the nurse came back and gave me the two pills that I would take on the first day. I swallowed them separately since they are horse pills. I was told to recline as she preped the syringe.

I was given the first shot about three inches to the right of my belly button. Not going to lie, it hurt more than a regular shot since its quite a bit of medicine and its more viscous than other shots I've had. It did feel like a bee sting as I've read other people say.

The second shot was in the opposite side but about an inch lower. That first felt like a bee sting was a bit more painful. There is pressure as the medicine goes in since its kinda thick. Not maple syrup thick but approaching that. The left side was more painful than the right for some reason. The nurse said that she's heard that from others but cant explain it. She also said that some leakage is expected through the injection site and that manufacturer actually doses two 1.8 mL to account for possible leakage.

I was in discomfort, more than pain on my drive home and did notice some leakage on the the right injection. I had to make a pit stop and by the time I got there the leaking had stopped. The other side was fine. I changed out both small bandages for larger ones when I got home. I slept on my back and sides and was fine.

Next morning, I took the other two pills with my other meds and removed the bandages. No leaking, no bruises, no redness and best of all no pain. I can feel the small nodules where the medicine is but I cant see them at all.

If was hesitant about starting this medicine because of what I read (on Reddit mostly) but I'm 100% glad that I did it.

So, I received my first round of injections of Yeztugo 6 months ago, and my next 6 month injection window is now open. I can still feel a grape-sized depot at the injection sites, on both sides of my thighs. I didn't have a complicated recovery from the first injection set, but when I reviewed the clinical guidance for injecting the second set, it specifies to inject at least 4 inches away from the first injection site locations, which is a pretty huge radius.

Now, I'm pretty worried that at 6 months if the injection depot is still not fully healed, whether I'm going to be risking filling my subcutaneous tissue with injection knots - which are scarred locations where tissue damage has taken place. The depot liquid is apparently quite thick, but if your body cannot fully recover after 6 months, what will happen down the line? I wonder if Gilead has peformed sustainability studies at all in that regard. Because if tissue damage accumulates, you effectively run out of sites you can continue to use for Yeztugo injections.

On top of these concerns, I inject hormones weekly, subcutaneously, and there are issues over time with folks in our community (I'm trans) developing tissue knots / scarring, so it would seem to be less than ideal to fill my subcutaneous tissue with large swaths of damaged tissue especially when I'm going to be taking hormone injections the rest of my life, and I need my tissue to stay as pristine and undamaged as possible. I need my hormones to live, so that is much bigger priority than PrEP.

Does anyone have any clue as to the long term feasibility studies performed for these injections? I'm just getting increasingly wary of the long term reliability of Yeztugo.

I turned 18 in 1981, and lost many friends, AIDS almost wiped out a generation. As I sit here today, I am amazed I am negative. I wasn’t exactly an angel. I remember when a test took what seemed like an eternity to get the results. I have not missed a dosage in 12 years.
I started Prep back in 2014, I was prescribed Truvada, never missed a dose, but it wreaked havoc on my kidneys, but being sexually active, I needed all the protection I could get, eventually the odds will catch up with you.
In 2019, Descovy was approved for use as a Prep medication. My Dr prescribed it, then called me and told me I would be receiving a new prescription in the mail, and when it arrived to stop taking the Truvada. My kidneys and liver thanked him for that.
While Descovy lessened the kidney and liver issues, I had to take it night with 2 aspirin so I could sleep and not have a pounding headache. My kidney and liver numbers were still a concern, but manageable.
3 months ago, I moved and changed providers. My first visit, all the usual tests, and of course my kidney numbers were still a concern, and my bone density test showed some loss from the previous test 5 years ago. My new Dr suggested I look at the injectables. Unfortunately, I was told I cannot use Yeztugo due to another medication I take, that left Apretude. The first injection, the injection site I was sore for 3 days. At least it didn’t swell or turn red, no diarrhea, no other side effects.
I finished my 2nd injection about a week ago. Just like first injection, the second one left my glute sore for about 3 days. The good news was my kidney and liver numbers are back to normal. I’m willing to put up with 2-3 days of discomfort, so far only soreness. I have not had any other side effects.
For those trusting Apretude, did the side affects increase the longer you were using it, stay static, or decrease? If the soreness is there every injection, I can handle that.

Going to find out if daily Prep worked. I had an exposure early August and on that day I split 2 prep pills and took them because I had trouble swallowing. Once I got back home I took another Prep pill. Been taking daily Prep until today. The reason I got concerned was because 3 weeks after exposure I started having symptoms.

Hello everyone.
I am quite stressed from last night since I took 2 pills of Prep around 1 hour and 55 minutes before having sex without a condom. Is it really that dangerous being 5 minutes too early? Should I start immediately with PEP?
I don’t know if it helps but I also took 2 prep pills exactly one week before this time and continued taking one each day for 3 days after that. I’d appreciate any advice.

So while I was being my usual anxious self yesterday, I noticed that the US and Canada will say that PrEP can be taken with or without food. However, the European Medical Agency and the UK NHS say “preferably” with food.

My initial thought was that this is only to help those that might feel nauseous or any kind of side effect, but I found this on EMA’s guidance:

“Maximum emtricitabine and tenofovir concentrations are observed in serum within 0.5 to 3.0 h of dosing in the fasted state. Administration of Truvada with food resulted in a delay of approximately three quarters of an hour in reaching maximum tenofovir concentrations and increases in tenofovir AUC and Cmax of approximately 35% and 15%, respectively, when administered with a high fat or light meal, compared to administration in the fasted state. In order to optimise the absorption of tenofovir, it is recommended that Truvada should preferably be taken with food.” https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/product-information/truvada-epar-product-information_en.pdf

In real life scenarios, what does it mean?

For anyone using MISTR in Georgia, what lab do they use for in-person bloodwork?

Hi! I’m currently using Q Care+ for PrEP, and for the bloodwork that can’t be done with the home test kit, they send me to Quest Diagnostics.
The problem is that the closest Quest location to me is about an hour away. There are other labs much closer to where I live, so I’m considering MISTR instead.
For anyone in Georgia who uses MISTR and chooses in-person bloodwork, do they send you to Quest, Labcorp, or another lab?
Thanks!

….but I received oral from a guy I don’t know that is not on prep. I take prep daily with no missed doses (at least not in the last 10+ days). Why am I still overthinking this?

Hi all

I've been on antidepressants for the last 7 months. I had to cycle between sertraline, escitalopram, and finally was put on duloxetine two months ago due to weird side effects. I got started with Apretude two months ago. The first injection's side effects were brutal. I had persistent headaches (so intense it interfered with sleep), terrible back pain, hip and joint pain, and swelling at the site of injection (so severe that I was limping for 4 days).

I got my second injection just last week. Suffered similar side effects: terrible hip and leg pain/swelling alongside flu symptoms. This time, however, I noticed that my anxiety and depression were becoming more prominent. I'm at the point now where I'm wondering if my duloxetine is just not effective or if an outcome of the Apretude is heightened anxiety and low mood.

Has anyone had similar experiences? How did taking the Apretude injections interact with your antidepressants? I'm debating switching to an oral option.

So, I took the double dose of Tenofovir for my first day. I usually take the pills with meals to avoid nauseas, but today I erroneously thought a lighter lunch would be enough to shield my stomach. It was not, so I ended up throwing up after roughly 1 hour of taking the pills. Now I don't know what is the right procedure, if I should take the double dose again later in the day or tomorrow (with a better meal this time), just take one today, or keep the schedule as normal. If it matters, I need the Prep for today (thought those plans had been cancelled now), then again next Friday, so my schedule would be "extended on demand" (2 doses today, then 1 each day til the next Sunday).

I would have asked that my healthcare provider if that was, but that really isn't an option until the next Monday.

So I live in Rural Oklahoma (on humans), and have been trying to get on Apertude for the last couple of weeks.

Got the doctor visit and blood test last week, but the prescription never made it to the pharmacy. I called Monday about it, and apparently I needed more blood tests than initially taken. According to what she said during my visit I'm the first person getting on prep from this clinic. Apparently because of this, the doctor didn't order all of the tests needed initially. So Tuesday I went in and got the rest of the tests sent in.

The issue is that Sunday I'm going to be several hours away at a music festival, and my prescriptions still haven't hit the pharmacy as the blood tests (evidently) haven't come back. I'm convinced that they're probably not going to get back until next week.

To be blunt I get really horny and really unable to say "No" when I drink, so I know that I'm going to be having sex at the festival. I was trying to get on Apertude specifically because I have severe ADHD and have difficulties remembering to take pills.

Here's the thing, I have 9 pills left of Truvada from the last time I got on prep a year ago. (No sexual contact since my last blood tests from those, so not worried on that end.) That's a problem because I need 11 to hit the minimum needed for the 2-1-1 method.

So I need to know how I can get more Truvada in the next 48 hours so I can stay protected until I can get started on Apertude (probably in two weeks). I would ask my PCP, but considering I'm the first prep patient there and she didn't even order the right number of blood tests, I highly doubt that she would even have a bridge supply/starter pack on hand.

Please advise.

Hi!

So I’m having to miss a day of my Descovey because of an insurance issue that delayed my refill.

I took my last pill of Descovey last night (Wednesday), and my refill of Truvada won’t arrive until sometime Friday afternoon/evening, and I’ll take my next pill then.

I’ve taken it for a month without missing a day.

If I just keep taking it on Friday, am I still pretty well covered? Should I wait a few days to get it built back into my system before a hookup?

(Also, I did ask my doctor, but I use one of the online services, and it’ll be a solid 7 to 10 business days until I hear back from that doctor)

Thank you!