r/prep

I wanted to share my experience in the event that anyone else has found it difficult to take prep in pill form. Tl:dr: Yeztugo may be the answer.

As the title states, I got violently nauseous on Truvada and descovy— violent enough to where I couldn’t continue the onboarding process and be functional at work or home, so I stopped. It was recommended that I try Yeztugo because there are fewer pills involved to make me potentially nauseous. i agreed because of that, and because I liked the idea of not having to take a pill every day to reduce risk of contraction. I received my first dose of Yeztugo a couple days ago. I elected to get the shots in my thighs after reading several posts from others.

Let’s talk about those fucking horse pills. The 4 pills you have to take over the course of the 48hrs are massive. It def took me a few tries to get them down. NGL, it burned like hell when the solution was first injected. I took a couple of extra strength over-the-counter pain killers about 30 min before to help reduce pain and inflammation. I also used ice packs on the areas of injection just before. The NP who did the injection remarked that ppl have anecdotally been reporting that the left leg hurts more/burns longer than the right. Maybe it was priming, but the left side def. burned longer than the right. Right leg felt fine after about 5-10min. Left took more like 10-15min.

much to my surprise, the burning subsided enough for me to feel comfortable walking back to the train, and continuing with my day. More importantly, I HAD NO NAUSEA AT ALL. Not from the 2 pills before or the next day. Not from the shots. No. Nausea. A bit of fatigue, sure.

The following day, there was no burn or pain. Some tenderness when you press on the area surrounding the injection site. I’ve been massaging the lumps, and they're already spreading so as to not look like nodules under my skin.

If you have also had concerns about stomach/digestive issues from taking prep, I highly recommend considering Yeztugo.

I just received my first Yeztugo injections in my abdomen on Friday. I know to give it a bit to settle in, but I'm not thrilled with the ongoing bumps and discomfort in that area. Hopefully it reduces with time. ​​​​​

However, one of my legs is completely covered in a tattoo, and I do not know how these injections impact tattoo pigment. ​​​​​​​I've heard folks say thighs are better for these in general, but I do not want to risk screwing up my tattoo.

Has anyone here received the Yeztugo injections under a tattoo that can tell me what their experience was like?

Thanks so much!

As the title say's is there anyway to get your hands on PReP that's not Truvada in the UK without an NHS prescription (who will only prescribe Descovy for those with pre-existing kidney or orthopedic issues). It doesn't seem so from googling.

I have concerns about the bone density issues with Truvada and doing contact sports. If I am someone who all ready weight trains regularly, would take calcium supplements and only plans on "on demand" use am I worrying to much about how much of an issue this would be?

Has anyone had any luck getting Descovy prescribed by an NHS doctor for similar reasons?

Has anyone experienced a faulty or false-reactive rapid HIV test while on PrEP?

For context, I’ve been on Truvada consistently for almost 2 years and get tested every 3 months. I had a negative 4th gen HIV test at the health department on May 1st.

Today I went to a sex clinic because I was interested in Doxy-PEP. The NP offered another HIV test, and they did a rapid finger-prick test. The communication afterward honestly made me anxious because she never clearly confirmed or denied whether the first rapid was positive. Later, over the phone, she told me the repeat rapid was negative and that the first test was faulty/invalid.

What confused me more is that I was kind of left in the dark during the visit, so now my brain keeps spiraling wondering if I somehow have HIV despite:

• multiple recent negative 4th gen tests,
• consistent PrEP use,
• and only maybe missing one dose a month ago.

She also gave me Descovy because she wants to switch me from Truvada to Descovy.

Has anyone else dealt with faulty rapid tests or confusing communication like this while on PrEP?

I thought Yeztugo was for anyone man or woman who’s active? My friend says otherwise. But anyone have luck getting it through Kaiser. I read they cover it, but wondering how difficult it is to get your doctor to prescribe it.

I’m currently taking PrEP on demand for low risk activities (oral sex). I took 2 pills on Friday, but did not have oral sex. I didn’t continue with the last two remaining pills.

Do I need to take 2 again if I plan to do it tonight? Instructions are unclear. It says to take 1 if I double dosed within seven days. But I am not sure if it applies because I didn’t complete the 2-1-1 sequence

To make a long story short, my Dr was judging my decision really hard when I asked about coming off of prep. I am in a monogamous relationship, and prior to that I wasn’t sleeping with a lot of people. 6 months ago my EX gave me an STD which is what prompted getting on prep to begin with. But as a single person, I didn’t have a lot of sex, let alone unprotected sex. I asked if I stopped taking it, what my repercussions would be. She basically instilled this fear that I shouldn’t trust my boyfriend, and she won’t be able to treat me if I contract HIV through him.

I understand that risk, but I also hate the shame and judgement I felt even bringing it up. I still take it, but I also feel like it’s unnecessary.

Also, a side note, I don’t know about anyone else but since I switched from truvada to descovy my acne has gotten worse. For the first time ever I have acne on my scalp 🥲

Anyone else get chronic hives on Truvada/TDF-FTC?

Started PrEP 2+ years ago. ~6 weeks in, started getting urticaria triggered by heat and exercise (cold room = fine, hot outside or working out = hives). Has gotten gradually worse over 2 years, not better. Switched from Truvada to generic Tenvir-EM recently, no change.

Weird thing: had IV fluids in an ER once for unrelated reason, and the urticaria disappeared for 2 weeks before coming back.

Is this a known PrEP side effect that people deal with? Did antihistamines help? Did anyone resolve it by switching to Descovy?

Thanks.

I was on pep for 30 days then I had a couple very high risk encounters on the weekend. Straight after that I got on prep. I think my last dose of pep was either Thursday or Friday morning, the several encounters happened from Saturday morning to Sunday morning and then after my last encounter on Sunday morning I started taking prep. Some studies say that you’re 96-97% protected if you’ve taken prep/pep for 30 days or more even if you miss 2-3 days? Are these true do I need pep? I’m at 48 hours currently so I only have another 24 hours left to get it. Or will I be ok?

I’m a 20 year-old in college and I’ve had pretty bad experiences with sex/health concerns and I think I’ve developed an overall bad relationship with sex just to preface.

In the past I have been on oral prep, but had trouble taking it consistently. I got off the pill and met with a doctor to get put on an injectable. It took a while for my insurance to approve the shot so my doctor told me to continue taking Truvada.

I started on Truvada again— I was on it for a week and took two pills the first day to jumpstart things. I’m really nervous that I could’ve missed a pill within that week, I don’t think I did, but I can’t remember.

A week from when I first started it, I hooked up with a guy. I was really intoxicated and before the guy came over I took two more pills thinking that would do something. I’m pretty sure I only had oral sex with the guy/ no ejaculation. I remember him putting his finger inside of me and I’m really afraid he could’ve stuck his penis in me without me being aware— what if I didn’t remember. Clearly I was too drunk which is another lesson this situation has taught me.

I guess I’m just really scared that if that did happen, the prep hadn’t been in my system long enough to do anything.

After this incident, I went to the doctor and got my first dose of injectable prep. They tested me there and it was negative obviously but I’m still really scared for these next few weeks. What if the injectable prep creates a false negative? What if the prep I was on didn’t work? What if I didn’t take the prep long enough or missed a dose?

I don’t know feeling really scared and overwhelmed. Pretty new to stuff like this and any advice would be appreciated.

I took prep daily for about 3 years, I had minor GI side effects (gas, bloating, etc) but nothing so severe that it stopped me from wanting to continue taking it.

Last year, I made the move to Apertude. The doctor administered this via an injection into my left glute. My doctor had me lay down, but my friend said his doctor had him kneel on all fours so that the muscle was easier to hit. To each their own I guess. An injectible was great since it meant no more GI symptoms but I did find the pain from the shot to last days and days, with the soreness actually increasing between days 2-7 after the shot and then tapering off. I found myself having to go to the doctor even more than when I was taking Prep daily (on Prep I would go for checkups every 90 days vs the 2 month window for Apertude). Also, I found that in the days after taking the shot I was way more irritable and would have a kind of depressed mood. I talked about this with my doctor and they said that mental side effects are not common/highly reported, but I felt it in varying degrees for the first 5-6 days after each shot. I liked having the confidence in knowing I wouldn't ever have a slip up with the pill, but the pain and soreness every few weeks was problematic as I live a very active life style and having sever pain in my glute made working out unbearable. Also, while my medication was covered by insurance, the co-pays for my doctors office every two months started to add up.

This month, Yeztugo was made available at my doctors office. My doctor and I decided I would be good fit since I didn't mind getting the shots and even if I had similar sensitivity to Yeztugo, I would only have to deal with it 2x a year, rather than 6x. My doctor administered the Yeztugo via two shots injected on both sides of the abdomen. The experience of it was actually a bit uncomfortable tbh, it felt like a scene from the substance bc unlike with Apertude where I was laying down - my dr had me stand up and I could see them injecting the medication. The nodules formed basically immediately but they were barely visible to begin with and now two weeks later they are almost gone. They kind of feel like a mosquito bite, nothing that would limit your mobility or be noticeable when your shirt is off unless someone literally touched the injection site. So far, I haven't had any of the mood/mental symptoms I had with Apertude or the GI symptoms I had with prep, so this is my favorite. The manufacturer of YTG is Gilead and they have a discount program that can make the medication $0 to you. You just have to enroll on their site and give your pharmacy the info. CVS called me and told me how to do it before billing me and shipping the medication, so definitely ask your dr/pharm about that.

I hope this helps anyone thinking about trying these medications.

do you ever get anxious that your HIV tests are false negatives because of the delayed anti body production your body makes because of Prep?

I am interested in taking PrEP. I had my consultation today for Yeztugo but it was not available yet at my clinic. They made it complicated just to get an injection. My only exposures would be receptive oral sex to men. I asked my PrEP provider but she was not helpful and confusing. She said it would be 80% effective???

I know the risk for oral sex is low but I also want a peace of mind. I just did not want to be on a daily pill. Would I be a candidate for the 2-1-1 method? Is it trustworthy?

Hi there, most informations are directed to homosexuals.

It is still not clear to me, how an heterosexual man is suppose to take Prep on demand for a planned sex session with escort wonan.
For both cases: with and without condom, sex time is well planned, 1 time a month only.

Do you have some input on correct usage in this scenario?

Prep package says: Emtricitabin/Tenofovirdisoproxil

Thank you.

Hey guys, quick question about something that’s been worrying me the past couple days. I’m a gay man who has been taking daily prep for the past 5 years. I recently went through a difficult breakup and my self-care and routines were really disrupted, leading to some questionable decisions. Last week I missed two consecutive prep doses. I then took a double dose, and two regular single doses in the days after. After that I had a bit of a crazy weekend which involved unprotected sex with 10-15 guys. My inclination is that my protection wasn’t meaningfully reduced, but still wanted to run it past you guys here. My plan is to get tested and have a chat with a sexual health professional this week.