What are your thoughts on Truvada (PrEP)?

I don't use PreP but I do know its commonly used. I'd balance the pros and cons here. Taking medications for a disease you do not have would have to have some effect on your body. I would also assume that the side effects wouldn't be worth just feeling some a** raw. I also worry that people will rely on this far more than they should. I don't think it was intended to take the place of condom usage but to use in tandem with. I would imagine its one of those things you would want to be on if you "slip up" often so I understand the interest but I'm not completely sold on it.

 

I guess this would be the same as women taking birth control pills. They take them all time not for family planning but just so they can get some without having worries about pregnancy.

As for Truvada, personally i wouldn't use it because i just don't know how safe it is.

 

I was talking to an HIV positive dude for a while, so I considered taking it if we ever got really serious. But now that we broke things off, I don't think it's needed anymore. I always wrap it up. Dating an HIV positive dude definitely woke me up and made me even more safer than I already was. I would definitely encourage Prep if a guy meets someone he really clicks with who happens to be HIV positive. Status shouldn't be a barrier to dating someone you really like.

 

I have an rX.

I think every single black gay male should talk to their doctor about it to see if the pros and the cons for you. If you are in a high risk group, you should be learning about it IMO. I was doing research on it for about 4-5 weeks. I know 2 other guys who are on it and they are fine. Between testimonials online and my own digging, I was more prepared when I went to my PCP than he was when talking about it. I was referred to an infectious disease specialist.

It was easy to actually get the rX after going through the tests required. It was harder to get through the hurdles my insurance company required to actually get it in my hands than getting the rX in the first place. It's expensive. THOUSANDS of dollars before insurance kicks it down. $35 on my insurance which ends up being just over $1 a pill.

Once you have cleared the battery of testing for STDs and getting your blood work done, once you get your Rx, you'll meet back with the doctor and they'll run the tests again. At that point, you'll know how your body has reacted to the drug in the first month.

60 days after that, you should be due for the next testing and at that point, you should be on a 3 month schedule. You can talk to your doctor about your activities to see if you even need it.

To answer the question, yes, I do trust that it will keep me from getting HIV, especially if the other guy is on his meds. TruVada is actually a drug that some HIV+ people take and those people are doing just fine. I only had some very interesting lucid dreams nightly and those eventually went away.

I'm not hooking up. I'm not high risk at all. So I don't have to really worry about taking it daily. If I were out there like that, then yes. I'd like to have the extra barrier simply because... "never trust nobody." It's there if I felt I needed it. Taking it 5 days a week is minimum to high protection. It takes about a week to keep you fully protected.

Not everyone has a use case for it so it's not a panacea for everyone. Condoms clearly work and are enough. I won't lie though, condomless sex feels great but where I am in life, that's something that I'll only do with someone I'm in a serious relationship and after we have both been tested at the same time.

One thing thing, and I think this is really the most important to be honest, it has freed me in that I have not ruled out HIV+ guys from the dating pool. I got a really educated on it and HIV so I'm really not worried about acquiring HIV. Most people who are taking their meds are not trying to transmit the disease so I'd rather someone tell me that they have HIV and I know where they stand than someone lying to me that they don't. A lot of people will flat out not date someone with HIV. You know who you are.
Not everyone how has HIV got it from being a THOT and most often than not, they acquired it from someone they trusted who lied to them. I don't think people should be punished for a small mistake because mostly everyone has had a slip up and sat in the doctor's office replaying every instance where they got caught up hoping that that wasn't the time that will give them a positive diagnosis.

 

Well the thing is a lot of people are using it so that they can have condom less sex with multiple partners. It's just a fact of the matter.

However I don't think that that is the majority of the population of users. Even if that was the case, those people are adults and can do as they please. It's an option. Just like the pill was for single women. I don't think we will know the true impact it will have on high risk groups for at least another 8-10 years. There's many people who don't know about it, misinformed, can't afford it (though there are programs to assist), or don't want to take it but maintain their risky behaviors. But again not everyone is good candidate.

 

My friend works for a national study that studies the effect of HIV in the black male community. So I've been hearing his take on stuff like this for years, and I won't take the drug...no need to.

But if I were to ever fall for someone who was positive, then my stance might change. Still believe couples should use condoms and get tested regularly anyway. Better safe then sorry.

 

Great conversation.
I do not use Prep, but I am thinking about it.
Over the past 20+ years, I have dated HIV poz and neg men. I have been married (now divorced) and I have chidren.
All of this time because the men I've been with were proactive about their health.be cause I have bewn proactiveand even with rhe ocasional slip up I havw manages to stay negative and healthy. HIV is not the easiest rhing to catch, and my understing is that it is repeated risky behavior...REPEATED OFTEN, that is typically the precursor to becoming infected.
Now that I've stated that:
More people than will admit who claim condoms have had raw sex. Straight people have raw sex. Married peiple have raw sex. Just a fact.

If marry again (a man this time though...lol), and he is neg, I may not use condoms. If I trust my partner enough to dedicate my life to him, probably not. If he were positive, yeah, I probably would. Being on Prep would significantly reduce the infection if there were a slip up with a positive man or if my partner was undiagnosed.

Funny, after reading what I haven posted, I am going to bite the bilullet and do it.
Side note: I hope everyone has had their hepetitus vaccination!

 

Yes. I was married before for 13 years. The only time we used condoms was when she was nursing and couldn't take birth control. Why should being married to a man be different? ESPECIALLY, if we both know that we are healthy. To me, marriage is marriage.. the most trusted relationship.

Just like you could catch an std from a man.. you can catch an std from a woman. Let's stop treating these relationships so differently. Think about it...

 

You thinking is under the assumption that you are not in a trusting relationship. These days, straight couples have anal sex. It is going to come down to trust. I will be smart about my actions.. and intentional, but I will not be ruled by fear and paranoia. Years ago, I was in a relationship where my boyfriend wanted to have sex without a condom. I wasn't ready for that. I didn't have that much trust in the relationship at that point, so I didn't do it. Soon after, the relationship ended.

The one element you are missing from your statistics is the promiscuous sexual activitiy with multiple sex partners unprotected.

 

It really is a personal choice.. and I'm NOT getting married again any time soon...lol

 

I have a prescription and I take it daily. It is simple. The only side effect I had from taking it was on my first day, I had a few extra bowel movements. I am a top and not in a high risk group, but I have a few regular sex partners that i have had for years and I like to have sex with them raw. the fear of after having sex with them and being tested is now gone. it personally has given me peace of mind. it is everyone's choice. just like everything else in life. choose wisely.

 

Definately appreciate your candor!

 

I think its safe to say that I will NEVER have unprotected sex with a dude, I'm not trying to get him pregnant so what's the point...no need for me to even consider PrEP...

I'm too much of a hypochondriac and I would hate to have to take the HIV medication for the rest of my life, so I'd rather be over-protective...that isn't to cast judgement on those that do though...

99.9% of the men I've personally spoken with who have HIV said they got it from someone they were in a long term relationship with who they "trusted." Whether their stories were completely true or not, it was enough of a consistent narrative from complete strangers to be a warning sign like those advanced premonition clues seen in a Final Destination movie.

 

I hear where you are coming from... and it is valid.

There are so many factors involved in relationships and trust. It truly is a personal judgement call/decision.

 

thats a lie. i have heard that from many people as well... i don't believe it. they got it from whores. let's face it. i do not believe that 99% of people were in relationships. too much whoring going around in this community and not enough relationships. they slipped up, but if it helps them sleep at night or get someone they tell that to believe them and not be judgmental then that is fine. but i don't believe it.

 

Well damn! Tell em how u really feel lol

 

Considering that you don't know the men personally and I actually do...I'll take their word for it over yours...

 

Not in a high risk group, eh? Alrighty. I mean, I would think this would make you a perfect candidate for it but you say you're not high risk so...

 

well Nick, I should have clarified... the ones that i know who say that they've contracted it from a partner they were in a relationship with. Ive heard this for years... and I'm like.... and whatever. it is almost a standard line.