PrEP - Truvada
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I'm curious if anyone on here has experience with PrEP? I've read a lot about it but haven't heard from anyone who has used it. I'm also curious to learn other's opinions on the drug and what the potential ramifications could be for our community. Thanks for sharing your thoughts
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It's not going to stop you from getting Hep C - which will kill you a hell of a lot faster than HIV ever could. It also isn't going to stop any of the other STDs floating around… so I really, truly, believe it's only purpose is for monogamous couples who's statuses are different. From them, it is a blessing.
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While I am not using Truvada as a PrEP drug, nor am I using it for Hep C, I am currently on it. I have been for a few years now. It's part of my regular regime for HIV.
As for your question about the effects and such, I will note one thing. It is true that Truvada when used as a PrEP drug does indeed reduce the risk factors of contracting HIV, however it does come with a few risks…. For example, if the person you are having sex with has a resistance to one of (or both of) the drug compounds found in Truvada (Emtricitabine & Tenofovir), the effectiveness of reducing the chances of infection are greatly reduced.
All that being said, from my personal experience I can tell you that Truvada is NOT a very pleasant drug to be on. One of the most common side effects of Truvada is chronic diarrhea. I unfortunatly happen to be one of the many people who got this side effect and I can say with certainty that it gets to a point where not even Lomotil is strong enough on some days to counter-balance that effect. One of the other most noted effects that Truvada has been known to have on the human body has to do with deteriorating the bone matter in some people, which causes low bone density, and thereby increases the risk of a fracture or a break resulting from something like a fall.
The other caution that I have with Truvada is that it is often most effective when paired with Norvir (Ritonavir), which acts as a booster to other medications. If this is the case, you must be very careful about what other substances that you put in your body, especially if they're amphetamine based because of the nature of the way that Norvir works when interacting with other medications. If this is the case (as it is with me), this can cause a number of unexpected problems when mixing other substances, including alcohol. That is my only caution to such a regime.
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While I am not using Truvada as a PrEP drug, nor am I using it for Hep C, I am currently on it. I have been for a few years now. It's part of my regular regime for HIV.
As for your question about the effects and such, I will note one thing. It is true that Truvada when used as a PrEP drug does indeed reduce the risk factors of contracting HIV, however it does come with a few risks…. For example, if the person you are having sex with has a resistance to one of (or both of) the drug compounds found in Truvada (Emtricitabine & Tenofovir), the effectiveness of reducing the chances of infection are greatly reduced.
All that being said, from my personal experience I can tell you that Truvada is NOT a very pleasant drug to be on. One of the most common side effects of Truvada is chronic diarrhea. I unfortunatly happen to be one of the many people who got this side effect and I can say with certainty that it gets to a point where not even Lomotil is strong enough on some days to counter-balance that effect. One of the other most noted effects that Truvada has been known to have on the human body has to do with deteriorating the bone matter in some people, which causes low bone density, and thereby increases the risk of a fracture or a break resulting from something like a fall.
The other caution that I have with Truvada is that it is often most effective when paired with Norvir (Ritonavir), which acts as a booster to other medications. If this is the case, you must be very careful about what other substances that you put in your body, especially if they're amphetamine based because of the nature of the way that Norvir works when interacting with other medications. If this is the case (as it is with me), this can cause a number of unexpected problems when mixing other substances, including alcohol. That is my only caution to such a regime.
I just wanted to say how brave, and amazing, I think you are for talking about this so openly - and intelligently. Voices like yours are super important, and I applaud you for speaking about a subject that most gay men shy away from because it scares them.
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Why Thank You…
I've come to learn a long time ago that proper education on such subjects is the ultimate weapon in preparing yourself for how to handle and deal with such things.
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All that being said, from my personal experience I can tell you that Truvada is NOT a very pleasant drug to be on. One of the most common side effects of Truvada is chronic diarrhea. I unfortunatly happen to be one of the many people who got this side effect and I can say with certainty that it gets to a point where not even Lomotil is strong enough on some days to counter-balance that effect. One of the other most noted effects that Truvada has been known to have on the human body has to do with deteriorating the bone matter in some people, which causes low bone density, and thereby increases the risk of a fracture or a break resulting from something like a fall.
I am very lucky because apart from the intial start up of taking Truvada (10 days of living death & that could have been from the other drug prescribed with it) I haven't noticed any side effects from taking it.
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Yes… I would count yourself as being quite lucky in that regard. The effects of Truvada that I have gone through for the last several years are quite unpleasant. That being said though, within the next month, I will be happy to announce that I will finally be changing off of Truvada due to the side-effects that I have experienced.
That being said though, the two other most common side-effects of Truvada are dry mouth and nausea. These side-effects of course aren't always going to hold true in every case due to the fact that everyone will respond to the drug differently, but they are a possibility. Some of the more uncommon side effects can include things like low bone density and liver failure. The odds of the liver failure though aren't really all that great. It is a risk nevertheless though.
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If your going off Truvada you must be going on the other one which name escapes me. The one my doctor said "It can make some people squirrely and you are already squirrely enough."
I am in line for the liver issues as I don't drink near enough water. It has been brought up more than once with the blood work results, my creatine levels? I tune out with some of the results and then try to drink more liquids. So, I do have side effects but fortunately at this point they don't make themselves apparent in my daily life. I had dry mouth & nausea prior to Truvada so they don't count.
I sleep less on the meds but I don't mind having more time to not be productive with.
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http://www.hivplusmag.com/research/2014/11/05/prep-demand-study-halted-because-it-was-so-successful
"PrEP on Demand" Study Halted Because it Was So Successful
BY Mark S. King
November 05 2014 3:42 PM ETResearch subjects took two pills at least two hours prior to sexual activity, and then one pill for each of the next two days.
The data supporting the use of Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) continues to build, with another European study halted this week due to high efficacy rates.
A French study of gay men at risk for HIV infection, known as IPERGAY, was closed due to high success rates so that Truvada could be made available to all 400 trial participants. Half of those participating had been taking a placedo.
While complete results of IPERGAY will not be available until early 2015, trials are typically halted if high efficacy rates are acheived earlier in the process. Professor Jean-Francois Delfraissy, director of the French National AIDS Research Institute (pictured), called the their early results "a significant breakthrough in the fight against HIV and AIDS."
Even more intriguing was the IPERGAY regimen design. Rather than the one-pill-a-day dosing used in previous trials, subjects were given a "PrEP on demand" dosage schedule. The regimen calls for two pills at least two hours prior to sexual activity, and then one pill for each of the next two days. Previous trials have also shown efficacy with as few as four pills per week, but the "Prep on demand" model appears to focus the medication around actual sexual activity, when the body may need it most. (See graphic below.)
Only two weeks ago, a British study known as PROUD was also ceased because efficacy surpassed what was originally anticipated by researchers. Participants there who had been taking a placebo were called back to clinics and offered Truvada. Presently, the United States is the only country in which Truvada has been approved for the purposes of pre-exposure prophylaxis, although that is likely to change in light of the these new study results.
"These studies demolish several assertions made by critics of PrEP," said Gus Cairns of AIDSMap. "Firstly, that condoms work better than PrEP. They don't. Secondly, that people won't adhere to PrEP. They will. And thirdly, that there will be a public health disaster if people switch condoms for PrEP. There won't be. Condoms will remain an important part of HIV prevention and probably the method used by the majority of gay men for some time to come and there will always be men who prefer rubber to pills, as there are women to the contraceptive pill."
Cairns believes that while the evidence for the use of PrEP is reaching critical mass, even more options for HIV prevention must be sought and studied. This year may have the same historical impact as 1996, the year combination therapy emerged, he said.
"We need more," said Cairns. "We need a microbicide lube we can add to this. We need similar prophylaxis for STIs. We need a vaccine. We'll get them in the end, and eventually the days when the only thing we had to protect ourselves from HIV was a piece of rubber will recede into the past."
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http://myprepexperience.blogspot.com/ this blog has more than 100 posts from the last 2 years from people on PrEP.
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This 2 hours before, 2 days after sounds a bit like the seventies mentality of taking a course of antibiotics for a weekend at the tubs. Also, are they just saving the Truvada for special occasions? When I am in the groove sex is not just daily but hourly. Will these guys have to decide who is "sponge worthy"?
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Also, are they just saving the Truvada for special occasions? When I am in the groove sex is not just daily but hourly. Will these guys have to decide who is "sponge worthy"?
Based on the sound of the article, it does indeed sound like the use of Truvada is around special occasions. That being said though, Truvada is also effective as a post-infection remedy, as it has been in my case for some time now. It's also used in the treatment of Hepatits C as well.
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I was on a Truvada PEP (post exposure profylaxe) treatment for approximately a month: the HIV test got negative, so there was no need to continue. Diarrhea in the first week or so was dramatic as well as headaches, dry mouth, and temperature. While diarrhea was more or less over after a week or so, dry mouth, dizziness, headaches and the general malaise continued till the very end.
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I was on a Truvada PEP (post exposure profylaxe) treatment for approximately a month: the HIV test got negative, so there was no need to continue. Diarrhea in the first week or so was dramatic as well as headaches, dry mouth, and temperature. While diarrhea was more or less over after a week or so, dry mouth, dizziness, headaches and the general malaise continued till the very end.
These are all some of the side effects (aside from diarrhea) are all common side effects of most of the HIV medications. Dry mouth happens to be the #1 side effect of pretty well every HIV medication for some reason that I'm not quite sure I fully understand.
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My first two weeks were
a livinghell. I described it as feeling like a piece of dead wood and the only way I was certain I was alive was the smells emanating from me. I swear those gases could easily be weaponized because I would have to leave the area I was in. Although it's funny now at the time I died a million horrors when on a escaltor some esacped me and the woman behind me started coughing, a cough like she was going to be dragged down with me. Day 13 I decided I was going to call the doctor the next day to make an appointment to say I can't take it. Day 14 I found a little 'sneaky pete' and thought to myself "Well it can't make me feel worse". It not only did not make me feel worse, I would say I haven't noticed anything magor since!Mind I am on Truvada & Raltegravir, which when I started was still in trials.
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I had Truvada as part of PEP and didn't have diarrhea. Main problem were the other drugs that gave me allergic rash.
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Mind I am on Truvada & Raltegravir, which when I started was still in trials.
Raltegravir…. Better known to the "big pharma" as the brand named "Insentress" hehe
