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HIV pre
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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Does anyone take this? Is it free and what’s the side effects?
Apparently there is a tablet you can take that stops you catching hiv!!!!
I am really interested in how this works does anyone take? Pm if you don’t want to write on here. Any precaution is just sensible |
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So the drug is called PrEP short for pre exposure prophylaxis. It's a drug that you take before you have sex. I think it has to be much earlier than just 5 minutes before you do it so something in the morning but generally the way I saw it advertised is that if you're particularly active and in a high risk group (gay, bi men) it's recommend to take it something like once a day. It's about 92 to 99 percent effective based in trials.
At the moment it's not available for free on the NHS except for a some clinical trials which is open to a few 1000s of people. If you want to go through that route you might need to go meet some criteria before they approve you for the trial. Other than that, I'm not aware of any vendors in the UK who are selling it so purchasing it from overseas might be the only other route.
If you need any more info let me know and I can pm you some sites with a more thorough run down |
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Also PrEP is different from PEP. Prep is preventative while PEP is treatment after you catch PEP.
HIV usually takes an incubation period of a few weeks before it can be identified in tests and PEP is only effective and eliminates the chance of catching HIV if taken within the first 72 hours of exposure. So if you suspect that a partner might have given you HIV in the night (e.g casual partner and broken condom) call either 999 or a emergency sexual health clinic as soon as possible and they will be able to give you PEP urgently.
Hope this helps |
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"Also PrEP is different from PEP. Prep is preventative while PEP is treatment after you catch PEP.
HIV usually takes an incubation period of a few weeks before it can be identified in tests and PEP is only effective and eliminates the chance of catching HIV if taken within the first 72 hours of exposure. So if you suspect that a partner might have given you HIV in the night (e.g casual partner and broken condom) call either 999 or a emergency sexual health clinic as soon as possible and they will be able to give you PEP urgently.
Hope this helps"
Calling 999!?! I hope you mean 111
Enough time wasters calling 999 which is for emergency services only! |
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"Does anyone take this? Is it free and what’s the side effects?
Apparently there is a tablet you can take that stops you catching hiv!!!!
I am really interested in how this works does anyone take? Pm if you don’t want to write on here. Any precaution is just sensible "
Best info you can get on PrEP and PEP is www.CDC.gov/hiv/basics/prep.html |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I've not heard of many people having issues with PreP.
I've taken it myself for a year with no apparent side effects.
One of the main ones though is kidney function issues and you'll need to have yours checked before you are allowed to take PrEP and once per year thereafter.
The thing to remember about PreP is that not only is it not 100%, it only helps against HIV, not the myriad of other infections.
The good thing is though, that with the right medication, many HIV+ men are able to manage their condition into a non infectious state. With the right meds and constitution, people with HIV can have their viral load beaten back to undetectable levels. They still have HIV, but at undetectable levels, which means the virus cannot be passed on in that state.
These people are rigourously tested.
A good combo is for you to take PrEP and your chosen partners to be undetectable, though this may not be an option.
If you rely on PrEP alone, remember that it's only 91-98% effective. If you think you've been exposed to HIV without using PrEP, ask for PEP, POST EXPOSURE drug within 72 hours of exposure.
PrEP is a daily dose, but apparently it is equally effective if you only take it for the seven days that precede having sex with a positive person (and then only up to 98% etc.). That's a good option if you can say for sure you'll have sex on a given day. Otherwise a daily dose is recommended. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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On the 999 and 111 point, if you've had vaginal or anal sex with a HIV+ person and you think you are at risk of contraction, I wouldn't bother calling, I'd go straight to the GUM clinic. In all likelihood that's what 111 will tell you so I'd just cut out the middle men and save them a few resources. If clinics are closed, chemists are good.
In my experience they won't give you PEP for oral sex because oral sex is lower risk than vaginal and anal. I've told them I thought a partner lied about their status and they still wouldn't give me PEP on the basis that I only have a bj and it was considered less risky/more difficult for transmission.
I used to get my PrEP through a charity grant. If you're looking for a reputable PrEP vendor, I recommend Green Cross Pharmacy in India from person extended experience. However that's just my experience and advice and I'm not a professional so take it at your own risk and of your own volition.
Do NOT take PrEP without having your kidney function test done beforehand and again annually. There's also no point talking PrEP until you've waited for the three month incubation period and tested negative for HIV. I don't know what would happen if you unknowingly had HIV and took PrEP, but obviously the PrEP would not work and it might even harm you *shrugs*.
PrEP trials are very competitive and limited on space but I've heard more and more continue to expand so it's only a good thing. Good luck finding one that works for what you're looking for. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Sorry to spam but it just came to mind, if you haven't already and you like the extra reassurances, get yourself the HPV jabs, which can be helpful against cervical cancer. It's one of those things worth having rather than risking the lottery of the alternatives.
I'm not sure how it works for women, or if there's different coverage for men to women but when I had mine done it was three injections: day one, day thirty and day ninety (or was it sixty? I am senile). Without checking and off the top of my head I think it covers about six...or eight strains of HPV. It's worth the investment and they're not painful. |
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"On the 999 and 111 point, if you've had vaginal or anal sex with a HIV+ person and you think you are at risk of contraction, I wouldn't bother calling, I'd go straight to the GUM clinic. In all likelihood that's what 111 will tell you so I'd just cut out the middle men and save them a few resources. If clinics are closed, chemists are good.
In my experience they won't give you PEP for oral sex because oral sex is lower risk than vaginal and anal. I've told them I thought a partner lied about their status and they still wouldn't give me PEP on the basis that I only have a bj and it was considered less risky/more difficult for transmission.
I used to get my PrEP through a charity grant. If you're looking for a reputable PrEP vendor, I recommend Green Cross Pharmacy in India from person extended experience. However that's just my experience and advice and I'm not a professional so take it at your own risk and of your own volition.
Do NOT take PrEP without having your kidney function test done beforehand and again annually. There's also no point talking PrEP until you've waited for the three month incubation period and tested negative for HIV. I don't know what would happen if you unknowingly had HIV and took PrEP, but obviously the PrEP would not work and it might even harm you *shrugs*.
PrEP trials are very competitive and limited on space but I've heard more and more continue to expand so it's only a good thing. Good luck finding one that works for what you're looking for."
111 can find an available appointment as soon as possible at any clinic or doctors offering PrEP and PEP as they say the sooner you're on the PEP the better the outcome it's only matters of hours before the meds are ineffective and by 72hrs it has no efficacy. Where I live there's one main centre that deals with it but larger cities have more than one main clinic. There's satellite clinics here but they only do testing via swabs if you have no symptoms some do the HIV prick test or don't require urgent prophylactic treatment.
I think the waiting time before taking PrEP isn't that it will harm you but could cause someone with early HIV to be undetectable and thus giving a negative result at testing. Which will skew data collected and risk of someone being with untreated HIV and the risks posed if they stop taking PrEP |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"On the 999 and 111 point, if you've had vaginal or anal sex with a HIV+ person and you think you are at risk of contraction, I wouldn't bother calling, I'd go straight to the GUM clinic. In all likelihood that's what 111 will tell you so I'd just cut out the middle men and save them a few resources. If clinics are closed, chemists are good.
In my experience they won't give you PEP for oral sex because oral sex is lower risk than vaginal and anal. I've told them I thought a partner lied about their status and they still wouldn't give me PEP on the basis that I only have a bj and it was considered less risky/more difficult for transmission.
I used to get my PrEP through a charity grant. If you're looking for a reputable PrEP vendor, I recommend Green Cross Pharmacy in India from person extended experience. However that's just my experience and advice and I'm not a professional so take it at your own risk and of your own volition.
Do NOT take PrEP without having your kidney function test done beforehand and again annually. There's also no point talking PrEP until you've waited for the three month incubation period and tested negative for HIV. I don't know what would happen if you unknowingly had HIV and took PrEP, but obviously the PrEP would not work and it might even harm you *shrugs*.
PrEP trials are very competitive and limited on space but I've heard more and more continue to expand so it's only a good thing. Good luck finding one that works for what you're looking for.
111 can find an available appointment as soon as possible at any clinic or doctors offering PrEP and PEP as they say the sooner you're on the PEP the better the outcome it's only matters of hours before the meds are ineffective and by 72hrs it has no efficacy. Where I live there's one main centre that deals with it but larger cities have more than one main clinic. There's satellite clinics here but they only do testing via swabs if you have no symptoms some do the HIV prick test or don't require urgent prophylactic treatment.
I think the waiting time before taking PrEP isn't that it will harm you but could cause someone with early HIV to be undetectable and thus giving a negative result at testing. Which will skew data collected and risk of someone being with untreated HIV and the risks posed if they stop taking PrEP"
No of course I meant taking it when you do have HIV might harm you, not that the wait would lol.
What I meant by cutting out 111 is whilst yes, they can find appointments, if you have a local GUM clinic you don't need to go through this middleman.
If you think you've been put at risk and you go directly to the GUM clinic and tell them you have been with someone HIV+ within 72 hours, you don't need an appointment and you can save 111 their time and resources and your own.
The clinic can't turn you away if it's within opening hours. They would triage you and that situation would be near the top of a triage list. You'd definitely be seen as an urgent case. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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111 should only really be used for out of hours urgent care if your local services are unavailable. If you're GUM clinic is open, they would absolutely triage you as high priority and treat you the same day without the need of ever contacting 111. |
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"On the 999 and 111 point, if you've had vaginal or anal sex with a HIV+ person and you think you are at risk of contraction, I wouldn't bother calling, I'd go straight to the GUM clinic. In all likelihood that's what 111 will tell you so I'd just cut out the middle men and save them a few resources. If clinics are closed, chemists are good.
In my experience they won't give you PEP for oral sex because oral sex is lower risk than vaginal and anal. I've told them I thought a partner lied about their status and they still wouldn't give me PEP on the basis that I only have a bj and it was considered less risky/more difficult for transmission.
I used to get my PrEP through a charity grant. If you're looking for a reputable PrEP vendor, I recommend Green Cross Pharmacy in India from person extended experience. However that's just my experience and advice and I'm not a professional so take it at your own risk and of your own volition.
Do NOT take PrEP without having your kidney function test done beforehand and again annually. There's also no point talking PrEP until you've waited for the three month incubation period and tested negative for HIV. I don't know what would happen if you unknowingly had HIV and took PrEP, but obviously the PrEP would not work and it might even harm you *shrugs*.
PrEP trials are very competitive and limited on space but I've heard more and more continue to expand so it's only a good thing. Good luck finding one that works for what you're looking for.
111 can find an available appointment as soon as possible at any clinic or doctors offering PrEP and PEP as they say the sooner you're on the PEP the better the outcome it's only matters of hours before the meds are ineffective and by 72hrs it has no efficacy. Where I live there's one main centre that deals with it but larger cities have more than one main clinic. There's satellite clinics here but they only do testing via swabs if you have no symptoms some do the HIV prick test or don't require urgent prophylactic treatment.
I think the waiting time before taking PrEP isn't that it will harm you but could cause someone with early HIV to be undetectable and thus giving a negative result at testing. Which will skew data collected and risk of someone being with untreated HIV and the risks posed if they stop taking PrEP
No of course I meant taking it when you do have HIV might harm you, not that the wait would lol.
What I meant by cutting out 111 is whilst yes, they can find appointments, if you have a local GUM clinic you don't need to go through this middleman.
If you think you've been put at risk and you go directly to the GUM clinic and tell them you have been with someone HIV+ within 72 hours, you don't need an appointment and you can save 111 their time and resources and your own.
The clinic can't turn you away if it's within opening hours. They would triage you and that situation would be near the top of a triage list. You'd definitely be seen as an urgent case."
The worry they have about PrEP usage with HIV is its ability to mutate and become resistant to treatments
But PrEP can also mask the actual infection due to how it prevents HIV replicating reducing chance of infection.
Since studies are being done everyone taking it is a part of the study which is why they will take as much information as possible.
From your sexual behaviour to how many partners to what form of protections you'd use or lack of.
From some people I've heard taking it they've been requested to continue in their preferred sexual practices i.e. with condoms or without and to stick to it. For which they will gauge infection rates. Human guinea pigs basically. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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We've come a long way since the eighties. PrEP isn't perfect, but it is fantastic. It's a good idea trying to beat HIV by reducing infections whilst improving effectiveness of meds for those with HIV. I wonder what will come first in the UK, a cure for HIV or the death of HIV through a combination of stopping new infections and helping positive people to become undetectable. |
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"We've come a long way since the eighties. PrEP isn't perfect, but it is fantastic. It's a good idea trying to beat HIV by reducing infections whilst improving effectiveness of meds for those with HIV. I wonder what will come first in the UK, a cure for HIV or the death of HIV through a combination of stopping new infections and helping positive people to become undetectable."
They've had a lot of breakthroughs over the years stemming as far back as the 90s
Discovering people have immunity their focus could have been finding a cure or a vaccination that could prevent it entirely. The latest fluke and previous one based on changing the genetic makeup of their blood via bone marrow transplant isn't feasible due to the very nature of finding compatible donors specific to each patient.
They've focused on pharmacology which as we all know main focus is profit which is why 3rd world countries suffering the worst of the disease aren't getting treatments.
Their largest group for valuable data on the rates of infection and prevention and they aren't utilising it as there's no profit
One day someone will come up with a cure it's going take time because the people who will do it have limited resources but what they lack in resources they make up with passion to find that cure.
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Prep is not a drug but a description of method of use
And it can be used episodically if you want a source look on the tht Terrence Higgins trust website
It's also true that at undetectable hiv does not transmit. Irony is from an hiv point of view safer to have sex with a positive undetectable person than someone who thinks they are negative. Most hiv is passed on by people who think they are negative
Danger with prep is people won't get tested due to sense of security it gives
It is effective if used correctly as is the pill but we but ladies on the pill have become pregnant I just use this to illustrate the need to test on occasion
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I've been on PrEP for well over a year, now. Originally buying it in as a personal import for about £20 a month, but eventually managing to get on the trial. The NHS England trial has been accepted as a success, and PrEP will soon be made available to anyone at sufficiently high risk to warrant it, in line with Scotland and Wales (I'm not sure about Northern Ireland.)
However you source the drug, you need your bloods monitoring for a couple of reasons. One is kidney function, and the other is to routinely test for HIV, in case the drug doesn't work for you and you do end up being infected. At that point, you need to go on a multi-drug regime, and they don't want your infection developing immunity to the PrEP drug. And like most medication, it can have side-effects, one of which is loss of bone density after long term use (I take a calcium supplement too, to try to prevent this.)
Trial figures show as low as 86% effectiveness, but that includes people who weren't taking it properly. I'm also aware of at least 2 people having been infected while taking it in the 'event based' format (2 tablets at least 4 hours before sex, and 1 per day for 2 days following.) That's one of the reasons I opt for taking a tablet every day.
Taken correctly, it's over 99% effective at preventing HIV infection. Condoms are only around 98% effective at doing the same thing. So yes, bareback with PrEP is less than half the risk of condoms without PrEP. Though that's specific to HIV.
You can get vaccinated against Hepatitis A and B. Hepatitis C is blood to blood (rather than semen to blood) so conventional anal or vaginal sex between two people is low risk. C can be cleared up with medication in around 90% of cases.
All of the other infections, you're as likely to get from unprotected oral as unprotected anal. So unless you're using condoms and dental dams for oral, you're taking your chances with them anyway.
Get a 7 day pill organiser so that you know where you're up to with it. If you're not sure whether you've taken today's tablet, you should risk missing a dose rather than double-dosing. Daily dosing, it remains effective as long as you don't miss more than 2 doses a week. But for maximum protection, it really should be taken every day.
I know this site can be funny about links in forum posts. Google "I want PrEP now" for more information and ignore the ad results. The site you're after has the Terrence Higgins logo at the top. |
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"I've been on PrEP for well over a year, now. Originally buying it in as a personal import for about £20 a month, but eventually managing to get on the trial. The NHS England trial has been accepted as a success, and PrEP will soon be made available to anyone at sufficiently high risk to warrant it, in line with Scotland and Wales (I'm not sure about Northern Ireland.)
However you source the drug, you need your bloods monitoring for a couple of reasons. One is kidney function, and the other is to routinely test for HIV, in case the drug doesn't work for you and you do end up being infected. At that point, you need to go on a multi-drug regime, and they don't want your infection developing immunity to the PrEP drug. And like most medication, it can have side-effects, one of which is loss of bone density after long term use (I take a calcium supplement too, to try to prevent this.)
Trial figures show as low as 86% effectiveness, but that includes people who weren't taking it properly. I'm also aware of at least 2 people having been infected while taking it in the 'event based' format (2 tablets at least 4 hours before sex, and 1 per day for 2 days following.) That's one of the reasons I opt for taking a tablet every day.
Taken correctly, it's over 99% effective at preventing HIV infection. Condoms are only around 98% effective at doing the same thing. So yes, bareback with PrEP is less than half the risk of condoms without PrEP. Though that's specific to HIV.
You can get vaccinated against Hepatitis A and B. Hepatitis C is blood to blood (rather than semen to blood) so conventional anal or vaginal sex between two people is low risk. C can be cleared up with medication in around 90% of cases.
All of the other infections, you're as likely to get from unprotected oral as unprotected anal. So unless you're using condoms and dental dams for oral, you're taking your chances with them anyway.
Get a 7 day pill organiser so that you know where you're up to with it. If you're not sure whether you've taken today's tablet, you should risk missing a dose rather than double-dosing. Daily dosing, it remains effective as long as you don't miss more than 2 doses a week. But for maximum protection, it really should be taken every day.
I know this site can be funny about links in forum posts. Google "I want PrEP now" for more information and ignore the ad results. The site you're after has the Terrence Higgins logo at the top."
Exactly right.   |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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Thanks for all the replies, I posted this a good while ago but hopefully others can get awareness from your great replies. I spoke to my regular sexual health nurse about it and she said it’s not really suitable for me.
I’m sure this will be a useful post for many though, thanks |
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Are people having success in England now with access to it outside of the trials? I know a lot of STI centres aren't open for testing and as another poster stated, getting regular blood tests done is essential. |
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"Are people having success in England now with access to it outside of the trials? I know a lot of STI centres aren't open for testing and as another poster stated, getting regular blood tests done is essential. "
Yes as our centre done a home test including bloods plus the nurse even delivered our prep on her way home. So pretty good all round I think. |
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I (hayley) take prep I was part of the trial as they had asked for women to be involved too. I purely take it as a last resort in case there is a split to keep my mind at rest. One of the best decisions I have made.
I have been having postal tests because of the lockdown which have been fine.
Any questions happy to answer |
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