Health : “On PrEP? HRC Wants To Know!”
(This post was written by Noel Gordon at HRC)
Building on our endorsement of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) late last year, HRC is proud to launch a new social and digital media campaign raising awareness about PrEP and encouraging people on PrEP to share their stories with friends, family and loved ones.
Participate in HRC’s #DailyBlue Instagram campaign with these three easy steps:
- Show Us: Take a picture of your life on PrEP. Be creative. Be silly. Be funny. Be SFW. Just be sure to include that little blue pill somewhere in the photo.
- Tell Us: Upload your picture to Instagram. In just a few words, tell us who or what encouraged you to go on PrEP in the first place. Be sure to tag @HumanRightsCampaign and use the hashtag #DailyBlue.
- Spread the Word: Share your photo with your friends, family and loved ones to raise awareness and end stigma.
PrEP is a new HIV prevention strategy that involves taking anti-HIV medication to significantly reduce the risk of contracting HIV. When taken as prescribed by a knowledgeable healthcare provider, and paired with other safer sex practices, PrEP can be upwards of 90% effective at preventing HIV. Several LGBT and HIV/AIDS groups have come out in support of PrEP since the Food and Drug Administration first approved it in 2012.
Interested in learning more about PrEP? Be sure to check out our “Six Must-Read Articles about PrEP” and tips for “How to Talk to Your Provider about PrEP.
Noel Gordon
so this prEP is to pervent you from getting HIV even if you have a partener that has it or with out using a condom sometime i allway use one but if i was with a person a may not want to at somepoint please help thanks
Enjoy the sex – RUN LIKE HELL from the Ramifications /Side Effects.
Read up about Truvada- the “may cause softening of bones ”
= AVASCULAR NICROSIS – blood supply to the joints is restricted causing the bone to Die / Crumble.
I am sick of Gay Men being used as GUINEA PIGS for Big Drug Companies ,
3 hip surgeries / 2 replacements later & Kidney Disease from these Strong Drugs = Let’s Not & Say we did.
What happened to FACTUAL FREE SPEECH ?
You guys are Clowns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SO GLAD YU GUY SPEAK UP….I WAS RELUCTANT TO SEE THE POSTS BECAUSE I ASSUMED IT WOULD ALL BE PRO-ACTIVE….GLAD TO HEAR WHAT I HAVE READ HAVE MINDS!!!! WHY TAKE AN HIV DRUG IF YOU ARE NOT POSITIVE……THERE IS NOTHING GOOD ABOUT IT
From the anecdotal evidence I’ve seen, the phrase ‘neg + on PrEP’ in a profile is code for ‘rich barebacker.’
Funny how Gay Inc. doesn’t see how disgustingly insulting their communication is. First of all, who are they to “endorse” a medical treatment? Is there an implication that gay men shouldn’t make a health-care decision that isn’t supported by the HRC? Second, they went from avoiding the debate to “endorsing” one side, and now they want to co-opt social media efforts to spread awareness of a treatment they were once against. Don’t they see how pathetically transparent they are? What’s next? A campaign saying that “It Gets Better” and transgender rights were also entirely the doing of the Human Rights Campaign?
I used to roll my eyes when old queens like Larry Kramer would rant against these sleazy corporatist groups like HRC, but now I see exactly what they meant. This group avoids the messy fights of the LGBT community, preferring to suck up to corporate donors and political moderates, only to swoop in and take credit for battles they didn’t wage or win. They hob-knob with presidents and CEOs, swearing up and down that they’re not like those radical homos. All they want is marriage equality, and a tidy little hetero-lite life in the suburbs. That and donations and respect from LGBT Americans. They want that too.
How much of a payola kickback is Noe Gordon/HRC receiving for running a social media marketing campaign for Gilead’s $13,000/year recreational drug?
PreP Guys: BAREBACK STDs WHORES!
I will text a pic of my furry craak for the cause!!!!
So the “We don’t give a damn about racial issues” HRC is interested in the use of PrEP. Whatever.
Be very aware of PrEPs side effects. It isn’t for everyone and isn’t meant to be a end all to HIV. If it were it would’ve been more man stream than it is. A real doctor (not a money hungry pharmacist) can educate you on not only the adverse side effects of the medication but to why you shouldn’t go out there a fuck any Poz person just because you’re on this medication. It creates drug resistant strains of HIV and does more harm than good. This medication wasn’t meant to be given to all of the whores that take loads in a random glory hole. No judgment there, but do the rest of the world a favor and just don’t bother going on these meds if that’s your intention.
What a bunch of negative comments. I have taken this drug for the past 6 months and the piece of mind is well worth the cost. I will take it until there is a final cure for this dreaded disease.
I can see why someone who is going to bareback with a known poz guy might consider PrEP. I can see why someone who is barebacking with a guy who he is unsure of either his status or honesty might consider PrEP.
What I don’t understand is why anyone would bareback, period. It shows a lack of education, a lack of respect for oneself and/or partner–or both.
And I do not understand why a worthy and often effective political organization (HRC–which I belong to) would endorse this regimen instead of (at most) helping to moderate a debate about it. HRC should stick to what it’s good at–supporting good politicians and lobbying for better laws.
I continue to be amazed at the conservatives and fascists who seem to think that THEY know healthcare better than than the doctors and scientists. They read an anecdotes on the Internet and assume they represent significant statistical numbers. Just a reminder to us all: FALSE information on the Internet generally lives out there in the EtherNet FOREVER!
Unless you read a different article than I did, HRC wants information about your use of PrEP. I think it’s pretty clear: if you don’t use PrEP, they don’t want to hear from you about this effort – regardless of why you make that choice. Furthermore, the final point in the article is an encouragement to seek ADVISE from your DOCTOR (not HRC, and not the BOZO’s who replied to this post above my response).
But what I find most OFFENSIVE are the IDIOTS above who characterize men who choose to be on PrEP as “rich” or thoughtless “barebackers.” This is indeed no worse than characterizing all HIV+ men as careless, drug-using, barebacking whores!
I know 3 people on PrEP, and when I asked, all 3 had unique reasons for going on it:
First up, Adam, said his insurance covered it and the thought it DUMB to be a single, sexually active man NOT on the drug. He compares the choice to NOT take PrEP to the choice NOT to vaccinate (a position I don’t particularly share). I know he uses condoms, as we’ve had sex before.
Next, Sean said he chose to go on PrEP because he could afford it (he is very well off, and self-insured), and while he trusted his b/f that he would remain faithful, he didn’t want to risk his life on that trust.
Finally, Peter said he chose to be on PrEP so that he could worry less about getting HIV. He’s a self-described hypochondriac who used to have protected sex – even just once – but would still rush out to get HIV tested over and over again out of fear. He still says he has only safe sex, but that the PrEP helps him NOT freak out after having sex.
That’s a statistical sample of 3 — in other words, statistically insignificant! Still none of these 3 uses PrEP to engage in especially risky sex (although Sean and his b/f have been together for more than 3 years and tell me that they have been bare with each other most of that time). But that means no more than the 1 guy someone will reply about who uses PrEP as an excuse to be totally unsafe.
I suppose these same anti-PrEP zealots would suggest I not vaccinate my children against HPV? Well, I couldn’t disagree more — my teens get the HPV vaccine, and my younger children will to when they reach an appropriate age…. and if one of my sons decides that he is gay or bi? I’ll encourage him to use PrEP — as a safety precaution, much the same way condoms work (and hopefully BOTH precautions will be used)!
I’m not personally on PrEP because it is not covered by my insurance, and I cannot afford it. If I could afford it, I would go on it — and I wouldn’t stop using condoms, either.
But it’s not about me, or my 3 friends… its about each and every MAN choosing to discuss the options WITH HIS DOCTOR.
I was diagnosed as being HIV+ in 1991 and began taking drugs in 1995….in 2003 I was diagnosed with an incurable form of Lymphoma….which wsa attributed to the drugs I took. Guess you could consider me a guinea pig. I caution everyone to do as much research as possible when considering using any drugs.
When 2003 and 2004 I took a series of chemotherapy treatments with a trial drug. Stopped it because I was concerned about the long term effects due to my research. My oncologist “fired” me because of my decision.
In 2010 my oncologist at the VA told me that I had made the right decision because that drug was known to cause a form of hepatitis.
DO YOUR RESEARCH AND COVE YOUR COCK WHEN FUCKING…..
Have to say I completely agree with what’s been published comment wise so far.
This pill is such a tightrope to walk. But ultimately the ONLY winner is the pharmaceutical company. And I’m sorry but in a nation that is pretty much run by Corporations, two of the leaders being Insurance and Drug manufacturers why would I believe some corporate stooge only to be able to bareback. He’s a novel idea, be monogamous or safe. Rich barebacker is right.
Then lets look at the US in general, majority of all these corporations are funded by the same rich old white guys who don’t want to give LGBT citizens “Special rights”, but here have this pill my company made for you.
Always seems like the big American machine and the Nazi camps have lots in common and could still happen. “Oops a batch of the pill was defective and it killed 30k gay guys, oh well, whores had it coming”.
You couldn’t PAY ME to take that drug let alone endorse it.
I’m sorry, but I can’t keep quiet on this topic.
Since when does a NEW drug have to have 100% efficacy and NO side effects to be a wonderful new tool in the fight against a disease?
10% (or more) of people who receive a penicillin-based drug have an allergic reaction — that can be immediately life threatening! Should the other 90% of people stop taking these medicines?
For God’s sake, the CDC reports that overdosing on oxidane is the LEADING CAUSE of accidental death in the US! That’s DEATH people! It can also cause severe burns and when spilled can cause advanced corrosion in machinery! Used as an industrial solvent, oxidane can be found in nearly every junk-food product sold in America, and is a significant component of acid rain! It leeches in significant quantities into every single bottled beverage sold, and yet its use in the manufacture of drugs, food, and beverages remains largely unregulated!
Then there’s acetylsalicylic acid, which causes severe abdominal pain in some patients, and can cause anemia, hepatitis, and even liver damage! And its available OTC!
There isn’t a single drug in the Physician’s Drug Reference that doesn’t have a potentially severe negative side effect on some percentage of people. Nor are ANY of them 100% effective. This is why we take these medications under the supervision of a PHYSICIAN.
Is PrEP for everyone? No — and neither is aspirin (aka: acetylsalicylic acid).
Oh, and in case you’re curious — you probably know oxidane by its more common name: water.
PrEP is not “THE ANSWER” to HIV, and preventing HIV is not the ONLY reason you should wear a condom! (There are plenty of other nasty bugs you can get, HIV is just one of the more dangerous ones!)
But there isn’t (and there never will be) a “THE ANSWER” to HIV! (Or any other disease, for that matter). Even if we discovered that eating ground up banana peals CURED HIV infections, a significant percentage of people are allergic to bananas!
Still, if we can reduce the number of infected people to a certain small number, and a significant percentage of the at-risk population is protected against the spread of the disease, it can become all-but wiped out! The same way Measles is nearly gone and many other communicable diseases are successfully controlled — even though they’re not “cured” or fully eradicated.
PrEP is a tool — one of (hopefully) many more to come that will help us (humanity) slow the spread of this terrible virus and the diseases it causes (or enables). Like all other tools, it has its place. But given that we used to have NO tools (other than, perhaps condoms) to foil the spread of the virus, I think it is a welcome change to at least see PROGRESS.
As they say in recovery programs: PROGRESS not perfection!
There’s what’s being said, and here’s the reality:
I live in Southern Arizona. This region fluctuates between #2 and #3 in having the most new HIV cases in the state. I’m not seeing a lot of these messages of “this is a tool to help” those who have HIV from the healthcare industry. They’re there if you look, but they’re drowned out by the damned tidal wave of crap you find on Craigslist, Adam4Adam, Scruff, Growlr, Manhunt and all the other M2M hookup/”dating”(ha!) websites and apps. Guess what the overall content of the message is? HEY I HAVE PrEP, LET’S FUCK RAW AND BREED AND PUMP CUM INTO EVER HOLE THERE IS.
No, I’m not kidding. Even right now, logged into A4A, there are NINE guys nearest to me who have something about PrEP in their profile and all of them are saying variations on the theme of, “I’m taking this, so let’s not worry about protection, because *I’m* protected!” It fucking frightens me that the message that we’re getting down here is NOT the one we should be getting. One of the local bars in town TURNED DOWN the local HIV prevention organization from setting up a small table with a couple of staff who could address the PrEP issue. Why? Because according to the owner, nobody wants to hear that, “just let ’em take the drug.”
What. The. Fuck.
Reading the profiles in here from guys who are Neg. wanting to be barebacked is shocking. Trust nobody! I have known at least 50 people either as friends or associates who are DEAD because they paid no attention and were determined to take a load at any cost…including guys who did only oral or only took it in the ass from someone “undetectable”. DEAD. The first couple dozen died in writhing pain, turned into skeletons, covered in sores, screaming because the inside of their bones seemed to be on fire, eyes sunken deep in their skulls. I was only one of a few who would even visit them in their hospital bed. I continue to be safe and totally satisfied and I’m tired of my tax dollars being utilized on people who can’t control their hard-on and don’t care who they infect.
I see so much misinformation in these comments its amazing. I’d almost be willing to bet that some of these comments come from the same person.
PrEP is 99% effective and only not 100% because it is not a so called vaccine.
Undetectable transmission is literally impossible.
Anyone that denies these thing does not know what they’re talking about.