Health : The Importance of PrEP Adherence
Truvada for PrEP provides 92%-99% reduction in HIV risk for HIV-negative individuals who take the pills every day as directed. If a daily dose is missed, the level of HIV protection may decrease. It only works if you take it. People who use PrEP correctly and consistently have higher levels of protection against HIV.
For people who take 7 PrEP pills per week, their estimated level of protection is 99%. When PrEP is not used daily, particularly if many doses are missed, it will be less able to protect you against an HIV infection.
There is not enough data available to provide specific timing guidance on non-daily use, so the FDA recommends PrEP be used daily to achieve the highest level of protection.
A few things to note:
-When starting PrEP, it takes at least seven days to reach high levels of protection against HIV.
-When stopping PrEP, individuals should continue using PrEP for four weeks after the last significant exposure.
-PrEP does not protect against other sexually transmitted infections (STI) or pregnancy. It is not a cure for HIV.[1]
Written by Randy aka FreeOCHIVtesting on A4A
HIV Counselling and Testing Coordinator
Aids Services Foundation orange County
so have we given up on condoms?
This is good advice for any medication. Take as directed and in the case of an antibiotic, take until gone, not until you feel better. The alarming rate of increase in “superbugs” is directly attributable to over prescribed and under used antibiotics. PrEP is designed to work in as pacific way and it can only work as intended as prescribed.
The most important detail in the instructions for use is that we are told to continue using condoms. It is not a replacement for condoms.
What are the possible side effects of Truvada? I have heard possible strain on the liver and can negatively affect bone density.
so do you have to take it at a certain time or can you just take it daily?
Yes. It is still important to use condoms. This article was written specifically for adherence to PrEP. With regards to side effects, Truvada is a safe and well-tolerated drug. About 1 in 10 people in PrEP studies reported they had nausea, stomach pain, or weight loss when they first started taking Truvada. In most people, these side effects improved or went away after taking Truvada for a few weeks. A small number of people had a decrease in kidney function that returned to normal when they stopped taking PrEP. It is important to have regular blood tests to monitor your kidney function while taking PrEP. Small losses of bone density (thickness) have also been seen in people taking Truvada; however, these changes have not been associated with an increase in bone fractures.
This topic of discussion is better handled by a doctor and their patient.
Maybe it’s just me, and I’m sure I will get plenty of “jabs” from people for speaking out and being honest about how I feel, but so be it. When I see “on PrEP” in guys’ profiles it is a total turn off. It’s a turn-off because many guys seem to carry this attitude that PrEP is a ‘miracle drug and all-out cure for HIV” and basically they feel they can now finally fuck more than they have ever fucked before WITHOUT condoms… WITHOUT fear of a consequence…and scariest of all WITHOUT common sense. I’m sorry, but if he loves you, he will protect you and he will do it with a condom. And yes, condoms are not 100%, but what in this life is except death, taxes, and suffering.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
Prep in a profile is a red flag 2 me. Prep was initially used for health care workers that were exposed to HIV @ work. Now it’s being used by the general population. Sad part is, people will continue using Prep without the use of condoms & have even more riskier sex because of it. I advise people ask plenty of questions about your mate or hookup’s sexual activity to get an idea of what you may be @ risk for. STDs are spread faster & contracted more rapidly with promiscuity and drug use. Be smart & limit your amount of sex partners to 1 if you can/will to help prevent transmission of STDS including HIV. Prep is not 100% nor is it an excuse to have reckless unprotected sex.
So if I’m on prep and a guy comes in me who is hiv-positive what happens to that strand if I stop taking prep?
Allieddog1 – you are absolutely right PrEP should be discussed with your doctor. I am a trained HIV Test Counselor and part of my job is to give information. I don’t know where you live, but I live in a very conservative part of OC and my doctor, just like many doctors here, don’t know about PrEP. In my counseling sessions, we provide risk reduction counseling, which includes giving PrEP info. We then refer our clients to clinics and doctors that give a full PrEP discussion and provide prescriptions. Thanks.
Blue Works – you have to take PrEP every day, as prescribed. As I stated in the article, if you do not take it as instructed, your level of protection can decrease.
PreP could be another important tool for ultimately ending the spread of HIV, but we really don’t know the impact of taking a drug daily for years, maybe decades. The side-effects from condoms are zero and they are much cheaper. If all those who are HIV+ were properly medicated to bring virus level to undetectable and condom use were universal, HIV transmission through sex could go to zero in our lifetime.
Blue Works – You do not need to take it at the same time everyday, just once a day.
Mike, some of us gave up on condoms long before PrEP came out. It’s nice for those people to have better protection. And since it’s much more effective than condoms against HIV, the way condoms are actually used, there’s no reason for those people not to use it strictly as a replacement.
Guys, sex will always have risk, whether you’re using condoms, PrEP, female condoms, dental dams or anything else. Different levels of risk will be acceptable for different people. And no, your preferred method has never been and will never be the best one for anyone but yourself.
That aside, on the topic itself instead of the scolds: Didn’t a study come out recently that showed missing a day of the pill didn’t affect protection, or are the numbers cited here an update to that study? This is an incredibly interesting time for sex research.
This is a step toward ending HIV. Same rule still applies; if you’re not gonna wrap it you can go home and whack it.
people who are against prep and unprotected sex are the people who are old, ugly and fat and sex deprived. they are just jealous. its a sad truth.. get over it guys…
why you people have so much negativity and hate against people who use prep and involve in unprotected sex. that is their own choice. those people are well aware of the consequences. You guys are bunch of ignorant people who are not happy with your life. you people try to find issues in every thing.
why do u care if some one is using condom or not? you use condom while sex and u r protected against HIV and other STDs. So there is no need to judge others who are involved in unprotected sex. Do u guys know, you can get GC and chlamydia in throat and can be transmitted via oral sex, syphilis and herpes can be transmitted by simply kissing. i assuming, you guys also perform oral sex with a condom on it.
How many guys do u know who died from any bacterial STD? why u r making “other STD” a big deal? if you get it, you get treated. its like flu/cold/cough. people die in road accident more. You should be more worried about dying of cancer and car crash.
you guys are talking about truvada’s effect on liver? you guys damage ur liver more from drinking alcohol than a prep pill.
JaysSN, that’s a typical pozzie answer. Don’t be a bareback apologist.
This is a false sense of security a guy who uses prep is now HIV positive. I think people need to talk to their doctor about this.