Side Effects of PrEP

[wood]

PrEP is two of the drugs of a standard first line combination. The difference comes in that many of us taking the two drugs who are already poz may already have experienced a level of damage sufficient to make the two drugs no longer an option for us. It's why my general recommendation to someone newly diagnosed is to get on meds as soon as possible. HIV starts causing damage almost immediately and the sooner you can stop the little fucker, the better the chances of the drugs working.

After working at a clinic, and doings hundreds of hours of research on the subject, I agree with this 100%.

Truvada's toxicity isnt any higher or lower for HIV- vs HIV+ people, however, the wild card there is HIV itself. As Bearbandit points out, HIV starts causing damage from the moment of seroconversion. It was initially thought that it was okay to wait to start treatment, Now however most recommend starting treatment asap to reduce potential damage as much as possible.

This is also why I am a huge proponent of PrEP. Its MUCH easier for the body of a healthy HIV- person to deal with medication, and healing than it is for that of an HIV+ person. Almost all medications are toxic to some extent. Bearbandit and I have had many conversations about this because of his experience with tenofovir, one of the components of Truvada. Statistically however Truvada is fairly benign in its toxicity and side effects, especially when compared to some earlier HIV meds, but also in comparison to some everyday medications like blood pressure meds, and even acetomenophin/paracetamol. (the last one is responsible for more liver failure than any other drug in the US)

[grmantoy]

well this will be mute with in three years. the Geno cell therapy will be the cure and the preventive. for those who don't know they have found a way to change your cell to resist the virus . this is done by drawing blood and treating the cells in it. then reinfecting the blood in the body. As the treated cells multiply they eliminate the infected cells and the virus falls away. I have a friend in the test program and says that it is incredible. they are hopping for approval by 2015. they did announce portions of this at the HIV conference in July of 2013. just a FYI

[wood]

well this will be mute with in three years. the Geno cell therapy will be the cure and the preventive. for those who don't know they have found a way to change your cell to resist the virus . this is done by drawing blood and treating the cells in it. then reinfecting the blood in the body. As the treated cells multiply they eliminate the infected cells and the virus falls away. I have a friend in the test program and says that it is incredible. they are hopping for approval by 2015. they did announce portions of this at the HIV conference in July of 2013. just a FYI

Citations please.

I don't mean to be rude, but the problem with stuff like this is that it gives people false hope. In 1984 when the virus was first isolated they said there was going to be a cure. When the first vaccine trials showed promise, they said they was going to be a vaccine within a few years. HIV is a BITCH to get ride of because it hides in many places in the body that have very slow cell replication rates, and thus it cant be cleared. So unless you are biochemist, MD with an EXTENSIVE knowledge about how drugs, cellular replication, and gene therapy work, I wouldn't post stuff like that. Again not being rude, but you should prove your point, not just make a blanket statement.

In fact the closest thing that we have to gene therapy right now is bone marrow transplants, and two patients that received them in hopes of a cure both relapsed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/relapse-of-cured-hiv-patients-disappoints-aids-scientists-but-adds-to-their-knowledge/2014/01/06/eb550fec-73b5-11e3-9389-09ef9944065e_story.html

Edited January 24, 2014 by wood

[rawfuckr]

well this will be mute with in three years. the Geno cell therapy will be the cure and the preventive. for those who don't know they have found a way to change your cell to resist the virus . this is done by drawing blood and treating the cells in it. then reinfecting the blood in the body. As the treated cells multiply they eliminate the infected cells and the virus falls away. I have a friend in the test program and says that it is incredible. they are hopping for approval by 2015. they did announce portions of this at the HIV conference in July of 2013. just a FYI

There is nothing on the horizon in terms of a cure or a vaccine. Even if they found the mechanisms for a cure or vaccine today it could take a whole decade to bring it to market. That's why interventions like PrEP are so important.

[curiousaboutbb]

Giving this thread a bump. I am three days in on PreP and no side effects noticed thus far. Anyone had any side effects? If so what type and when did they occur? Thanks.

[bttm79]

Forget about having solid shits any more so go out and buy a lot of immodium AD for your pre-fuck kit routine. I've had slight muscle aches, sluggish energy in my overall daily drive, but not have a reduction in my sex drive though. Queasy stomach which might effect how much you eat resulting in some weight loss depending on how sensitive your are. I have been on PrEP for almost two months. A buddy of mine who is also on it, had many of the side effects go away after 6 weeks so it all just depends on how your body adjusts.

[wood]

Forget about having solid shits any more so go out and buy a lot of immodium AD for your pre-fuck kit routine. I've had slight muscle aches, sluggish energy in my overall daily drive, but not have a reduction in my sex drive though. Queasy stomach which might effect how much you eat resulting in some weight loss depending on how sensitive your are. I have been on PrEP for almost two months. A buddy of mine who is also on it, had many of the side effects go away after 6 weeks so it all just depends on how your body adjusts.

MANY people in the US could use more fiber in their diet, you may want to try that also.

[fskn]

Giving this thread a bump. I am three days in on PreP and no side effects noticed thus far. Anyone had any side effects? If so what type and when did they occur? Thanks.

Not a single discernible side effect here, in over a year of daily use of Truvada for PrEP.

[sinfuljock]

I only had an upset stomach for a few days when I started.

[bearbandit]

Taking truvada with a meal/snack of about 500 calories helps with many of the gastric effects you may encounter as it slows the absorption of the drug. Remember too that side effects aren't compulsory: even the commonest only hit about 10% of guys (though given their rounding down on patient information leaflets, I'd say 19.5%)

[rawfuckr]

Just out of curiosity, is the Prep medication any more toxic or heavier in dosage than a standard poz medication would be? Or are you put on a similar dosage to someone who is already poz?

The formulation of Truvada is exactly the same than HIV+ people. Poz guys however, get a third agent which could pile on the side effects.

[rawfuckr]

Hey guys, I just started taking PrEP a little over 2 weeks ago. A few days ago I started getting the shits, the runs, diarrhea. I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this and if so, when will it go away?!?!

Anything else that maybe causing the runs?

I got the runs for a week! after restarting PrEP a while back. PrEP was not the most likely cause. After some introspection I realized I had got fucked raw in the ass just to proceed to lick his cock clean after dumping a load in my ass. 24-48 hours after that event I started shitting non-stop. I could not hold anything. Seems very likely I caught a bug in my belly either from my own ass, given the ass-to-mouth action...

[tallbtm]

When I started PrEP I had just 3-4 days of loose bowel movements (not quite diarrhea but not quite normal either). It resolved by itself in just a few days. It could have been my diet that week or something I ate but I attributed it to starting PrEP because I was watching for side-effects. No problems at all since those first few days.

I was hoping for the weight-loss side effect but didn't get that one. :-)

[FTLBBversbttm]

I had maybe three days of loose bowel movements and then everything was fine.  I did start taking metamucil regularly, but that was for dietary reasons and it really helped.  I have had a little facial flushing though occasionally, but that is the only other side effect I have had.

[HereInLondon]

I didn't get any of the stomach/bowel problems described when I started PrEP.

The side effect I did get was the wozziness/dizziness for a few days, with one particularly trippy day when walking made my brain feel detached from the inside of my skull.

It was bad enough to make me think about stopping PrEP, if the dizziness was going to be a permanent thing, but the feeling was gone after five days of taking my first pill.