I want to Bareback but Scared

[Johnny84]

so tell me more about PrEP are there any Side Effects ? is it on the NHS

[Johnny84]

i've never heard of PrEP before what is it are there side effects is it on the NHS is it a pill if so i can't take it

[Poz1956]

UK guidelines on PEP take into account the viral load of the Pozzie. If it's just some random dude of unknown status, the recommenddation is starting PEP. And yes it has to be started within 72 hours of when you got that cum in your bum. It requires that you take pills.

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis involves swallowing a pill containing two antiretroviral drugs every day as a preventative to catching HIV. Truvada is generally well tolerated.

All I have to say on both is "Google is your Friend" boy. Use it and you'll find more information then you'll ever be able to read.

It looks like the first round of the UK PROUD study got the full 550 people they needed, and is closed to new participants. They have applied for funding to create a larger study, and hope to recruit new volunteers in early 2015. Some of the clinics are taking names of people interested in PrEP as a waiting list for that expanded study.

You're a little closer to Birmingham, than Manchester, right? The travel times are close enough that I guess it would be your choice which larger centre is better for you. Oh, and you would have to lie and say you have had unprotected sex in the last three months.

Here a link to the PROUD Study website and the Contact Info for the clinics participating in the study

PrEP currently is only available in one drug combination, that comes in pill form. So your problem with swallowing means it probably won't be an option for you.

There is a once every three month injectable form under study, but it is years away from human use. It's in monkey trials right now. (They actually squirt Simian Immunodeficiency Virus up the butt of the monkeys every few days. SIV is a close relative of HIV. Does that make them monkey cum dumps?)

I guess another option for you is to find a group of mates, and make a pact that they'll only fuck within your little group. Of course everyone is pre-tested Neg, and all test regularly. The problem with that idea is somebody often breaks the pact, catches HIV, and the whole group ends up Poz.

Maybe a nice monogamous relationship? Yea, I know, if those were easy to find, you'd already be in one.

As a Poz guy, I'm not quite comfortable seeding a Neg bottom yet. Certainly the results from the Partner study are encouraging, but Poz top Neg bottom with ejaculation is the combination where they don't have enough data. The 95% confidence interval creates a 4% theoretical risk. That's in the same neighbourhood as consistent condom use. I hope I'm still sexually active at 61 when the final report comes out in 2017.

An undetectable Pozzie is a known quantity, verses all the guys who "think they're Neg," whose status really is unknown.

This is a decision you have to make on your own. You have to assess the level of risk you're willing to take, and understand the consequences if things go wrong. If you're relying on a bunch of random guys on the net to make the decision, you have the wrong idea. Oh, and remember the consequences are that you MUST learn to swallow pills, and do it ever day for the rest of your life.

[Guest JizzDumpWI]

Poz1956, do you know if there is an issue crushing the pills to add them to food?

[Guest JizzDumpWI]

You're confusing PrEP (Pre Exposure Prophylaxis) with PEP (Post Exposure Prophylaxis). You take PrEP daily, so that'd be before you engage in risky sex (really before and after since you're continually taking it). PEP is prescribed after a known exposure (within 72 hours after I think) to prevent infection.

PEP is a 30 day regimen, so one pill a day for a month.

PrEP is continuous, but important to stay on it a full 30 days after last potential exposure.

PEP is less effective than PrEP. While I haven't read a statement on why, I suspect that PrEP is there prior to exposure, so is working for you immediately whereas with PEP you are trying to catch up post exposure. I don't know if there are time studies in that 72 hour window (eg; if within an hour xx effective vs 70 hours when it is yy effective).

[Poz1956]

With PEP, the wisdom is "the sooner the better." The head of Poz Magazine has actually suggested + guys carry a three day supply in their trick kit (assuming a one pill regime or a dual drug combo) If a rubber breaks, give it to the Neg guy immediately. It gives a buffer to work through whatever bureaucracy there is to getting a full 30 day PEP. They actually issued four day starter kits in Brazil, as noted in the MMWR linked to below.

I like the idea - shows a top cares for his bottoms. By the same token, kind of dangerous because of a possible allergic reaction. (About 10% of people can have a serious reaction to the Abacavir in my NRTI combo pill.) But of course we're on a bareback site - so I guess that whole idea is kind of moot.

I think the effectiveness of PEP really depends on the exposure. An IV drug abuser sharing 'works' with a high viral load Pozzie is quite different than a top fucking a undetectable. Some places use a more aggressive approach to PEP with three or four ARV drugs too. One study showed it to the be about 99% effective for receptive anal sex. The CDC's MMWR dates back to 2005, but includes data from several studies.

I'd really have to do some research about grinding pills. I know there are a couple of drugs in time release formulations, so they would be a no-go. Based on experience, I'd bet many of them are pretty foul tasting. Some of the Take With Food pills use the meal to slow down the absorption, so they probably wouldn't be good candidates either.

Back in the 90's I was taking DDI. Think an inch and a half diameter, by quarter inch thick & two at a time. It had to be on an empty stomach, and you were supposed to chew them, and swallow with a minimum amount of water. The best description I can come up with is go to a blackboard, grab a piece of chalk, and chew on it, then try to rise all that out of your mouth with a gulp or two of water. Project Inform suggested pulverizing in a coffee grinder, then mixing with an ounce of water - chug it, and follow it with an ounce or two chaser. So the concept isn't foreign to me.

My goodness but Google is our Friend! Just found a PDF that says Truvada can be chewed, or crushed and mixed with juice. Apparenly Tenofovir is very bitter, hence the juice. Crushing Antiretrovirals PDF

Edited April 18, 2014 by Poz1956

[bearbandit]

I'm not on PrEP i was thinking you only needed prep 72 hours after you think you may have HIV or i'm i wrong can you have it before fucking BB

I see you're in Shrewsbury which does not have the best of hospitals (I spent nine days there after I trashed my bike on a Thursday - the earliest they could supply my HIV drugs - which included truvada - was Monday). I don't have the URL to hand, but check if the PROUD study is still open to new guys. Why we're testing it when the Americans have shown what a success it is, is beyond me, but that's British pharmaceuticals for you.

You need as long as you can manage (up to a month) between fucks for PrEP to work properly. If you need PEP (post exposure prophylaxis) I's recommend you get on the train and go to Wrecsam or Chester hospitals (check locations and times online) rather than RSH. I admit it: I have a burning hatred for that hospital given they nearly killed me...

[Poz1956]

I don't know why I didn't think of this before. Since you can't get into the current version of the PROUD study, find a guy who is already enrolled in the PROUD study. He'll be Neg and assuming he's taking his meds as directed, he'll stay Neg. You could feel comfortable taking his load.

You might have to travel to either of larger centres near you that have clinics participating in the PROUD study.

How would you find him? About the only thing I can think of is to include something like "The thought of a PROUD guy filling my hole, gets me hot!" Just use PROUD some way in the message, in all caps, and it's sort of a secret coded message.

You might want to develop a few questions, that sound like you don't know much, but are genuinely interested in learning more. It reality, they'd be a way to check if the guy is fibbing. "How often do you take it? What's the pill look like? Where did you have to go to get it? How often do you have to go back there?"

And of course as you browse profiles, take special note of anyone who mentions PrEP or PROUD.