Prep In The Uk

[subbitch33]

I'm seeing more and more guys on sites like BBRT who are in the UK and on PrEP.

 

The PrEP trials finished a while ago and as far as I know, it is not approved for use in the UK.

 

This leads me to the question of where is everyone getting their PrEP from?  There are over 250 UK guys on BBRT who list themselves as "Neg + PrEP".

 

Does anyone know where PrEP can be dispensed in the UK? Or purchased?

 

Thanks

 

[HereInLondon]

The PROUD study isn't finished yet, due to end in April next year (2016), so all the guys still enrolled in the study will still be receiving PrEP.

 

Know of a couple of guys not on the study who are getting the pills from online or overseas (the pros and cons of this have been discussed elsewhere on the site).

 

 

[subbitch33]

Thanks, I thought the study had finished but it's obviously just closed to new participants whilst the existing ones carry on.

[Guest kazore]

I guess most of them lie!!

[Pitt1988]

Oh believe me you must be cautious i caught 3 dudes lying about being on PREP on A4A if im meeting up with someone who states neg/prep first thing i demand is to see medication upon meeting; if they cannot provide the proof; its off!

[discreetmpls]

first thing i demand is to see medication upon meeting; if they cannot provide the proof; its off!

 

This is a smart tactic.  I am very glad that PrEP has made men who have sex with men start to be much more open and communicative about their health status and risk factors.  I can say for myself that since going on PrEP I have much more frank conversations with potential partners than I ever did when it was a lot of smoke and mirrors and even a recent test was meaningless.

[sleazebugga]

bugger, was hoping to find out if I could go on prep. in uk here. Guess I will have to go playing Poz roulette!

[bearbandit]

A tactic used by some is to ensure that they don't have HIV or any other STI and then present at an A&E department claiming to need PEP, which most of the time will include truvada as two of the three drugs used. They then take the truvada as PrEP, leaving the third drug alone. Of course they have to use a series of different hospitals to avoid awkward questions and the potential illegality of what they're doing. Plus they have to repeat the HIV and STI tests every three months, as well as arrange for liver and kidney function tests (when truvada fucks up it isn't pleasant - I'm disabled largely as a result of truvada making a mess of me). I say that to stress the importance of getting the tests done, and am informed by a nurse friend that a GUM department would likely do the tests with few questions. Other guys have bought truvada from sites selling generic truvada under the name tenvir-EM. Either way it's vital that these guys follow the USA's protocols for PrEP...

Part of the problem with getting repeated prescriptions for PEP is that a good clinic is going to ask questions, possibly even decline to treat without one of these guys seeing a shrink first to clarify why they're putting themselves at risk so frequently. And simply on an economic level, the third drug prescribed is being wasted. Although it's illegal to pass on prescription drugs to someone else in the UK, I know for a fact that there is a group that takes left-over meds and sends them to countries where the law is less strict so they do get used.

I guess we can only hope that NICE see sense and see that investing in PrEP at about £8k a year will show a massive saving over the cost of a lifetime's treatment of a PwHIV which is currently reckoned at about £300k (assuming no illnesses other than HIV itself). The Terrence Higgins Trust are campaigning to get PrEP available in the UK, so there is some hope... (edited because of bloody autocorrect)