So Have The Standards For Getting Prep Have Been Lowered?

[adam4adam]

I asked my doctor for truvada today. After telling him i tested negative last week he just gave it me. 3 refills, take it once a day and nothing about coming back for any type of test in 3 months. I live in a small country town so none of the pharmacies carry it so have to wait until it comes in tomorrow.

My insurance covers it 100 percent, it requires no authorization either.

I am excited to go back to being a cum slut. But i live in the country now its so hard to hookup.

[subbytch]

If your doctor is that big of an idiot, you are going to have to do the educating yourself.

He needs to monitor your kidney function every quarter. That's just right out of the CDC guidelines. And quarterly STI testing is best, too. Given the topic of this website, you aren't likely to be using condoms for STI prevention, so regular check ups and treatment for infections is a must. 

UCSF has a doctor help-line for PrEP. You owe it to your health to both familiarize yourself with the guidelines and ask your doctor to as well. :-)

 

http://nccc.ucsf.edu/2014/09/29/introducing-the-ccc-prepline/

[KindaBasic]

I agree with subbytch, your doctor is an idiot.

[seaguy]

borderline malpractice if not already malpractice.

[bearbandit]

HIV can "piggyback" on other STIs, hence the need for STI testing (and more than 50% of gay men don't notice any symptoms of an STI when they have one). Although it's unusual for liver/kidney function to be affected in HIV- men on truvada, the protocol does demand quarterly testing along with the STI/HIV testing to be sure. Some men show a non-significant loss of bone density (which shows up in the kidney testing). 

Although truvada as PrEP has been tested very thoroughly, it's important not to lose sight of the fact that it's in its infancy, even after four years of being an approved regimen. The side-effects of truvada are much more evident in HIV+ men (except, curiously, for the weird dreams caused by the emtricitabine): I hit the long-shot with Fanconi's syndrome which brought me to within days of death. Although we're pretty confident that HIV- men show far fewer side-effects than poz men, is it worth taking the chance?