Poz on meds, why?

[ErosWired]

On 6/15/2018 at 1:03 AM, bbzh said:

Guy #1: HIV neg, sexual from age 20 to 65, on PrEP the entire time, stops PrEP, dies at 70. (45 years of taking the drugs)

Guy #2: HIV+, sexual from age 20 to 65, on PrEP plus one extra drug, dies at 70. 

[...]

And I do believe most gay men these days are dying from other diseases not even related to HIV

Between Guy 1 and Guy 2, you’ve covered everyone who barebacks, because those who do not use PrEP have a mathematical risk of exposure to HIV that approaches 100% if they’re doing it for the 45 years you allot, and then they’ll be on the meds, too. So basically, you’ve just said that every man who barebacks can expect to be dead by 70.

Rubbish. I came within a hair’s breadth of dying of AIDS-related opportunistic disease 3 1/2 years ago, when my cell count stood at a whopping 49. Today, I’m back to around 300 (not too bad for my age) and my doctor says my life expectancy at the present level of medical science is around 75. Take a kid whose HIV is caught before it ravages his immune system and put him on meds that contain the virus? Nearly normal lifespan. And in that 20-year-old’s 45-year allotted fucking time, medical science is going to advance in a big way.

Therefore I do not think your point in this case stands up to scrutiny.

As to men dying of disease other than HIV - well, of course they do. HIV itself doesn’t kill you outright. It’s deadly because it rips down the barrier that otherwise defends you from the cloud of microorganisms that swirl around us constantly, some of which are Bad Fucking News. AIDS didn’t nearly kill me - it was double pneumonia and fungal meningitis. (The shingles that followed were no joke, either.)

[6811283]

4 hours ago, bbzh said:

 Personally, I don't think HIV is the scariest STD out there. Hep C is. There is a cure for it but insurers are hesitant to pay for the treatment. I read quite a few posts on here about guys excited about going to bb parties now that they're on PrEP. They seem oblivious to the fact that they are at high risk for Hep C in a group setting. 

That's a legitimate concern and should be addressed by educating people about the risks involved and how to mitigate them. But every time people raise the risk of other STDs as a reason to frown on the growing use of Prep, the implication is that they'd prefer to keep the terror of HIV hanging over people's heads so they behave themselves and don't catch other stuff. I don't buy that.

Anytime a potentially negative consequence of sex can be taken off the table, I'm in favor. 

[SoCalBBversbttm]

Sthrnguy, you said you being neg bothered your partner.  Did he know that you were looking to become Poz (either through bare fucking or through slamming)?  Did he encourage you?  What was his reaction when you finally became Poz?