It’s been a month since I started PrEP, and really, not much to report, or so I think.

Let’s see:

• I am 100% compliant with my medication.  The closest ‘slip’ was nearly forgetting to take my pill this morning after a weekend up north with Master Chuck.
• It’s not difficult taking a pill every morning, and I don’t feel any anxiety around taking my medication.
• The clinic pharmacy was awesome in calling me to remind me to pick up my medication on December 29th.  It’s really nice having that reminder, and a clinic so proactive in having prescriptions ready.  I’m not sure how I’d deal with refills at my local pharmacy.  For now, and given I need to get blood work done every few months, I might as well stick with the hospital pharmacy for now.
• Given I am currently on a weight lost diet that has had some interesting effects as my body started to get used to it, I did feel the nausea that people often report when starting Truvada.  It only lasted for probably 4 days, max.  Since then, no side effects.
• No side effects since the first week (did I mention that?)
• Some people report having vivid dreams.  I know I’ve had my share of some interesting dreams in my lifetime, but I’m not sure the recent ones are a result of being on PrEP.  But hey, if so, bring them on.  I enjoy dreaming.  Ask me the one about the elevator ride.
• I’ve never been big on taking vitamins.  Horrible at it and would take them intermittently. I’m not on week two of taking vitamins at the same time.

So there you go.  I think that’s significant for someone who may be interested in my experiences on PrEP.

Why is #TruvadaWhore important to me?

As an activist, and as someone who does like, I would say, pushing the boundaries of sex, I like people making assumptions about what I may be into, and if they really want to start rumours based on me wearing a #TruvadaWhore t-shirt, then go right ahead.  What’s even better is when they come to me and ask me what it’s about, what PrEP is about, etc…

Here’s a great example of what I’m talking about:  Have any of you heard the story about Master Chuck being into gainer scenes?  This was a rumour started at a Leather Run one year.  The funny thing is, one of Master Chuck’s subs at the time literally lost half a man in weight, and my self as an example, lost 50lbs three years ago (and I’m re-working to lose the 60 lbs I gained unintentionally since then!).  Scott, my partner, at one point lost 100lbs. Between us, that’s two bears gone.

Bring on the assumptions.

The truth is, my activities have not changed just because I’m on PrEP, but I know that I’m covered.  It’s added protection that has been proven to work even in the early studies.

So far I’ve had two discussions about PrEP where I’ve had to work to counter perception:

• “Is PrEP the new party drug that guys in the village are taking?”/”I’m worried that it will lead to more guys barebacking”
  While it’s possible that some guys are looking at PrEP as an opportunity to bareback and I know some who do, most reports have suggested that guys on PrEP are potentially using condoms more in the near term.  It will be interesting to see what happens in the long term.
• “It doesn’t stop other STIs so why bother?”
  I think this is an important one to dispell.  The concept of “safe sex” versus “unsafe sex” really came out of HIV coming on the scene in the early 80s.  Now that said, there are other concerns out there, agreed.  Admittedly the concepts of PrEP and Undetectable viral load do make this a grey area.  And as I saw earlier today, a quote from someone that said, that anyone who said they would not rejoice if there was a discovery in the 80s where a pill could stop HIV.  They’d be rejoicing.
  Hepatitis C and antibiotic resistant STIs come to mind as a concern that I have.  Thankfully there are medications that help with Hepatitis C, but they are expensive, possibly more cost prohibitive.  There is research that rates of antibiotic resistant STIs are falling.  Still, to me, this doesn’t give anyone a carte blanche to bareback.
  That said, I will counter that if you are on PrEP you do have to go in and get your STI checks done.  Meaning that STIs are caught earlier, and not spread as far.
  So this is my argument for using condoms.  But if you could contribute to stopping HIV in it’s tracks, why wouldn’t you?

There are other arguments I’ve also heard, and I was once a nay sayer as well.  The proof is in the studies that have occurred and are still to be completed.  The key thing is making sure you read the reports and truly understand what the percentages represent, the sample size, etc…

I am still happy I did this.