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LGBT News Offer PreP to all gay men?

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by PatrickUK, Feb 25, 2015.

  1. Pret Allez

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    Well, I live in the United States, so I'm not aware of the challenges of limited resources you face. My inclination though is to try to caution you against moral thinking in medical decisions.

    I would agree with you that people who get HIV because they are engaged in risky activities should be farther back in the queue when a zero-sum constraint is involved, but that's not a moral question. That's a question of triage. People who need life-saving medicines or cancer treatments take priority because of the time-sensitivity of their need.

    I also think that expanding tax revenues for NHS programs combined with a focus on preventative approaches to care should be entertained before just saying that we're not interested in helping people whose choices we disagree with.

    I mean, let's consider this in terms of health insurance policies right? I'm a little overweight, but I'm a half-marathon runner, reasonably athletic in my own right. I'm a far cry from being clinically obese. Yet I share the same health insurance policy (which is to say, the same risk pool) as people who are obese. Those people have more health problems than my group has, statistically, so there's a sense in which I subsidize them. I subsidize their choices even though I disagree with them. (Now, I realize some people have weight problems without making radically unhealthy choices. The spirit of my point remains true.) But what I don't do is clamor for weight brackets in health insurance policies so that I can pay less money.
     
  2. Section18

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    We'll just have to agree to disagree then mate.
     
  3. Incognito10

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    PrEP is a preventative measure and apparently is highly effective. Reframe thoughts to include ideas that men are taking responsibility and adding another layer of added protection by making the decision to take the drug. Of course no one knows if someone will go out and have condomless sex, but with the effectiveness of Truvada as PrEP, you would be slowly eradicating HIV/AIDS and the costs of treatment associated with it...it's always cheaper to pay for preventative medicine then to try to treat a disease once it occurs.
     
  4. Pret Allez

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    On what? I said a whole bunch of things.
     
  5. Section18

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    You don't have a moral objection to people who engage in risky behaviours receiving free treatment? Especially since the NHS is low on funds?
     
  6. Pret Allez

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    I think you will find I had a triage objection...

    But even then, that ignores the alternative which is to increase resources available to the NHS...
     
  7. Section18

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    Well, do you have a moral objection to it?
     
  8. Pret Allez

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    Look, I have moral objections to things I'm not allowed to state on a support forum, so instead of offering those, I'm going to go with a more solid basis: what we should be doing from a public health perspective. If it turns out we need to triage, then we should triage based on the traditional medical principles for prioritizing care: likelihood of recovery or efficacy of treatment, and the time-sensitivity of the need.
     
  9. Section18

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    Ok then.
     
  10. PeteNJ

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    So if there were a pill you could take every day that would 99% stop you from getting cancer -- wouldn't you say its crazy not to take it?

    60% of HIV cases in the US are gay men. And many of us are undiagnosed HIV+. We are a high risk population.

    I am single, not in a monogamous relationship, and completely unapologetically I am on PrEP.

    It hasn't changed my dating/hook up routine. And yes, I would never f*ck or be f*cked without a condom.

    It's about risk management. For now, PrEP is the best option for non-monagamous gay men.

    At some point do I hope to have a hubby and be monogamous? Yes. But until then, I will be on PrEP.
     
  11. photoguy93

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    If we have it to all gay men, wouldn't we be admitting that it's a "gay disease?"

    Secondly, I have issues giving it free-willy to people who aren't responsible enough to put a simple condom on.

    Pills can be forgotten - heck, any form of medication can be forgotten. i understand the reasoning but it just bugs me.
     
  12. PeteNJ

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    Non monogamous gay men should seriously consider PrEp. As should other men and women who are at risk.

    While most HIV cases are among gay man, there are other populations that are experiencing high increased levels of HIV -- in this area, that's not actually gay men.
     
  13. 741852963

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    i think you've both touched upon why this is a tricky area.

    Technically as groups both gay men and black women are at higher risk of getting HIV and certain people within those groups may beenfit from PreP. But it would have to be handled very sensitively save coming across as being a homophobic or racist health policy, or one that could be spun that way by bigots.
     
  14. pokemonfan4life

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    i cant figure out what pREP
     
  15. CuriousLiaison

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    It's short for pre-exposure prophylaxis. In particular referring to something called Truvada. It's a drug you take regularly, and which has been shown to significantly reduce the chances of acquiring HIV on exposure to it. Currently the drugs cost about £360/month, but that might be worth it for certain high risk groups when you consider the lifetime cost managing HIV. In a few years the drugs should become a lot cheaper when the patent on them expires.
     
  16. Theron

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    Well considering a guy from San Diego went around spreading HIV KNOWINGLY to dozens of men....it wouldn't hurt men who refuse to use a glove.