I went to a doctor today who I mentioned to that I was interested in PrEP. He mentioned the reduced bone density side effect, which is the most concerning part to me. Is anyone here on PrEP, and how long have you been on PrEP? Have you noticed any health changes after consistent use of PrEP? I plan to use it with condoms and frequent testing. With that said, I’m not really one to hookup, but it’s more of a precaution because I am not sleeping with a consistent partner, and as we all know, condoms can break. Thanks guys.
I’m not on Truvada, as I’m not having sex with anyone but my wife, but I’ve read a bit about it. Yes the TDF ingredient in Truvada sometimes shows kidney and bone side effects. But those would be monitored if you are concerned. From what I read it isn’t much decline, may just decline initially (then stay stable at that level) and is reversible. I’ll quote a 2016 report (and bold one phrase for emphasis): “Data from the substudy presented today illustrate that bone mineral density decreased a measurable but clinically insignificant amount over the course of a year in young adult males and transgender participants with an average age of 24 taking a protective amount of PrEP. However, six months after stopping the regimen, bone mineral density levels in the spines of these individuals increased to levels consistent with study participants of the same age who took a placebo. Hip bone mineral densities also increased in the first six months after stopping PrEP and returned to normal levels...” https://aidsinfo.nih.gov/news/1653/...-effect-of-prep-on-bone-density-is-reversible My guess is we will start hearing more about the side effects of Truvada this year, not because they are suddenly more significant, but because the manufacturer’s patent is running out and they will want to promote their new (with fresher patent) Descovy, which has a different formulation (TAF instead of TDF) which is being promoted as milder (and “non-inferior” to Truvada). I see the same pattern in magazines promoting the upcoming TV sets, updated cars, etc. — the old version (which works just fine) is now being made to sound worse than it really is. I’m surprised I answered this way. I’m usually a worst-case-scenario person, but a conversation at a clinic and some online digging helped me get more perspective. (I’m not a doctor - so do make sure to talk with your doctors).
I went to a clinic and got tested and although I rarely do anything with anyone and am extremely careful if I do, they kept urging me to get on prep. Two of my other doctors However rather insistently said I shouldn’t get on it for the above mentioned health risks. I wasn’t told anything about the effects being reversible at all and one would think that if they were reversible, the clinic urging it’s use would have been praising that if it were true. This want just a random clinic it is run by The University of Alabama at Birmingham. They did require once every three month screening for side effects though. I don’t know that I really NEED prep but had considered it just for my peace of mind. It’s just a decision whether the benefits of it oughtweigh the potential health detriments of it. I haven’t convinced myself one way or the other yet but also haven’t been messing around with anyone either. Tough decision for someone in my position. I guess it’s an easier decision for obvious reasons for those that have lots of sex with random people.
Yes, if they are up to date they should be able to give a more complete picture. The clinic I visited was good at explaining how their monitoring helped them in the rare instances when temporary kidney decline was observed. For instance, on a client on PrEP showing decline, they reduced PrEP for a bit, reversed the kidney decline (their description was that the kidneys “rebounded”). The client was back on full dose PrEP with no repeat of decline after that, according to the clinician.
