PrEP - always remember that there are

[+ HornyRetiree]

NO ABSOLUTE Guarantees!

 

One is still much safer with than without.

 

https://www.out.com/news/2019/3/22/another-man-using-prep-has-been-diagnosed-hiv?fbclid=IwAR33zod40jtyE-b_83rfI22QHbwSsRhw7J2EOr3AeSWPkqxvNn6jE9gwH_g

[Monarchy79]

It’s important that we understand that PrEP was intended to be used in CONJUNCTION with other methods of protection.

The gays are now doing what the straights did with “the pill”.... having bareback sex, thinking of only ONE issue rather than the others.

 

Everyone is now having this big barebacking party, thinking they are superhuman now they they claim to be free from any risk of HIV infection. However, no one is thinking about:

1.) the other numerous STD’s that PrEP doesn’t protect your from.

 

2.) how other medications one is taking will react to PrEP, and could possibly affect its overall efficacy.

 

3.) the possible side effects of long term use, and

 

4.) PrEP’s ability to work within ones system, that may already have other existing STI’s (for example, if a PrEP user currently had syphillis and gonhorrea, how is the medications reacting to the users compromised immune system to properly do its job to prevent HIV infection?

 

Also, as a side note, I find it alarming that so many people trust the government enough to regularly take a medication which they have sanctioned to prevent a disease that they claim they can’t cure.

 

This could be one huge unorthodoxed “clinical trial/experiment”....

[Monarchy79]

Don’t we already know this to be true? Isn’t that why county health departments are giving it away if you submit to regular blood tests?

Unfortunately, many people don’t... and are happy with the

“Free lunch”

[rvwnsd]

Don’t we already know this to be true? Isn’t that why county health departments are giving it away if you submit to regular blood tests?

Yes, we do. Just like we know steroid-based "controller" medications treat, but don't cure, asthma and in some cases can cause a life-threatening attack. Still, millions of people (including me) take them because we feel the benefits outweigh the risk.

[+ quoththeraven]

Don’t we already know this to be true? Isn’t that why county health departments are giving it away if you submit to regular blood tests?

Regular blood tests - at least for STIs - are part of the protocol, so this is suspicious why?

 

Why is it not possible public health agencies consider it a boon to public health and part of their effort to stop the spread of HIV? If you don't want to take it, don't.

[Monarchy79]

Regular blood tests - at least for STIs - are part of the protocol, so this is suspicious why?

 

Why is it not possible public health agencies consider it a boon to public health and part of their effort to stop the spread of HIV? If you don't want to take it, don't.

 

Well,

 

There are theories that this same government created HIV, and there’s a specific theory that was Intentionally administered to the gay population under the disguise of a hepatitis vaccine.

https://ahrp.org/1978-1981-hic-aids-and-cdcs-hepatitis-b-vaccine-experiment-in-young-homosexual-men-before-these-experiments-there-were-no-reported-cases-of-hiv-or-aids-in-america/

 

So many people have a “if it sounds too good to be true, then it is” philosophy.

https://rense.com//general94/gayvac.htm

However, I sincerely hope you are correct, and that this awful epidemic will one day come to an end.

[pocono]

It important to remember 35 million people have died from AIDS and that 70 million have been infected.

 

Except abstinence, it is impossible to be 100% safe. In 2018 it was estimated that 380,000 people around the world were regularPrEP users, 59% of that group are in the US. Of the 380,000 only 7 have been infected with HIV.

 

7/380,000 not perfect...but still amazing!

[MikeBiDude]

Yes, as I said “don’t we already know this to be true?”

I never implied or used the word suspicious...why did you? This is an important topic, so please don’t deflect and distract on one of your personal tirades against me distorting the discussion.

While you did not say “suspicious”, you did reply to a posting that said:

 

Also, as a side note, I find it alarming that so many people trust the government enough to regularly take a medication which they have sanctioned to prevent a disease that they claim they can’t cure

 

To me and maybe @quoththeraven I was starting to sense a “conspiracy theory” drift to government’s distributing Truvada and requring bloodwork.

 

That would be a silly direction to take this, right?

 

FYI my PPO provider (and indeed the overall protocol for Truvada as PreP) requires bloodwork. More for me due to my age and kidney/liver monitoring.

Edited March 23, 2019 by MikeBiDude

[marylander1940]

Don’t we already know this to be true? Isn’t that why county health departments are giving it away if you submit to regular blood tests?

 

 

While you did not say “suspicious”, you did reply to a posting that said:

 

 

 

To me and maybe @quoththeraven I was starting to sense a “conspiracy theory” drift to government’s distributing Truvada and requring bloodwork.

 

That would be a silly conspiracy, right?

 

FYI my PPO provider (and indeed the overall protocol for Truvada as PreP) requires bloodwork. More for me due to my age and kidney/liver monitoring.

 

maybe they'll put in the water... Didn't the Birch society talked about it?

 

here's the new poster girl, as if we didn't have enough with hipsters in WA and OR not vaccinating their kids against measles.

 

Edited March 23, 2019 by marylander1940

[Monarchy79]

While you did not say “suspicious”, you did reply to a posting that said:

 

 

 

To me and maybe @quoththeraven I was starting to sense a “conspiracy theory” drift to government’s distributing Truvada and requring bloodwork.

 

That would be a silly direction to take this, right?

 

FYI my PPO provider (and indeed the overall protocol for Truvada as PreP) requires bloodwork. More for me due to my age and kidney/liver monitoring.

 

I confess,

 

I am a mild conspiracy theorist.

Understanding the history of this country and it’s government.... many beliefs aren’t too far-fetched (i.e. Agent Orange, The Tuskegee Experiment, the Hepatitis Vaccination “error”, of the 1970s)

 

So yes,

The fact that US Government is targeting the gay male population for Truvada (the same population that was targeted for Hepatitis vaccinations about 45 years ago)

Gives me somewhat of a “side-eye”.

 

Call me crazy (I can take that), but 10 years down the road, I’d hate for studies and articles to come out about side effects, or a larger issue arising from this “wonder drug”

I sincerely hope I will be wrong,

But it just cracks me up how so many people are so trusting and so easy to just “pop a pill”, without conducting any research.

[MikeBiDude]

The fact that US Government is targeting the gay male population for Truvada

I would enjoy reading any links or data you could provide to support this, thanks.

[Monarchy79]

I would enjoy reading any links or data you could provide to support this, thanks.

Absolutely:

 

http://hiv.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/PrEP-Readiness-for-New-Jersey-Final-Version-2015.pdf

 

https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/51934/cdc_51934_DS1.pdf

 

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/cdc-recommends-prep-americans-high-risk-hiv-397963?amp=1

 

Also, ask any heterosexual male if his doctor has recommended PrEP for him. Then ask any gay male the same question. I can guarantee you the straight guy probably has no clue as to what PrEP even is.

 

Also, take a peek at any gay themed magazine (Out, the Advicate, etc. ) they are loaded with Truvada ads.

 

Magazines targeting wider audiences have no such advertisements.

 

I’m not saying this is good or bad, but just stating that the homosexual male is the marketing target for the PrEP program.

Edited March 23, 2019 by Monarchy79

[MikeBiDude]

Absolutely:

 

http://hiv.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/PrEP-Readiness-for-New-Jersey-Final-Version-2015.pdf

 

https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/51934/cdc_51934_DS1.pdf

 

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/cdc-recommends-prep-americans-high-risk-hiv-397963?amp=1

 

Also, ask any heterosexual male if his doctor has recommended PrEP for him. Then ask any gay male the same question. I can guarantee you the straight guy probably has no clue as to what PrEP even is.

 

Also, take a peek at any gay themed magazine (Out, the Advicate, etc. ) they are loaded with Truvada ads.

 

Magazines targeting wider audiences have no such advertisements.

 

I’m not saying this is good or bad, but just stating that the homosexual male is the marketing target for the PrEP program.

Thanks, I’ll review all...

[Monarchy79]

Thanks, I’ll review all...

Uh Oh.....

 

Lol

[+ quoththeraven]

Of course the government is targeting gay and bisexual men for Truvada. They are at greater risk of HIV infection because anal sex - more specifically receptive anal sex - is the most likely sexual means of transmission. (Blood transfusion/transfer is the most risky overall.) Truvada is approved because of its record in preventing the transmission of HIV and was developed at least in part in response to diminishing use of condoms now that HIV and AIDS are no longer viewed as death sentences.

 

Yes, the government has mistreated Black people in the course of unethical research, in part because of a racist and erroneous belief that they aren't as susceptible to pain as white people, but to my knowledge the research on HIV, AIDS and Truvada has been conducted ethically. There really are no contextual markers suggesting promotion of PrEP is a way of targeting the gay community for abuse or harm.

 

That's entirely separate from one's personal feelings about Gilead, condoms, barebacking and drug adherence. It's possible to see this as too cozy with Gilead, too trusting of Gilead or not your thing because the drug is too new or because resistant strains may develop without also treating it as something insincere or intentionally harmful. In a broad sense, all early stage drug usage is a gamble because there can always be anomalous results that have been suppressed or haven't yet been noticed.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Interesting new case of PrEP not working, but there's some fine print to this case.

 

[MEDIA=twitter]1109389622558232576[/MEDIA]

 

It appears this guy was dosing it off label and on-demand, not the one-a-day that is recommended by Gilead.

[+ keroscenefire]

This is an interesting case in Australia as the person who seroconverted was not taking a daily dose of PrEp but was rather taking before and after sex, known as "on-demand" PrEp. While studies have shown "on-demand" to be as effective as taking Truvada daily, I think it's clear the dosing is a bit trickier as the timing has to be pretty precise. It may be kind of akin to taking birth control everyday and taking the morning after pill...they both can be effective, but in the latter the dosing timing definitely can have influence on the effectiveness of the medication.

 

https://www.poz.com/article/case-ondemand-prep-failure-reported-australia

 

The reality is that we don't really know if this is a case of PrEp failing or the dosage failing. I take Truvada every day when I get up in the morning and to me that is easier to remember and be consistent that trying to dose it before and after sex.

[+ keroscenefire]

http://www.croiwebcasts.org/console/player/41366?mediaType=audio&&crd_fl=0&ssmsrq=1553371729371

 

This is a good synopsis of each of the PrEp failures so far. At least two other PrEp failures are possible non-adherence cases and the Dutch case is so strange that there also might be some weird things going on including the man acquiring HIV after he stopped taking Truvada because of a false positive or because there were significant co-infections or something else. The Dutch case is not from a Truvada-resistant HIV strain, while the others appear to be.

 

But overall, Truvada is extremely effective and failures are often hard to understand their direct cause.

[rvwnsd]

Absolutely:

 

http://hiv.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/PrEP-Readiness-for-New-Jersey-Final-Version-2015.pdf

 

https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/51934/cdc_51934_DS1.pdf

 

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/cdc-recommends-prep-americans-high-risk-hiv-397963?amp=1

 

Also, ask any heterosexual male if his doctor has recommended PrEP for him. Then ask any gay male the same question. I can guarantee you the straight guy probably has no clue as to what PrEP even is.

 

Also, take a peek at any gay themed magazine (Out, the Advicate, etc. ) they are loaded with Truvada ads.

 

Magazines targeting wider audiences have no such advertisements.

 

I’m not saying this is good or bad, but just stating that the homosexual male is the marketing target for the PrEP program.

 

We all know that the government, physicians, the World Health Organization, and virtually every LGBT health organization is targeting men who have sex with men in a campaign to encourage the use of Truvada as PrEP. They did the same with advertisements for condom usage as a measure to prevent the spread of disease, HIV testing (still do, actually), and for discussing HIV status. As @quoththeraven stated, men who have sex with men are targeted because they are at greatest risk of acquiring HIV. You will notice there are no ads for tampons in magazines that target gay men, but lots of ads for tampons in magazines that target women.

 

Frankly, I was expecting to see evidence of a conspiracy to give gay men a pill that would harm, rather than help them. The sources you provided do not do that. Instead, they discuss the research that has concluded that Truvada is effective at preventing the spread of HIV when taken as prescribed.

 

...10 years down the road, I’d hate for studies and articles to come out about side effects, or a larger issue arising from this “wonder drug”

I sincerely hope I will be wrong,

But it just cracks me up how so many people are so trusting and so easy to just “pop a pill”, without conducting any research.

 

Speaking of research, a simple Google search will reveal that Truvada was approved as a treatment for HIV in 2004. (It is prescribed as part of a "cocktail" of one or more additional drugs). Eight years later, in 2012, it was approved for use as a prevention method. This is hardly a treatment that was discovered yesterday and rushed to market.

[Monarchy79]

We all know that the government, physicians, the World Health Organization, and virtually every LGBT health organization is targeting men who have sex with men in a campaign to encourage the use of Truvada as PrEP. They did the same with advertisements for condom usage as a measure to prevent the spread of disease, HIV testing (still do, actually), and for discussing HIV status. As @quoththeraven stated, men who have sex with men are targeted because they are at greatest risk of acquiring HIV. You will notice there are no ads for tampons in magazines that target gay men, but lots of ads for tampons in magazines that target women.

 

Frankly, I was expecting to see evidence of a conspiracy to give gay men a pill that would harm, rather than help them. The sources you provided do not do that. Instead, they discuss the research that has concluded that Truvada is effective at preventing the spread of HIV when taken as prescribed.

 

 

 

Speaking of research, a simple Google search will reveal that Truvada was approved as a treatment for HIV in 2004. (It is prescribed as part of a "cocktail" of one or more additional drugs). Eight years later, in 2012, it was approved for use as a prevention method. This is hardly a treatment that was discovered yesterday and rushed to market.

 

You made some very valid points. Unfortunately they were overshadowed with the smear of sarcasm....

 

Being a smart ass always kills the ability to bring forth understanding on any topic. I don’t know why people think it holds any value.

[MassageAdam]

Absolutely:

 

http://hiv.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/PrEP-Readiness-for-New-Jersey-Final-Version-2015.pdf

 

https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/51934/cdc_51934_DS1.pdf

 

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/cdc-recommends-prep-americans-high-risk-hiv-397963?amp=1

 

Also, ask any heterosexual male if his doctor has recommended PrEP for him. Then ask any gay male the same question. I can guarantee you the straight guy probably has no clue as to what PrEP even is.

 

Also, take a peek at any gay themed magazine (Out, the Advicate, etc. ) they are loaded with Truvada ads.

 

Magazines targeting wider audiences have no such advertisements.

 

I’m not saying this is good or bad, but just stating that the homosexual male is the marketing target for the PrEP program.

Maybe because that's where the highest risk is of contacting HIV....

[MassageAdam]

You made some very valid points. Unfortunately they were overshadowed with the smear of sarcasm....

 

Being a smart ass always kills the ability to bring forth understanding on any topic. I don’t know why people think it holds any value.

He is just being logical, not a smart ass....

[Monarchy79]

He is just being logical, not a smart ass....

 

The following quote from the poster wasn’t “logic”, it was sarcasm:

“You will notice there are no ads for tampons in magazines that target gay men, but lots of ads for tampons in magazines that target women.”

 

Now of course tampons wouldn’t be advertised in magazines catering to the gay male audience (or any male audience for that matter), as men do not anatomically/biologically have a need for tampons.

However, Truvada can be used by both genders, and women are now using it as well, and have stated their disappointment in this drug only being advertised to gay men, as they have a need for it as well.

The other misconception is that gay men were the original targeted group formthe drug. It wasn’t. The drug was originally targeted for sex workers.

 

The tampon statement was a sarcastic approach to diminish my point about the advertising of the drug. It wasn’t necessary.

From being on this site, I’ve learned a lot from these forums and I enjoy the sharing of knowledge.

 

We can do this without being catty, sarcastic, passive-aggressive, and menacing with our comments. Our community has enough of this. Let these forums be a place where we can share information, respectfully disagree and learn without the bull shit.

Edited March 24, 2019 by Monarchy79

[caliguy]

I read the article before this and I just said big whoop. Condoms have a lower effective rate at 96%.

[+ keroscenefire]

One other weird thing with PrEp to watch out for is to not take Truvada (or really any medication) at the same time you are taking anything with psyllium husk, such as Pure for Men or Metamucil or many very common fiber supplements. This is because psyllium husk creates a gel in your digestive system that could actually prevent medications from being properly digested and absorbed into your system. Obviously, a lot of guys who bottom like to take things like Pure for Men to make their bowel movements thicker for easier clean up before sex. And you can still take the medication, just make sure it is a few hours after you take your Truvada so it has enough time to absorb in your system.

 

I found this video to be pretty explanatory: https://isprepforme.com/dont-take-prep-with-metamucil/