Getting Back on Prep Prior to Engaging in BB Sex

[+ Axiom2001]

Hi Fellows,

For the past four years, I've been on Truvada, but  most of last year I took myself off of it, for I have NOT been with any partners.  

This is the beginning of 2025, and I am virtually starving for some hot encounters but am reluctant to proceed, for I want to have BB unprotected sex.  Why unprotected?  The provider that I truly yearn to play is known only for his BB performances.  He's on Prep and Doxyprep and based on what he wrote gets checked often.

Prior to my getting with him, shall I put myself back onto Truvada and proceed with having my first encounter with BB play?  I'd like some salient advice from you, please.

**During these 25 or more years, I've never played bareback.  ALL of my providers have worn a condom during our sessions.

Edited January 7 by Axiom2001

[+ JamesB]

I strongly believe that everyone is solely responsible for their own health. Don’t shift that responsibility onto others.

[+ JEC]

I won't wade into whether to BB or not...I would get on Prep if you are going to be sexually active, period. 

[pubic_assistance]

3 hours ago, Axiom2001 said:

During these 25 or more years, I've never played bareback.  ALL of my providers have worn a condom during our sessions.

My doctor always says to me after all these years of safe sex and never catching a single STI, why would you stop doing what works ? PreP reduces your chance of catching HIV and increases your chances of catching everything else.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

What advice do you need other than get on PrEP and Doxy (afterwards).

You either fuck raw or you don't.  A general consensus here shouldn't determine what's best for you personally.

What it feels like to me is that you've already made up your mind and you're just trying to justify it to yourself at this point.

Edited January 8 by BenjaminNicholas

[+ nycman]

16 hours ago, Axiom2001 said:

**During these 25 or more years, I've never played bareback.  ALL of my providers have worn a condom during our sessions.

Why stop now?

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

Regardless of the decision to do bareback, get a prescription for Doxy to take after your appointment.  My MD reminds me to take it even when I do not engage in any anal activity as preventative against those diseases transmitted orally.  (I've never sucked a cock with a condom on it.)

[+ sniper]

16 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

My doctor always says to me after all these years of safe sex and never catching a single STI, why would you stop doing what works ? PreP reduces your chance of catching HIV and increases your chances of catching everything else.

Curious, do you use condoms for oral also?

[Guest]

I’m on prep and prefer bareback sex. I fuck maybe three different people a year, typically only once with a provider. The other two are either guys I’m dating or a regular friend with benefits.  I much prefer oral and massage and hand jobs. I got chlamydia once. It took me out for a month.  For me, prep, limited exposure and maximum pleasure works for me. 

Edited January 8 by Coolwave35

[Monarchy79]

1.) Get on PrEP

2.) STICK with the condoms too.

Sex partners lie about the health habits and statuses, and there’s too many STD’s flying around to even take the risk. 

Since you’ve been a condom user all these years, don’t even bother changing that experience and then permanently craving bareback. 

Although others say that PrEP and the Doxy options are effective (they are definitely effective) the body needs a chance to be free from daily medications at some point. 

Condoms help in giving that break. 

To make another point, condoms provide a level of cleanliness to sex as well, as (when you’re topping, condoms provide an effective barrier, preventing  fecal matter (and other bacteria ) from getting into your penis and urethra. 

 

[rvwnsd]

On 1/7/2025 at 1:29 PM, Axiom2001 said:

Hi Fellows,

For the past four years, I've been on Truvada, but  most of last year I took myself off of it, for I have NOT been with any partners.  

This is the beginning of 2025, and I am virtually starving for some hot encounters but am reluctant to proceed, for I want to have BB unprotected sex.  Why unprotected?  The provider that I truly yearn to play is known only for his BB performances.  He's on Prep and Doxyprep and based on what he wrote gets checked often.

Prior to my getting with him, shall I put myself back onto Truvada and proceed with having my first encounter with BB play?  I'd like some salient advice from you, please.

**During these 25 or more years, I've never played bareback.  ALL of my providers have worn a condom during our sessions.

Let's take playing BB out of the equation. It is wise to take and remain on PrEP. I started taking Descovy as soon as it was available for PrEP and haven't looked back.

[phil_hunter]

I faced a similar situation, returning to an active sex life after a long dormant period. I talked to my doctor, and he started me on PrEP and Doxy PEP, and I get tested every three months. I joke that I may be the oldest person in SF to have started PrEP and Doxy PEP. (I'm twice my doctor's age.) I have sex with providers only, and one of the reasons is that I know that they have to take care of their health. My regular provider and I have actually never felt the need to talk about this. I know that he's responsible for his health, and he knows that I'm responsible for mine. We have really great BB sex. Of course, if I wanted to use a condom, or if I wanted him to use a condom, that wouldn't be a problem.

Also, 

On 1/18/2025 at 9:38 AM, Monarchy79 said:

... the body needs a chance to be free from daily medications at some point. 

I laughed at this. At my age, adding one more daily pill was not a burden.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

3 minutes ago, phil_hunter said:

I have sex with providers only, and one of the reasons is that I know that they have to take care of their health.

This is a fallacy.  Please don't believe that for a second.

It's why YOU need to take care of your health and protect YOURSELF accordingly.

[phil_hunter]

You're correct. I don't know that they're taking care of their health, and I'm protecting myself in case they don't. I think it may be more likely that they're doing that than someone I might meet at a bar, because it's in their professional best interest to do so, but I'm not counting on it.

[Monarchy79]

1 hour ago, phil_hunter said:

I faced a similar situation, returning to an active sex life after a long dormant period. I talked to my doctor, and he started me on PrEP and Doxy PEP, and I get tested every three months. I joke that I may be the oldest person in SF to have started PrEP and Doxy PEP. (I'm twice my doctor's age.) I have sex with providers only, and one of the reasons is that I know that they have to take care of their health. My regular provider and I have actually never felt the need to talk about this. I know that he's responsible for his health, and he knows that I'm responsible for mine. We have really great BB sex. Of course, if I wanted to use a condom, or if I wanted him to use a condom, that wouldn't be a problem.

Also, 

I laughed at this. At my age, adding one more daily pill was not a burden.

I wasn’t referring to men your age. I was referring to the larger demographic of men who are taking PrEP, and they are younger than you. It’s a known fact that long term use of any medication has effects on the organs. 

[Monarchy79]

1 hour ago, phil_hunter said:

I have sex with providers only, and one of the reasons is that I know that they have to take care of their health.

You “laughed” at one of my comments, yet stated this comment with utter conviction and seriousness.

Bless your heart…. 

[phil_hunter]

Let's see if we can get back on track. The OP is "starving for some hot encounters" and "yearns" for a particular provider who, unlike OP's previous providers, does not use a condom and says he's on PrEP/Doxy PEP. OP had been on Truvada for 4 years, stopped last year, and hasn't had sex since then. He "wants to have unprotected BB sex." He asks for advice on getting back on Truvada.

So now there are risk/benefit choices to make. Option 1: Forgo the desire to have unprotected BB sex, forgo this provider, and return to having sex with condoms or remain celibate. Pros: safety. Cons: not as much fun as he wants. Sexual activity is part of a healthy life; celibacy is not cost-free.

Option 2: Skip the Truvada and have BB sex with this provider. Pros: fulfills OP's yearning for this provider and his desire for unprotected BB sex. Cons: if the provider is not being truthful and is HIV+, there is a health risk.

Option 3: Get back on Truvada (and presumably take Doxy PEP after sex to prevent STIs). Pros: Have BB sex with the provider without worrying about HIV. Cons: Taking a daily medicine indefinitely may have long-term effects, particularly with relatively new meds like Truvada.

OP didn't specify whether he had been taking Truvada daily or doing the "2-1-1" plan. The latter might be Option 4, since it would avoid the "daily medicine" issue.

I think there is consensus here that each of us is responsible for his own health, so Option 2 is not popular.

Faced with a similar decision, my personal choice, not shared by all, has been Option 3. I am accustomed to daily medicines, from risk-free OTC meds like vitamins to more serious, prescribed meds. Also, I am reminded of friends who are still here because they were able to take daily doses of AZT, horrible as it was, and the friends who aren't still here because there was no AZT. I was lucky enough to have avoided HIV, so I am eligible to take PrEP, but I understand that the calculus for younger men is different.
 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

Even if I were to go the "condoms only" route, I would still ask my doctor to put me on Prep because of the high number and frequency of sexual encounters I enjoy each year.  As far as being worried about looking term side effects...I would rather be protected now and stop taking Prep later in life if complications arise, then be forced onto the medications because I caught HIV and then can't stop taking them later.

[Archangel]

In short, you are responsible for your own health.

That said, it seems to me hugely disrespectful to not go on PrEP if you know you’re going to be going BB. Even if the other guy is on PrEP, your respect for him and his well-being means you will too. It just makes sense. Yes—there are potential side effects to taking PrEP, but that’s the cost of BB in our day and age.

I always start taking PrEP about a month before my appointments (I book ahead for multiple-day BFEs or vacations) and stay on for about a week after.