PrEP and clients

[Edward]

Rudynate and Bigvalboy; Thanks for the intelligent response.

[Michael Wayne]

the straight up answer to the question is that barebacking is now an epidemic.... that was the ops' question and I just answered it. The pressure to give in to it and to anoint PREP as the answer is sickening......

[Rudynate]

The pressure to give in to it . . .

 

What pressure? It's the market at work. People ask you to provide a service. You say "I don't provide that service." They either decide that they can do without the service requested and patronize you or they go where they can get the service they're looking for.

[seaboy4hire]

What pressure? It's the market at work. People ask you to provide a service. You say "I don't provide that service." They either decide that they can do without the service requested and patronize you or they go where they can get the service they're looking for.

 

The concept of the free market is lost on some. Either one wants to provide the service requested or they don't like you said above.

 

Hugs,

Greg

[seaboy4hire]

the straight up answer to the question is that barebacking is now an epidemic.... that was the ops' question and I just answered it. The pressure to give in to it and to anoint PREP as the answer is sickening......

 

There is no pressure. I've been asked to do things that I did not feel comfortable enough doing, be it safety issues or I just had no knowledge in it. If I dont feel safe and or comfortable I am always free to say no. No one is making someone do something they do not wish to do.

 

Hugs,

Greg

[Kenny]

I would say Hep C! But they just found a vaccine for that so...free for all! (Please no one take this seriously)

 

I wouldn't say more people have asked, for the most part its never been a question (which could be a good or bad thing when you think about it) and when it is, it has only once lost me a client.

 

I don't think there is a Hep C vaccine (yet). A cure, yes, but not a vaccine.

[RussJohnson]

I don't think there is a Hep C vaccine (yet). A cure, yes, but not a vaccine.

 

A few months off...

[Christian Gray]

I know that in the past month I've probably gotten over 20 calls to do BB. And it shocks me! I wouldn't go hire an escort and ask that?! I just feel like me being safe, dd/free that should hold a little more security for a client

[rvwnsd]

Forgive my ignorance. How and where do you obtain Truvada. I am from small town USA and don't feel comfortable asking my physician for it. Blood Tests? Multiple visits to a clinic? Cost?

 

 

if you aren't ready to take enough control of your health to be honest with your doctor then you should just stick to condoms

 

not saying that to be rude to you

 

The better advice is to find a different doctor that you can trust and feel comfortable confiding in. If you are having sex with anyone of any gender or sexual orientation you need to have a healthcare provider who you can confide in. If you suddenly detect a strange sore or rash, you will need to get it checked out right away. If you can't confide in your doctor, then you will have a hard time getting treated for an STD.

 

If you think asking your physician about PrEP tips you off as a gay man, you should probably know that women can become HIV positive. A man who has sex with an HIV positive woman is at risk of acquiring the virus just as a man who has sex with an HIV positive man has that risk.

[sincitymix]

I haven't looked it up in a long time. But I don't the protection from taking Truvada for PEP (ie., taking it after exposure) after a known exposure to HIV is supposed to be as high a percentage as that for PrEP which makes sense as the drug level would be much higher after taking it for a week. Plus often nowadays physicians recommend Truvada + a drug in another class for PEP.

 

Gman

well the other thing I just thought of.. what if the hiv strain is truvada resistant? or multiple drug resistant?

[jimboivyo]

the level of mis informed here is crazy

 

just cause someone uses prep doesn't mean they're also gonna bareback. as for 'pressure' to play un safe, how tough is it to say 'no I don't, thank you.'

 

Epidemic? HIV has been an epidemic since the '80s. medications like prep might make that a much smaller number in the future. I'm all for a world of choices and for making good decisions.

[jackjackjack]

I know that in the past month I've probably gotten over 20 calls to do BB. And it shocks me! I wouldn't go hire an escort and ask that?! I just feel like me being safe, dd/free that should hold a little more security for a client

Sorry, I don't know where you advertise or anything about how you advertise, but if your ad states, 'safe sex only, I see why you're shocked that guys still ask. But look at many of the ads on Rentmen. Under the heading 'safe sex/bb'...many state 'ask me'

What should be implied? So I ask. If they get offended, then change your ad.

[Christian Gray]

Sorry, I don't know where you advertise or anything about how you advertise, but if your ad states, 'safe sex only, I see why you're shocked that guys still ask. But look at many of the ads on Rentmen. Under the heading 'safe sex/bb'...many state 'ask me'

What should be implied? So I ask. If they get offended, then change your ad.

And I agree, that's all perfectly fine and well. I just really hope and wish people will be careful. There's so many different things you can contract from sex, if the other person is infected. All I'm saying is safety is very important. For everyone's sake.

[oz_carter]

I know that in the past month I've probably gotten over 20 calls to do BB. And it shocks me! I wouldn't go hire an escort and ask that?! I just feel like me being safe, dd/free that should hold a little more security for a client

 

What shocked you? The first 1-2 calls maybe. But after over 20 calls you shouldn't be so shocked then.

[jcmiami1]

I've been on PrEP for over 2 years now and whether or not to use condoms in a conversation that I have with each of my clients. The most recent report that Kaiser put out showed a 100% efficiency rate, over 2 years they didn't have a single seroconversion. The studies that are showing low rates are because people aren't taking the drug daily, and many of them have been done in other countries and in blind/placebo studies where people aren't even sure they are actually getting the drug which is inevitably gonna to lead to less adherence to daily dosage. Every study that AHF sites is designed to dissuade people from PrEP because they are in the business of treating HIV, not preventing it. I know that sounds terrible, but it's the truth.

 

PrEP IS a form of protection, just like a condom, though actually does more to protect. As far as other STI's, you can just as easily get them from oral without a condom, and Syphilis can be spread simply by body contact.

 

I am most comfortable going raw with a client who is either on PrEP or is Poz and undetectable because that means that they are taking care of and monitoring their sexual health. I also have many clients who insist on condoms (some even for oral) and Im happy to do that as well, since my ultimate goal is to make them comfortable and feel safe.

I'm 100% agreement with you on this. Pathetically the gay world is extremely (and hypocritical) vicious of anyone on Prep which are viewed as "Truvada whores." A term I despise. Using PreP ***IS**** a form of responsibility period. Those gay men who criticize are the same guys who "party and play" and have all kinds of unprotected sex with strangers then don't remember afterwards but turn around and condone PreP users. I've seen this so much I've lost count.

[marylander1940]

I'm 100% agreement with you on this. Pathetically the gay world is extremely (and hypocritical) vicious of anyone on Prep which are viewed as "Truvada whores." A term I despise. Using PreP ***IS**** a form of responsibility period. Those gay men who criticize are the same guys who "party and play" and have all kinds of unprotected sex with strangers then don't remember afterwards but turn around and condone PreP users. I've seen this so much I've lost count.

 

 

PrEP is the typical question to a Doctor... What pill do I take? Instead of what do I do.

 

There's no reason for HIV to be still around, but unfortunately some folks went back to BB in the late 90's and early 2000's, that's why the disease is still out there.

 

If condoms were able to prevent cancer, I guarantee you 99% of people would fuck with condoms and only in a serious relationship would get tested over and over again before BB to avoid that disease.

[SteelFan]

I see a few escorts regularly who are all on prep. I believe it has helped make our sessions more relaxed and much hotter. Or it could be that we've just seen each other enough times that we've built up trust.

[Rudynate]

I see a few escorts regularly who are all on prep. I believe it has helped make our sessions more relaxed and much hotter. Or it could be that we've just seen each other enough times that we've built up trust.

 

I can understand escorts being opposed to PrEP for personal, pragmatic reasons - they're afraid of side effects, they don't health insurance that will cover it. I cannot fathom any escort being philosophically opposed to PrEP.

[Rudynate]

Absolutely correct philosophically it's wonderful. I was on it for a month. Bloating, hyper sensitive to naseu, aching bones, was hard to bench press my max weight in the gym, it was straining my way of life. Not everyone gets these symptoms, but some do.

 

 

I hear you. The first time I started it, I dropped it after a month. It caused this really deep fatigue that I just couldn't stand. Several people that I talked to said that they thought if I had persisted, I was just about over the hump. I started again in April, and had almost nothing in the way of sides.

 

 

[

[+ Gar1eth]

Absolutely correct philosophically it's wonderful. I was on it for a month as PREP. Bloating, hyper sensitive to nausea, aching bones, was hard to bench press my max weight in the gym, it was straining my way of life. Taking off two weeks in the gym was out of the question. Not everyone gets these symptoms, but some do.

 

 

I hear you. The first time I started it, I dropped it after a month. It caused this really deep fatigue that I just couldn't stand. Several people that I talked to said that they thought if I had persisted, I was just about over the hump. I started again in April, and had almost nothing in the way of sides.

 

 

[

 

I was just going to say, Killian, before Rudynate responded that I had a friend who didn't do very well on it. But did fine after being off a bit and restarting.

 

Gman

[Rudynate]

 

Did you think all people who take Truvada are HIV negative? .

 

Lots of poz men take it as part of triple combination therapy. Mostly, now, they take it as Stribild - a single-pill triple combination formulation. My partner takes it.

[jimboivyo]

i'd take a bad gym day in lieu of contracting a deadly disease any day

[bigvalboy]

It's been covered on the forums before, but each individual's sexual health choices should be up to them and their physician. Unless you are a physician, speaking to the risks, benefits and drawbacks of any medical course of action can lead to mis-information.

 

The only thing that I can recommend is if you are curious, have the converstaion about PreP with your doctor and make your own educated, informed decisions.

 

Regardless of the context of the sexual encounter, at a minimum, limits should be respected and assume each partner is HIV positive. And at best a candid conversation between sexual partners about health and HIV status can help each man decide what those limits are.

 

This...

[Rudynate]

i'd take a bad gym day in lieu of contracting a deadly disease any day

 

 

That was glib. Poor workouts were only one of the complaints he listed.

[jimboivyo]

That was glib. Poor workouts were only one of the complaints he listed.

 

but it was a weak point to make to begin with. bryanforservice makes the best post here so far but I still ask why somoene wouldn't try to get over the hump of this medication in exchange for greater protection