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PEP Inquiry - Seeking Counsel
Hello Doctor,
I had unprotected insertive anal sex with a gay man early Sunday morning. I never asked for his status nor do I have a means of contacting him, and I am afraid of the possibility that he may be HIV positive. I went to the doctor later that same day, and he did not seem very knowledgeable about HIV post-exposure treatment. He basically read me a few statistics and informed me that I have a 0.07% chance of contracting HIV even if the guy was positive. With such low risk, he said PEP is not necessary. Regardless, he prescribed me Truvada + Issentress for 28 days at my insistence.
Unsatisfied with my experience at the doctor's office I went to the Gay Men's Health Clinic in NYC the next day for a second opinion on my situation. There, a PharmD and HIV research specialist advised me that PEP is a good idea just to be safe. The pharmacist prescribed me 28 Stribild tablets (because my insurance does not cover the truavda + issentress) to be taken once a day. I took my first dose of the regimen today, and so far I'm not experiencing any significant side effects beyond slight fatigue and loose stool.
I'm just curious if this is a good idea. I'm not familiar with the Stribild drug, and I'm not sure if there are any long-term potential side effects of the drug. The pharmacist insisted that there are not, and that taking the Stribild regimen is a risk-free, win-win situation. Are you familiar with this drug, and would you advise that I complete the 28-day regimen given the fact that I am very low risk?
In other words, does the risk of bodily damage (if any) from the Stribild regimen outweigh the very low risk of having contracted HIV from my unprotected sexual encounter?
Thanks for your time!
I had unprotected insertive anal sex with a gay man early Sunday morning. I never asked for his status nor do I have a means of contacting him, and I am afraid of the possibility that he may be HIV positive. I went to the doctor later that same day, and he did not seem very knowledgeable about HIV post-exposure treatment. He basically read me a few statistics and informed me that I have a 0.07% chance of contracting HIV even if the guy was positive. With such low risk, he said PEP is not necessary. Regardless, he prescribed me Truvada + Issentress for 28 days at my insistence.
Unsatisfied with my experience at the doctor's office I went to the Gay Men's Health Clinic in NYC the next day for a second opinion on my situation. There, a PharmD and HIV research specialist advised me that PEP is a good idea just to be safe. The pharmacist prescribed me 28 Stribild tablets (because my insurance does not cover the truavda + issentress) to be taken once a day. I took my first dose of the regimen today, and so far I'm not experiencing any significant side effects beyond slight fatigue and loose stool.
I'm just curious if this is a good idea. I'm not familiar with the Stribild drug, and I'm not sure if there are any long-term potential side effects of the drug. The pharmacist insisted that there are not, and that taking the Stribild regimen is a risk-free, win-win situation. Are you familiar with this drug, and would you advise that I complete the 28-day regimen given the fact that I am very low risk?
In other words, does the risk of bodily damage (if any) from the Stribild regimen outweigh the very low risk of having contracted HIV from my unprotected sexual encounter?
Thanks for your time!
What do you mean by "very bad side effects?" Like long-term harm? Or like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea?
Sorry but PEP is too big of a decision to receive council online, this is more of a Dr. Patient conversation. All I can say is that PEP can have some very bad side effects but can go a lot of good.
May I clarify that by insertive I mean I was the partner inserting my penis into his anus.
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