Hiv

[Olddaddy]

When I was in Thailand I started PRep medicine a few days before my travel 

In hindsight I should of taken it a week before 

In fact some days I missed my dose 

I started to get flu symptoms on my return to Australia 

It was a silly thing to do , thankfully I tested negative for my HIV test although my doctor said he will need to test again in 2 months 

As he said there is no assurance that Prep works 100% and you may want to consider your partner using a condom if they are in the high rusk category eg sex workers 

I have no idea of any of you are living with HIV and you may not want to disclose that .

Apparently you must take anti virals everyday , 

Unfortunately as I got older I became complacent ,

I won't take Prep everyday though unless I'm travelling 

I do wonder if many of you who have HIV are still ok in your lifestyle 

 

 

 

[PeterRS]

I had a Thai boyfriend who contracted AIDS and died in 1994. Although desperately sad, I was terrified about getting an HIV test even though I had always used condoms. AZT was on the market but very expensive. I just assumed I did not need it! Two years later I finally took a test and was negative. But the next year one of my closet friends in Hong Kong arrived at my apartment and told me he had tested positive. He was in a dreadful state. By then antiretrovirals had been developed and he was put on a course. Now nearly 30 years later and aged 70 he is still not only alive, he is enjoying life as much if not more than before. I believe he takes one pill a day (but not 100% sure it is only one).

[unicorn]

If you can't remember to take your pills every day, oral PrEP is not for you. There are injectable alternatives which can be dosed months apart.

[unicorn]

I should also add that if your "HIV test" was an antibody test only, then you very definitely need to be rechecked in 2 months, as one wouldn't expect a seroconversion so soon, and that test result could easily change. If the test also included an antigen test (i.e. viral RNA), then it's quite unlikely to be a false negative.