PrEP Facts Brochure for People and Providers

Since we know one of the biggest barriers for PrEP access is providers who are resistant to providing a prescription, our friends at San Francisco AIDS Foundation developed a patient-provider brochure to help overcome this potential barrier to both learn more about PrEP and use it as a tool to talk with your medical provider. Print it off, or save it on your phone.

It features details on how PrEP works, what taking PrEP entails, cost and insurance information, checklists, as well as PrEP-related billing codes that will help your provider figure out how to submit your services for payment from insurance companies and Medicaid.

Check out PrEPfacts.org for more great resources.

Here is a direct link to a very helpful virtual library of PrEP materials.

VIDEO: Truvada: The HIV Prevention Pill No One Is Talking About

Fantastic reporting from Fusion TV, featuring a beautiful couple, one of whom does porn on the weekends.

One of our favorite exchanges is towards the end when the reporter asks a random guy in a bar about Truvada as PrEP. He expresses concern that it would make him more promiscuous - "I do feel that if I took PrEP, I would be prone to be more promiscuous- I do." Mitchell counters with, "But you already are promiscuous, so why don't, why not protect yourself?" To which the guy responds - "That's a very good point."

I am a Truvada Whore

by @pupbones

San Francisco

What is it about Truvada PrEP that is so upsetting to some people? 

We all know change is hard… especially after you’ve been trained to have sex a certain way your entire life, after you’ve watched dozens of your friends pass away in mere months, after you’ve repressed your sexuality since childhood, all the while fearing death, disease, and social-rejection. These things are hard to talk about. There is certainly a great deal of stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS, even in San Francisco. Conversations about HIV status, viral load, and PrEP aren’t happening as often as they should be.

New HIV diagnoses in San Francisco have remained steady over the past decade (according to the SFDPH HIV/AIDS Epidemiological Annual Report 2012). We can only speculate about these new cases, but it is safe to say that HIV stigma often plays a role in new transmissions. Take for example, a man who doesn’t know he is HIV-infected (with a spiked viral load) and declines free HIV-testing services due to perceived stigma of HIV. Also take for example, the awkward young man who just got invited back to a hot guy’s place for sex, but feels that a discussion about HIV status and condoms will kill the mood. Take for example, the man who decides to utilize Truvada PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) in order to prevent HIV infection, but is “slut-shamed” by both HIV negative men and men living with HIV. 

What we've done in the past to prevent HIV simply isn’t working anymore. Public health has to evolve with the changing social landscape. PrEP is a great tool to address the reality of the world we live in today.

What is it about PrEP that makes HIV-negative men so uncomfortable? 

Is it that they think PrEPsters are a bunch of rich, sex-crazed SF dudes who go wild at our private sex parties? Is it that they think we take anonymous dick at Steamworks, and then use PrEP as a morning-after-pill? Is it that they think we’re a bunch of disease-ridden, Typhoid Marys who take load after load from poz dudes? I don’t know the exact reason; maybe they’re just jealous that we’re having all the fun! I’ve heard all their anti-PrEP justifications: “it doesn’t protect against sexually transmitted infections” (which are totally treatable/manageable BTW), “it’s expensive” (it can be free if you try hard enough), “it will turn you into a slut” (most clinical studies have shown PrEPsters actually reduce their number of sex partners after starting  PrEP), that “it’s not effective” (daily Truvada adherence yields a 99% reduction of risk… safer than  condoms), and that Truvada has nasty side-effects (most people don’t have side-effects, it is very easy on the body). 

For those reasons I say, perhaps Truvada is not right for you! But it is right for me and many other people. I would much rather remain HIV negative and take Truvada in my “whorish” 20s and 30s, than be HIV+ and have to take medications for the rest of my life.

What is it about PrEP that makes HIV-positive men so uncomfortable? 

They love telling me how their anti-retroviral medications make them feel so terrible and that they wish they didn’t have to take them. I can empathize with the fact that you feel that way, but I have not been living with HIV for 20 years, so we definitely cannot compare our current states of health. Truvada is a very well-tolerated drug. It is a medication that has been used as part of combination therapy to treat HIV-positive people since 2004. 

And then they ask me, why don’t you just use a condom? 

Well, I do most of the time, but sometimes things happen, sometimes condoms break, sometimes it slips off, and no one knows until it’s over… there are so many variables that can contribute to HIV transmission. Why would you discourage me from wanting to do something to keep me HIV negative? Wouldn’t you do the same thing if you were in my situation?

Instead of stigmatizing people who decide PrEP is right for them, we should affirm and empower them for taking initiative and personal responsibility for their own health. Positive messaging is what we need. After

I started PrEP 16 or 17 months ago, things changed dramatically for the better. I felt comfortable with
the sex I was having, I felt more confident negotiating sexual encounters, and I generally felt better about my life. I don’t know who I would be today if I hadn’t started PrEP back then. 

In order to create a better sense of community and belonging, I’m pushing for the re-appropriation of the term “Truvada Whore.” “Queer” used to be an insult? We happily took that word back, and it subsequently lost its power as a derogatory word. David Duran wrote a piece entitled "Truvada Whores" for the Huffington Post back in November 2012. In it he coined the term "Truvada Whore" and stigmatized PrEPsters. After learning more about PrEP, he changed his views, and  is currently a PrEP ally. And he’s a super cool dude. Read his latest HuffPo piece "An Evolved Opinion on Truvada."

Are you a “Truvada Whore” or an ally? Help me take the word back, wear it as a scarlet letter, be loud and proud. Follow me on Twitter, @pupbones. Search social media for #TruvadaWhore. Buy a #TruvadaWhore t-shirt and support AIDS/LifeCycle 2014. 

I’m tired of standing back and letting the world fall into complacency.

I’m ready to make a difference. I am a “Truvada Whore.”

EDITOR NOTE: Check out the new TruvadaWhore.com for links to helpful info on PrEP.  It is just a simple page at the moment, but the hope is to make it a bit more visual and fun. The domain name was purchased by an advocate early in the year, and when he found out about @pupbones and his fabulous  #TruvadaWhore campaign, it inspired him to get something online - yesterday! Stay tuned...

[VIDEO] Voices of Choice - Brad from San Francisco on Being in the iPrEx Open Label PrEP Trial

"I fell in love with someone who is HIV-positive..."

In the video below, Brad from San Francisco discusses his participation in the iPrEx Open Label Study and taking Truvada as a way to prevent HIV infection.

The iPrEx trial was the first study to show that an antiretroviral drug (ARV) - normally used to treat people living with HIV - could also be used to prevent HIV among people who are HIV-negative.

In July of 2012, the FDA approved the ARV drug Truvada for the prevention of HIV.

 

 

Derek Brocklehurst - A Year on PrEP, That's All He Wanted

After taking PrEP for one year, I found the love of my life and decided to give monogamy a try.

by Derek Brocklehurst
San Francisco, CA

I started PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) in October 2011. I was presecribed Truvada "off label" before it had actually been approved for PrEP by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration.) FDA gave its approval in July of 2012.

I had an honest, open-ended discussion with my Nurse Practitioner and, without any judgment on his end regarding my frequent condomless sex practices, he said, "You would be a great candidate for this medication."

It was covered 100% by my insurance, and Gilead also offers co-pay assistance programs to cover the co-pay of the medication if you are prescribed it, so I literally paid $0 for this potentially pricey preventative.

I had zero side effects during the year I took it, and it gave me peace of mind. I was very open about my condomless sex practices with many multiple partners and, along with seropositioning, I believe it has contributed to helping to keep me HIV negative.

I think stigmatizing anything in our community is not the way to go, so PrEP should be just another option out there to help negative guys stay negative. It's also important to get regular (every 6 mos-1yr) kidney function tests to make sure it's not doing long term damage to your kids, as well as bone density tests and evaluations.

After taking PrEP for one year, I found the love of my life and decided to give monogamy a try. I stopped PrEP after just one year of daily adherence (I really never missed a dose! Every morning.)

It's always important to re-evaluate where you are at in your sexual life. If PrEP makes sense, talk to your provider and get on it! If it doesn't make sense to be taking a daily anti-viral medication that could have long term effects on other body systems, reassess and move on. I have found that honesty and communication are the best policies in any relationship: be it with my provider, my friends, or my primary lover.