How PrEP Has Changed My Life: Interviews With HIV-Negative People
For many people with HIV-positive partners, PrEP has been a godsend. Available for home delivery through places like Nurx, PrEP stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis and is a once-daily pill that greatly reduces your chances of catching HIV from an infected partner. While there is still some stigma around the use of this drug, many people across the country have used PrEP to gain more freedom in their sex lives, as well as increase closeness with their partners.
But why listen to us when you could hear about the benefits of PrEP from those actually taking it? The following are interviews from people who are on PrEP and loving it.
Jake Sobo
Jake has been on PrEP for over four years and has greatly enjoyed the sexual freedom it provides him. While he’s engaged to an HIV-positive man with whom he is “in a very happy and open relationship,” he “continue[s] to take PrEP — mostly for encounters outside of the relationship.”
While PrEP has changed Jake’s life personally, he also believes it is doing a lot to help reduce stigma in gay culture.
“What is most exciting about PrEP, and treatment as prevention, is that I think we’re tearing down walls between HIV-positive and HIV-negative men in the community. I don’t know if the story has really been told, about the power of PrEP to fight stigma but also build a community that’s not divided in the same way that it once was. You see many more guys online saying they’re poz-friendly. You see more guys being open about being undetectable.”
Bnasage on Reddit
Reddit user bnasage has some great things to say about PrEP. Namely, that “taking it has allowed [him] a new confidence in [his] own health and in [his] ability to protect [his] partner.”
In fact, he goes as far to say that “I have to weigh the pros twice before even acknowledging the cons because of the reality this drug provides for society.”
Damon L. Jacobs
Damon has been on PrEP for over two years, and in that time, he’s experienced no negative health effects. He noted that “[his] kidneys are fine. [His] organs are great. As a matter of fact, at age 42, [he’s] in the best shape of my life.”
So why did his overall health improve since taking PrEP. He attributes it to “[f]eeling protected from HIV… [which] helps me to feel more affirmative sexually. Feeling affirmative sexually gives me more confidence and energy. More confidence and energy leads me to exercise consistently and eat healthier. Exercising more and eating healthier gives me more strength and confidence. Having strength and confidence promotes improved mood, happier relationships, and more satisfaction in my professional life, which all positively impacts my physical health.”
Magneticlove on POZ Community Forums
POZ Community Forums user magneticlove is HIV negative, but her boyfriend is HIV positive with an undetectable viral load. To give herself peace of mind when trying to get pregnant, she decided to try out Truvada.
“Truvada has really been an AWESOME experience for me and has given me so much mental freedom. Not that it was a constant worry, but, you know, it tends to lay in the back of your mind on occasion when you have unprotected sex, EVEN THOUGH there aren’t any cases of transmission with an individual with an undetectable viral load. So, Truvada has REALLY helped me a lot to let go and feel more free.”
As you can see, PrEP has been a valuable tool in many of these people’s lives. If you’d like to try it out for yourself, consider using Nurx. While Nurx might be best known for providing birth control combination pills and patches, they can also deliver your PrEP prescription right to your front door.
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