Dylan Jones lays out the basics of taking PEP, and recounts his own experiences on it.
Now, I know I’m not the first gay to write about PEP, by any stretch of the imagination. It’s one of the issues-du-jour in the gay media at the moment, like chemsex, or femme-shaming, or Tom Daley’s arse.
The reason I’ve chosen to write about PEP is because I feel like a surprising amount of people still don’t have the best idea of what it entails. Even a lot of my mates, mostly well-versed, clever, urban, sexually active gay men, don’t know all the details. There’s also a lot of fear and confusion tied in with it. SO, I thought it’d be good to lay things out in a casual, honest and hopefully accessible way. So here we are!
A few months ago I put myself in a very dangerous situation. I won’t go into explicit detail. Let’s just say it was like EricVideos. But with extra class A’s.
It was silly, especially since I’m so involved in the gay scene, know all about things like HIV transmission rates, risks involved in unprotected sex, etc. Even then though, as we all know, in certain circumstances and/or under certain influences, bad choices can be made. And that’s that. So, the morning after (well, 36 hours later, to be precise), I put on a pair of sunglasses, wiped my nose, and dragged myself to the clinic to get PEP.
Firstly, let me patronise you all by assuming you know nothing about it. The aim of this is to put across information in a simple way, so that’s what I’ll do.
PEP is a treatment which reduces the risk of becoming infected with HIV if you’ve recently been exposed to it. It needs to be taken within 72 hours of exposure. The sooner after exposure you take it, the more effective it is. It is not 100% effective. According to GMFA, its effectiveness is around 80%. It involves taking three tablets a day; a blue one (Truvada) and a pink one (Retonovir) and then another pink one twelve hours later. This needs to be done for 28 days.
“I had absolutely zero side effects, apart from some insanely psychede lic dreams (which may have just been a coincidence, I’d been watching a lot of Studio Ghibli that month).”
They say it’s very important to get the timings right and take every dose. Whilst I did take every dose, I got the timings a few hours off a few times, mainly because I woke up on the other side of London from where my pills were. One of the first pieces of advice I’d give to someone on PEP is: take those pills EVERYWHERE with you, so you don’t get caught out and have to rush home. And if you’re forgetful like me, set a reminder on your phone so you take them bang on the twelve hours.
Now, side effects. They’re powerful drugs, and possible side effects can include diarrhoea, nausea, headaches and fatigue.
I had absolutely zero side effects, apart from some insanely psychedelic dreams (which may have just been a coincidence, I’d been watching a lot of Studio Ghibli that month). Apparently though, it can be different depending on the person, and factors like stress and how powerful their immune system is can affect it too. Although, the doctor told me they’ve massively improved the drugs in recent months, and most people report little to no side-effects. A friend took it around the same time as me, and said he had zero side effects apart from a couple of slightly inconvenient bowel movements.
One thing I did experience was interesting effects with alcohol. They advise you not to drink heavily on it, and I broke that rule a couple of times. I mean come on, a month is a VERY long time to not have a night out. Especially for me. I’ve been out every night since 2010. I found that I was fine for the first few drinks, but then on the fifth or sixth, around midnight, it would hit me like a tonne of bricks and I’d become a slurring mess and have to be taken home. So my advice is, TRY not to drink on it. A couple of glasses of wine is ok. Oh and don’t do drugs on it, obvs.
Anyway, I know that for many people, the main deterrent of taking PEP is the horror stories they’ve heard about side effects. SO I thought it was important to tell you, it’s really not that bad! Take note!
Getting hold of it is way easier than people think too. Just go into your local clinic, tell them you need PEP, and they give it to you no questions asked. Usually with a fast-track appointment. If the clinic isn’t open, you SHOULD be able to get it at A&E at any hospital, although this isn’t ideal, as the staff are likely to be less versed on it. From what I’ve heard there might be a few funny looks and a small dose of passive-aggressive homophobia.
When I went into my local clinic in Camberwell, the staff were wonderful. The doctor could tell I was a little ashamed of myself, and told me I shouldn’t be, saying “It’s the ones who DON’T come to get PEP that should be embarrassed.”
She makes a valid point. Whilst HIV stigma and shaming guys who are positive should certainly be a thing of the past, becoming HIV positive is undeniably still best avoided if it can be. Friends who are positive tell me that apart from anything else, it’s just fucking irritating. Remembering to take pills constantly, randomly vomiting, not being able to get out of bed sometimes, getting collapsed on by non-educated relatives who think they’re going to die. Just annoying.
If you ever find yourself in a situation like this in the future, even where there’s the smallest chance that PEP might be prudent, absolutely 100% TAKE IT. We’re lucky enough to live in a country where it’s free and readily available, so we need to take advantage of that. It’s not that scary, it’s totally worth it, and if you don’t take it, you might end up kicking yourself.
