Truvada as a drug has been designed to target, young women at the adolescent stage, homosexual men who have sex with their fellow men, sex workers and individuals in the health profession. Prep medication is administered to HIV negative patients (Celum, n.p). Prep is designed to function as an additional form of medication that can be used while implementing other forms of preventive measures. In most cases, individual wonder what Prep is? Prep is an abbreviation for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. Taking Prep helps in protecting oneself from HIV-1. Taking Prep daily while using other preventive methods to include safer sex practices such as the utilization of condoms and lubes while ensuring proactive communication between partners helps in reducing the chances of contracting HIV-1. It is also important to consider getting tested regularly for HIV and various sexually transmitted infections while communicating with your healthcare provider with a focus on learning about factors and practices that can increase your chances of contracting HIV. Truvada pill is taken once each day and under no circumstances should the pill be taken after sex as a form of “morning-after pill”. One is required to confirm their HIV status with their healthcare provider before taking the Truvada since it is medically designed for HIV negative individuals. It is important to note that one is not allowed to take Truvada with a focus on reducing their chances of contracting HIV-1 unless it is confirmed by a doctor that you are HIV-negative. For Truvada to work effectively it is advisable to get tested once in a span of three months to be certain of one’s HIV status while continuing with Truvada.
As mentioned earlier Truvada combined with safe sex practices reduces the risk of contracting HIV-1. Precautions for taking Truvada include, one must weigh 77 pounds and above, the individual must be HIV-negative but has a high chance of contracting HIV-1 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.p) A clinical trial that was conducted on the medication revealed that HIV- negative men and transgender women who are regularly involved in sexual activities with men are at a high risk of contracting HIV-1. The study also provided insight and proved that when Truvada is used while maintaining safe sex practices it is very much possible to reduce the chances of contracting HIV in male-female relationships while one partner is HIV-positive. The chances of Truvada protecting an individual from contracting HIV-I are higher compared to taking a placebo (sugar pill).
Just like any other medication, Truvada is accompanied by some common side effects to includes severe headaches, abdominal pain, and weight loss. When the side effects persist, it is important to notify one’s healthcare provider. The rare and most alarming side effects of Truvada include kidney infections which in most severe cases lead to kidney failure. In the case of kidney problems, it is important for one’s healthcare provider to conduct blood and urine tests to identify any kidney problem that can hinder the administration of Truvada. The doctor should request patients to terminate the use of Truvada after detecting kidney problems that could be as a result of Truvada (Mascolin, n.p), Scientific medical-related research has also established that overconcentration of lactic acid in the bloodstream is a serious and rare medical condition that can be caused by the intake of Truvada and in severe cases can lead to death. One should notify his/her doctor right away if the following side effects occur; weakness, unusual and persistent muscle pain, shortness of breath that is accompanied by fast breathing thus causing abnormal heartbeats, abdominal pain that is subsequently followed by nausea and vomiting, dizziness and liver problems (Ng, et al., n,p). Truvada is also known to cause bone associated problems inclusive of bone pains and softening that can lead to bone fractures.
It is advisable to notify a healthcare provider when one suspects that they have contracted HIV-1, after the contraction of HIV one will need more medicine to accompany the Truvada in order to treat HIV-I (Ng et al., n.p). Taking only Truvada makes the process of treating HIV-1 only harder. To clear things I a glad to inform you that as people seem to now understand that people who are HIV-1 positive and are undetectable have less than a 98 percent chance of passing HIV-1. You do not have to be afraid as HIV-1 is not a death sentence. You can live a long and heaty life, have kids, be married and be yourself. I can relate to HIV-1 as it’s been my best friend for 6 years, I have had one child while having HIV-1. My partner does not take Truvada by choice and doesn’t have HIV-1. Get tested and stay safe it’s not just a homosexual thing.
Works Cited
Celum, Connie L., et al. "HIV pre‐exposure prophylaxis for adolescent girls and young women in Africa: from efficacy trials to delivery." Journal of the International AIDS Society 22 (2019): e25298.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Preexposure prophylaxis for the prevention of HIV infection in the United States-2017 Update: a clinical practice guideline. 2017." (2019).
Mascolin, Mark. “Weighing Risks of TDF/FTC PrEP Side Effects in People Without HIV”. 2012. Retrieved from; https://www.thebodypro.com/article/weighing-risks-of-tdfftc-prep- side-effects-in-peop
Men, Heterosexual. "Effectiveness of Prevention Strategies to Reduce the Risk of Acquiring or Transmitting HIV." (2015).
Ng, Yeow Chye, Angela Caires, and Jack Mayeux. "Message from an urgent care PrEP provider for health care professionals." Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care 29.1 (2018): 130-132.
Ng, Yeow Chye, Jack J. Mayeux, and Thuy Lynch. "Initiating PrEP Services in Urgent Care."
