As you know, John is a bisexual male. For some reason, bisexual men are less visible in the media and, in some places, less socially accepted than bisexual women, so I’m gonna give ’em the spotlight all to themselves today.
Since bisexual men engage in sexual acts with other men, there some additional considerations that should be given in regards to health.
Today I wanted to talk about PrEP.
What is PrEP?
PrEP stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, which probably doesn’t make things much clearer, does it? 😂 What this means in regular words is basically this:
PrEP is a medication for HIV negative people who may be at risk for exposure to HIV.
Did you realize that currently in the United States 1.1 million people are living with HIV?
Then don’t be shocked when I tell you this…
1 in 7 of those people have no idea they are infected!
That is why PrEP is such a vitally important tool in the fight against the transmission of HIV.
What is Available?
Two FDA-approved daily use oral medications exist in the marketplace currently: Truvada (FDA approved in 2012) and Descovy (FDA approved in 2019). Both are 99% effective at stopping the transmission of HIV.
At this time, Descovy has been tested on Cis- and Transgendered men. On the other hand, Truvada is approved for use by all genders. Let’s hope Descovy follows suit, right?! 🤞
To take PrEP, you are also required to take quarterly lab tests to ensure you are still HIV negative (and to test for other STDs, which, if you’re sexually active with multiple partners, you should be doing on the regular anyways. 😉 )
Sounds kind of expensive, though, right? Well, in 2021, thanks to the Affordable Healthcare Act, most healthcare plans now cover PrEP!
However, we do realize that not all of y’all have healthcare out there! For you, there are many programs out there that will assist, or completely cover, the cost of PrEP. A good place to start is “Ready, Set, PrEP” or to simply google “Free Prep Medication Near Me.”
Now, of course not all pills are miracles pills (although these are pretty close) so there are some side effects. However, I’m happy to report that its only in a small portion of patients and they tend to be on the minor side. Descovy has reported less long-term side effects than Truvada. These include some kidney and bone-related problems.
You can learn more about PrEP (including some exciting news about a long term injectable!) and why it’s so important by watching the video below that John made for Fairvilla University!
Wanna sign up for one of our classes at FU? Click here!
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