Day 57 Checking in

Welcome back everyone. It's been a while since I've last posted so I thought I'd check in with you all. I'm doing great as far as my PrEP experience is going. There have been zero side effects to report and I just cannot express how much more at ease life seems to be without that ever present fear of infection hovering over my life. I have my first post-PrEP HIV test coming up here in a few weeks, but i feel it will be the least stressful test I have ever had.

I'm excited also to say that I am now a published writer. I have an essay about Let's Talk About PrEP in this month's A & U Magazine! You can check it out at aumag.com. It's a short little essay but it's great to continue to get the word out about PrEP. Word of mouth is going to be one of the biggest ways to get people informed about the opportunity that is available.

One last thing, I received a message from a friend of mine from college, Ellen, who wrote me, "Hi Phil! I've been loving your PrEP blogs and I was catching up on them today and wanted to pass on some info that some of your readers might appreciate. Having worked in a hospital/clinic setting as a social worker I've helped a number of families access the prescription assistance programs available through the various pharmaceutical companies and have run into issues at times based on where a patient is going for care. Not all clinics are willing to assist their patients in the prescription assistance programs because the medication is almost always sent to the clinic (as yours is). Not all clinics are willing to have the meds sent to them to distribute. This can be a big barrier for folks who are trying to use these programs." This once again makes me so grateful to have the great care that I am receiving. I really do encourage anyone looking into PrEP to do some research in finding out if your clinic is willing to work with you to get medicated.  If they are not willing to work with you, it might be time to make a switch. This is great feedback Ellen, thanks. 

Well that's all I really have for right now. As always, I welcome any feedback, questions, or comments. Is there anything you are curious about that I might be able to shed some light on? Is there information that you think other readers would be interested in hearing? Please let me know. I want this blog to be an open forum for everyone. Thanks again for reading!

Day 4: Holy Hangover Batman

Ok, so I admit it, at times I forget that my frat boy, college days are well behind me. I'm not that same boy who would drink Jack Daniels just as easily as water (and did it on a fairly regular basis). But there are nights I still like to go out and have a few drinks and at least reminisce about the glory days at Hugh's Jungle Room (a biker/karaoke bar in Des Moines). Last night was one of those nights. I was out having a drink... or several drinks... and enjoying some local drag. I brought my TRUVADA with me since I have begun to take it at 10:30 at night and want to remain consistent with that choice. At 10:30 I took the medication and carried on with the rest of my night, not thinking too much of it since I read every piece of information that came with my medication, and nowhere in any of the information did I see any warning about interaction with alcohol.

Then this morning hit and so did my hangover! I have had hangovers before, oddly they have become more prevalent as I get older... But I digress, NEVER have I experienced a hangover like this. And I thought I was being good last night, comparatively. What I failed to take into account is that my liver is already working overtime now that I have started taking PrEP, and I just demanded even more of it last night. My body was not pleased with me. While there wasn't really an interaction with the alcohol, there was more to consider every time I said "yes" to a shot that I didn't even think about.

So here I am, in bed still, at 3:45 in the afternoon nursing this awful hangover, and realizing I might need to take it a bit easier. I'm asking a lot of my body already, I don't need to be that much harder on it. Live and learn, and now I know. And in the heroic words of G.I. Joe, "Knowing's half the battle." Thanks for taking the time to read. I've got some more posts on tap, but I though this was also something worth sharing. Feel free to follow me and share this with anyone you think would be interested. Also please feel free to add a comment below. What would you like to see me write about? Have you had similar experiences? Any questions or comments are very welcome.