Who’s scared of a little needle?
Me! Lol. Seriously, I hate needles as do so many others who I know. But if you plan on being on any type or preventative or anti-retroviral treatment (ART), needles will be a part of the norm.
As we move into an era of the virus where treatment as prevention (TasP) is becoming so routine, we must make sure that proper education is getting out there to those who have never made going to the doctor a normal part of their health practices.
With PrEP and ART, there are a lot of upsides and promises that will create a new stage of the epidemic where being newly-diagnosed is a rarity and the life expectancy of those living with the virus is equal to those who are not. However, this does come at a cost, as well as with some invasion of privacy and personal space. The problem is that not enough of us who go through this actually talk about what it looks like and feels like to go to the doctor regularly when on treatment.
Now with PrEP, things are a little bit different in the beginning stages of treatment. Your blood will be drawn to conduct your first labs to check kidney function and various other health functions to ensure that you can take PrEP. The first doctor visit is also used to determine if you are “eligible” for PrEP based on your sexual history and various current risk factors. This litmus test of eligibility has changed over the years as doctors work to make it easier to prescribe PrEP to anyone who is sexually active and healthy enough to be on the medication. There are also programs available through various pharmaceutical programs that cover the co-pay of the drug as the movement to having everyone who is HIV-negative and “high-risk” be on preventative treatment.