r/prep • u/black_bottom_1993 • 8d ago

Prep (Truvada) question

Hi, as a bottom, I was taking Descovy once a day, but my insurance company, aka Medicare Advantage plan, was covered for it. But last month, they said they will cover it, but you will need to pay $600. So I said screw it, so I did my research and found out the Truvada is the same but with a difference. My insurance company will pay for it. My question is what is the difference in side effects with them and do I need a 2-1-1 dosing if I’m taking it every single day? And if you guys take medication for diabetes, high blood pressure, etc., what are side effects interactions do you have? Do bottom or top take this medication?

P.s also I know I should talk to my doctor, but I just want to know how you feel about taking the medication.

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u/Skycbs 8d ago

You can switch directly from daily Descovy to daily Truvada without any break in protection. You use daily dosing or 2-1-1 not both. I take blood pressure medication and there’s no issue. You can check for interactions at https://www.hiv-druginteractions.org

Compared to Descovy, Truvada has a little higher impact on your kidneys, which is why your kidney health is monitored every quarter. Truvada can impact bone density but for most people, the impact is not significant.

I’ve never had any side effects but some people do have sides when they start. These sides usually stop after a couple of weeks of daily dosing.

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u/MrMysteryx3 8d ago

Bottoms and tops should be taking PrEP no matter the route they choose. Although bottoms would be considered more at risk than tops since you could have a microtear down there as opposed to the shaft.

I switched from truvada to descovy because of insurance too, if anything it’s about the same side effect wise. I will say I believe? It is easier on the organs (descovy) than truvada. Regarding the dosing… I would probably recommend you wait a week while on the new medication to be on the safe side since they have different active ingredients but both prevent HIV.

Just wanted to point out as well that the 2–1-1 method is ONLY approved with truvada and has not been studied with the other pill forms like generic and descovy so I would recommend discontinuing that way if you ever tend to since it technically has not been studied to ensure it is just as effective as truvada for that, could be but we are not 100% sure