We all know that, if you have HIV, you need to go to your health care provider visits and take the drugs he or she prescribes for you. But what about PrEP? What do you need to know about it?
If you do not have HIV, you can help yourself stay HIV-free by taking PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis). You can find out more about PrEP by talking to your health care providers and other health educators near you.
Have you seen any ads on TV that say these drugs may be bad for you? These ads say that PrEP may make your bones weak, or may hurt your liver, or give you kidney problems. These ads may tell you that you can sue the people that make PrEP – and get a lot of money if your lawyer wins your case against the company.
A few law firms have put these ads up to get business. They want you to say in writing that taking PrEP has hurt you. But you do not need a lawyer to find out if PrEP is safe for you to use. That is what your health care provider does every time you go in for a check-up.
It is true that, for some people, taking PrEP is not safe. Many people have some nausea (get sick to your stomach) when they start taking PrEP. For most people, that goes away in a few days. After that, most people feel fine on PrEP and it is safe for them. But they must still get tested every three months to see if they have any hidden problems.
When you start on PrEP, your health care provider does an HIV test, other blood tests, and examines you to see if there is any reason why PrEP might not be good for you. If you have weak bones, liver or kidney problems, or other health issues linked to PrEP, they may not prescribe it to you.
You have to come back every 3 months to be checked again to see if anything has changed. If they see any signs of PrEP hurting your body, they will not prescribe it to you. All of the information they have from your check-ups are in your medical files. You can get a copy of these files just by asking for them.
So, you really do not need lawyers to help you figure out if PrEP is hurting your body. All you need to do is talk to your health care provider to get that information.