Side effects? What side effects? Exactly! I am feeling chirpy and normal. What was all the fuss about? PEP Medication has had almost no side effects on me. I hope the same happens to you. As I have already said, Pre-2017, PEP medication side effects sounded brutal! Almost guaranteed diarrhea, nausea, and headaches on most days over the course of the 30 days you need to take the meds. In 2017, the two pill a day cocktail you now have to take, reportedly, has the same symptoms, but to a far lesser extent. I say reportedly because I write this now on day 15 of the medication. This blog constitutes my daily diary as I go through the 30 days of PEP treatment. I expect different people will have different reactions/ experience different side effects, so, to help you gauge how similar yours might be to mine, I will tell you about me. I’m 182cm tall, and white European (52% English, 46% Spanish, 2% Sicilian) according to recent DNA test results. I have no allergies, never had any STI/ STDs before, I’m fit and healthy, 29 years old, weigh 79kg, and am uncircumcised. Apparently having that bit of extra fleshy penis protection still attached equates to having a large mucosal surface membrane through which the HIV transfer could occur. Not that I would trade my foreskin for the world!

HIV PEP – two-drug PEP Regimen:

“The main arguments in favor of a two-drug PEP regimen have been improved tolerance and simplicity, which positively correlated with improved medical adherence and likelihood of completing the prescribed regimen,” Kenneth Mayer, MD, of Fenway Health and his colleagues wrote.