&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #999999;&quot;&gt;Written by &lt;span style=&quot;color: #3366ff;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://cms.pulse-clinic.com/pulseteam/2&quot;&gt;Dr.Deyn Natthakhet Yaemim (Founding Director)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt; &lt;/span&gt;on 6 June 2016, Last updated 9 March 2021 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pre-PrEP checklist: How can I get PrEP at PULSE Clinic?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Do you already have the prescription?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;If you already have a prescription for PrEP, you can show us your prescription and buy the medication.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If not, do you have health check-up results from the last 3 months?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If you already have one&lt;/strong&gt;, you can get a 12-month supply at PULSE.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If you do not&lt;/strong&gt; have recent health check-up results, you can get tested at PULSE and receive a 12-month supply of PrEP.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;You can also get fewer than 12 bottles and have the rest delivered to your door.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h1&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WHAT IS PrEP?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;&lt;iframe src=&quot;//www.youtube.com/embed/itm8SvAVK3s&quot; width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;314&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;allowfullscreen&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;PrEP means Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, and it&amp;rsquo;s the use of anti-HIV medication that keeps HIV negative people from becoming infected. PrEP has been shown to be safe and effective. A single pill taken once daily, it is highly effective against HIV when taken every day. The medication interferes with HIV&amp;rsquo;s ability to copy itself in your body if you&amp;rsquo;ve been exposed. This prevents it from establishing an infection and making you sick.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;IS PrEP FOR BOTH TOP AND BOTTOM?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #999999;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ffffff;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Yes&lt;/strong&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;even though there is more risk bottoming, tops can also acquire HIV. Uncircumcised tops have a slightly greater chance again. It&#39;s very true that tops can also&amp;nbsp;experience anxiety about acquiring HIV. Being on PrEP certainly helps with that&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;IS PrEP FOR BOTH MALE AND FEMALE?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #999999;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ffffff;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Yes&lt;/strong&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;PrEP can prevent HIV infection in both male and female.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe src=&quot;//www.youtube.com/embed/CotEE-1uLFk&quot; width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;314&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;allowfullscreen&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SHOULD I CONSIDER TAKING PrEP?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;You should consider PrEP if you are a man or woman who sometimes has sex without using a condom, especially if you have a sex partner who you know has HIV infection, &amp;nbsp;if you don&amp;rsquo;t know whether your partner has HIV infection but you know that your partner is at risk (for example, your partner inject drugs or is having sex with other people in addition to you) or if you have recently been told by a health care provider that you had a sexually transmitted infection. If your partner has HIV infection, PrEP could be an option to help protect you from getting HIV infection while you try to get pregnant, during pregnancy, or while breastfeeding.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;Truvada for PrEP provides 92%-99% reduction in HIV risk for HIV-negative individuals who take the pills every day as directed. If a daily dose is missed, the level of HIV protection may decrease. It only works if you take it. People who use PrEP correctly and consistently have higher levels of protection against HIV.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;HOW EFFECTIVE IS PrEP?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;According to data analysis from the&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ffffff;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/4/151/151ra125&quot;&gt;iPrEx study&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;that found PrEP to be effective:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;For people who take 7 PrEP pills per week, their estimated level of protection is&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;99%&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;For people who take 4 PrEP pills per week, their estimated level of protection is&amp;nbsp;96%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;For people who take 2 PrEP pills per week, their estimated level of protection is&amp;nbsp;76%.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #999999;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about&lt;/span&gt; &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #00ccff;&quot;&gt;99%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; &lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;when taken as prescribed.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #999999;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;Although there is less information about how effective PrEP is among people who inject drugs, we do know that PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV by at least&lt;/span&gt; &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #00ccff;&quot;&gt;74%&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;when taken as prescribed.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WHAT ARE ACTIVE INGREDIENTS OF PrEP?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #999999;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;The world&#39;s first approved&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style=&quot;color: #ffffff;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://cms.pulse-clinic.com/prep&quot;&gt;PrEP&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, &lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;was the one blue pill branded drug&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style=&quot;color: #ffffff;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://cms.pulse-clinic.com/truvada&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Truvada&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;or its generic equivalent made in Thailand such as&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt; &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://cms.pulse-clinic.com/teno-em&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ffffff;&quot;&gt;Teno-Em&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;, made in India such as Ricovir-Em and Tenof-Em. Generics contain the same ingredients as branded drugs and work in the same way.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style=&quot;color: #ffffff;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.pulse-living.com/product/MzA7Vm8=&quot;&gt;Buy PrEP online here.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;Truvada and the generics contain two drugs: Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF), Emtricitabine (FTC)&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;Nowaday, a second pill has been approved for use as PrEP SINCE 2019 &amp;ndash; the branded drug&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ffffff;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://cms.pulse-clinic.com/descovy&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Descovy&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; o&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;r its generic equivalent, they contain:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;Tenofovir Alafenamide (TAF), Emtricitabine (FTC). You can&lt;/span&gt; &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.pulse-living.com/product/Nzc7Vm8=&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ffffff;&quot;&gt;buy generics&amp;nbsp;Descovy&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;when you have prescription.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ARE THERE LONG TERM SIDE EFFECTS FROM TAKING &lt;/strong&gt;PrEP?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #999999;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;PrEP was approved in 2004, so it&amp;rsquo;s been around for more than a decade. Before it was used as PrEP, it was used as treatment for people infected with HIV or exposed to HIV (it contains molecules that are used in HIV drugs). The worst side effects that have been reported are one percent bone mineral density loss and reduced kidney function.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #00ccff;&quot;&gt;Is it safe? Yes.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;To put it into perspective, they can&#39;t tell if it&#39;s any worse than just getting older. People in the USA have been taking it for years. Your doctor will check your liver and kidney function as well as a HIV/STI screening every three months to make sure you&#39;re ok. It&#39;s a normal part of getting your updated script each time. If you are concerned about any effect from taking PrEP, then chat with your doctor.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;BEFORE GETTING PrEP FOR THE FIRST TIME&lt;/strong&gt;?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;PrEP &lt;/strong&gt;is for HIV negative people to take to prevent HIV and keep their status HIV negative. So you have to know for sure you are HIV negative, and that&#39;s by getting tested.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;Taking PrEP long term may cause side effects on kidney function of 3% of PrEP users, so you have to know that your kidney functions is normal by getting tested.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;You also have to get tested for Hepatitis B virus antigen&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;HOW TO TAKE PrEP&lt;/strong&gt;?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #999999;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;There are many ways to take PrEP,&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style=&quot;color: #ffffff;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://cms.pulse-clinic.com/howtotakeprep&quot;&gt;How to take PrEP?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;Once started, you can stop. You can re-start again. You don&#39;t have to take it forever.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WHAT IF I MISSED A DOSE&lt;/strong&gt;?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;Current studies are showing that PrEP works well even if you miss a dose. &amp;nbsp;It was shown that users who took PrEP at least 4 days out of 7 hadn&#39;t acquired HIV. &amp;nbsp;We strongly, and I mean STRONGLY,&amp;nbsp;recommend that you stick to one pill a day though. &amp;nbsp;That gives maximum protection. &amp;nbsp;If you&#39;re not consistent&amp;nbsp;then that&#39;s where you can miscalculate and undo all your good work. So one pill a day keeps everybody&amp;nbsp;happy, secure and safe.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WHO SHOULD TAKE PrEP&lt;/strong&gt;?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;A recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that urges doctors to prescribe a daily pill for &lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #00ccff;&quot;&gt;all people with known risk factors for HIV&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt; could significantly raise awareness about an effective yet little used drug.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;PrEP may be right for you if you test negative for HIV, and any of the following apply to you:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #999999;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;You have had&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #00ccff;&quot;&gt;anal or vaginal sex in the past 6 months&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;and you&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;have a sexual partner with HIV (especially if the partner has an unknown or detectable viral load),&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;have not consistently used a condom, or&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;have been diagnosed with an STD in the past 6 months.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;You&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #00ccff;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;inject drugs&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;and you&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;have an injection partner with HIV, or&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;share needles, syringes, or other equipment to inject drugs (for example, cookers).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #999999;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;You&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ff99cc;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #00ccff;&quot;&gt;have been&amp;nbsp;prescribed&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ffffff;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://cms.pulse-clinic.com/pep&quot;&gt;PEP&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #ffffff;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://cms.pulse-clinic.com/pep&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;(post-exposure prophylaxis)&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;and you&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;report continued risk behavior, or&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #999999;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #99ccff;&quot;&gt;have used multiple courses of&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span style=&quot;color: #ffffff;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://cms.pulse-clinic.com/pep&quot;&gt;PEP&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

PrEP FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions at PULSE Clinic Kuala Lumpur & Penang, Malaysia

WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW

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