Daily oral PrEP
with Descovy®
- Use once every day.
- Sex without planning.
- Daily pill. May be more expensive than Truvada®. Not for vaginal/front hole sex.
A pill you take once a day to prevent HIV.
If you take the pill every day, it works extremely well.
It’s greater than 99% effective when used daily.
Everyone except people having receptive vaginal/front hole sex.
Every day. Once a day.
You can remember to take the pill every day.
Sort of. It’s not advised to miss a dose, but things happen and missing a dose here and there is okay.
There are a few side effects.
Headaches, diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, and abdominal pain are common. They go away after a couple of weeks. You could also experience an increase in cholesterol or blood pressure.
No need to plan sex around pill taking.
It’s likely more expensive than the generic form of daily Truvada®.
It will depend on your insurance. Without insurance or patient assistance programs, it costs about $2300/month.
If you want PrEP as a pill, it’s slightly better for your kidneys and bones than Truvada®.
The pill is also smaller than Truvada®.
If you already have a strong daily vitamin or medicine routine, you can add Descovy to it.
Alcohol and other drugs do not affect PrEP. Learn more.
You can’t use it for receptive vaginal/front hole sex.
You can’t use it for on-demand PrEP.
It can cause you to gain a small amount of weight.
It’s a daily pill.
To say protected, you can’t forget it a lot.
As a daily pill, it can be less private than a shot.
Descovy® doesn’t affect hormone levels. There is no known effect of hormones on how well PrEP works.
Taking testosterone may reduce PrEP levels in the cervix for trans men. But, we don’t know if it works for front-hole sex, so it shouldn’t be used for this. Neither estradiol nor testosterone appear to change PrEP levels in the rectum.
Descovy® stops HIV from reproducing. So, it can’t infect you.
