Q & As
When taken every day, PrEP lowers the chance of HIV infection from sex by about 99 percent and from injection drug use by at least 74 percent.
Call or text our PrEP Coordinator, Tara, or our PrEP Educator, Derrick, and they will help answer your questions, make sure it will be affordable and connect you to a clinician who prescribes PrEP.
Most insurance companies must cover the required doctor’s visits, lab work, and at least one PrEP medicine at no cost to you. The PrEP team at Stony Brook will connect you to resources if you still have costs or if you don’t have health insurance.
Yes. The PrEP team at Stony Brook Medicine will help you get enrolled in programs that will help pay for PrEP. In New York, PrEP is affordable to just about everyone.
There are two different medicines that can be used for PrEP. You and your doctor would decide which one is right for you. Both medicines are a combination of two antiretroviral medications (ARVs). One of the medicines, Truvada, is a combination of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and emtricitabine (FTC), and was approved by the FDA for HIV prevention in 2012. The other medicine, Descovy, is a combination of tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) and emtricitabine (FTC) and was approved by the FDA for HIV prevention in 2019.
Some people experience side effects, but many don’t. The most common side effects occur in the very beginning of taking PrEP, and usually clear up within a few days to a month. These include upset stomach, diarrhea, headache and weight loss.
Because PrEP is processed through the kidneys, kidney function is monitored while you’re on PrEP. This way, in the unlikely event that PrEP affects your kidney function, you find out early and can decide along with your provider how to proceed. When PrEP is stopped, kidney function is shown to return to normal.
Because PrEP is processed through the kidneys, kidney function is monitored while you’re on PrEP. This way, in the unlikely event that PrEP affects your kidney function, you find out early and can decide along with your provider how to proceed. When PrEP is stopped, kidney function is shown to return to normal.
At this time, PrEP is FDA-approved for daily use only. There is substantial evidence that for some people, PrEP on-demand or 2-1-1 PrEP is very effective. According to the CDC, taking 2 pills 2-24 hours before sex, 1 pill 24 hours after the first dose, and 1 pill 24 hours after the second dose is effective to prevent HIV. For more information, contact Stony Brook’s PrEP team.
In the first three months, you’ll have about three or four doctor’s appointments. After that, you’ll only need to come in once every three months.
PrEP only provides protection against HIV. This means you can still get other STIs, like chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. Condoms would help protect you from these infections.
Any age! Since 2018, as long as you weigh 77 pounds or more, you may be eligible for PrEP.
This is a decision for you to make with your medical provider, but it’s definitely an option.
Contact Stony Brook’s PrEP team at (631) 559-6138 or (631) 644-7828 or visit https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/prep.html