Question
I am taking PEP, can I have uprotected sex?
14 February 2012. Related: All topics, PEP/PEPSE.
I’ve been taking lamzid for 5 days now and I want to find out how this will
affect my pregnant partner when we have unprotected sex?
I am taking lamzid because I slept with someone without a condom and I felt
very unsafe so I went to the doctor within 72 hours and he prescribed lamzid for me.
My pregnant partner is only 7weeks pregnant will this harm our baby?
Answer
There is no data on whether PEP can harm the unborn baby. However, unprotected sex whilst you are taking PEP is not recommended. This is because you don’t know your status and you could infect your partner. That is why it is important to wait until you finish the course and have done the follow-up confirmatory test.
For more information on PEP and the risks of sexual transmission, please follow this link to our guide.
Best wishes
Hi Pinky, PEP does not have an affect on your menstrual cycle.
Hello I started pep on Monday this is my second day.my periods were supposed to be on dt day but have seen them.am so worried could it be like pep affects the menstrual cycle.thank you
Hi Abdul, while you are on PEP, it acts as PrEP. This means you are not at risk of further HIV exposure while taking PEP. How long have you been on PEP?
Hi, my wife tested HIV + on that very day i started to take PEP, and her started to take ART, but after some days, we had unprotected sex, so after 28day, i again took another PEP, so was asking is it possible to get HIV when am still on PEP.
Hi Mike, after 18 days PEP will be suppressing HIV – if any. You need to continue taking your PEP for the rest of the course. There is very little to no risk to your wife and baby – there is no need for them to be on PEP.
I had sex with an infected person..i started to take PEP after 12hrs..i took them for 19days and then made love with my wife who is pregnant without protection..i am afraid of my status coz if told her i wear protection she could have brought issues and ask why yet am his wife..what should i do or i assume the 18days PEP have worked?
Hi Samuel, please see this previous question: https://i-base.info/qa/19967
I had sex with a known HIV+ person n there was bruises on my P. After 8 hrs of exposure I started on TDF/3TC/DTG n it’s now 4 days ion PEP. Can I still infect my spouse?
Hi John, as you have started so soon, PEP is most likely to work. Within 48 hours PEP is ~80% likely to be effective. It is likely to be more so the earlier you take it – it is difficult to be sure of exact effectiveness because of how difficult this is to study.
Depending on what test you take, if you use a 4th generation antigen/antibody test it will be accurate at 6 weeks post PEP. No further testing would be required. Taking tests earlier is similar to when people test just after an exposure. PEP stops the body having it’s normal reaction to HIV and this reaction is what tests can detect. Earlier testing is hopeful for being negative, but they are accurate if the test reads positive.
Taking PEP the same time everyday is best practise. But 30 minutes either side of your regular time is not going to change how effective PEP is. Taking it at the same day requires a routine. It helps preventing being 2 hours late, or less strict with what time you take it. You need PEP to be at a constant level within your body to work.
Hi, i started to took pep after 10 hours or exposure risk. I wanted to know success rate of pep on this case? My doctor told me it is very rare to get positive if i take pep.
My doctor told me i have to test twice once after finishing the pep and then after 8 weeks. How common is getting different results between these tests?
Also do i have to take pep everyday exact same time? Or is it fine if it delays a little bit? Like an 30-60 minutes?