Question
Does PEP have side effects?
5 February 2018. Related: All topics, PEP/PEPSE, Side effects.
Hello,
I am confused with PEP treatment, specifically about the side effects.
From sexual health charities I hear that PEP treatment can cause occasional side effects which may or may not go over the 28 days treatment. Another one (THT) says that the side effects are extreme and about 1 in 5 people on PEP stop taking it as a result.
The sexual health nurse said that side effects on PEP are very common and are severe.
I’ve heard from 3 people who have had PEP and they said that they didn’t get any side effects.
What’s the official line on PEP and side effects? I thought that PEP usually uses recommended triple therapy, using drugs that are well tolerated. Is the conflicting information I am receiving due to outdated data or current data?
Thank you for any clarity you provide.
Answer
All meds have some risk of side effects, but for PEP this risk is usually low. If side effects do occur, they are usually mild.
This depends on the meds used in the PEP combination.
In the UK in 2018, the PEP combination is usually raltegravir plus a combined pill with tenofovir DF/emtricitabine, which generally causes very few side effects, if any.
Even general side effects like nausea, diarrhoea and tiredness are not experienced by most people.
If mild side effects occur, they usually get easier after the first week or two as your body adjusts.
PEP that contains a drug called efavirenz is not recommended in the UK, though is used in some countries where there is less choice for HIV drugs. Efavirenz has a higher risk of side effects including mood changes and vivid dreams.
Discontinuation rates for PEP are often not very good. Studies of health workers who are exposed with a needle-stick injury report many people stop before the full month of treatment.
Note: This answer was updated in February 2018 from a question first posted online in June 2009.
Hi Nigel, pls contact your doctor is you are worried about symptoms. These will not be side effects of PEP or HIV.
I had unprotected sex with an individual and the condom broke . I immediately started PEP the next day and have completed the 28 day course. Do side effects continue 3 days after completion of the course . I’m having headache and painful groin? What could this be?
Hi Jo, there is no risk for HIV transmission from this exposure. For this to even have a minimal chance of exposure your burn would need to have caused an open wound. Simply having a burn is not going to put you at risk. Also, as the sex was protected and you had only touched the condom this risk is almost 0.
The symptoms you are experiencing are going to be caused by another infection. These symptoms can also be worse with stress. Please follow this link for more information about testing and transmission: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
Hello,
This is jo here, one week before i had protected sex with a girl and i wasn’t sure if she was hiv positive or negative. While removing my condom i used bare hand to remove it and i had a skin burn on my middle finger. I had touched the condom however she used few tissues to remove it and cleaned with a fresh new tissue. After sometime I developed sore throat and was really worried and on the 3rd I consulted a doc and he put me pep medication. I got a sinus infection while pep and taking other medicine for sinus. Is this means virus is multiplying and am I getting infected?
Hi Dirk, I am sorry to hear that you have not had good experiences with PEP in the past. However in general PEP is very well tolerated and only a small percentage of people feel the ‘heavier’ side effects. PEP is often a combination of HIV medication that people use to manage HIV. In this sense these people are not experiencing ‘heavy’ side effects and are able to lead relatively normal lives.
The effects you experience will also be determined on the combination of PEP you used. Older combinations often exhibited ‘heavier’ side effects in comparison to combinations that are now used. The access to which you have is largely based on your location and how your local healthcare system operates.
Fatigue is unfortunately the most common side effect. 37% of people stating they have experiences this. Though this does not account for how severe the fatigue and what combination of medication they were using. Breathing problems are not a side effect that have been associated with taking PEP. It is possible this was caused by other reasons e.g., allergy or anxiety.
As you have mentioned, it is often bette to tolerate the 28 days of PEP to help protect your health, however if you are experiencing such heavy side effects this should be discussed with your doctor as there may be other causes. Or in fact other options may be available to you. Eating healthy should encompass all require vitamins and minerals, this should be done irrespective of taking PEP to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Supplements have no scientific grounding for ‘detox’, your body is able to do this itself using the liver.
Those who say that pep usually has mild side effects are completely wrong, probably this is the narrative that the pharmaceutical industry is spreading.
Pep is extremely heavy medication. I am on it since 18 days and I am extremely tired from it, I feel stoned, high, sleep bad, have nightmares, muscle aches. I will continue treatment because I rather take it one month than having the change to have hiv and will have to take it rest of my life.
All people I know whom took pep or are taking hiv medication have or had severe side effects (as a gay man and my ex partner working in hiv protection I have met many positive people so I know what I talk about) Most of them extreme tiredness. So if you are on pep and have side effects be sure it’s because of the medication and not because you have hiv.
I also read somewhere that someone had breathing problems on pep and got a reply that this is not a side effect of pep, also this is a lie because in rare cases this also can be a side effect..
Its 28 days of living hell for many people. So stick with it, better 28 days hell then lifetime hiv and need of medication.
After pep take loads if spirulina or chlorella to detox your body. Eat healthy, take vitamins and minerals.
Good luck and much strength to all of you.
Greetings from Belgium.
Hi Santos, TLD is a combination medication containing two of the active ingredients that is used in PEP, Tenofovir and Lamivudine. Starting PEP within 72 hours will offer the best success. Now that you have finished the course you can be tested in 6 weeks. TLD does not often have side effects but can cause poor sleep and mood changes.
I commences PEP, about four weeks now and I did had abdominal dreams, and rashes coming out from my face the first I started, week two I had itching almost all my body parts but not from the rash. up till week four I am still seeing rashes coming out from my body. ARV used is TLD 300mg:300mg:50mg
Hi Erickson,
There’s no risk, there’s no risk because the woman who you had sex with has an undetectable viral load, please see here: https://i-base.info/u-equals-u/
please help me. I had a protected vaginal sex with an infected woman whose viral load was undetectable. The condom broke and I withdrew immediately I took a home test with her and the result was negative although she had been on treatment for long. Is it true that long term treatment may decrease antibodies to detect hiv on people who are on treatment? I believed that was a false negative. I then had pep in two days and after one week, I experienced sore throat , oral sores, and severe muslce pain. Could this be HIV related or not?