T-Minus NOTHING!

[T-Minus 0. ZERO!]

Cheers, friends!

So, in many ways this post is long overdue; I even considered splitting it into parts briefly. A lot has happened since my last post!

Alright, so last week I snagged a Gilead copay assistance card (you have to get one and activate it beforehand, so that when you go to pick up your script, they can apply the additional assistance). Of course, I promptly forgot that I took one, and so it lived in my bag, totally inactivated, until yesterday. Yeah, I'm a horrible procrastinator. 

SO, yesterday I pulled it out and finally called. The process was super easy - a series of automated menus, and a few prompts for my name and phone number, and then it was active. Easy! The whole process took me about 7 minutes. I'm so glad I did it, too - but I'll get to why in a second. There's one really important thing to know about the copay assistance program: it is not available for people on Medicaid/Medicare, or anyone receiving any sort of state or federal assistance (such as participating in a state-run Drug Assistance Program). Gilead's program is specifically designed to make their medications accessible for those who can't get other assistance - those without insurance, those whose insurance doesn't cover Truvada (or does, but at an extremely high copay, as mine does), and so on. Make sure that you know all of your options for assistance before you plan to start filling scripts - there is no reason that any person should not be able to get Truvada for PrEP (or for HIV treatment) because of cost. Period.

Okay, so copay assistance card, check. That done, I went to my follow-up appointment with my doctor yesterday afternoon. I'd already gotten the results of my initial labs (an HIV test and liver and kidney function panels), which all looked good (no HIV, liver and kidneys doin' their thing), but in order to get on PrEP, standard practice is to perform a follow-up (confirmatory) HIV test. They took some blood, and I headed home; my PCP had explained that he should have the results the next morning, and that if they were clear, then he'd call in the prescription. 

This afternoon, I got a text from my pharmacy that I had a prescription waiting. When I got off of work, I ran over and picked up my prescription (copay card in hand). Remember I mentioned that I was really glad I'd activated that card? Well, the reason why: my prescription was free. Yep, totally free... after insurance and the copay assistance, I walked out the door with a month's supply of HIV prevention with as much little money as I had when I walked in.

Not everyone is going to get their meds for free - even the best insurance and discount programs have some limits. I have decent insurance, so my copay was high, but still low enough to be completely covered by the copay card. Still, given the variety of programs available, there are options to make Truvada affordable for virtually anyone.

Well, so there it is! I took my first dose tonight with a glass of chocolate milk (Truvada can cause nausea for some, so many people recommend taking it with food). Over the next several days, I'll update y'all about my experience beginning to take PrEP, especially any side-effects.

Cheers, folks!