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PrEP is a medicine that can prevent you getting HIV from unprotected sex. When taken as prescribed, the risk of contracting HIV infection is small. The YourPrEP app can help you do this.
PrEP can be used in two ways
1. Daily
- This schedule will help you take one PrEP pill at the same time every day.
- Note that when you start this intake schedule, you will take two pills on the first day. This means that you will be protected against HIV after just two hours.
- You can also start with one pill. It will then take seven days before you are protected against HIV.
Benefits and disadvantages
This schedule will ensure that you are continuously protected. It is easy to fit the PrEP intake schedule into your daily routine, thereby making it less likely that you forget to take a pill.
2. Before and after sex
For this method, the pills are taken in a fixed schedule when needed before and after sex.
Before sex:
- You take two pills at least two hours before sex.
- You may also take the pills earlier, but no more than 24 hours before sex.
After sex:
- Take one pill 24 hours after sex. Do this at the same time that you took the first pills.
- Take another pill on the day after that, also at the same time.
If you have sex on several days in a row, you will need to take PrEP for several days. You can stop taking the pills after you have taken a pill each day until 48 hours after the last sexual intercourse.
Benefits and disadvantages
The advantage of this dosing method is that you may be able to take fewer pills. A drawback is that your sex life must be predictable to be able to use this dosing method.
This dosing method cannot be used by cis women and trans women with a neovagina
YourPrEP app helps you use PrEP
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The YourPrEP app can help you take PrEP safely and effectively:
- You will receive a reminder when it is time to take your PrEP pill.
- The diary provides information on your PrEP usage and the times at which you were at risk of HIV infection.
- YourPrEP also provides answers to the most frequently asked questions about PrEP.
Download the YourPreP-app
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Side effects of PrEP
You can experience headaches, dizziness, nausea and diarrhoea when you start taking PrEP. This usually only lasts a few weeks. Taking PrEP after a meal can reduce the likelihood of side effects.
PrEP can also affect your kidneys, which is why we check the functioning of your kidneys at every PrEP consultation.
PrEP in combination with alcohol, drugs or medicines
Liquor and drugs do not affect how PrEP works. However, you may experience more side effects. Also be extra careful if drinking or taking drugs makes you vomit within half an hour of taking it, or you forget to take your pill, you may not be sufficiently protected against HIV. In that case, take PrEP again after a meal, or use another prevention strategy, such as a condom.
Other medicines
Always inform your doctor and pharmacist that you are taking PrEP and what other medicines you are taking. They can check for you whether you can use PrEP simultaneously with other medicines. Some rules of thumb are:
- Beware of (long-term) use of painkillers from the group of NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen, diclofenac and naproxen). These increase the risk of kidney problems if you take PrEP. If you need to take NSAIDs for a longer period of time, consult your (family) doctor.
- Taking creatine may affect your kidney function test values. If your kidney function values drop, you may have to (temporarily) stop taking creatine and/or PrEP.
Additional information and contact
What if I forget to take PrEP?
What you need to do if you forget to take your PrEP will depend on the time and your intake schedule.
If you use PrEP daily
- If it is less than 12 hours after you usually take PrEP, you should take a pill as soon as possible.
- If you are more than 12 hours too late, skip the dose you missed and take the next scheduled dose as normal. You don’t then need to take two pills. Forgetting one pill in your daily intake schedule will not have an effect on your protection.
- If you forget to take more than 1 pill, you may not be adequately protected against HIV. In this case, we advise you to contact your doctor.
If you use PrEP before and after sex
- Forgot to take your pills before sex:
- If you forgot to take one or two pills before sex, you will not be protected against HIV.
- If you did take two pills, but had sex less than two hours after taking the pills, you will not be protected against HIV.
- Forgot to take your pills after sex:
- If it is less than 12 hours after you usually take PrEP, you should take a pill as soon as possible.
- If you are more than 12 hours too late, or you forgot to take your PrEP on both days, you will not be protected against HIV.
If you are not protected against HIV and you had anal sex without a condom with someone whose HIV status you don’t know, or with someone who is HIV positive and is not receiving treatment, contact us as soon as possible. You may need to be treated with PEP. This is a four-week course that you need to start within 72 hours of having unprotected sex. For additional information on PEP, see the PEP page
Stopping the National PrEP Programme
You can terminate your participation in the programme or stop taking PrEP at any time. You do not have to state a reason for doing so. However, always discuss this with the PrEP team. This will allow us to offer your place to someone else.
If you haven’t attended a consultation for more than six months, we will assume that you are no longer taking PrEP. We will then offer your place to someone else. In that case, you can only rejoin the GGD Amsterdam Public Health Service programme if there is space on the programme at that time.
Contact
- If you are on the GGD Amsterdam Public Health Service PrEP programme and have questions, please send an email to prepafspraken@ggd.amsterdam.nl
- For more information, please visit our PrEP page