Truvada

Truvada is a treatment for that may be used to either treat or reduce the chances of contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 (HIV-1) infection.

Can I get Truvada online?

The Online Clinic is prepared to prescribe Truvada as a pre exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) therapy. We will not prescribe Truvada for patients already infected with HIV. If you would like to be considered for Truvada as PrEP, please complete our free online consultation.

What is Truvada?

Truvada is comprised of two active medicines, one is emtricitabine (200 mg) and the other is tenofovir disoproxil (245 mg). Both of these medications are nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI). NRTIs act to inhibit a viral enzyme known as reverse transcriptase. HIV uses reverse transcriptase to convert its RNA into DNA. Blocking this action prevents the HIV virus from replicating and prevents the virus from taking hold once it enters the body.

Truvada is used to treat people who already have been infected with the virus. Additionally, Truvada has been shown to be effective in reducing a person's risk of getting infected with HIV-1. When Truvada is in the blood of a person exposed to HIV-1, it can prevent viral replication and stop its spread from the site where the virus entered the body. Truvada will not cure your HIV – it will either treat the infection or reduce your risk of infection. The Online Clinic will only prescribe Truvada as PrEP - that is to decrease infection risk.

How to use Truvada

There are different regimens for taking Truvada as PrEP. We provide an explanation of the different regimens on our PrEP page.

It is preferable to take Truvada with food and, if you have problems swallowing, the tablet can be taken immediately after crushing and mixing in about half a glass of water, or orange or grape juice. If you are sick within one hour of taking this medicine, take another tablet (but do not take another tablet if it is longer than one hour).

Let your doctor at The Online Clinic know if you have had flu-like symptoms over the 4 weeks before you start Truvada or anytime while taking Truvada. Taking too much Truvada accidentally should be immediately reported to a doctor. You must not miss a dose if you are on the daily regimen but, if you do and it is within 12 hours of your scheduled medication time, take the tablet and then take the next tablet at the usual time. Over 12 hours late on taking the tablet means that you should ignore this tablet and take the next tablet at the usual time. If you are taking Truvada as a daily dose for vaginal intercourse then it must not be stopped, as the effectiveness of the medicine will be reduced if you do so.

Who can use Truvada?

Truvada is for adults (that is aged 18 years and older). You cannot take Truvada as PrEP if you already have HIV (you must first be tested to confirm that you are HIV negative).

You cannot use Truvada if you have an allergy to emtricitabine, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, tenofovir, or any of the other components (such as lactose). Truvada may not be suitable for people with kidney or liver disease, or who have hepatitis B virus infection.

The Online Clinic offers screening for HIV and Hepatitis B prior to prescribing. We will also check your renal function prior to prescribing this medication.

You will not be able to take Truvada if you already take medicines that contain the active ingredients of Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) or antiviral drugs based on tenofovir alafenamide, adefovir dipivoxil, or lamivudine. Your doctor should be told if you take other medicines, as some medicine combinations can cause problems (include medicines that you were recently taking or are considering). Specifically mention: medicines that can affect the kidneys including anti-infectives (aminoglycosides, amphotericin B, cidofovir, foscarnet, ganciclovir, pentamidine, and vancomycin), interleukin-2, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; protease inhibitors (to treat HIV); and ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (to treat hepatitis C). Truvada taken with antivirals containing didanosine (to treat HIV) can decrease CD4 cell counts, and cause pancreatitis (inflamed pancreas) and increased lactic acid in the blood (lactic acidosis).

Truvada is not usually taken by pregnant women. The risks versus the benefits must be considered if you become/want to become pregnant. Truvada should not be used by women who are breast-feeding

Truvada side effects

Some side effects of Truvada can be serious and so should be reported immediately to a doctor. These include lactic acidosis (although rare, this particularly occurs if you have liver disease or another condition that increases lactic acid production or reduces clearance); signs include nausea, vomiting, stomach ache, drowsiness, and deep fast breathing)

Most common side effects are stomach upsets (e.g., nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, bloating, wind, diarrhoea), headache, dizziness, weakness, and sleep disturbance. Rash (potentially an allergic reaction with red blotchy skin, sometimes with swelling and blistering), itchy skin, skin colour changes, and other allergic responses, such as breathing difficulties, swelling, or light-headedness may occur. Less common side effects are stomach pain from pancreatitis; muscle breakdown, pain and weakness, sometimes from kidney damage; and swelling of the throat, tongue or facial features. Rare effects of treatment include liver damage (e.g., fatty liver, yellowing of skin and eyes, skin itch, and stomach ache); kidney inflammation, damage, or failure (with frequent urination and thirst); and problems with your bones (e.g., softening, fracture, pain, joint stiffness, difficulty moving, and bone tissue death)

Commonly, blood tests may show reductions in white blood cell count, and increases in glucose and triglyceride levels, or there may be indication of increases in bile and problems with your liver and pancreas. Occasionally, blood tests show a low red blood cell count and decreases in potassium and raised levels of creatinine.

Some of the side effects listed my sound alarming but most people will not get any side effects whatsoever.