Anyone use Doxy-PEP?

[WhatDuck62]

I’m new to this hobby and seem to share many of the same STI concerns others here have posted about but love the bbbj too much.

The testing service I use offered a prescription for Doxy-PEP which is 200mg of Doxycycline that when taken 24-72 hours post unprotected sex can reduce my chance of infection of many STIs if exposed. Seemed to me like a nice safety net and I took the offer.

I’m curious if anyone else is using this or has anecdotal experience.

 

[Marsouin]

No, it is an antibiotic. It won’t reduce your chances of getting infected…it will help you combat the infection if you are already infected.


Doxycycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic of the tetracycline class used in the treatment of infections caused by bacteria and certain parasites. It is used to treat bacterial pneumonia, acne, chlamydia infections, Lyme disease, cholera, typhus, and syphilis. It is also used to prevent malaria. Doxycycline may be taken by mouth or by injection into a vein. Common side effects include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and an increased risk of sunburn. Use during pregnancy is not recommended. Like other agents of the tetracycline class, it either slows or kills bacteria by inhibiting protein production. It kills malaria by targeting a plastid organelle, the apicoplast. Doxycycline was patented in 1957 and came into commercial use in 1967. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.

 

[Michelle Gunn]

I use the DoxyPEP protocol. So far so good. The studies available are mediocre at best but it's a hell of a lot better than nothing. I'm glad it's being offered now.

 

[2fast2slow]

i am unfamiliar with this drug, but wouldn't taking an antibiotic prophylactically like this just increase drug resistance down the road?

 

[MCTJ]

i am unfamiliar with this drug, but wouldn't taking an antibiotic prophylactically like this just increase drug resistance down the road?

Good question. Short answer: it's possible. When a drug is approved (and prescribed) the benefits must outweigh the risks (which are always present). I don't know if the issue of resistance was considered by the FDA. Here's an article I found:

Drug resistance and Doxy PEP: Should we worry? - San Francisco AIDS Foundation

In late 2022, the San Francisco Department of Public Health and San Francisco AIDS Foundation began recommending an STI prevention strategy called “Doxy PEP” to certain groups of people who...

www.sfaf.org

 

[MCTJ]

Using any antibiotic preventively is not reommended.

DoxyPEP was approved specifically for that. Its use remains controversial.

Dissent on doxyPEP: recent guidelines becoming more cautious

Two recent statements about taking the antibiotic doxycycline up to 72 hours after sex to prevent bacterial sexually transmitted infections, a prevention intervention known as doxyPEP, are notably more cautious about recommending its use than the first guidelines from California.

www.aidsmap.com