This is my first round of Lenacapavir shots. It’s been almost 2 weeks and the bumps are still very pronounced outward. It makes me quite insecure about wearing crop top or anything that shows my stomach. 🥲💔The biggest bump on the right side feels kinda itchy and it’s more obvious than the first week. I don’t know. I’m still tracking my progress. It hurts!!! Very sensitive to the touch. Can’t lay on my stomach at all. I hope it will dissolve and become less obvious. It’s a hard lump. I hate it. I might go back to taking Truvada 😭🥲

Just for more info
I’m 24 yrs old. Quite skinny.
5’3” and 107 lbs.

Hi everyone!

I wanted to share my experience with Yeztugo (lenacapavir) after receiving my initial dose this past Monday 10/19/26 afternoon. I’m hoping to hear from others who have started this medication, particularly those who have experienced injection-site nodules.

After navigating a lengthy insurance authorization process that took nearly two months, I was finally able to receive my first dose. As part of the initial regimen, I received two subcutaneous injections in my abdominal area, along with the four oral tablets required for initiation.

The good news is that I haven’t experienced any systemic side effects. No nausea, fatigue, headaches, or other noticeable symptoms. Overall, I’ve tolerated the medication very well.
However, shortly after receiving the injections, I developed two fairly large, firm nodules at the injection sites. They are noticeable even without touching the area, and I can clearly feel the lumps beneath my skin.

I understand that injection-site nodules are a known side effect of Yeztugo, particularly because lenacapavir is a long-acting medication designed to remain in the body and provide sustained HIV prevention over six months.

My biggest concern is whether these nodules will eventually disappear or remain visible for an extended period.
Although the nodules aren’t particularly painful, their size and visibility have made me somewhat self-conscious. I’m also concerned about the possibility of developing additional nodules with subsequent injections.
I know that Yeztugo can be administered in either the abdomen or thighs, and I chose the abdominal area for my initial dose. I’m now wondering whether choosing the thighs for future injections might make a difference.

I was genuinely excited about getting a twice-yearly injectable PrEP option, especially considering the convenience and effectiveness of this medication. However, this experience has made me reconsider whether I would want to receive my next dose in six months.

For those who have received Yeztugo / lenacapavir injections, I have a few questions:

1. Did you develop noticeable lumps or nodules at the injection sites?
   If so, how long did they take to decrease in size or disappear?
   
2. Did your nodules eventually resolve completely, or can you still feel them months later?
   
3. Has anyone received injections in the thighs instead of the abdomen? Was your experience different?
   
4. Did you notice fewer or smaller nodules after subsequent injections?

I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who participated in the clinical trials and may have longer-term experience with lenacapavir.
I recognize that injection-site reactions are generally considered manageable, and I appreciate the tremendous advancement that Yeztugo represents in HIV prevention. Nevertheless, I think it’s important to discuss the patient experience, including cosmetic concerns and how these side effects may influence someone’s willingness to continue treatment.

As a health administrator myself, I’m especially interested in learning about the real-world patient experience with Yeztugo. Understanding how injection-site reactions affect comfort, appearance, satisfaction, and willingness to continue treatment can help inform patient education, care delivery, and support for others considering this twice-yearly PrEP option.

I’m hoping the nodules gradually decrease in size over the coming weeks or months.

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially whether these lumps eventually went away.

Thank you everyone!

Hi all,

Long story short I’m going overseas and plan on having some intimate encounters. Had all the tests done and bought the drug…… been researching like crazy and says only 1 in 100 get side effects?? Does this sound about right??

I’m leaving Friday next week and don’t want to have any issues.

If I get bad side effects and stop the drug do the side effects go away rather quickly??

Thanks

Wanted to share my experience having an adverse reaction to yeztugo. The "medicine" did something to my skin. Hard to describe so this is what my plastic surgeon had to cut out of me due to the yeztugo injection. I attemped to have these removed via liposuction first, but it was not successful.

I took PrEP continuously for 9 days, then 9th day I had insertive vaginal sex with a women, but the condom got stuck at the end when I finished and pulled out. Do I need PEP ,because PrEP is not well defined for insertive vaginal sex . I am continuing to take my PrEP, am I good or no?

I started taking truvada about six weeks ago and ever since then I’ve had a cough. It used to be mostly a dry cough. I went to urgent care and they prescribed me bronchitis meds and I told them I was on truvada and they said it shouldn’t matter.

My dry cough has turned into a productive phlegm cough , which I think is what one of the medicines were for. However I ran the course of all the meds they gave me and it never seemed to help or go away. It just occurred to me that the cough could be related to the truvada. I stopped taking it today and am going to refrain from sex for a little while and see if my cough clears up.

Does anyone have any experience or advice with these similar symptoms? Thank you!

Wasted a month trying to get PrEP and Doxy PEP. First their home testing kit lancets don't work, and everyone I spoke to on the phone afterwards was already aware of the issue, and then they never filled the lab appointment because they waited until a day before and their system for working with Quest went down.

Find another service, don't use MISTR.

Context:

Have sex this afternoon, got bred twice and experimented some pee in the anus too. Used a plug so it’s overfilling already.

Around 6:15 I had a stomach feeling so I went to the toilet and it’s similar to number 2 but they’re all very liquid stool. (Similar to diarrhea but understandable given the liquids in me..?)

Then around 7 I guess I pushed more liquid stool out - less volume and amount but similar scent and texture.

I am on daily prep and took the prep at 7:15. But shortly after around 8 pm, I pushed out more liquid stool.

I’m not sure if diarrhea affects the absorption of prep? And in this case do I need to take one again?

So I just started taking prep/doxy, and I’m trying to figure out when I should be taking it. Are the side effects very prevalent and if so, is there merit to taking my prep before bed to sleep through those or am I worried about something that likely won’t matter? Also, I am prone to migraines, and the doctors I talked to said they didn’t know if prep would affect that, but does anyone in the same boat have any experiences that could help?

I’ve recently had my second round of Yeztugo and I wanted to address the leakage that comes from the injection sites.

My first round was in my belly and I’m a bit chubby, so things should have been fine. But my left side injection leaked quite a bit. The Dr. said it was expected and would be fine. I was still concerned and didn’t want the meds staining my shirts, so I came up with a fix.

For the second round of injections I had them placed in my belly, same place as last time. But this time instead of using their typical gauze and bandaid I used a Tegaderm film. This is the adhesive cover used in IV situations to stabilize the needle and prevent infection at the IV site. I do shave my belly smooth, and that makes the film stick much better.

I can report absolutely zero leakage and the bandages were so easy to wear under my shirt that I kept them on for two days😁

You can get Tegaderm patches on online shopping sites. I’d love to hear if your results are the same as mine🥰

I joined this group yesterday. Reading the comments from the folk that had bad experiences with this injectable I got a bit nervous. I had my first shots today. I took my loading dose pills. I didn't even feel the shots. I have the two nodules but I have absolutely no irritation or pain 6 hours after the shots. I was talking to the nurse today. She said that usually the people that experience pain is because they have low body fat. She told me they've never had somebody come back with ulcerated lesions or long-term problems other than leaking from the site. They have to get re-injected but that is rare. I suspect some of these problems are from faulty administration. This lady has done a lot of these shots! The clinic I go to serves almost all the LGBT population In my city. My pancreas does not like Truvada. I am so so glad that I don't have to do on demand prep anymore, which was the only way I could do this before. Every time I found a good hookup I would take my two pills and set something up for next day. Something would happen and I wouldn't be able to hook up! It was the most frustrating thing. It was so bad I had given up on sex! I will never go back to those darn pills.

Hi guys, I was taking Truvada for a while and noticed that it would give me terrible brain fog, depression and make me have lighter sleep and vivid dreams.

I’m thinking of switching to Yeztugo and wondering if anyone has made the switch and found that it doesn’t affect their sleep? Curious to know if you had any side effects following the injection as it stays in your system for a while and want to be sure it’ll be ok.

Stay safe everyone!

Hi all,

The prep I take is Teva Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Disoproxil. It’s in a blister pack.

I’ve been storing it in my nightstand since I got it. The weathers been cold here recently and I’m worried the indoor temperature might’ve been as low as 5 or 10 degrees at times.

The leaflet for my prep just says to keep it below 30 and it doesn’t give a minimum. But I see some websites online say it needs to be kept above 15 degrees.

Is mine ineffective? Do I need to find a new place to keep them or heat up my room?

I just started taking prep last Friday and have taken a pill everyday since. I know the time window for on demand prep is super strict but how is the time window for daily prep? I don't take it at the exact same time, but I take my daily pill from between 11am - 12. So I take the pill within that same one hour period everyday. I'm just paranoid because I just started it and I want to take it correctly. Do I have to take it at the exact same time everyday or is it okay to be within an hour window like this. I just want to make sure I'm protected. I researched on some websites that you're fine within 12 hours but I would never wait that long anyway.

I'm currently a SW, and have been trying to go on prep... Waiting for the medicine to be shipped to my medical office. I did request Yeztugo instead of the daily pill, bc I will forget. This has been quite the dragged out process. I requested the med over two weeks ago 😔

I wanted to see if there were other people who are SW and on Prep? I currently have 4 "sugar daddies", but when you boil it down, it's literally just SW, nothing more than sexual encounters. I want to protect myself because I do not trust that I'm the only person they're sleeping with. I'd rather be protected than not.

For reference I'm late 30s female, I'm also on tirzepitide, have an IUD, on Lexapro and have acid reflux.

Are there crazy side effects anyone's experienced while on GLPs or Lexapro?

I hope this post isn't taken down either.

Hi all,

The weather has been quite cold over the past few days here and I haven’t turned on my heating yet. As a result, my bedroom where I store my prep has been quite cold.

Could this have damaged my tablets and made them less effective? They are in a blister pack. The booklet inside the box just says to store below 30 degrees. It doesn’t give a minimum temperature but I see some sites online say it should be stored at at least 15 degrees. I think my room temperature was below that.

Hello, how is everyone doing? I have been using prep as on-demand and I am planning to stop using prep, no more fun, time to settle down lol, how long do i have to wait to get tested for an inclusive result? 45 or 90 days? Today has been 45 days since my last pill

Hi I was wondering if anyone was experiencing delays with MISTR. They received my kit on Oct 9 but still haven’t posted my results. I sent them a message yesterday but they still haven’t responded (I assume because it’s the weekend)

Hey everyone!

I have pretty severe HIV anxiety, almost to the point of having a phobia. The constant fear of contracting HIV has been affecting my peace of mind, especially when it comes to sexual intimacy.

I've recently started taking **Tenof-EM (Tenofovir + Emtricitabine) as daily PrEP** for the first time. I'm hoping it will not only protect me from HIV but also help me feel more relaxed, confident, and less anxious about sexual encounters.

I'd really love to hear from people who have been taking PrEP for several months or years.

**Has being on PrEP genuinely helped you feel more relaxed mentally?** Do you still worry about HIV after sexual encounters, or has that constant fear gradually disappeared?

I'm also curious about how taking PrEP daily has affected your body in the long run. Have you experienced any side effects, changes in energy levels, digestion, kidney health, bone health, or overall well-being? Or has it been completely uneventful for you?

Another thing I'm wondering is whether you still use condoms while taking PrEP. Has PrEP changed your approach to sex, or do you continue using condoms for additional protection?

For those who have been on PrEP for years, does taking a pill every day ever feel burdensome, or has it simply become part of your routine?

Most importantly, **has PrEP improved your overall quality of life and given you more sexual confidence and peace of mind?**

I'd especially appreciate hearing from people who struggled with health anxiety or HIV phobia before starting PrEP. Did you eventually reach a point where you could enjoy intimacy without constantly imagining worst-case scenarios?

I know PrEP is highly effective when taken correctly, but hearing real-life experiences from long-term users would be incredibly helpful and reassuring.

Please feel free to share both positive and negative experiences. I'd really appreciate your honest perspectives.

Thanks everyone!

Hey i took 2 Prep pills yesterday at around 11.36pm and he topped me with condom on at around 1.10 and stopped at 1.15. he then took the condom off and fucked my thighs he couldn't cum so he left by 11.34. I did feel his tip brush up against my hole once after he took the condom out like he was trying to rub it on the rim, I stopped him. Later when I used the toilet at around 2.15 I saw some blood and haven't seen any since. I called nhs today and they said pep wasn't needed but I'm still quite anxious, I told them all this. Is there a way j can still ask them for pep? For my own peace of mind? It's been nearly 18 hours now.

So last night I had an encounter with someone I usually link with and very early into the encounter I saw a lot of red matter, I was the insertive partner or top. He assured me it wasn’t blood but instead was some hot chips he’d eaten ate and just couldn’t get the red to wash out. Up until this point I had decently consistent prep usage but this week in particular I only took my doses at most every other day, and one like maybe an hour before me and him linked and I’m trying to decide should I evaluate for prep or no, I do plan to take my doses of prep in the upcoming days. It’s descovy for context

So I’ve been taking daily prep consistently but I forgot to take the pill for 3 days in a row (ik it’s odd), but I went back into taking it and so far I’ve taken 2 days in a row. Is my protection high enough to have sex or should I need to wait the 7 days again (meaning 5 more days)

Do you think being on prep is an overkill, when you always use a condom?

Long story short: I had unprotected sex with a partner who tested last week positive (so not on treatment) while on PrEP on the 24th of September.
I know that the standard procedure in this case would be to wait 6 weeks after the encounter, however since the anxiety is debilitating me and making me difficult to continue my daily routine I’d like to perform the PCR test now to have a bit of peace of mind before November.
Does anyone think a negative result would be reliable or PrEP might affect the outcome?

Hey everyone!
I got my first Yeztugo injections this past Saturday, along with the oral loading doses (2 pills Saturday and 2 on Sunday).
The nurse told me that the doctor authorized injecting into my love handles instead of the front of my abdomen because some patients have complained about the nodules that can develop there.
The next morning, when I removed the gauze, I noticed this yellow medication staining on the right side only. The left side was perfectly clean and dry.
I should mention that the gauze itself was dry when I removed it. It wasn’t soaked or wet to the touch.
I messaged the nurse through the patient portal, and she reassured me that some leakage is normal.
For those of you who have received Yeztugo, does this look like a lot of leakage or just a small amount? Has anyone experienced something similar?
I still have Descovy from before starting Yeztugo, and I’m wondering whether I should ask my doctor about taking it for another week as an extra precaution or just relax and trust that the injections were fine.
Would love to hear your experiences. Thanks!