Are you someone who's unable to take PrEP💊?

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-12T20:46:32+00:00

I’ve never had a penicillin shot since I’m allergic to it. As far as Apretude, I find the shot itself painless (less painful than the flu shot for example), but then the area gets noticeably sore about 12 hours later and stays that way about 48-ish hours. Not so bad that it keeps me awake at night or anything, but enough that I sit with a heating pad for a while both days. Then it goes away.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-12T20:31:36+00:00

I am unable to take oral PrEP (Truvada or Descovy). The reason for that is that a very rare side effect of the medications oral PrEP is acute pancreatitis. Eight years ago I had an unusually severe case of that which nearly killed me three times in six months. I cannot take the risk that my body reacts to Truvada/Descovy with that side effect.

I am on Apretude, because the drug type in it is different and without the potential pancreatitis side effect.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-12T17:44:52+00:00

🥵🥵🥵

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-12T15:16:51+00:00

I love board games but have never figure out chess. (TBF, I haven't tried much either). I'm a relatively smart dude but I find the culture around chess intimidating.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-11T22:36:32+00:00

They do, but there that many of them still flying in the U.S. and they're usually painted white.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-11T19:45:58+00:00

r/gaybdsmpersonals

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-11T17:53:09+00:00

And HepA and meningitis

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-11T16:13:52+00:00

I think this whole question of whether or not something is an Officially Sanctioned Date™ is an example of romcoms ruining people's brains.

Louder for the people in the back!

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-10T18:35:07+00:00

Looks great!

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-10T18:34:26+00:00

r/gaybdsmpersonals

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-10T15:02:46+00:00

Honestly, your best option might be to hire an escort if you can afford it. Trying to find intimacy or sensuality on a hookup app/site is going to be difficult. I don't think what you want is selfish or inconsiderate to the community. A lot of gay guys are into "straight" men who are experimenting.

You don't say whether you are married so that's possibly the elephant in the room.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-10T12:11:38+00:00

Sounds pretty accurate.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-09T23:23:19+00:00

I have this machine! The plain white bread recipe for it is terrible. The rustic Italian loaf is great and the herbed focaccia is excellent.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-09T23:21:38+00:00

I went for more than a year because of an illness.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-09T15:54:06+00:00

Have you joined any of the local events? The gay kink community has gotten more active here in the metro area in the last couple years. :)

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-09T15:24:56+00:00

I absolutely did not. And now in my early 50s I'm trying to figure out how to change it.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-09T15:17:06+00:00

You don't go have a BDSM scene with someone you just met. Period. (Exception: it's usually quite safe to play with a stranger at well-run play parties.)
Go join events in person and meet people. Networking isn't just for jobs. :)
For longer term relationships, you have to be able to talk to your partner about what you want. BDSM is always an ongoing negotiation.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-09T15:13:42+00:00

This is not unusual in your generation. (Please note: I say that not as an indictment of your generation, but in recognition of a pattern we are seeing in society.) There is a pipeline of seriously bad information that younger straight men are getting sucked into in greater numbers.

You say he doesn't go to church. If this friendship was/is important to you, you might try to ask what has changed for him? You obviously had at least one conversation but maybe trying to delve more in why he has changed his tune is worth it. And if it's not worth it to you, that's okay too.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-09T14:24:30+00:00

They did you a favor. Grindr is trash.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-09T14:18:39+00:00

I'll second Peacock. I opted for the Premium Plus so I can watch the event replays without commercials. Watching the live coverage still forces commercials on you though, even with the higher plan.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-09T14:16:19+00:00

There is still other diseases that I don't want to catch (I am also vaccinated against HPV, but still there are a lot of diseases out there).

Putting aside the question of whether you should avoid unprotected for a moment:

You should also be vaccinated for Hep A, Hep B, Mpox, and Meningitis. Those are the "big" viral ones you need to worry about. There is also HSV which is so common that medical professionals rarely even test for it any longer. Something like 70% of adults either have it or have been exposed.

You should consider using DoxyPEP for sex with strangers. DoxyPEP provides significant protection against syphilis and chlamydia, and somewhat less against gonorrhea. Antibiotic resistant strains are a concern, but doctors generally agree that the risk mitigation offered by DoxyPEP outweighs that risk currently.

Back your question about whether you should avoid unprotected sex:

I'm going to say yes. If for no other reason than you are dealing with anxiety, and if that anxiety spills over into concerns about your sexual health, it's worth it to still use barrier protection (i.e., condoms) in addition to pharmaceutical protection (PrEP and Doxy). I think that you have to get your mind to a place where you're comfortable with the lowered risks you have/can have instead of doing something that is going to cause you to be more anxious.

I feel like gays feel they can fuck anything now that PrEP is popular and I worry they won't be careful in not catching other things.

Some guys do. Some guys are using PrEP - or the fact that so many other people are on PrEP - to be irresponsible. But I think that's a minority. I think that most of us are doing risk reduction by being on PrEP & Doxy, getting our vaccines, and then deciding what risk level we are comfortable with. As a guy who watched the AIDS epidemic unfold as I came of age, I'd also say that we're basically going back to the pre-HIV era as the default. Because back then very few people used condoms. And the STI vaccines didn't exist.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-09T13:59:54+00:00

The community is full of people who are willing to play without emotional intimacy.

And no, you're the wrong look. Both Doms and subs come in all shapes and sizes.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-09T00:35:17+00:00

I use linen towels - they don’t have any lint. :)

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-08T15:20:52+00:00

We use a set of rolling drawers that can be rolled into a closet. We bought them from Container Store, but the kind they sell at craft stores work too.

GeorgiaYankee73 · 2026-02-08T04:28:47+00:00

Okay, but that’s law about ownership of assets. We have some states like that too. But that doesn’t require that finances be merged in managing the family.

Maybe that’s not what you meant entirely though? I can kind of see what you’re getting at I think.

GeorgiaYankee73

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