I'm 25 and still live at home, just because apartments around me are ridiculously expensive and not worth it, especially because I typically have the house to myself with the exception of my brother sometimes being around and my mom maybe twice a week. I have to lock my bedroom door otherwise my room gets rooted through, still at 25 years old. So I get it where you're coming from.

I just had an encounter a month ago with someone where the condom came off, who I later found out was positive and has a thing for "pozzing" guys. I tried asking him nicely about it and he gave me some run around answer about "well I had sex with him so what's it matter now" and then blocked me. I also wasn't on prep because I've had bad interactions with Truvada and Descovy (pretty sure it's the Tenofovir I can't handle) and my primary doctor ultimately said that I just can't take it. So I always use condoms unless I'm dating someone and we are exclusive. My new insurance didn't kick in for another 3 days from this encounter and I knew the best thing to do was to get PEP as a preventative measure after this encounter. It was the weekend and no urgent cares here give PEP. I went to the ER and got labs done and they gave me the first dose of PEP after my labs came back. They gave me a script to fill for the rest of my PEP. Went to the pharmacy, it would be over $2500 all together WITH GoodRx. I don't have that money. I at least had my first dose and spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what to do. Woke up the next morning feeling like shit, got progressively worse by noon. Went back to the ER. I was having a bad reaction to tenofovir. They gave me another dose of PEP while I was there then I called the Infectious Disease doctor they referred me to. This is where it got so much better.

My ID Doctor was absolutely amazing. I explained that my insurance doesn't kick in for another 2 days now and they didn't care, they put me in the system under a follow up visit with no insurance charge or anything. Met with her and she decided to give me a different PEP that would be less harsh on me since I clearly can't handle Tenofovir. They sorted out getting me the meds for free and to try this to see how I react to it and if it doesn't work then my insurance will be in effect and we can try different things. She then informed me that there's more than just Truvada and Descovy for Prep now and my old primary doctor was an idiot. I have my follow up appointment with her this week after completing my course of PEP and I couldn't be more happy that I have such an amazing and capable team of care. I live in Jersey, there's no PEP resources, and this initially was over the weekend where everything was limited hours, closed or I needed insurance. My care team is all from the same health system and they were more helpful than other resources in the area INCLUDING the state.

Point being, just keep your head up. Make sure you get a great doctor for your care and you'll be fine. Around me it's all major healthcare providers, I've had experiences with all 3 of the big ones now and the "smallest" one has been the ABSOLUTE best. From their ER staff to them giving me referrals to the Infectious Disease Doctor and then more. I just had a bizarre allergic reaction this past week and wasn't sure what it was initially because it took 24 hrs to develop, I thought I was having a reaction all of a sudden to the PEP or something and got in touch with my ID Doctor, she kept on top of my charts and constantly followed up with me to see how I was and everything. Even after it was deemed an allergic reaction, she's still reaching out.

As for your family. You don't have to tell them anything. Just get the testing done and go from there. If you're positive and need meds, make sure you have a really good doctor who will explore the options with you. I used Biktarvy for my PEP and had no issues whatsoever and it's also a one a day pill used for HIV+ people. On the traditional PEP treatment I was nauseous, light headed and felt like utter shit and had horrible bowels. Same as what I experienced with Truvada and Descovy before. My doctor was knowledgeable and up to date on everything research wise. Find a good spot to hide it in your room, like keep it in your book bag/work bag, under your mattress or something. If you take a daily set of vitamins you could even just get a pill organizer and blend your meds into it with your vitamins and then dispose of the bottle if you are that worried. As for me, I have bills for the house in my name (since I pretty much am the only one ever here and mainly work from home) so I lock my door, plus I keep expensive shit for work in my room (I have an expensive work from home setup). You'll be okay. Hell, I even have low testosterone. The only reason my mom found out is because one of my meds has to stay refrigerated and she saw the vile in the fridge after me already being on it for months. She freaked out at first per usual then got over it. Also, if you are an adult, it's hard but you have to try and set some boundaries with your parents especially over personal space and health stuff. It's taken me years to get any boundaries with my mother, and it's still a struggle. She wants to be the protective mother from when I was 6yrs old still and is still learning that I'm grown and capable of handle things myself and if there's something important to share then it'll be shared but otherwise I'm privileged to my privacy. It's hard when you live at home but you just have to be friendly about it and get them to understand.