PrEP through ZIZ

Why PrEP care through ZIZ?
 

  • Complete: includes STI testing, kidney function and PrEP delivered to your home free of charge.
  • Quality: insured care in partnership with all health insurers.
  • Affordable: ZIZ is an innovative not-for-profit with its own lab and its own care service.
  • Fast: no waiting times, no appointment needed, STI/HIV test results as standard in 90 minutes.

Please read this carefully before your first PrEP visit to ZIZ.
 

1. General information about PrEP

PrEP is a safe and effective way to avoid getting HIV:
 

  • You take medication as a precaution to protect yourself against HIV (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis).
  • You can do this by taking one PrEP tablet every day, or only around the time you have sex.
  • If you take PrEP correctly, you are almost completely protected against HIV.
  • PrEP only protects against HIV, not against other STIs.
2. Which days can I come to ZIZ for PrEP.

You can come in at any time. You do not need to make an appointment for PrEP care at ZIZ either. Please make sure you have completed everything online and paid before you come to the location. Please also bear in mind that you should not come in for a PrEP consultation just before closing time. 

3. How to take PrEP

Option 1: Daily use
This is the simplest option: you take two tablets on the first day and then one tablet every day at the same time.

Option 2: Around sex
With this option, you only take PrEP around the time you have sex, following this schedule:
 

  • Two tablets 2 to 24 hours before sex (at least 2 hours, preferably 24 hours)
  • One tablet 24 hours after the first dose.
  • One tablet 48 hours after the first dose.

If you have sex on several days in a row, keep taking PrEP every day and only stop two days (48 hours) after the last sexual contact.

If you start PrEP through ZIZ, the first month is always daily use. Only at your second check-up can you switch to taking it only around sex.

4. PrEP side effects and interactions

Side effects
All medicines have side effects. Although the chance of side effects with PrEP is small, you may experience:

  • Headaches
  • Tiredness
  • Digestive problems (nausea, stomach ache, diarrhoea, vomiting)

For most people, these symptoms clear up after a few weeks.

PrEP can sometimes affect the kidneys. We see this mainly in people over the age of fifty. For this reason, we always check your kidney function when you start PrEP, and we check it regularly in groups at increased risk.

People who only take PrEP around the time they have sex may get side effects slightly more often than people who take PrEP every day. This is because you take two tablets at once before sex.

Finally, some people have trouble sleeping while taking PrEP. If this affects you, the simplest solution is to take your PrEP tablets in the morning (if you take PrEP every day).

Medicines
PrEP generally has few interactions with medicines or supplements. We always check this for you. It is especially important to be careful with other medicines that can affect your kidneys, such as certain painkillers (diclofenac, ibuprofen).

Supplements
If you take creatine as a supplement, for example for the gym, check carefully which type you are using (creatine monohydrate or creatine ethyl ester). The ethyl ester version can affect your kidney function test, making it look as though your kidneys are working less well than they actually are. That in turn can affect whether you are allowed to start PrEP.

Alcohol and/or drugs
Alcohol and drugs do not affect how PrEP works. There is, of course, still the risk that you forget to take your PrEP.