2nd PEP rodeo, feeling stupid, any advice on how to alleviate anxiety
As the title says, this isn’t my first experience w/ PEP. Last one was the summer of 2025, I started PEP around 70H, ended up testing negative weeks and months thereafter.
This time I’m finding myself again in this illogical situation and I’m feeling pretty stupid. And very anxious. The exposure was hetero sex, unprotected, I’m on the receiving end (F), no ejaculation. The issue is that the person I was with has been repeatedly delaying testing at a lab, I constantly have to bug him about it, so I ended up just testing him with a point of care finger prick test and he tested non-reactive. I just don’t understand why someone would constantly delay it if I asked that it be a condition for us having sex without condoms. He agreed to it.
Anyway, because of window periods and the finger prick not being as reliable as a 4th generation test, I started PEP this time around at 28H. I’ve searched the internet and ChatGPT for every stat and number associated with PEP and PEP failures and I think it was only one case to date with the modern, triple regimen. Everything else is due to starting late, multiple exposures during PEP, etc.
Nonetheless, the anxiety is killing me, and I’m only day 7 into the regimen. Three more weeks to go. Any advice on what to tell oneself to somewhat control the anxiety? I got things to do and I struggle to focus on anything but this. TIA.
Posted Feb 17, 2026, 3:19 AM UTC