u/Confident-Fan4211

Hey there, I started PEP about a week ago after a contaminated sharps injury at work. The occupational health consultant told me the patient was considered low risk, but because they died and couldn’t be tested, he still gave me the option of starting PEP just in case. He also advised me to stop if I developed significant side effects, as the risks could outweigh the benefits in my situation.

I’m currently taking Truvada + Raltegravir.

About three days ago I started experiencing intense nocturnal itching, along with clusters of clear, itchy bumps on my arms, legs, and abdomen. I’ve also developed severe gastritis, it honestly feels like someone is drilling into my stomach. I checked the BNF and saw that skin and GI reactions are listed as common side effects for both medications.

Has anyone else experienced generalised itching or a rash like this while taking PEP, particularly with Truvada or Raltegravir?

Thank you in advance!

Hello everyone!

I’m an F2 doctor starting IMT next August. Since medical school, I've always been passionate about oncology and over the years I have built a strong oncology focused CV with several publications, presentations and medtech experience with a major corporation.

Academically, I genuinely love oncology. I enjoy reading about the specialty and keeping up with research. However, after doing a taster week at a large oncology centre, I started questioning whether the day to day reality of the specialty is actually the right fit for me.

I am autistic and, although I enjoy interacting with patients and always try to go above and beyond to be supportive, long conversations can be very draining for me. I sometimes struggle with things like eye contact, expressing emotion physically, being too direct or taking things too literally. I love the idea of seeing my patients on the ward and being there for them, but the thought of long family discussions and full days of clinics involving breaking bad news feels quite overwhelming.

On the other hand, during a busy general medicine rotation, I found that I really enjoyed seeing acutely unwell patients in ED, attending crash calls and managing rapidly deteriorating patients. I also enjoy procedures, which has made me increasingly interested in cardiology.

Part of what makes this difficult is feeling that I would be walking away from a solid oncology CV that I have worked incredibly hard to build. I also have a very good cardiology rotation coming up in IMT2, which I think will give me a much better idea of whether the specialty suits me.

I am also aware that oncology may offer better consultant job prospects and more opportunities for private work compared with cardiology, which makes the decision even harder.

I would really appreciate advice from trainees or consultants in either specialty, especially from anyone who has changed direction later on or has had similar doubts.

This has been stressing me out a lot, so thank you in advance for any advice! ☺️