# I just realised I am old **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2024, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575 "2024-11-02T12:50:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 28
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/542 "2026-10-03T19:48:07Z")
Oh, I’m sure there are plenty of legitimate reasons for either delivery method, many of which, as a non-medical-professional, I probably wouldn’t even understand. It’s just “you have to stop dancing at a party to take a pill” isn’t really one of them. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/543 "2026-10-04T00:20:27Z")
If the pill is meant as a short-term prevention of transmissibility, then taking the pill in public amounts to advertising “I have HIV, I want to have sex with somebody, and I’m slipping on my condom equivalent right now”. Whereas having arrived at the same party with my weekly or monthly shot already on board, I’m not advertising my HIV-positive status before I go a-rompin’ 'round the room in search of a willing partner. You can see how the latter might result in more successful sex sessions than the former. I emphasize the “IF” at the start of that surmise. But it does account for the design of the ad that way. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/544 "2026-10-04T00:55:41Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > taking the pill in public amounts to advertising “I have HIV, I want to have sex with somebody, and I’m slipping on my condom equivalent right now”. It really does not. In the gay community, you are expected to practise good sexual hygiene, and everyone takes these pills because no one wants to have HIV, but if you do and don’t know, you don’t want to pass it on. It’s more or less exactly like condoms, but more frequently used. Edit: some people take them daily, but some take them on demand (a short course over 3 days). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/545 "2026-10-04T01:04:41Z")
Thanks for the info. I’m ignorant of the current state of HIV preventative or curative meds. So what’s your take on the dramatic device in the ad that has left several folks here scratching their head? Not meaning that question as a gotcha, just that you might have enough context to make it make sense to the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/546 "2026-10-04T02:50:46Z")
I think, though I’m not certain, that the meds in question also offer a significant measure of protection to the person taking them: If you don’t already have HIV, but have contact with it, the meds will help prevent you from catching it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/547 "2026-10-04T03:33:54Z")
I can’t imagine, since sourcing the shots, getting the shots on a schedule, and paying for the shots is considerably more difficult than taking a pill, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/548 "2026-10-04T13:15:03Z")
I had my annual physical recently and the lab results show that I absolutely have to start taking folate/B12 supplements, as well as getting an injection of Cyanocobalamin each month for a bit. Of course, I looked up the reasons I might be B12 deficient (including intestinal issues, cancer, abnormal stomach acid, reduction in the ability to absorb it, etc.) and discussed these with my physician. She basically responded, “No. You do your regular colonoscopies with negative results and all other tests come back fine. You’re just old.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/549 "2026-10-04T13:22:18Z")
Our innards and biochemistry are just as spotty & wrinkled as our outsides. Be that a little when young and a lot when very old. They’re just harder to see. Yikes! ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/550 "2026-10-08T20:40:52Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I can’t imagine, since sourcing the shots, getting the shots on a schedule, and paying for the shots is considerably more difficult than taking a pill, in my opinion. I have a hard time remembering to take my daily medication but I think it would be easier for me to remember one big appointment instead of 30 tiny appointments. (I’m assuming the shots are monthly.) I did get my BC in a shot once and that was nice, except I had to discontinue due to side effects. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/551 "2026-10-08T20:43:33Z")
Shots are every three months. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575/552 "2026-10-08T20:51:32Z")
Even better! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realised-i-am-old/1009575.md?page=27)