Falling through the cracks wasn’t dramatic. It was missed eligibility windows, scattered immunization records, years without a family doctor, and realizing at 44 that I had to take control of my own preventive healthcare.

Falling Through the Cracks: My Guide to Overhauling My Vaccines and Switching to Injectable PrEP (Apretude)

If you’re in your 40s, grew up moving back and forth between provinces, or have been looking into transitioning to injectable PrEP, this one is for you.

A few people have been asking me about my recent vaccine and PrEP journey, so I wanted to map out my exact experience as a reference for them. Finding a family doctor right now is a total nightmare, and navigating immunization records from 30 years ago is even worse.

Here is what the reality looks like when you decide to take control of your own healthcare and play catch-up.

The “Grown-Up” Vaccine Gap: How I Fell Through the Cracks

Not that long ago, I decided to dig up my old immunization records to see how many vaccines I’ve actually had both growing up and as an adult. I’m 44 years old, and when I looked at the list, I noticed I was missing a lot of the routine shots that some people have been getting.

Turns out, being in both the Quebec and Ontario education systems completely screwed me over. The timelines vary quite significantly between the two provinces, and I managed to hit the worst possible gaps:

• Hepatitis A & B: Back then, Ontario was only giving these shots in grades 6, 7, and 8. At the time, I was in grade 5, so I didn’t qualify. Eventually, I made my way over to the Quebec side, where the Hep A and B vaccines were being given in High School Sec 3 and 4. But when I arrived, I was only in Sec 1. So by the time I was done with high school, I hadn’t had those shots.
• Meningitis & HPV: Back in the 90s, I just didn’t qualify based on the eligibility criteria at the time.
• Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis): This series apparently needs to be updated regularly, but my records showed the last time I had the Tdap was probably in the late 1980s.

I did get a job and went overseas for several years in my 20s, which meant getting a bunch of other required shots for the work, but the general everyday vaccines were completely blank.

The Lesson: If you moved around as a kid, do not assume you are fully vaccinated. Go check your records.

The Absolute State of Healthcare

So, how do you fix a 30-year vaccine gap? If you rely on the traditional system, you don’t.

There is a massive lack of medical professionals handling general primary care. I mean, they are technically there, but they are all full. To give you some context, I have been on a waiting list for a family doctor since 2015.

I actually had a doctor for a little while, but he wasn’t happy that I didn’t go see him once a month. He told me point-blank that my not coming in doesn’t make him money. It was crystal clear to me at the time that he was only in the business to be a pill pusher and whatnot, without actually addressing root causes. So I pretty much told him to get fucked.

Thankfully, specialized clinics exist. If you find yourself stranded without a primary care doctor, dedicated PrEP clinics are wonderful.

The Next Phase of My PrEP Journey: Switching to Apretude

Back in 2019, I started my initial PrEP journey. For the folks who have no clue what I’m talking about, PrEP is a medication that helps prevent HIV infection. It’s still not cheap, but it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than what it was.

Fast forward to 2026, and I started a different journey: Apretude. This is the long-acting injectable version of the drug. No more daily pills. But if you’re looking to make the switch, you need to know exactly what the onboarding process involves.

The Onboarding Timeline

The Apretude injection process starts with a 30-day lead-in pill, which is just to see how well you tolerate the drug. Before you even start the pills, you do full lab work to confirm you are HIV-negative. Then, three weeks into the lead-in, they do another blood test to see how well everything is working out and check if you have any side effects. For me, the side effects lasted maybe 1 or 2 days — just a very mild headache, and then clear sailing afterwards.

Before your 30 days are up (or just about), you’ll be scheduled for your first injection. And I’m telling you, that bitch is going to hurt. Why? Because they need to inject it deep into a muscular ass muscle, and you are absolutely going to feel it in your butt cheek. They needed to use a 2-inch needle, motherfuckers.

But it’s worth it in the end. The next day, the pain was even higher — I’d say a solid 5 out of 10. Because of where this is injected and the sheer ache of it, my leg would literally feel like it was going to give out. I took Advil and Tylenol, which dulled the pain and kept me pretty good, but be prepared for it.

Exactly 30 days later, you get your second dose. They inject this one into the other butt cheek muscle. For whatever reason, this pain was mild and only lasted overnight — nothing at all the next day. So that was good.

Now, I’m just going in for the shots once every 2 months. The only catch is that the dates need to match up strictly to +/- 7 days from your target date to keep the medication effective.

A Quick Note on Cost: Apretude is expensive. If you have insurance, even better. But if you don’t, the PrEP clinics are wonderful at finding solutions, pulling strings, and working out ways to get it covered for you if you can’t afford it.

Let’s Just Get It All Done

The best part about finding a solid clinic is that it can handle more than just your HIV prevention. While I was checking out the PrEP clinic’s website, I noticed that they offered Hepatitis A & B shots.

So, I took them up on those and got them done at the same time as doing my other injection. Let’s just get it all done at once.

A couple of weeks went by, and while looking at my immunization records again, I noticed that I should probably get the HPV vaccine too, since it covers a broad range of other health issues. I inquired with the team at the PrEP clinic, and by August, I’ll be fully onboarded as a patient of theirs so they can administer the HPV vaccine series. I’ve already got that scheduled as well.

The Bottom Line

If you are stuck on a provincial waiting list for a doctor and know you’re lacking updates on your health, stop waiting for the system to fix itself. Look into specialized clinics in your area. They can get you on the latest preventative treatments like Apretude, handle your blood work, and catch you up on the childhood vaccines that you might have completely missed decades ago.

The PrEP Clinic — https://www.prepclinic.ca