only protected sex

Same here.  I know way too many people who don't use them or who decided not to use one with a hook up, FWB, or even partner who cheated on them that they didn't know about who wound up HIV+ or getting another STD.  The ones that did not wind up HIV+ said how the anxiety and stress over wondering if they really were HIV+, was not worth it.

I refuse to take PreP as it's toxic and it has not so fun side effects from what my friends who have taken it tell me, and it's expensive.

Does nobody here use Truvada for PrEP? oink

It's very costly if they don't have insurance to cover it.

I always use condoms. There have been instances where I didn't in the heat of the moment and I always worry.
Other STIs are also a cause for concern, even if treatable.

Bareback only I don't stay hard in a condom plus I hate the feeling

:cheesy2:  ;D

i must say i'm always surprised by the number of people on forum threads who don't protect themselves (and others). but as they say, u don't get hiv, u take it.

:bpr:

When I top I don't feel a difference between condoms/bareback.

When I bottom the skin-on-skin feeling feels so much better when a guy barebacks me than when he uses a condom.  But is the slightly better feeling worth a lifetime of HIV?  No, no it is not so I almost always use condoms and only bareback with a guy who I have a relationship and trust with.

HIV is not the only STI to be afraid of. In fact the emergence of a Drug-Resistant strain of ‘Super-Gonorrhea’ in the UK in 2015 raised serious concerns in the medical community. Syphilis, another sexually transmitted infection caused by bacteria, can in some cases cause death if untreated - very unlikely now, but when an untreatable drug-resistant strain finally emerges that will not be the case.

With all that doom and gloom said, I still prefer to bareback. Luckily I never caught anything in my sexually adventurous 20s, and I was in a relationship that was monogamous throughout my 30s so it was not an issue then. Now that I am in my 40s and find myself single again, I am very conflicted over my choices.