I just went on a safari trip in Tanzania, from Feb 9-19. My doctor prescribed Lariam and I didn’t resist…because I can’t swallow pills I thought one nasty pill a week would suit me better than one-a-day Malarone.

Week 1: Eww, that Lariam was a nasty-tasting horsepill. Good, no weird dreams, no throwing up, no suicide attempts!

Week 2: I took the 2nd pill before my flight to Tanzania via Amsterdam. Took an Ambien too to help me sleep on the first leg of flight, and it worked. When we finally got to the hotel 20 hours later I was a little wired and wacked out. Since KLM gives out side-by-side Sudoku games on their flights, I had a weird hallucination that the 2 beds in the room were giant Sudoku boards, and my friend was furiously erasing/refilling the boxes to get the puzzle to work. (Stop that Karen, I want to sleep!) I chalked it up to the Ambien, which occasionally makes me hallucinate…but, come to think of it, it doesn’t last more than 8 hours.

The next two nights I slept only with the help of Ambien. During the day we went on bumpy bumpy game drives. I enjoyed it, but the whole trip felt kind of dreamlike and surreal. Well, of course it would, I’m in frickin’ Africa 15 feet from a bunch of huge elephants! The rest of the week I decided to go off the Ambien. I managed to sleep just one night without the aid of drugs, the other nights I lay awake in complete darkness (I am a city girl & unused to that) and silence (earplugs). I normally have no problem falling asleep, ever! My daytimes were a haze. I DID actually enjoy myself…just didn’t feel like myself (chalked it up to lack of sleep).

Week 3: I took the 3rd pill near the end of the trip. At this point, I was so dizzy it was hard to eat food. I spent the last day of the trip lying in bed. I thought the bumpy bumpy rides throughout the trip had caused me some long-term motion sickness.

Week 4: Took pill #4 after being home 5 days. I also found I had lost 5 pounds! I had to leave work early twice this week because I was anxious and couldn’t concentrate and felt like I was going to fall off my chair. At this point I started to do some research on Lariam and found other symptoms listed that I had (such as tingly hands and feet), though I didn’t suffer the vivid dreams or vomiting that appears to be prevalent in those with reactions. I mainly just feel motion sick and in a haze.

Then…8 days post-trip I developed a fever and chills and bad headache. I went to the doctor on Tuesday and he said I should be tested for malaria & other travelers’ diseases just in case. Oh God. I went to the lab where they took a LOT of blood. I felt realllyy dizzy…and next thing I remember there are 3 nurses holding me down. Apparently I had a seizure and passed out! (How surreal – I never do anything like that). The doc ran down with a wheelchair and whisked me to an empty exam room to rest. Did I mention that I had also turned into an icky sweaty puddle when I passed out? I thought someone had spilled water on me, I was drenched! I felt oddly euphoric on the cab ride home. It didn’t last long when I came to the realization that my boyfriend and I are moving next week and have a TON of packing to do…ugghhh.

Today, 11 days post-trip, I still have a fever and am still remarkably dizzy and out of it. BUT, great news, I woke up with a throat full of pus (aka strep throat) and called my doc who declared me free of malaria and all the other diseases they had tested for…a relief, but…when is this awful dizzy feeling going to go away? And depression (what the ???? I am almost never depressed!) – today I found myself in a pharmacy purchasing my heavy-duty antibiotics, and I was browsing through the greeting cards, and one actually made me cry. It’s a frickin’ birthday card! Girl, get a hold of yourself!

The saga continues. I do not plan to take the final Lariam pill, the antibiotics should take care of anything that may be left in my system. I just want to feel normal, or know WHEN I will feel normal, because this royally sucks.

I just wanted to get this off my chest and have it serve as a warning. If you’re one of the unlucky people with a reaction to Lariam, you don’t necessarily feel the effects on the first pill, so starting a week before the trip may not be an indicator of effects of its longer-term use.

I would REALLY like to hear from people that have suffered from Lariam…how long did it take you to return to normal? And I hope you DO return to normal…I am fearful of not.

I have taken Lariam at various times in the last 15 years - the most recent being last august when I went to South Africa. I had one symptom in common with you some nausea / motion sickness type of feeling. The first time I thought I was pregnant.... now I know that its just a side effect of the Lariam. Other than that and it only comes in after taking the tablet for 3 or 4 weeks I have no side effects. Neither has my husband or daughter. We are nervous to start taking Malarone now as we are ok with the Lariam.

Very scary!!!! I hope you are feeling better now or very soon. But, you did have a good time in Africa so that is somthing!

On our trip in 2002, my husband and I both took Lariam. His side effects were mild, with just the vivid dreams, which did not impact his ability to sleep well.

I, on the other hand, from day 1 had side effects. When I took the first one at home before the trip, right away it affected my sleep, and I was reduced to only 3 to 4 interrupted hours per night (I usually get/need 7). By the time we got to Africa, I was barely sleeping and would lie awake at night feeling very anxious and uneasy, with my imagination running wild. I'm a very mellow person so this was distressing for me. Then the dizziness and nausea kicked in, which almost ruined the trip. So, given that we were there in winter, and usually covered up, and very few mosquitos were about, I cut the pills in half and reduced my dosage, and all my symptoms went away. I realize that I probably reduced the effectiveness, but I was practically having anxiety attacks every night.

On trips since then, we have been prescribed Malarone, with no side effects at all. What a relief!!!

I am a 48 year old male. I took Larium on a trip to southern Africa (South Africa and Zimbabwe) a few years back.

At the end of the trip we topped off our trip with a 3-day stay in Sun City in a luxurious suite at the Palace of the Lost City. The day before our flight back, I woke up at 4:00 in the morning, sure that all my partners in my law firm back in Dallas had conspired to kick me out of the firm because I had been gone for 2 and 1/2 weeks (over the Christmas and New Years holidays). (I have a successful practice and had never had any problems with anyone.) I was so paranoid that I had to turn on the TV to take my mind off it. Then I kept channel surfing for something interesting because not just any show would stop my mind from racing. I never could find a show exciting enough to calm me down. My wife finally woke up a few hours later and found me on the couch in a fetal position, scared out of my wits. We ordered breakfast in the room, but everything tasted strange and I couldn't calm down. When we got to the airport I started drinking to stop the anxiety, then took an ambien on the way back.
It took me a week or so when I returned to assure myself that every time one of my partners wanted to talk to me he wasn't going to tell me I was out.
Larium should be avoided if at all possible.

My wife had similar experiences with Larium on her first trip to Africe -- severe mood swings, muted feelings, very vivid dreams, etc. Unfortunately, the mood swings took over a month to finally "clear up". She was able to sleep and truly enjoyed her experience, but decided that the drug simply wasn't worth it.

When we went to Tanzania this last September, she decided against taking any anti-malaria drugs (please note: I don't advocate this, but she is well aware of the risks, consulted with a travel doctor and made an informed decision). Myself and the other 2 folks with us took Malarone with only minimal side-effects (mostly constipation, upset stomach after 1 week or so).

THANK YOU for posting your messages - it is realy helping my mental state. Knowing that this awful feeling will go away eventually is a relief.

The inauguration of a new kind of 'trip' report.

Just as fascinating to read.

Thanks for posting Suzanne.

Suzanne, Please let us know when you are back to normal. Maybe then you could flesh out the details for your trip. In frickin' Africa 15 feet away from a bunch of huge elephants is a good start!

Yes, suzanne, you will get over it. You've probably experienced the worst of it and it will get better.

However, it is just not a drug I would recommend. I have friends who have had very vivid dreams of their bush plane crashing, being eaten alive by a lion (not a fun dream to have on safari), etc. And you are right about the "dizzy" feeling that seems to come and go. The dreams seem to come earlier in the treatment regimen, then after 2-3 weeks on the stuff, the paranoia/anxiety/depression creeps into your waking hours.

The side effects are enough to ruin a once in a lifetime vacation, and since there are alternative medicines that do not have the same side effects, I don't know why anyone would use it any more. But I'm not a doctor, so maybe someone with some medical training could comment.

Malarone is an itty-bitty pill compared to Lariam. About the size of a small aspirin. It can always be smashed into tiny chips and taken with applesauce... the way you do for children or pets.

Surprisingly, many general practice physicians don't know much about tropical disease meds, so go with what they know or have heard about.

So sorry to hear about your experiences. While we had few symptoms years back when we took Lariam - weird dreams or disturbed sleep - yours were/are doozies! So glad for the Malarone, which hasn't had any side-effects in the years it's been available and we've been taking.

I took Malarone on my most recent trip to Tanzania 2 yrs ago and had no problems. So Larium is now just a interesting story/memory for me - never to be re-lived if I can help it.

I'm sorry to hear you are suffering from these horrible side effects. I sure hope you get back to normal soon.

I was bitten by a tick and got tick fever on my recent trip. The doctor prescribed doxycycline, which is also an antimalarial. I had no side effects other than what I would consider extreme sensitivity to the sun. The box the pills came in had a brand name on it and I didn't even realize that I was taking doxycycline. On the third day I was taking this tick fever medicine I used some sunscreen of one of the people in the vehicle. It was kind of oily and my arms and feet felt like they were in a toaster oven. The sunshine on my skin actually hurt. I am a sun person and had never felt anything like it before. I thought their sunscreen must have something wrong with it. The next day was the same. My arms and feet hurt with the sun shining on them. I wore long sleeves and tried to stay in the shade. It wasn't until later when I was reading the box of pills that I realized what I was taking. Then it all made sense. So I will certainly avoid doxycycline and Lariam in the future.

Unless the patient has a known intolerance for the two drugs that make up the active ingredients in Malarone, it is the prefered antimalarial. Larium (melfloquine) is seldom prescribed nowadays due to the side effects described above in this thread. The occasional use of Larium for other than intolerance is usually cost. A weekly dose of Malarone (1 tablet daily) equals about $40. A weekly dose of melfloquine (Larium) costs about $8. Some drug plans cover none of the cost unless for treatment of malaria. My advice (I'm a Doc) is to go to the CDC website and print out the antimalarial recommendations and bring them to your doctor. If cost is a factor, spend one day less on safari.
Chuck

suzanne:
I am sorry that you had such a reaction but glad that you are beginning to feel better.
jjmb--the partners were really glad that you were back and had all kinds of work ready for you, yes?

Exactly. Everything was fine at work. The larium had just caused paranoia/anxiety -- but it seemed so real, and at the time I didn't know what it was.

Guess its a case of horses for courses and Suzanne was one of the unlucky ones.Sorry for that, but hope you think the 'safari experience' was worth the trials and tribulations and didn't spoil things too much for you.

I take larium weekly, as does my friend/sometime travel companion and can honestly say we've not had a single side effect, (at least as far as we are aware - and none of our friends have said we seem kinda strange lately! ); whilst another friend who has seizures anyway, was given Malerone, she lost 10kgs and most of her hair fell out over 10 weeks !

On cost, buy the generic form of Larium (Mefloquine Hydrochloride) in Nairobi and its a fraction of the price that its sold for in the UK. Most chemists sell it readily over the counter.

Suzanne, I’m sorry you had a bad reaction to Lariam and glad that you’re feeling better. To me it sounds like you also had some non-Lariam related problems, like a fever and a strep throat.

I took Malarone on my first trip to Kenya because that’s what the doctor recommended. Since I wanted to go to Africa as often as possible, on my second trip I decided to try Lariam and save some money. I also had a slight feeling that Malarone was for wimps. I had no problems, so I took Lariam on my third trip as well, and will continue doing so until something better and cheaper appears.

An update: It has now been 9 days since I last took Larium. 2-3 days ago, my strep throat-induced fever went away, but my dizzy feeling peaked, and I had trouble falling asleep because the bed felt like it was moving and my head felt like it was sloshing around - like one of those wave machines. On Saturday I had my boyfriend take me for a ride in the car, which helps because it's better to feel like you're in motion when you actually ARE in motion!

Saturday night: I started to feel a little less dizzy!

Sunday: I went to a big art show for about 4 hours, and really only felt dizzy when we stopped to talk to people (leaning on chairs helped).

Today: I would say I'm about 50% better...a great sign! I came into work for the first time in a week and I am pretty much able to function. My spirits are up because I see a light at the end of the tunnel!

Glad to hear you are feeling better, Suzanne. For all the latest information on Lariam and its side effects, including brain damage (!), go to www.lariaminfo.org. Be safe--there are much better alternatives out there. Sue Rose, Co-Director, Lariam Action USA