Lariam Malaria Pills

[Randy W]

I don't know if this is pertinent to anyone here, but in case it is (from the NY Times) -

 

Crazy Pills

 

The cause of this incident was drugs. And these drugs had been recommended to me by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

I had been prescribed mefloquine hydrochloride, brand name Lariam, to protect myself from malaria while I was in India on a Fulbright fellowship.

 

Since Lariam was approved in 1989, it has been clear that a small number of people who take it develop psychiatric symptoms like amnesia, hallucinations, aggression and paranoia, or neurological problems like the loss of balance, dizziness or ringing in the ears. F. Hoffmann LaRoche, the pharmaceutical company that marketed the drug, said only about 1 in 10,000 people were estimated to experience the worst side effects. But in 2001, a randomized double-blind study done in the Netherlands was published, showing that 67 percent of people who took the drug experienced one or more adverse effects, and 6 percent had side effects so severe they required medical attention.

 

. . .

 

It’s a prescription I wish I had left unfilled.

 

 

[Allon]

Well, the contrast is to get malaria which I have despite taking the big white pills back then.

 

It ain't fun. You think you get crazy from these pills? Try real malaria that NEVER really goes away.

[Randy W]

Mosquito finds a blood vessel

 

Here’s What Happens Inside You When a Mosquito Bites