let's be social!
Monday, Mom and I headed up to the Northside of Indy to Passport Health for my antimalaria medication. There’s really nothing glamorous about sitting down and discussing dates of travel and what is best for my health…especially since I’ve done it all before…but since the appointment was brief, Mom and I decided to do a little shopping afterwards.
Anyway, last year I took the Malarone antimalaria medication since it has virtually no side effects; however, after talking to a lot of people who have taken the Lariam and have not had any trouble, I decided to go with it this year since it’s so much cheaper ($100 cheaper in my case). The nurse did read down the list of side effects (which include crazy dreams, mood changes, and anxiety) and drilled me as to whether or not I’ve ever suffered seizures or depression…even a little bit. Once I passed her interrogation, she gave me enough Lariam to last the entire time I’m in Sudan and Uganda. I didn’t intend to take any while in Uganda, but you have to take the Lariam 2 weeks before and 4 weeks after being in a high-risk area, so it nearly bled into the second Sudan trip in July anyway.
Then, she reviewed my vaccinations and saw that I pretty much covered them all last year. I did, however, still need to get the Hepatitis A booster that finishes the series and immunizes me for life. So, I went ahead and agreed to get that done while I was there. The only problem was that I forgot that the Hep A shot is VERY painful!
Pain aside, I am now completely immunized and ready to go!
For those of you who are wondering, here’s the cost of healthy travel this year:
Office visit: $55
Hep A booster: $85
Lariam (20 weeks): $300
Grand total: $440
**Edited to Add**
Just after I published this post, I Googled “Lariam” just to make sure I had spelled it correctly, and I was shocked at the crazy stuff that came up in the search! I knew that there were more possible side effects with Lariam than Malarone (the drug I took last year), but there are entire action groups devoted to stopping Lariam’s production.
Anyway, I then Googled “Lariam vs. Malarone” to see a side-by-side comparison, and I was also surprised at what came up with Malarone. Apparently, Malarone- though known to be well-tolerated- has a laundry list of side effects, too. One of them happens to be crazy dreams. I have made several comments to people that I had the strangest dreams while in Sudan last year, but I attributed it to a change in…well, everything! I specifically remember dreaming about cheating on Blaise (and feeling very guilty) AND the best one was a giant t-rex that came storming into Nasir, roaring and stomping. It appears that I was worried about crazy dreams with Lariam, and I had already experienced the crazy dreams with Malarone!
**EDITED TO ADD (4:10pm April 21, 2011)**
I took all of your comments to heart, and I went today to switch to Malarone. They allowed me to exchange the pills (unopened blister packs), and because Malarone is a daily pill, it only ended up being $75 more. After everything I read and all of your comments, I am going to consider that money well spent!
I really appreciate all of your comments, and I am SO sorry that you have suffered from something that was supposed to protect you!
Why don't you join the support group on yahoo for people with revere reactions to Lariam? Ask them what happened when they took it? Ask if they would take Lariam again, or recommend it even to an enemy?
Good luck. You will be happy if bad dreams are the worst effect you develop.
Jeanne Lese, Director
Mefloquine (Lariam) Action
http://www.lariaminfo.org