I received several testimonies recently from friends who got into serious troubles after using Lariam as anti-malarial medication. One experienced paranoia, nightmares, aggressive behavior, depression and suicidal tendencies that lasted for several months after he stopped taking the medication. Now, 12 months later, he still has periods of depression and important memory gaps.

He shared his experience with a group of 30 persons. Two of them replied with their own horror stories. A guy had a paranoia and crisis of anxiety so deep that, one month after stopping the treatment, he ended up in the emergency room in Jordania. A girl said that she's "slowly recuperating from 3-months of Lariam in 2002 (hormonal problems)".

When Merritt and I left for 6 or 9 months through Africa, my aunt (who is a doctor) told us that she would never prescribe Lariam for such a long period of time because of the neurological side-effects.

For those of you who consider using that medication, you might want to read more information on the following web site:
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/6913/lariam.htm

Following links from that web site, I learnt that the manufacturer of Lariam even warns that "caution should be exercised with regards to activities requiring alertness and fine motor coordination such as driving, piloting aircraft, operating machinery, and deep-sea diving, as dizziness, a loss of balance, or other disorders of the central or peripheral nervous system have been reported during and following the use of Lariam."

Alertness and fine motor coordination? Sounds like an euphemism for "Motorcycling in Third-World Countries"! So watch-out...

Pierre (& Merritt too)
http://www.photobiker.com

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Pierre Saslawsky
http://photobiker.com