Gadling

Lariam Dreams (which pills do you pop?) {Gadling}

Sep 11th 2008 9:05PM I happen to be one of those people who suffer from the long term side effects of Lariam. I can say that after seeing my friend suffer from malaria and recieve treatment and then recover, I would rather have had malaria than suffer the permanent effects of Lariam that I experienced. If you have an adverse reaction to this drug it is alot more than vivid colorful dreams. The anxiety and depression and suicide ideation is almost unbearable and in fact was unbearable for many who fell to the horrible thoughts and took their own lives. It is a nightmare to find yourself perfectly healthy one moment and feeling like you are going to die or go crazy with no end in sight the next. The only relief comes when you sleep and for most of us who have experienced an adverse reaction sleep is hard to find. Insomnia is one of the side effects! Waking up from a bad dream in a cold sweat with your heart racing only to awake to a real nightmare of mental and physical symptoms. Vertigo, pain, confusion, brain fog, legs crumbling underneath you, stabbing pain in your head chest arms legs, sleeplessness, exhaustion tinnitus are a few of the lariam "treats" and then try to find a doctor that knows anything about it! The symptoms are cyclic with periods of remission that give a false sense of wellness only to recurr and bring a feeling of hopelessness. It affects your family and friends your work etc... As Jeanne pointed out there are other alternatives that are less devastating and I encourage anyone considering antimalarials to check out the www.lariaminfo.org website.