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| one of us |
I've used Malarone the last two trips to Africa with no side-effects or reactions. Is there anything new that is supposed to be a better malaria prevention drug? | ||
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| One of Us |
I have made 16 trips to Africa and always used Doxycycline with no side effects. Not saying it is better but for me so far so good. My "quack" tells me that nothing is 100% effective so best to stick to what you feel comfortable with and take all the necessary precautions. The best repellant I beieive is the Oz made "Bushmans" 80% deet.  | |||
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I used doxy for years working in malarial areas. Problem is you have to take it for thirty days upon leaving the malarial area, the gestation period of the parasite, and it increases sun sensitivity considerably. Malarone is less worrisome and only requires beginning the regimen a couple days prior to entering the area and then you're finished once you're out. Hunting the Selous in September, I almost fried as it was, so I'm glad I wasn't on doxy. | |||
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I had the same experience as jetdrvr. I lived and worked in Zimbabwe for a few years, and started with doxy, as I had used larium before and had bad short-term memory loss. Second time I was on doxy, I developed a very bad sunburn, even though I was well tanned. I did the chloroquine/paludrine cocktail for the rest of my time, but when I went back to Africa on a hunt last year, I used malarone. No side effects, no problems, and no lengthy post-trip medicating. Everyone is different, but malarone works well for me. | |||
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Another vote for Malarone. I have tried them all and for me it has the least side effects and I have to assume it works because I have never got malaria despite numerous mosquito bites in the Selous. ALLEN W. JOHNSON - DRSS Into my heart on air that kills From yon far country blows: What are those blue remembered hills, What spires, what farms are those? That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, The happy highways where I went And cannot come again. A. E. Housman | |||
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The wife and kids used it on our last trip with no side effects and we didn't get malaria so it must have worked. Good stuff. | |||
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My first trip to Namibia by myself was in July, so it was not an issue, as it was 28-30 degrees in the mornings and only warmed to 60 in the afternoon. For my wife and my last trip in April/May 2007 and much warmer and wetter conditions, we talked with our physician and decided on prevention. Malarone worked great for me (daily pill-2 days before, and 7 days after). It was not compatible with her blood thinner meds, so she went the Larium route. No problems with either one, but her dosage was weekly and hard to remember what day it was and when to take it. I take Doxy with me, but only for the chance of tick bite fever - the sunburn issue is just too great to put up with. | |||
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One more vote for Malarone. Used it last year in Tanzania with no side effects after previously having bad Larium "experiences" and a sunburn with doxycycline. Richard | |||
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I have seen only a couple of reactions with Malerone and Lariam over the last 40 plus years. I always take Meflaquine (Lariam) and it doesn't bother me..Our troops in the far East take it also.. I don't trust Doxy, its a shotgun blast and is fair for about anything but my hunter doctors doen't recommend it for Malaria "prevention" Also it will give you a heck of a sunburn at times. To each his own, but I'll stick with Lariam, it has the best track record if you can take it and you only have to take it once a week. I like that as opposed to every day.. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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I like to try diferent things but Malorone is the trick as far as I'm concerned. Zero side effects of any kind. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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If I switch to Malarone and get Malaria, which one of you guys above do I blame?  | |||
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Blame "The Fates." It can happen. | |||
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For what it is worth, the company that provides our medication plan at work has voted for malarone. They pay a higher percentage of the (more expensive) cost of malarone than they pay for doxy. Dean ...I say that hunters go into Paradise when they die, and live in this world more joyfully than any other men. -Edward, Duke of York | |||
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Gentlemen: My experience has been much the same as outlined by most who have posted above. I have found Malarone to be the best of the propholactics....HOWEVER....I have taken it long enough, on numerous occasions, to know that it to....like Larium, can lead to delusional psychosis. Not serious, but plenty spooky!! All you have to do is quit taking it for a couple of days and the episodes go away as the titration levels decrease. On both occasions I had taken it a little over six weeks before the psychosis began to manifest itself. Long story short....I would go into my tent / rondovel...or whatever I was staying in, and think that there was someone in the room with me...even though I could see the entire room / tent area. I do not get spooked by anything so this was quite a jolt to the system. Drug induced psychosis is a nerve racking thing. Can you imagine what folks are doing to themselves who are already inclined to such behavior....then take a substance like Meth and throw gas on a smoldering fire so to speak. Anyway....take any anti-malaria drug long enough and it will mess up the system. So, I rotate between Malarone & doxy. A week of each. Haven't got the bug yet....but my wife still wants to commit me to the behavioral health unit because I have an addiction to Africa!!!!!!!!! She thinks it is delusional. I think it is vision sent by God!! If Malarone could give me daily visions of Africa while I was here in the states....I would take it all the time. | |||
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Malarone was the drug of choice for 4 of us that just returned from 14 days in Namibia. We ranged in age fron 10 to 54 years and it didn't cause any of us any problems whatsoever. An interesting side note is that another hunter (not hunting with us) also took Malarone without any problems but the cost of the drug varied from $200.00 to $135.00 to $40.00 for the exact same dosage. I'm not sure if that was a difference in insurance plans or locations. | |||
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From several years of looking at folk who take malerone regularly...Those who drink heavily on the night they take it always seem to get malaria. I see this often with South African agents and operators who accompany clients into the Zambezi Valley. They are, in effect, on holiday so enjoy, and always seem to go down with malaria a couple of weeks later. I have used Malerone and never got malaria whilst using it, but refrain from having a dop on the night I take it. | |||
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I used malarone because it was supposed to have less side effects. by the second night I was having intense nightmares, very scary nightmares, (I normally never remember any dreams) and was waking up contantly. I stopped taking it, they went away. Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum | |||
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Who needs malerone in Namibia its a desert...  One of the side affects of malerone is not sleeping soundly... I would take either a half of an ambien or one tylenol PM and sleep soundly... Have tolerated malerone for 3 trips to Africa and will use it again for next years lion hunt... Mike | |||
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I used Lariam for many years. It was alaways interesting to visit some of my dead friends again. When I switched to Malarone my "friends" quit visiting.  Rich Elliott Rich Elliott Ethiopian Rift Valley Safaris | |||
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Blank You've opened a whole new can of worms. What was the blood thinner issue with your wife? You say Malarone is not compatible? Last year I started taking rat poison (Warfarin). I take 7.5Mg daily. I would be very interested in what you have to say. I will be seeing my doctor Sept. 3rd and catching a flight out of Dallas on the 5th. I have no time to guess wrong. | |||
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melarone gets my vote again this year and will be taking it with me to Namibia in August,, we will be camping on a river some,, it isn't all a desert there.Larium has a more extablished track record for psychosis and nightmares,,, for some of us that may be normal and we might not see it as a side effect!.... drwes you can make more money, you can not make more time | |||
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Kensco, FWIW I'm on warfarin and my docs ok'd use of malarone. "shoot quick but take your time" | |||
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This time of year in Texas the hides of our deer (that are everywhere in my neighborhood) have turned pretty pale. Everytime I see one move, the first thought that comes to my Africa addicted brain is "impala". | |||
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I've taken both malarone and larium. Malarone had zero side effects, but larium caused weird vivid dreams. I have relatives who live in Dar, Tanz, they take doxy. they tell me that the chances of getting malaria is far,far greater in the population centers than in the bush. They also told me that if you live there you simply can't take anti malaria drugs forever because of serious side effects. Many locals, (probably most locals) take nothing and as a result get malaria. My Ph told me that he has had malaria over a dozen times and when he feels it "coming on" he takes "the cure", whatever drug combo that is. make no mistake, malaria is one of the leading causes of death in Africa. My Ph said not to take any chances. He told me that when he got his first full blown case he thought he was going to die. | |||
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Thanks studdog. Before I read the post by Blank I was already wondering whether to get off Warfarin and risk a stroke; or stay on it and risk bleeding-out if I had a serious accident in Zimbabwe. (I would prefer not to need a blood transfusion while I'm in Africa.) Life used to be so simple. | |||
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Kensco - Since you mentioned it, may no one ever need an actual blood transfusion in Zimbabwe, but on the off chance an actual shot of something may be required, I did include some sterile needles in my perhaps slightly paranoid first aid/medical kit. (I just buried them down in the middle of all the other stuff.) At the end of your hunt you can just let your PH look through it and let him keep whatever he thinks he might put to good use. | |||
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Ray: I truly believe that your post should be read carefully by prospective first time hunters to Africa. I took Lariam about 15 years ago for a total of some 10 weeks. I experienced no side effects of any kind. I had consulted a doctor who specialized in tropical medicine -and who had lived in Africa before I came to Africa. (I mention this because some guys seem to talk to their US family M.D. who consults a medical desk volume) Obviously, I can't have any valid opinions based on experience about any other prophylaxis. Your experience over 40 years seems to suggest that Lariam isn't so bad as some of the nightmare stories seem to suggest. (No pun intended) (Actually, if nightmares are the worst side effects of Lariam, I would put up with them - if Lariam helps to mitigate or lessen the chances of malaria) My father was a veteran of construction of the Panama Canal (with a medal from Teddy Roosevelt) - and when I was a small boy,age 6-7-8, I well remember his episodes of malaria after effects - some 30 years afterwards - so anything that will fight off such a lifelong debilitating ailment is worth bearing such minor side effects as "nightmares". If Lariam is most effective -and people don't want to use it because of reported "side effects", then it comes down to rolling the dice. (An old gambling rule is that you should never bet -if, to lose the bet, you lose everything) BTW, not getting malaria because one used something else -over a short time as a hunting trip - proves nothing. The right mosquito just didn't happen to bite. Your experience over 40 years is the real test. | |||
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I have taken Larium (Mefloquin) on 5 seaprate trips with limited adverse effects. Yes, occassionally I can remember a few of my dreams, but quite honestly I find it rather pleasant! It kind of reminds me of when I was much younger, and had rather agreeable dreams. I haven't been visited (in my dreams) by the Swedish bikini models (yet), but it does add another level of expectation to the trip. Larium clearly is one of if not the most effective malarial prophylaxis and I will continue to take it when in Africa. I have had one bad experience with Doxy, with the outbreak of a very serious sunburn on my hands. I will still take Doxy as needed for other serious infections, but do not recommend its use as a preventative treatment due to the sun sensitivity issues. Bill | |||
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In six trips to Africa, Malarone has served me well. | |||
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Only two trips to Africa ... one with my wife. Larium both times. No adverse reactions. (The lion outside the tent were real ... not dreams! Mighty bizarre, but real  )Always take a prescription of Doxy in case of a tick bite. Mike -------------- DRSS, Womper's Club, NRA Life Member/Charter Member NRA Golden Eagles ... Knifemaker, http://www.mstarling.com | |||
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Trip # 6 coming up in 17 days. Malarone on each previous trip, and again on this one. No adverse experiences noted. 114-R10David | |||
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I used Lariun on five previous trips and feel sick for a couple of days after I take it. Im going to try Malarone this time as this seasick feeling seems to get worse with each trip. | |||
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Kensco: My wife is on Coumadin/Wafarin also for a blood clotting disorder, and requires monthly blood testing to adjust the dosage according to sample results. Normally between 8.0 and 10.0 mg daily. We adjust every couple months. There was only a 5-10% chance of any adverse reaction with Malerone, but her doc recommended the Larium because it had even less chance of interaction with the other meds. I guess it is personal choice, and faith in your physican. It worked for her, and no effects at all. | |||
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Gerry The only thing a first time hunter to Africa will ever learn from Atkinson is how to Bullshit his way into being thought of as an 'Old Africa Hand'. First he was shooting Woodleigh Bullets for over 40 years when they have only been available for 25 years. Now it's
This despite the fact that Malerone has only been available for about 10 years and Lariam for about 20 years. Utter Bullshit. Next we will get to read how he has shot hundreds of Buffalo and 'phants in his '40 years in Africa'.  Gator A Proud Member of the Obamanation "The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." Ecclesiastes 10:2 "There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them." George Orwell | |||
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If you look at the inserts for the two drugs (Larium and Malarone) you will see that they are both 99.something% effective. Statistically insignificant difference in the two. So, we are talking "Apples to Apples" here. I do not tollerate Larium, we don't get along. I took it on 5 trips and didn't notice until the last one that I had some serious issues with it. Then it became very clear. I could look back at previous trips and see clearly the problems it caused. Anxiety, slight paranoia and very edgy. It finally got so bad that I really did not enjoy the last hunt I went on when I took it. I was a different person on Larium. Not a happy person. If you look at the overwhelming response that a lot of people have had trouble with Larium, and few people have trouble with Malarone, isn't the choice at least sort of clear? The excuse that Larium is easier because it is a once-a-week dose and Malarone is a daily dose, is quite weak. This is akin to saying that you don't want to wear pants anymore because you have to remember to put them on every day. Oh, how tedious that would be. If you have never taken either drug, and need to get one, consider asking your doctor if you can take Malarone. I would consider Malarone as the first choice. It is not worth the possible risk of finding out that you don't tolerate Larium. You have spent years saving for this hunt. Why take on an additional risk that you may have trouble with Larium? It is not worth it. If you have used Larium multiple times and can not recall any negative symptoms, then fell free to use what works for you. | |||
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As with many topics, this has been discussed in the past. Good to hear updated info and more recent experiences. I posted the following in 2/07 on this thread which started in 06: https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1411043/m/134103674? I ended up taking Doxy again (this trip and this past Feb to Cameroon), as I tried the Malarone and immediately (like within hrs) got flu-like symptons and a weird drop in heart rate. Only other med is/was Singulair for allergies. I think I am the exception here in regards to handling the Malarone, but these are all serious meds. I do like that the Doxy protects against other things... | |||
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Gator 1 I'll have to leave Ray Atkinson to defend himself. I must say that I was surprised to hear that Lariam was only about 20 years old. I took it about 15 years ago and the doctor who prescribed it was a specialist in tropical diseases medicine with an extensive practice. If Lariam and Malarone are so effective (as one poster has noted) then it should be a physician's decision as to what to use. (I confess that the drumbeat of complaints about Lariam that I am reading do somewhat rattle me and, if, heaven willing, I ever was able to go back to Africa, I would be carefully cross examining the same doctor if she again prescribed Lariam) | |||
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I don't mean to niggle, but hasn't Malarone only been available for 8 or 10 yrs and Larium for 20? History of Lariam (Mefloquine) history of Lariam History of Malarone and other antimalaric drugs history of antimalaric drugs and Malarone | |||
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Good advice. | |||
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+1 for doxy. Having a little antibotic floating around in your system in Africa is not a bad thing. Only problem I have had is stomach upset, which is readily addressed by just not taking the doxy on an empty stomach. Mike | |||
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