sick of anti-malarials.

jennifericous

im tired of taking my anti-malarials. im taking pauladrine and avlocar. im home now and im supposed to take them for another 3 weeks. but i keep forgetting and just basically dont want to take them anymore. i dont feel like i have malaria, heh, is there anyway i could tell if i was going to get it or if i have it? so i can stop taking these pills?

andygoodyear

Can I stop taking these pills???? Well yes you can if you want, but then there would be no point having had taken all the others. So my advice would be KEEP TAKING THEM!!!

The reason you need to keep taking them after you get home, is because if you get bitten by a mossy with Malaria, it can remain in your system for a period of time.

andygoodyear

One way of telling wouold be to stop taking them, if you then fall ill you have malaria - bit of a risky way to find out though. Sorry if I sound cynical or sarcastic, i really dont mean to be, but you are asking a self explanatory question. of course you need tp take them!

cyberhippie

Ah Jenni. My hippy head; says just stop with the pills, "shit I feel fine" My Karma’s got to be good?? What’s more I lived healthy!!!
My contributor to an open forum head; says finish the course!
It's an inconvenient, and after reading the unadulterated info here on IM about the site effects, you might be thinking of the crap we put in our bodies masked as “safe drugs”
Jenni look at it this way if “God forbid” you got caught with the parasite, they’re going to pump huge quantities of this self same drug into you as the “cure” probably to the detriment of you’re constitution.
Just finish the course; you’ve probably already done unmentionable harm to your system during the last 4 weeks a few more can’t hurt.
You wouldn’t be the first to bring “someone” home from India

machadinha

I agree, if you've been taking them for as long you might as well finish the course. They don't "prevent" you from getting malaria at all btw, they just ease up on the symptoms making it easier to find proper treatment if you do (also making it harder to [self-] diagnose btw). Should you catch a funny persistent fever over the next couple of years it doesn't hurt to seek out a doctor who's knowledgeable about tropical diseases and tell them you've travelled to India. Then again you don't want to be running to the doctor's every time you catch a cold. Hey such are the wonders of tropical travel!

edit: Crossposted with CH It's true, another way to look at it is sod it & I'm gonna get jacked up with pills anyway in case I fall ill. But that's not the publically responsible answer Again, if it's just a couple of weeks more why not see it through.

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Anders

That is not correct. They do indeed prevent you from getting sick from Malaria and you will need no more treatment. There is of course nothing that is 100% effective.

machadinha

Maybe a better phrasing would have been "they help a whole lot to prevent you from getting ill but there are absolutely no guarantees, however if you do get ill they give you extra time to seek proper treatment." btw I'm not an antimalarial taker myself but no matter what you do be aware that the disease is not a picnic and potentially fatal fellows.

Dr Funkenstein

I'm not bothering with any anti-malarial meds this time - if I get malaria I'll deal with that when it happens. I'm going long-term and don't fancy the idea of putting myself on long-term medication.

If I was going to take anything, I'd settle for Doxycycline - took that last time and it seemed OK. It's an antibiotic, though, so you're unlikely to build up much resistance to germs in Indian food - which may have accounted for my hideous Delhi toilet experiences.

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GoanCanuck

Dr Funkenstein

Yeah, something like that!

How was your trip, anyhow, Jenn? Did you get up to Malana in the end?

iyou

You should ask your doctor this question, and follow his/her advice.

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Nick-H

Dr F... There seem to be times and places where the mossies are more active, not to mention places which have more or less malaria. Maybe take local medical advice and take where the risk is greatest rather than never at all. This seems to be the approach I'm developing.

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sticky

Hey Nick, have you found any concrete info on where these places are? I have been looking for a while, but havent found anything much. I have read a few anicdotal reports (worse in monsoon etc) but thats all.

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andygoodyear

Avloclor is good. you only need to take once a week

vistet

It is also a tetracycline derivative - which means you should avoid it if u plan to go to Ladakh or any silmilar altitudes because of the phototoxic reaction u can get.