Lariam Side Effects

• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Stomach pain
• Vomiting
• Loss of appetite
• Dizziness
• Muscle pain
• Losing balance
• Ringing in the ears
• Headache
• Drowsiness
• Difficulty with sleep
• Unusual dreams

• Tingling sensation in fingers and toes
• Difficulty with walking
• Seizures
• Uncontrollable shaking of arms or legs
• Anxiety or nervousness
• Depression
• Mood changes
• Panic attack
• Confusion
• Behavior that turns violent
• Forgetting things
• Hallucinations (audio or visual)
• Losing grasp on reality
• Feeling that others are out to inflict harm to you
• Suicidal impulses or hurting of oneself
• Rash

Warnings & Recalls for Lariam

• Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are allergic to mefloquine which is the active ingredient in Lariam , chloroquine (Aralen), hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), quinidine (Quinadex), quinine or any other medications.
• Tell your doctor if you take any of the following: anticoagulants ('blood thinners'); antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil), amoxapine (Asendin), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), doxepin (Adapin, Sinequan), imipramine (Tofranil), nortriptyline (Aventyl, Pamelor), protriptyline (Vivactil), and trimipramine (Surmontil); antihistamines; calcium channel blockers such as amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, Tiazac, others), felodipine (Plendil), isradipine (DynaCirc), nicardipine (Cardene), nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia), nimodipine (Nimotop), nisoldipine (Sular), and verapamil (Calan, Isoptin, Verelan); beta blockers such as atenolol (Tenormin), labetalol (Normodyne), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL), nadolol (Corgard), and propranolol (Inderal); chloroquine (Aralen); halofantrine (Halfan); hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil); medication for diabetes, mental illness, seizures and upset stomach; prescriptions for irregular heartbeats such as quinidine (Quinaglute, Quinidex); and quinine. If so, your doctor might need to check your dosage and check for side effects.
• Tell your doctor if you have or have ever had a mental illness such as depression, generalized anxiety disorder, psychosis, or schizophrenia; seizures; or eye, liver or heart disease.
• Make sure to tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. You should use birth control while you are visiting an area where malaria is common and while you are taking Lariam and for 3 months after you stop taking it. If you become pregnant while taking Lariam, call your doctor. You should not breast-feed while taking Lariam.
• You should know that Lariam may make you drowsy and dizzy. These symptoms may continue for a while after you stop taking Lariam. It is advised to not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this medication affects you.
• You should know that Lariam decreases your risk of becoming infected with malaria but does not guarantee that you will not become infected. You still need to protect yourself from mosquito bites by wearing long sleeves and long pants and using mosquito repellant and a bednet while you are in an area where malaria is common.
• You should know that the first symptoms of malaria are fever, chills, muscle pain, and headaches. If you are taking Lariam to prevent malaria, call your doctor immediately if you develop any of these symptoms. Be sure to tell your doctor that you may have been exposed to malaria.
• You should plan what to do in case you experience serious side effects from Lariam and have to stop taking the medication, especially if you are not near a doctor or pharmacy, so its advised to keep a contingency plan and go for an alternative.  If no other prescriptions are available, you will have to leave the area where malaria is common, and then get other prescriptions to protect you from malaria.
• When taking Lariam to treat malaria, your symptoms should improve within 48 to 72 hours after you finish your treatment. Call your doctor if your symptoms do not improve after this time.
• Don’t have any vaccinations and shots without talking to your doctor. Your doctor may want you to finish all of your vaccinations 3 days before you start taking Lariam.
• It is known that Lariam may damage your liver or eyes if you take it for a long time. Your doctor will tell you if you should have your eyes and liver checked while taking Lariam.

Lariam Treatment and Use

Lariam | Meflouqine Hydrochloride is an orally administered drug used for the prevention and treatment for the disease known as malaria.  Meflouquine was originally developed by the United States Department of Defense’s Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in the 1970s as a synthetic form of quinine.  The drug Lariam is manufactured by a Swiss pharmaceutical company called Hoffman – La Roche.

Lariam has been useful for the prevention of malaria in most cases except when parasites have proven resistant to multiple drugs.  Its usually taken for about 1 to 2 weeks before entering an area known to contain malaria.  It is highly recommended to take Lariam after 4 weeks of exiting a malaria infested area.  If a person contracts malaria, Lariam is usually recommended as a second line treatment for “chloroquine” sensitive or “resistant falciparum” malaria and is regarded as an alternative for uncomplicated chloroquine resistant “vivax” malaria.  It is however not recommended for severe malaria infections, notably infections from P. falciparum which is usually treated with intravenous antimalarials.  Lariam doesn’t eliminate parasites in the liver phase of the malaria disease.

It is advised to take Lariam with food and with at least 8 ounces of water.  Children are able to take Lariam but in smaller and frequent doses of Lariam.  It is strongly urged not to take more than the prescribed dosage.

Other Names for Lariam

Lawsuits & Legal Information for Lariam