Malaria symptoms and conditions

DOXY SUX BIGTIME. If you want to feel like you have an ax in your forehead and knives in your torso, chow it down. Not just the stomach either, SHARP PAINS in the whole organ area. Also, extreme LETHARGY, if I took on an empty stomach I'd THROW UP, numbness in extremities. Took it so I wouldn't get malaria. The drug company must have an overstock of this & they prescribe it for everything! In other countries you get other drugs for malaria. WTH? Intracranial hypertension?! How scary is that? Of course I read about that after I got the head splitting HEADACHES FROM HELL. I hope it isn't permanent because I still get the headaches & have stopped the devil's drug for 14 days now. You take it 28 days after exposure to mosquitoes has stopped - and every single day you of your trip. Someone is making a ton of ca$h off this poison & they will pay in the next life with the worst karma ever. I thought I was having an aneurysm. (seriously). It was obviously pulled off some countries shelves, renamed, & sold here. DO NOT USE. Going to research intra cranial hypertension now & see if it is permanent.

Hi there - can anyone tell me of any suicides or attempted suicides by people taking this drug. We have just had this happen to a family member and the anxiety/depression symptoms mentioned by many seem to fit his symptoms. He was on Doxy for over 12 months as anti malaria medication

He went from a very capable fit man to a complete wreck.

I was recently prescribed this drug for mild acne, no advice was given to me about the possible side effects, or how best to take it (sitting up with plenty water) - it has given me severe chest pain, I am unable to swallow, I have cramps, and my last pill was 5 days ago! I only took it for a week. I am so shocked that they dish this out with such little care, yet it such a powerful drug, used for MALARIA!!! Will I ever feel normal and be able to eat properly again?

What I am experiencing may or may not be the result of the doxycycline hyclate, but I suspect that it is after reading all of these posts. I took a 100MG doxycycline capsule about a week ago late at night ( to prevent Malaria), laid down, and I woke up to discover a sensation of something being stuck in my throat. That was about a week ago...since then it has progressively become harder to swallow and eat. I have experienced some tingling in my fingers, occasional bouts of nausea and discomfort/pressure in my chest that is very noticeable in my chest when I lie down. Also had severe chronic constipation subsequent to taking the pill, but this may not be related to the doxy, not sure.

I went to the doctor today-the PA ran all kind of tests-EKG, throat x-rays, blood, and urine and didn't see anything abnormal. I hope to find out what the problem is soon.

I spent the weekend reading about the development of Singulair. The early studies recognized that the first phase of the acute asthma response bronco-constriction was probably not caused by leukotrienes. They identified histamines and prostaglandins as the probable sources. I don't think that changed because the Singulair literature states that it should not be considered as a treatment for that. Leukotrienes were a source of inflammation caused by eosinophils and mast cells present in greater numbers (than normal) in airway tissue. So, it was beneficial to find a way to decrease that.

The cysLT1 receptor was identified as source of the signals that tell the cells to produce leukotriene. The receptor, a gene, consist of 337 (they think) amino acids. They modified a compound that would bind to that receptor thus blocking the cells ability to produce leukotrienes. This compound is very specific. It was formulated to bind to the "model" receptor. This compound will not even bind to cysLT receptor sub-types. (That is the good thing.) There is an enormous amount of research that discusses the genetic variability of the chemical reactions that occur in the leukotriene (calling it this for simplicity) pathway. We are also seeing that a number of researchers would like to use gene profiles to predict whether patients will respond favorably to different asthma/allergy drugs. ALL PATIENTS HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW IF IT IS INHERENT THAT SOME PEOPLE WILL NOT RESPOND TO SINGULAIR OR RESPOND ADVERSELY.

There are many studies from the 1998 era that conclude that montelukast is not effective for everyone. Those researchers stated that it can be predicted that those people who are going to respond favorably will do that within the first 14 days or so. That conclusion would be consistent with a genetic component for efficacy and safety of Singulair. Those doctors concluded that those who did not respond within that time frame should not take Singulair for fear of harming them. That makes good sense.

The Italian researchers wanted to know if there was more going on than blocking leukotrienes in the action of montelukast. They set up a "test tube" study regarding montelukast, the cysLT1 receptor, and some t-cells that they selected. Why? Researchers always have something on their minds. They observed the death of these particular t-cells.

Montelukast is a quinoline. We basically know of quinilines and quinolones as compounds that were invented as broad spectrum antibiotics. They work because they interference with bacterial DNA so they cannot replicate themselves. Montelukast is a quinoline modified to bind with the cysLT1 receptor (a gene) and prevent that gene from activating. That's consistent with what a quinoline/quinolone does.

So what does montelukast do in blood plasma if it does not bind to the receptor because of genetic mis-match? (If montelukast does bind, then a chemical reaction has occurred and the liver will break down the by-products. Montelukast metabolized in 10-12 hours.) What happens if it doesn't bind? How long before it breaks down? Does it produce toxic by-products?

I want to know what happens to lymphocytes such as t-cells just because montelukast is a quinoline. Maybe nothing but what's up with the Italians researchers? I want to know if montelukast has the capability to interfere with lymphocytes who can clone themselves. That could be a good thing under circumstances when these lymphocytes are causing inflammation. But it could be a bad thing in the case of normal individuals with no problems.

I want to know if the bad side effects are due to the fact that the body has to break down and metabolize a quinoline that did not bind to the receptor for which it was created. The side effects of Singulair are strangely similar to what is observed in the quinolones such as levaquin. I have not as yet been able to compare montelukast as a quinoline to levaquin as a quinolone. I am hoping to find something on these categories. There may be no reason to worry that they cause similar damage. But frankly, I think that there is. There is some terrible chit happening to some people. The scariest is the neurological damage.

All of these questions would be in the everybody pharma knows to ask category. I don't know where the answers are. I haven't found them as of yet. Maybe there are no answers. We have to remember that Singulair and Vioxx were released in the same year. They have continued to be drugs under the current executive management of Merck. If the Vioxx marketing promoters had their ghost writers, why not the Singulair marketing promoters. The genetic component appears to be widely accepted but we haven't heard one thing about even that.

I think that it is sad that maybe the marketing of Singulair as one stop shopping for asthma/allergies may have destroyed the original concept. I really think from reading the original work that they knew that they couldn't engineer a drug for one size fits all. Everybody gets harmed when information is withheld.

Shame on the allergist who yelled at the mother who wanted to discuss issues. Does he know exactly who is allergic to Singulair and who isn't? Get him a dunce hat. Just because Singulair is marketed for allergies does not mean that you cannot be allergic to it. See the power of Madison Avenue? The ad agencies focus group these drugs to death. The ad agencies cleverly craft the product information. A good piece of legislation would be to prohibit consumer drugs ads.

Oh and one more thing. One of the compound Singulair is made from is the same drug that is used to treat Malaria. The drug is known to have side effects of paranoia and psychotic episodes. HMMMM?????

This was the worst experience! I started taking Doxy to rid myself of infection that might be caused due to a vaginal procedure. I started taking the med on Monday afternoon, by Thursday night my legs and arms were on fire it seemed. The tingly feeling you are talking about. I completely lost my appetite. I was tired, weak, lightheaded, nauseated. Here it is five days after I have stopped the med and I still feel the burning, tingly skin. Also, I had muscle pain that caused my skin to be sore to even touch. I cringed at the thought of someone touching me for two days. NEVER AGAIN will I take this. I mean, after all, it's strong enough to be used for ANTHRAX, how strong does that have to be?

I am extremely hot and sweaty, memory loss, fatigue, aching hands, dizzy at times and most recently had a fainting spell (black out) while I was attending a movie -- it started with dizziness and then I became totally burning up hot and wet with sweat so much so that my hair was wet -- this lasted about 1/2 hour and ended with the dry heaves. Please let me know if anyone has experienced this. I had my thyroid blasted with radioactive iodine about 3 years ago (Graves Disease) and I have been hotter than blazes since that time. I am on 112mcg of levoxyl

I took Doxy as an anti malarial precaution. Worked fine, no physical side effects. Did get bitten by mozzies in a major endemic area in Nuigini but no Malaria. However, for the time I took the drug (and I did follow doctors orders for the full course) I was visited nightly by the most vivid and horrible nightmares that made it quite an ordeal to go to sleep. Now, I suffer no mental illness or take any mind altering substances. I have heard annicdotally that other people have endured similar side effects. Any other Doxy dreamers out there?

I have been taking this for about 2-3 and ever since I've been on this pill I have been experiencing stomach discomfort. I have never had stomach problems in my entire life so this is unusual. I am taking this pill as a malaria medicine because I will be traveling out of country, and also as an acne medicine. I have never had a side effect to any pill before, but last night I was throwing up like crazy and had to go to the emergency room at the hospital. They did not find anything wrong but I am sure it is this medicine and will stop taking because I do not want liver damage.

I have been taking Doxycyline since March for Malaria-living in Africa. At first, I was fine. Now I am experiencing severe consitpation; I get hot inside and feel feverish. Is this normal? I was told there was little to no side effects. So, my choice is chance malaria, or be constipated!

I am opting for the former!

After taking 100mg per day for about 6 weeks (travelling in malaria-endemic parts of Sth America) I developed severe chest pains overnight one night and have had pain on swallowing since (like an ulcer). Have stopped the medication and symptoms are improving gradually after 4 days.