Malaria risk symptoms and conditions

Hi, my boyfriend and I are travelling Laos and a few other countries with Malaria risk and have been taking Doxycycline for about 1 week. we are both feeling not too well. Really tierd, total loss of apetite and I am experiencing blood in my stools. I think we are going to keep taking this for another week and if things dont get better we will stop. Its spoiling our time away! LA

i took doxycycline daily for several months as an anti-malarial prophylactic and had disastrous health problems as a result. the worst part is that i didn't think all of my sudden health problems were due to the doxycycline, so i continued to take it daily, even when i could no longer eat because i could not swallow anything!!!

it hurt to swallow spit, let alone water or food, but i thought the doxycycline was a crucial thing to continue taking to avoid malaria risk, so i made myself continue it despite the excruciating pain i was experiencing every day. none of the doctors i consulted could understand what was going on, but none of them thought it was due to the prolonged taking of doxycycline either. but it was.

i was one of the people who developed esophageal ulcers, which initially felt like a lump in my throat (like if you were to eat a hunk of french bread and swallowed without chewing well enough) and later was so painful that i stopped eating altogether. this was 8 years ago, i don't remember if i was experiencing headaches or the other common side effects, aside from nausea, digestive problems, and sun-sensitivity, which i did experience.

eventually i was unable to leave my bed, no energy at all, in severe pain, feeling like i was ready to give up and die (it was that alarming and scary; i actually remember that thought) and finally i was seen by an ayurvedic doctor (indian traditional system of medicine). she was shocked that americans are prescribed such a strong drug for anti-malarial prophylaxis. she said in india they will take it at that dosage for three days max, but i had been taking it for months at my doctor's recommendation! she insisted that i stop taking the doxycycline IMMEDIATELY and eat custard and vanilla pudding, which counteracted the burning effects of the ulcerations of my esophagus and stomach lining (and also didn't hurt as much as solid food would have).

i started feeling better immediately and decided i'd rather deal with getting malaria than ever subject myself to taking antibiotics for anything other than an acute serious infection that could not be addressed by any other means. i certainly will never take doxycylcine again. i am someone who reads about potential side effects of all medications and prefers to take none; however, back then, the esophageal ulcers weren't even mentioned in the side effect literature that i received.

i hope this helps someone who may be going through similar issues now. antibiotics are stronger drugs than we realize, and i'm amazed at how regularly and almost carelessly they are prescribed. but i put more blame on the fact that we as consumers don't have access to adequate information provided to educate ourselves about the possible risks of the drugs we take. the drug industry wouldn't be such a moneymaking machine if we were well informed.