Malarone for Malaria Prevention User Reviews

• Menia
• April 11, 2010

"We used Malarone during our trip in Tanzania. To tell the truth, we were afraid of some bad comments about this drug. In fact, nothing happened to us. We were taking Malarone every day after our breakfast, so as to avoid an upset stomach. I think that, for malaria, Malarone is a very safe and without serious side effects."

• malab...
• December 22, 2009

"I have used Malarone for the past 3yrs, you have to take it 2 days prior to leaving the U.K. and for 5 days after returning. I find I get upset stomach and or nausea both on the 2nd day and 5 day period. When using it in Africa, I sometimes ended up with nightmares, but all round I find it is a good drug, and so far I have not contracted malaria."

• rettga
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 11, 2013

"Malarone is as safe as you can get. I have used it for 12 months without any symptom at all from the medicine or the parasite. My wife has taken it for 7 months and likewise no problem at all. The best part, while 12 colleagues have fallen and become hospitalized with the prevailing malaria in West Africa they were not taking any anti-malarial."

• cuhul...
• March 1, 2011

"I used Malarone for two years in Uganda and found it to be very effective and with minimal side effects. Having used other prophylactics against malaria in other African environments long term I would recommend it for those who do not like the side effects of Lariam (mefloquine). "

• ccjo
• November 20, 2011

"I found that my trip was overruled by the dizziness, vertigo, insomnia, lack of appetite, and general feeling of unwellness this medication caused. I quit taking it on day 5, in order to be fully aware of myself and surroundings for the remainder of my trip."

• Bud
• September 1, 2018

"My 8 yr old son and I took Malarone for 30 days, stopping 2 weeks ago. We both had loose stools and got mouth ulcers while on the medicine. I would consider those side effects mild. However, my son started having unwanted, intrusive dark thoughts while on the medicine and he started obsessing over them, feeling very guilty and confessing them to me. He had never acted in this way prior to taking the medicine. He is also having some weird dreams which make him feel bad. I have to wait 3 weeks to get an appointment with a child psychiatrist in our area but did see a pediatrician today who said his OCD-thought like difficulties were likely due to the antimalarial meds. I had not realized the association. I do hope the thoughts go away soon as they are all consuming to him and extremely worrying to both him and I. I feel helpless and don't know what to do."

• Anonymous
• September 25, 2011

"I used Malarone for over a year while living in West Africa and found it to be effective with the only side effect being the occasional bad dream. It would be my choice for an anti-malarial were I to return there."

• cosmic
• December 18, 2011

"I have been taking Malarone for the past 6 weeks while in Zambia. I take it after meals in the evening. I can't say I have had any noticeable side effects at all. Whether it is effective against getting Malaria only time will tell, I am here for another 5 weeks. I also use a net, repellent, etc."

• Komekid
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 19, 2020

"I was in a 35/35 rotation to an oilfield camp near Doba, Chad for 4 years. We had to take Malarone and we were tested for its presence in our system. This medication gave me diarrhea, incoherent dreams and sleep loss. I backed off the daily tablet dose to every other day in order to still pass the drug test. The diarrhea abated and the incoherent dreams diminished. I didn’t contract malaria."

• Matt
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 17, 2018

"I experienced quite a few side effects over the longer term that left me in quite a depressed state. Worst of which being heavy lethargy, racing heart anxiety and depression after using for several shorter trips. For me it's not so bad shorter term but certainly wasn't great in the longer term. My Doctor said to stop taking the drug and generally after a couple of weeks I felt fine again. From my experience I would be cautious and more aware with future use as I know it can effect my moods and cause me to feel extremely tired."

• Tea
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 19, 2018

"I was fine taking this medication when I was in Africa but a year later, I’ve been having all sort of health issues. I finally went to see the infectious disease doctor and she informed me my neuropathy, (involving seizures now) GI problems, memory problems, confusion, and other problems are from taking this drug. The dosage was way too high for somebody my size she said. I weigh about 116 and am 28 years old. I’ve never had problems before. Research before you take something. Oh, my neuropathy? Will reverse on its own or I’ll probably have to live with it for the rest of my life!"

• 7...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 24, 2017

"Do not take this medicine. After returning from a week long trip to Haiti, I was constantly nauseous, dizzy, had brain fogginess and was fatigue to the point that I couldn't even get through a day of work. I was 20 at the time and had never had any health problems. I also experienced severe depression. It was very scary as I had never struggled with any type of mental health issues prior to taking this drug. I went to multiple doctors after my trip trying to figure out what was wrong, and it took at least a month to realize it was from this medicine. At the time I read from other reviews that some users experienced the same symptoms . Two years later I am 22 now and from time to time have trouble with dizziness, nauseousness, fatigue, etc."

• Karen
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 3, 2016

"After taking the 2nd pill I developed raised red welts on my neck, shoulders and upper chest. I immediately stopped taking Malarone. The next day the raised welts were replaced by another rash where the skin was cracked, dry and felt hot to touch....like a bad burn. After a week of the new rash continuing to spread I went to the emergency room. I was immediately put on predisone and I was told if my rash continued to spread and develop blisters I would then need to seek immediate emergency medical treatment. I was endanger of developing Steven-Johnson Syndrome. It has been four weeks since I first took this drug. The rash is gone and my skin has peeled but I am now being tested systemic damage/ liver damage."

• James
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 25, 2018

"Took for 10 days for a 3 day visit to Kruger National Park. Was totally bricking it after readying all the scare stories. Zero side effects. No nausea, no weird dreams, nothing. Took with breakfast, including dairy."

• Sierra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 13, 2015

"I traveled to Sierra Leone with my two-and-half year old son in 2005. He and I took Malarone. He broke out in hives that required medical attention and I experienced severe dizziness and bad dreams. I would NOT recommend this drug to anyone. We were immediately taken off Malarone and put on Daraprim which worked fine as we stayed there for six weeks and we never got sick."

• cbgaja
• February 8, 2018

"I was so scared to take these after all the bad reviews. I was in South Africa with a group and we were 8 people taking malarone and we were all without side effects luckily. We always took the tablet after eating and only for 14 days. but it was all fine :)"

• MANYANA
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 14, 2020

"My husband and I took Malarone on a recent trip to Namibia and South Africa. My husband started having Deja Vu 2nd day then on flight to Namibia he told me the clouds were waves and there were surfers out there. Then left the hotel room in the middle of the night in his PJ's shouting at other guests to leave his house! Had to lock the room every night on holiday. Said people on tour were a religious sect. He is 69 by the way. I had vomiting and diarrhea on 3rd and 4th day but stopped taking as I had to look after my husband. I felt fine when I stopped taking them. Would NOT recommend."

• No...
• April 14, 2016

"When I tried Malarone around 2007, I became nauseous, stomach hurt, I could not eat at all and could not get out of the hotel. I had to stop the medication because I could not enjoy the vacation. However, in 2015 on another trip, I was given the generic version of Malarone. I felt fine during the whole stay and felt fine after the 7 days after the trip ended. While my friend, on the other hand, tried the brand name Malarone version and started to feel nauseous, swollen during the first day of the trip and had to stop. What do I encourage you to do? Please try the generic version of Malarone - Atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride."

• lilan
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 3, 2015

".Scariest drug reaction I have ever had. Started with being awakened by difficulty breathing (middle of night). took some antihistamines, and tried slow controlled breaths; then used an inhaler. Frequent urination (really frequent with some leakage!). By morning had sores in mouth from the swelling, red tissues in mouth, swollen eyelids, lips and face. Started a fever which went up to 103, Then got big leopard spots all over (why not, in Africa?) a pharmacist in our group insisted this must be anything but the Malarone because even he and his wife were taking it.!!! Don't listen to people like that, almost continued to take it. Horrible experience, quit it and did not get malaria which would have been preferable."

• eubean
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 17, 2016

"Be advised that any medication can have averse reactions on anybody. My experience with Malarone was when I traveled to Cambodia for 2 weekw. It took about a day before it started but Malarone completely incapacitated me with a constant level of nausea. I could not eat nor was it worth leaving the hotel because I was weakened by it. l, too, had to discontinue its use for the entire trip, completely soaked in deet instead. It would be advisable to try malaria medicine several days before you leave for a trip to any questionable location. Ironically, in the middle of 105° F temperatures,in November, in full sleeves and pants, I never encountered a single mosquito."

• Carol
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 4, 2020

"On about my fifth day of Malarone I had an extreme faintness . Feeling like I wanted to faint frequently ,trips to the bathroom and severe brain fog. After not improving I cut my trip short and came home and after doing research I saw that this was one of the big complaints with many people. Because I’ve had a couple of mosquito bites I continued to take it the recommended time continuing to have the side effects. It took around 24 hours of being off the pill before I started to notice the brain fog Decreasing and the lightheadedness disappear. As an RN it was my decision not to read the side effects before I took it because I feel like I would rather not be influenced in anyway . It was a big mistake taking this drug no one else in the group had any problems and they all took a very wide range of anti-malaria tablets. I would highly recommend not taking this drug."

• The...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 20, 2015

"I would only take malarone, knowing that the FDA recently put a black box warning on mefloquine, but malarone is really messing me up. I live in Africa and will be for the next couple of years. Malarone is causing me to have horrific insomnia, some hallucinations and muscle contractions. My stomach pain I can deal with along with the back pain. The insomnia is killing me, though. I can't work, I walk around like a zombie. I'm going to take my chances with malaria. No more pills for me."

• Fai
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 30, 2019

"Just returned from a week's safari in Kenya, I was absolutely fine for the first five or six days and then the drama started. I felt absolutely dreadful coming back from Mombasa, had to sit on a plane for 7 hours feeling like I was either going to faint or throw up any second. I've been home for 2 days now and I'm still having to take it, I still feel lightheaded and nauseous, my throat is so painful I can't speak for too long, my head is bunged up completely and I have headaches and interrupted sleep... and to top it all off, it even managed to cut through my IBS-C and give me rotten diarrhoea!! And yet there was not a single mosquito in sight the entire holiday. Considering I soaked myself in DEET insect repellant 24/7 and wore long sleeves etc. every single day I don't think there was much chance of even getting bitten at all. In hindsight it wasn't worth the difficulty."

• Lauren...
• August 28, 2017

"I'm participating in a research trial where you take 4 Malarone tablets a day for 3 consecutive days prior to your trip which theoretically covers you for Malaria (I hope) - this is all being monitored by a doctor. I read these reviews trying to see what sort of side effects I'd experience due to my large dose and I was ready for the worst, then...... Nothing. I took 4 tablets in one go - and nothing. I can only assume this affects different people in different ways but I'd recommend eating the fattiest food you can find prior to taking the pills because I think that saved me (I ate a McDonald's quarter pounder)."

• Geoff
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 25, 2019

"Currently in Kenya (Jan 2019) south of Mombasa. Here for a 2 week holiday. Wife and I both took Malarone for a week with no side effects. 2nd week we were both ill and stopped using it. Interestingly we have not seen 1 mosquito since we've been here (coast) and many other of the hotel guests were complaining of same Malarone symptoms and also stopped taking it too. We have been off it 2 days and already feel loads better. Neither of us will take it in the future. Side effects as follows : Nausea Stomach cramps Diarrhoea Lethargy Insomnia Red blotches on skin Strange dreams when we did manage to sleep How can you enjoy your holiday when you feel like this ???"