Dizziness and Balance Problems
Lariam toxicity often produces dizziness and other vestibular symptoms.
2006 research finds mefloquine to be a neurotoxin that causes brain damage:
Mefloquine Induces Dose-Related Neurological Effects in a Rat Model. GS Dow et al., Walter Reed Army Institute of Medical Research (WRAIR), March 2006. This study documents that at treatment levels, the concentration of mefloquine in the bloodstream (reached in women after the 4th or 5th preventive dose) "caused degeneration of specific brain stem nuclei."
Vestibular Fact Sheet (PDF, 100K)
The Vestibular Disorders Association (VEDA)
According to VEDA:
"The most frequently reported symptoms of vestibular disorders are dizziness, unsteadiness or imbalance when walking, vertigo, and nausea. These symptoms may be quite mild, lasting minutes, or quite severe, resulting in total disability.
"Because the vestibular system interacts with many other parts of the nervous system, symptoms may also be experienced as problems with vision, muscles, and thinking, and memory.
"In addition, people with vestibular disorders may suffer headache and muscular aches in the neck and back, increased tendency to suffer from motion sickness, and increased sensitivity to noise and bright lights. Patients with vestibular disorders often report fatigue and loss of stamina and an inability to concentrate. Difficulty with reading and speech may occur during times of fatigue. When these symptoms are constant and disabling, they may be accompanied by irritability, loss of self-esteem, and/or depression."
- VEDA
Risks for Scuba Divers
Lariam can be dangerous for scuba divers.
The South African branch of DAN lists doxycycline as its first choice for divers diving in areas with chloroquine-resistant malaria: http://www.dansa.org/medical/malaria_prev.htm
"As diving medical physicians at the Royal New Zealand Naval hyperbaric medicine unit we would strongly advise that mefloquine should not be used as chemoprophylaxis for ... scuba diving ...." (Dr. David Wright, New Zealand Medical Journal, Dec 8, 1995, p. 514)
Tinnitus
Lariam toxicity sometimes causes tinnitus (ringing in your ears).