Malarone and Dizziness: What Users Say

• ccj...
• November 20, 2011

For Malaria Prevention "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."

• ccj...
• November 20, 2011

For Malaria Prevention "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."

• Hin...
• August 20, 2020

"I have been taking Malarone now for 3 days (2 pills twice per day) and then after that 3-day period, just 1 pill twice per day) and will continue to do so for about 4 months. It is used to treat babesiosis (for me, alongside doxycycline, cefuroxime, and disulfiram for Lyme disease). However, I want to add here that many people seem to get very sick from this very quickly. Too many for it to be a common side effect. One other post mentioned this. The symptoms of nausea, brain fog, balance issues, heavy fatigue, and lethargy, etc., are all VERY common in the Lyme disease and co-infection world. If this drug is 'herxing' you so quickly, producing such typical co-infection-type symptom clusters, you MUST get checked for Babesia, and if you have Babesia, chances are you may have other co-infections too. (50% of those that get Borrelia from a tick bite also get Babesia, like me!) Long-term dangers of these conditions if left untreated are terrible. (Think Alzheimer's, dementia, etc.) Do not risk it!"

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

For Malaria Prevention "Do not take this medicine. After returning from a week-long trip to Haiti, I was constantly nauseous, dizzy, had brain fogginess, and was fatigued 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, nausea, fatigue, etc."

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

For Malaria Prevention "I traveled to Sierra Leone with my two-and-a-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."

• Kar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 30, 2025

"I took this for four weeks when I had babesia. I had brain fog, extreme lethargy, heart palpitations, low blood pressure, orthostatic blood pressure, dizziness, hives all over my body, pain in my muscles and joints. It seemed to help. Then my insurance stopped covering it. I was on doxycycline and amoxicillin at the same time and after (for four months). I still have some milder lethargy and brain fog."