ApoyaaTuVeterano.org

Hi ~

If you wouldn't mind... can you answer some questions for me?

How was the Lariam administered and over what period of time?

When did you start experiencing symptoms and what specifically were they?

What about other physical symptoms... ANYTHING... even the slightest bit of changes that you can remember? What about your senses... smell, taste, hearing, touch, vision? And how about cognitive symptoms... memory, concentration, any aspect of your thinking process, reading comprehension, etc., etc.?

Can you give a couple of examples that would illustrate the intensity of the stress you went through and over what period of time?

I'm a civilian who is conducting research on PTSD/TBI and it would be helpful for me to have as much information as you are willing to provide about this. My understanding and approach with this is ENTIRELY different than what anyone else's is... and I have a hunch about what may be a particular problem with using Lariam for ANYONE that is in a very stressful situation... but I need some more information before I can tell you what I think is going on with this. Since I'm not military... try to describe things without using too many military terms... BUT... do NOT worry about holding anything back in order to protect ME from anything that you might have gone through. Just tell me what YOU are comfortable telling me... and let ME take care of ME! Deal?

I'm not sure if this message board is set up in such a way that I will receive an email if you reply to my post. If you would prefer to contact me privately... let me know and I will post again with an email address.

Regards,
Dr. Julien Arbor

I am hoping that my experiences might help another family out there who is having trouble with PTSD.

My husband, a former Command Sergeant Major, who participated in combat missions in Grenada, with the Special Forces in Colombia, in Kuwait, Iraq and Somalia has been suffering from PTSD for a couple decades. Our lives were changed when a medical doctor who was up on new research out of Washington state, realized that my husband's blood pressure medicine, Toprol, was worsening his ability to cope with his PTSD.

My husband suffered from reoccurring PTSD symptoms which would last for a few hours or up to a week at a time. He would lapse in and out of behaviors and would actively seek to isolate himself from the family during periods of severe behaviors. We lived in Alaska until this fall, and sometimes he would stay outside in severely cold weather working on things until he was sure that the kids were asleep. He didn't want to be gone, but knew that he was in no shape to be inside with us. I was at the end of my rope on knowing how to cope.

I actively sought support from an incredible psychologist who helped me to learn to modify my own behaviors and actions to assist my husband. This was very helpful, but it was still difficult.

What I want to write about is the immediate change that occurred when my husband was seen by a new medical doctor who successfully treated his blood pressure. He believed that the "beta blockers" in his blood pressure medicine were actually exacerbating his body's ability to cope with PTS. Within 30 days of coming off of the beta blockers (TOPROL) and being put on an older blood pressure medicine, my husband became the wonderful man he is again. Within 90 days, his periods of irrational behavior or moods had lessened to occur only for a few hours at a time. Within six months, he had developed an entirely new relationship with our daughters and there was a new level of trust between them.

I am so excited to share what I have learned with other people. Now, my husband's blood pressure is actually the lowest it's been since I've known him and he's the happiest he's ever been, too. He is so much closer and engaged with us. We go places together as a family again! I want to tell other people about what we experienced so medical doctors can look into the interaction of PTSD and beta blockers.

Now we are looking into supporting our family's health through better nutrition. We are trying to eat mostly vegetables, beans and low gluten foods.
Thank you for reading this!

Krista, Michigan

Everyone who has a loved one with PTSD owes it to them to ask them if they were given white pills with an x on them and told to take them once a week to prevent malaria.

Why is mention of Lariam often not even found in a vet's records, as if it was just a cough drop they were given rather than a prescription medicine?

In fact, Lariam causes the most extreme side effects that can affect humans. It causes hallucinations, paranoia, seizures, aggression, and the list goes on and on. As little as one dose of Lariam can cause brain damage. Several soldiers from Fort Bragg who killed their wives some years ago were reacting to Lariam.

Many Lariam survivors have identified the connection between their experience of Lariam poisoning and the literature on PTSD. It is no wonder this would happen because Lariam's side effects are so traumatic to experience that even civilians on vacation end up with PTSD because of what Lariam does to the brain!

For soldiers under stress, just multiply the trauma that Lariam adds to any situation and consider what this might mean for your loved one. The army invented Lariam, so they are likely to give your loved one a PTSD diagnosis and not mention Lariam because that would put the army at fault.

Educate yourself about Lariam at www.lariaminfo.org