Vaccinations

Prior to going to Africa I had to get a number of vaccinations and also start taking anti-malarial drugs. After discussions with my doctors I opted for Larium as the anti-malarial drug. I wan't too enamoured with the known side effects of hallucinations and in severe cases possible suicidal tendancies, but I was told that it was the best drug for me to take. So if I don't end up coming back from Africa....

I also had to get a yellow fever vaccination. I was warned that most people get flu like symptoms 3-4 days after the shot, because it is a live virus and so you get a mild case of the disease in order to build immunity. I wasn't at all prepared for the severity of the "mild" case though. I went from being fine one hour to feeling like I had a really horrible flu with high fever and body aches the next. For about 24 hours I was in a terrible state and really thought that if this was a mild case the full blown disease must by awful. Maybe it was just the yellow fever or maybe it was in combination with the Larium, but I had some wild dreams during my night of fever. I haven't felt that bad in years. It all passed almost as abruptly as it came though, and now I'm supposed to be protected against yellow fever for 10 years.

If you are going to travel to Africa at all and have to take Larium and get a yellow fever shot, I really suggest getting the shot well before you start the Larium. Plus you should make sure that you don't have anything really important 3-4 days after the shot as it really put me down.