Worry Spreads Over G.I. Drug Side Effects

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

SAN DIEGO - As a volunteer firefighter, Georg-Andreas Pogany had seen disfigured bodies pulled from wrecked cars. But something very different happened when the Army interrogator saw the mangled remains of an Iraqi soldier.

He became panicked, disoriented and that night reached for both his loaded pistol and rifle as he thought he saw the enemy bursting into his room. Pogany asked his superiors for help; the Army packed him home to face charges of cowardice - the first such case since Vietnam.

None of it made sense to Pogany until he learned more about the white pills the Army gave him each week to prevent malaria.

The drug's manufacturer warned of rare but severe side effects including paranoia and hallucinations. It became his defense: The pills made him snap. The Army dropped all charges, a spokesman later saying that Pogany "may have a medical problem that requires care and treatment."

Pogany is among the current or former troops sent to Iraq who claim that Lariam, the commercial name for the anti-malarial drug mefloquine, provoked disturbing and dangerous behavior. The families of some troops blame the drug for the suicides of their loved ones. Though the evidence is largely anecdotal, their stories have raised alarm in Congress, and the Pentagon has stopped giving out a pill it probably never needed to give to tens of thousands of troops in Iraq in the first place.

Story: http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/94-02122005-449091.html

[mongo]

1. Between this and delpeted uranium

It's a wonder if our soldiers will see old age. Why the hell are we not taking care of our people?

[Ironpost]

4. It seems these warmongers don't want any of them to live long.

[havocmom]

7. Win/Win for the junta. Their pals the Big Pham Industry make $$ pushing

drugs and more troops never live to become veterns, in need of care and with tales to tell voters.

Fucking bastards. Send their kids to be drugged and shot at!

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. kick

[Paradise]

3. This drug is from the Quinolone/Fluoroquinolone family of drugs!

In my experience/In my opinion, Quinolones/Fluoroquinolones (They go by MANY names!)
= THE DRUGS FROM HELL! :nuke:

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

5. I kind of filed this away in the "holy shit" category.

It's amazing what our government is doing today and getting away with.

[mordarlar]

6. The military vaccines are often overlooked in the DU claims.

The vaccines they are giving our soldiers are HORRIBLE. Side affects are many. My brother has been having Grand Mol seizures since receiving the vaccines from the AF. God only knows what else they are doing to damage these otherwise healthy American kids.

[Mika]

8. Follow the money

...the Pentagon has stopped giving out a pill it probably never needed to give to tens of thousands of troops in Iraq in the first place...

The profiteering mo fos' should burn in hell for this.

---

[Catchawave]

9. Weren't malaria drugs blamed on a rash of homicides

committed against wives on an army base after Gulf War One? I also recall a cover-up between the Pentagon and the pharmas.

http://www.yourlawyer.com/practice/news.htm?story_id=6599&topic=Lariam

[NYC]

10. They were suspected, not proven.

Of course, you can't prove something if you don't even try.

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsbrag112818835aug11.story
NEWSDAY
Drug comes under fire
Anti-malaria pill’s role in army spousal violence questioned

By Mark Benjamin and Dan Olmsted

UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL; Freelance writer J.S. Newton contributed to this story.

August 11, 2002
Fayetteville, N.C. - A Fort Bragg soldier charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife took an anti-malaria drug linked to aggression and suicidal thinking while serving in Afghanistan, and allegedly killed his wife just weeks after his return.

A second soldier suspected of killing his wife had almost certainly been given the drug, Lariam, in Afghanistan, according to an Army medical source familiar with the soldier's duty there.

The attorney for Master Sgt. William Wright confirmed Friday his client took Lariam, also known by the generic name mefloquine. "He was taking it," Thomas Maher said. Maher said his client didn't attribute any particular adverse effects to the drug, but "he felt like he was kind of floating when he got back" from Afghanistan.

--- The link is no longer working. I copied the entire article at the time. If anyone has questions, let me know.

[insane_cratic_gal]

11. In Fort Bragg in 2002

There was alarming issues with 4 deaths on one base 3/4 were all taking the drug Lairm.

[Moderator]

12. kick

[leftchick]

13. Worry spreads over GI drug side effects

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/national/index.ssf?/base/national-4/1108305059282270.xml&storylist=national

Though the evidence is largely anecdotal, their stories have raised alarm in Congress, and the Pentagon has stopped giving out a pill it probably never needed to give to tens of thousands of troops in Iraq in the first place.

As a volunteer firefighter, Georg-Andreas Pogany had seen disfigured bodies pulled from wrecked cars. But something very different happened when the Army interrogator saw the mangled remains of an Iraqi soldier.

He became panicked, disoriented and that night reached for both his loaded pistol and rifle as he thought he saw the enemy bursting into his room. Pogany asked his superiors for help; the Army packed him home to face charges of cowardice — the first such case since Vietnam.

None of it made sense to Pogany until he learned more about the white pills the Army gave him each week to prevent malaria.

The drug's manufacturer warned of rare but severe side effects including paranoia and hallucinations. It became his defense: The pills made him snap. The Army dropped all charges, a spokesman later saying that Pogany "may have a medical problem that requires care and treatment."

[amazona]

14. oh the paranoia caused by lariam is real

They should tell the soldiers up front. I was aware of this side effect because I was properly warned by my doctor beforehand, so when I experienced the paranoia, I didn't get paranoid about it, if you get my meaning. But if you didn't know where these thoughts and visions were coming from, you'd be majorly freaked.

On Edit-- there are 2 other malaria drugs you can take if you can't take Lariam. Once is doxycycline, which might not work well in the desert because it makes you susceptible to sunburn. The other is a much more expensive pill which should be taken every day. My doctor's plan was that if I couldn't tolerate the Lariam at all, I could switch to the more expensive drug. This option should be there for the soldiers experiencing the paranoia, vision, and nightmares.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[MisterP]

15. Dumsfeld and establishment: "lies! mass hysteria! hallucinations!

criminal paranoia!" *whimper*

[amazona]

16. the hallucinations can be very convincing

Maybe those who have experience with peyote, LSD, or other hallucinogens can handle these experiences but I have always tried to avoid the hallucinogens and I was amazed at the intensity and seeming reality of the Lariam experience I had. Fortunately I was able to significantly reduce this aspect of it by taking it in the morning, NEVER in the evening before attempting to sleep.

Don't mix Lariam and hard liquor either. I thought one before dinner cocktail would be OK. No.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Moderator]

17. kick

[RamboLiberal]

18. Hallucinations linked to drug given to troops

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6947472/

As a volunteer firefighter, Georg-Andreas Pogany had seen disfigured bodies pulled from wrecked cars. But something very different happened when the Army interrogator saw the mangled remains of an Iraqi soldier.

He became panicked, disoriented and that night reached for both his loaded pistol and rifle as he thought he saw the enemy bursting into his room. Pogany asked his superiors for help; the Army packed him home to face charges of cowardice — the first such case since Vietnam.

None of it made sense to Pogany until he learned more about the white pills the Army gave him each week to prevent malaria.

The drug’s manufacturer warned of rare but severe side effects including paranoia and hallucinations. It became his defense: The pills made him snap. The Army dropped all charges, a spokesman later saying that Pogany “may have a medical problem that requires care and treatment.”

Pogany is among the current or former troops sent to Iraq who claim that Lariam, the commercial name for the anti-malarial drug mefloquine, provoked disturbing and dangerous behavior.

[phusion]

19. Very common...

From what I have heard from Peace Corps volunteers, it's very common to have hallucinations/vivid dreams on these pills. Guess it's better than malaria, though.

[TO Kid]

20. This has been known for a long time

This drug is believed to be a factor in the behaviour of Canadian soldiers in Somalia, where they beat a teenager to death.

[KittyWampus]

21. Special Forces Were Given Lariam. And They Went On To "Snap"

killing wives, threatening violence etc.

Special Forces do not, by definition, 'snap'.

In fact, it's never happened before... and now, after Lariam, its happening on a statistically significant basis.

Oh, and if IRC, the effects of Lariam on the brain are permanent.

[aikido15]

22. And speed...

Gee, ya think that might make a person snap? Lariam and speed cocktail?

I watched a documentary called, "The Need for Speed" where it showed how common it is for our troops to be given speed, so much so that many come back home addicted.

[Redstone]

23. Don't worry, the Government will take care of them

just like it has taken care of the hundreds of thousands of people who got sick from being in Glorious Gulf Crusade 1.

And the agent-orange folks from Viet Nam.

Redstone