chloroquine monday

I got back on Saturday night (Sunday morning, really) from a week-long trip to Guatemala and Belize with friends. The eight of us spent two nights in Antigua, two in El Remate (near Tikal), two in San Ignacio, and two in Caye Caulker. After that, four of us left so we could attend a wedding on Sunday, and the remaining four stayed for two days of diving. Details to follow, before I forget everything...

Anyway, we were advised to take precautions against malaria, so we all started on a chloroquine regimen about a week before the trip. The pills are supposed to be taken weekly, on the same day each week, for a week before and four weeks after exposure. I took the first dose on a Monday, and I didn't feel any severe side effects (a little headache maybe), but one of my friends experienced some dizziness. "Chloroquine Monday", as we've been calling it, hit again on the day we spent hiking all over Tikal. Most of us were okay but the same friend had really bad nausea and fatigue all day. I just took the third dose last night, and again it wasn't too bad, but nevertheless I will be quite glad when we're all done.