Ghana Tomorrow

So we're going to show up in Ghana tomorrow, meaning that I am officially entering malaria territory. That of course meant that as of yesterday I needed to start taking my malaria medication, doxycycline. I took it promptly at 7:30am yesterday, went to class, ran out of class, and promptly threw up. Thinking it was due to the fact that sometimes taking pills on an empty stomach makes me nauseous, I ran to the dining hall, ate half a pancake, and ran back to class. I sat down in class for 5 minutes, ran out, and threw up again.

 

Today, determined that yesterday was a mere result of the rough seas, I took my doxycycline yet again. To be safe, I made sure to eat a hard-boiled egg five minutes later. About five minutes later, I ran to the bathroom and threw up. Well, great. I decided to walk to class, made it inside the door, then ran back to Old Faithful (my trusty toilet) and threw up again. Class started, I got through 10 minutes of lecture, and guess what happened? My teeth are going to fall out SO quickly if this keeps happening.

 

I went down to the clinic to talk to the Doctor (whose real name is actually Dr Phil). He informed me that it was indeed the doxycycline that was making me so violently ill, and recommended that I switch to Malarone. Thing is, switching to Malarone will cost me about $300, considering it's priced about as fairly as a Moroccan carpet at a tourist site. If I can't find a way to keep these pills down, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do.

 

At this point, I'm weighing my options. Malaria...or puking? Hmm...