Naval Reserve commander William Manofsky, 44, says the Navy altered his medical records to remove any indication that he was prescribed Lariam, a controversial anti-malaria drug, that he believes made him suicidal, aggressive and sick. Manofsky claims to have before-and-after evidence to back up his allegations.
“I was given Lariam. I got sick from Lariam,” said Manofsky, who is based at the Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, Calif. “The Navy does not want to talk about Lariam. There is no mention of it in my medical record. I’m pretty upset.”
Manofsky says there is no record in his file of ever being prescribed Lariam, which was given to him last November by the Navy. He claims that a page is missing on which “Took Lariam” was written, a reference to the drug during an emergency clinic visit on May 13. Manofsky says he has a copy of the page that clearly shows it written there.
Manofsky and his wife, Tori, believe the military is covering up problems with Lariam.
“The military created the drug,” Tori Manofsky said (it was developed by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and licensed to Roche). “There is a lot of money involved in the drug. I think there are a lot of careers at stake. Anything that shows a problem with Lariam has to be hidden or covered up somehow by the military. If all these people came back and it was clearly Lariam, there would be lawsuits up the kazoo.”
Lariam was linked in a series of widely publicized murders and suicides involving two soldiers last summer in Fort Bragg, N.C.
The following disclosure is posted at www.lariam.com, “Lariam, generically known as mefloquine, may cause psychiatric symptoms in a number of patients, ranging from anxiety, paranoia, and depression to hallucinations and psychotic behavior. On occasions, these symptoms have been reported to continue long after mefloquine has been stopped. Rare cases of suicidal ideation and suicide have been reported though no relationship to drug administration has been confirmed.”
“Any drug with a quinolone base to it, which includes Lariam, is likely to induce a temporary homicidal or suicidal rage,” said Dr. Donald H. Marks, former associate director of clinical research at Roche who now consults with attorneys suing drug manufacturers.
(via United Press International)
10 responses so far ↓
CDR Bill Manofsky USNR // Sep 17, 2003 at 10:01 pm
Legal News,
Thanks for posting the UPI article.
Please forward any comments that you have received to my email if you can. I am curious as to the response
Thanks,
Bill
Tracy Howard Gibbs // Dec 9, 2003 at 4:38 pm
Bill,
I am a friend of your cousin Mary’s. In fact we might have met at Steve and Mary’s wedding. I am dumbfounded by what has happened and extremely disappointed in how all of this has been handled. I work in the PR field, mostly entertainment and sports. Have you contacted outlets such as CNN? CBS’s 60 Minutes? You have obviously spoken to the media but I am curious as to who you may have contacted. If I can be of any assistance, please let me know.
I wish you and your wife the very best. You are both obviously very courageous.
Best,
Tracy Howard Gibbs
Greg Cugola // Feb 2, 2004 at 3:18 am
I am concerned that Lariam could be responsible for a Vitamin B12 deficiency in the blood called pernicious anemia. Malaria is also a blood based disease. Is it possible that Lariam interferes with the oxygen carring capacity of red blood cells? What do you think? Any input?
Bill Manofsky // Feb 28, 2004 at 11:20 pm
Greg/Tracy,
Please send an email to me at wlmjr2@msn.com
Greg - I know a serviceman who took lariam who now has anemia. I really need more info if you have any about this.
Tracy, Let’s talk. I will ask Mary about you.
Thanks,
Bill
Kevin // Mar 25, 2004 at 7:34 pm
Would anyone that has had ocular side effects with Mefloquine please contact me and explain the specifics. eg. type of defect, permanent or temporary, how long of duration after discontinuing the drug.
William // May 20, 2004 at 7:00 pm
Here’s a shortened version of my aggrivating Mefloquine experience. I’ve taken Mefloquine while in the Middle East for Operation Iraqi Freedom and have had several seizures from this drug. I visited a neurologist at a CIVILIAN practice upon returning to the U.S. who performed several tests and told me that this drug caused the seizures and can cause nervous system damage as well. I told the military doctors in my battalion and gave them a copy of the medical reports from the neurologist, which surprised them but nothing was or could be done at that point because I was at the end of my four-year active duty contract. About two weeks after my EAS I returned to my home town and had another seizure. After that I filed for disability compensation with the VA, they supposedly “lost” my military medical records by the way but thankfully I have a copy of them and they are written proof I was taking this drug and I have the records from the civilian neurologist that I visited while in the military. I’ve had several visits to the neurologist at the local VA hospital, who performed many tests and the neurologist told me that I was BORN with this seizure problem. I thought to myself, “this guy is a total liar and is covering up for the government.” I have no prior history of seizures before taking this drug and seizures do not run in my family. Common sense would tell one that my seizure problem must be related to this drug. But if the VA wants to play games, I’ll take this stuff to court and call all of the TV talk shows and news stations and have it broadcasted all over the nation. It’s been a while since I’ve had a seizure but I now have a problem with involuntary muscle movements, i.e., I’ll be watching television and my arm, foot, leg, etc. will move or jerk as if I’ve been shocked. Maybe it’s that nervous system damage that the civilian neurologist told me about. But the VA neurologist has me on a seizure medication now.
David Warren // May 21, 2004 at 4:15 pm
I served in the military from 1990-1999 and was deployed to the Middle East during the first gulf war and was also given medication which not surprising to me there is any record of it. Around 1996 I started getting uncontrollable twitching in my body which I had never experienced before in my entire life. Before I ETS’ed in 1999 I was seen by a civilian neurologist and he diagnosed me as having a partial seizure disorder. After having an MRI of the brain done they found the left side of my brain was bigger than my right and stated that was that cause of my seizures and it was something I was born with. I’m now 39 and am on seizure medication that I’ll be on the rest of my life. My situation is exactly like William’s story. I’ve seen two different neurologists since leaving the military, one even went to the extreme as saying the way my brain was he had never in his entire career seen anything like it and asked if he could take my MRI x-rays to show his colleagues. I spoke with a relative today that was watching CNN and seen a news story concerning this today and how someone was actually suing the drug company that made this drug. I’m unsure if this story was pertaining to anyone that has posted messages but I would be interested to find out the different steps other people are taking to get this issue resolved.
David Warren // May 21, 2004 at 4:15 pm
I served in the military from 1990-1999 and was deployed to the Middle East during the first gulf war and was also given medication which not surprising to me there is any record of it. Around 1996 I started getting uncontrollable twitching in my body which I had never experienced before in my entire life. Before I ETS’ed in 1999 I was seen by a civilian neurologist and he diagnosed me as having a partial seizure disorder. After having an MRI of the brain done they found the left side of my brain was bigger than my right and stated that was that cause of my seizures and it was something I was born with. I’m now 39 and am on seizure medication that I’ll be on the rest of my life. My situation is exactly like William’s story. I’ve seen two different neurologists since leaving the military, one even went to the extreme as saying the way my brain was he had never in his entire career seen anything like it and asked if he could take my MRI x-rays to show his colleagues. I spoke with a relative today that was watching CNN and seen a news story concerning this today and how someone was actually suing the drug company that made this drug. I’m unsure if this story was pertaining to anyone that has posted messages but I would be interested to find out the different steps other people are taking to get this issue resolved.
David Warren // May 21, 2004 at 5:55 pm
I served in the military from 1990-1999 and was deployed to the Middle East during the first gulf war and was also given medication which not surprising to me there is any record of it. Around 1996 I started getting uncontrollable twitching in my body which I had never experienced before in my entire life. Before I ETS’ed in 1999 I was seen by a civilian neurologist and he diagnosed me as having a partial seizure disorder. After having an MRI of the brain done they found the left side of my brain was bigger than my right and stated that was that cause of my seizures and it was something I was born with. I’m now 39 and am on seizure medication that I’ll be on the rest of my life. My situation is exactly like William’s story. I’ve seen two different neurologists since leaving the military, one even went to the extreme as saying the way my brain was he had never in his entire career seen anything like it and asked if he could take my MRI x-rays to show his colleagues. I spoke with a relative today that was watching CNN and seen a news story concerning this today and how someone was actually suing the drug company that made this drug. I’m unsure if this story was pertaining to anyone that has posted messages but I would be interested to find out the different steps other people are taking to get this issue resolved.
Paul Mason // May 26, 2004 at 11:23 pm
Bill, I hope you and your family are doing well and I wish you all the best.
Paul Mason (Former USNR VP Puke)
You must log in to post a comment.