A pill on doxycycline

Sounds like drugs?

Yes it's medical drug to prevent malaria. I was advised by my friend to take a pill of it before departure to test for allergy. And so on this fateful night, I took a gulp of water, then kept it in my oral cavity till I reached my room upstairs, take a pill and swallow it (I didn't have water upstairs). After that I resumed my work.

Halfway through my work, I suddenly felt very nauseated, with a strong urge to puke. I squatted by the toilet bowl for a while, but nothing came out. 

I started wondering if it was side effect of doxycycline, because I vaguely remember there is side effect for malaria pills. I came back to my laptop, and started googling on doxycycline and side effects. And there I saw nausea being the top side effect among the mild side effect list. Grrr... I still have to take this for the next 4 months, including the first month after I am back!

Then I found another website that says how to avoid negative symptoms of doxycycline, there I started realising why. Among the advice are:

1. Take doxycycline while you are having food - I took it hours after my last meal!
2. Take doxycycline with a glass full of water - I took it with only a mouthful of water!
3. Do not take doxycycline with milk - I almost took milk just now!

The nausea was too unbearable, so I walked down to look for food to ease it. And I realised I couldn't be attracted to any food. And then I remembered: Losing appetite is a side effect of doxycycline too. *sigh*

I really wish my symptoms will relieve and disappear soon, because I don't want to be such bad state of well-being to work and enjoy another country! And sadly as I am typing now, my vision is getting blurred. Blurred vision is also a side effect of doxycycline, which should be tolerated if it is not too severe. *give up* I felt like going to sleep, only to read that you should not lie down within an hour after taking in doxycycline, or else the chemical may dissolve in oesophagus instead, resulting in oesophagus damage.

I am so totally screwed.

I started wondering how could the Africans tolerate all these. My internship manager told me that they Cameroonians take that all the time too. And those websites didn't mention that the side effects will wear off with length of consumption! That means the Africans endure with these horrible side effects all their life? Or will they like me, be tempted to give up taking the pill? No that cannot be the case, because if you don't take, you get malaria, which should be 10 times worse than these side effects. Oh my god.. They must have enormous strengths to endure these! I am really feeling like I'm going mad with just once!