ADHD meds and motion sickness?

[praline3001]

### Please understand I will be discussing options with my doc and not taking medical advice per say from a message board I would like to know what options are out there to discuss with the Doc before talking with him###

My son has severe ADHD. We give him adderall and he does WONDERFUL on it!!! He is a completely different child LOL went from F's to strait A+ on his report card.

Anyway, I am planning on taking his meds with me on our trip to Disney.
1. Because he (his words) likes himself more on his meds. He can focus on fun stuff better (not just school work)
2. He is prone to ADHD melt downs when not on his meds (not good at Disney)

THE PROBLEM:
He ALSO gets EASILY motion sick (even in the car on long rides)
He is also a total daredevil and wants to ride all the thrill rides
I USED to combat the motion sickness with children's dramamine and it worked REALLY well for him and he was able to ride all the thrill rides and not leave protein spills

THE QUESTION:
Does anyone know if there is a drug interaction between Adderall and dramamine? Are there any KNOWN dangers to taking both?
Is there a 'script for motion sickness (please NOT the patch as its worthless for him) that works better than dramamine and can be taken with adderall?

As I said at the start of the post... I will be discussing this with his Doc but I want to go informed of my options.

What would be the best way to handle both issues?

 

[SueM in MN]

I think you are wise to keep him on his medication for the trip. We have been to WDW with people with ADD both on and off medication. It was a much beter trip on the medication.

A good place to start would be your Pharmacist.
Pharmacists usually are better advisors about medication than doctors because that is their whole focus and education. The Pharmacist usually also has online medication databases to help with figuring out things like interactions. From the Pharmacist, you can probably get a list of options to explore more with the doctor.

I've also heard of people using ginger with some success. Some people also use have reported using accupressure bands like SeaBands. You can find a lot of options like that by doing a google search for "sea sickness" or "motion sickness" + "non-drug". There are also some (rather expensive) bands that are battery operated. The expense might be worth it if they actually work. Here's a link to Reliefband.

 

[honugirl]

We use ginger on the boat all the time, it works wonders. Ginger ale, ginger root, ginger candy, it doesn't really matter.

I'm not really that prone to motion sickness so I haven't taken dramamine with my adderall, but I can't really see why there would be an issue. I've never heard of one.

 

[praline3001]

Thanks Sue for the idea of the wrist band. I showed it to my son and he said NO WAY would he wear that! He would look like a nerd or a freak
Me and my sarcastic mom tone replied with, "And hanging your head in a trash can at the exit of Peter Pan is so much cooler?"

Last time we were there we forgot the dramamine on MK day and he did get sick on peter pan
Its a wonder he doesn't have a protein spill riding his bike down the street!!!
We have tried the ginger snaps for car rides and boat rides and it is a hit or miss with him... sometimes it works and sometimes ...
I researched the adderal and dramamine combo today on the web and couldn't find anything that was a danger red flag. Since dramamine (the less drowsy kid kind) has always worked for him all day long in the past I think I am going to stick with it... as long as the doc/ pharmasist confirms that its okay to take together. We have tried the ear patches in the past and they were laughable. They not only gave him a bad migraine ... he also still got sea sick!!!

 

[Sleepy]

Poor kid. My son is also severely ADHD and takes Adderall, but does not have motion sickness. As someone else said, I would recommend not taking him off the Adderall during the trip.

As you stated, asking the doc is the best advice, but I know my son has taken many different OTC (docs prescribed) and the only problem we have encountered was Sudafed. It left him spacey so I discontinued it.

I hope your son finds something that keeps his tummy under control.

 

[Selket]

What about Bonine? There is a children's version too. My older son took this on our cruise and it worked well for that issue (he was not on ADD meds at the time - I cannot speak to that). I suggest bonine because it doesn't usually make folks sleepy/tired. We all took it with no side effects. I've read that folks have used it who are prone to getting sick on rides and it worked.

Good luck!

 

[praline3001]

What about Bonine? There is a children's version too. My older son took this on our cruise and it worked well for that issue (he was not on ADD meds at the time - I cannot speak to that). I suggest bonine because it doesn't usually make folks sleepy/tired. We all took it with no side effects. I've read that folks have used it who are prone to getting sick on rides and it worked.

Good luck!

Bonine has the same active ingredients as Dramamine
25mg meclizine hydrochloride

Since its the same active ingredient it should make people feel the same on it.

 

[Selket]

Bonine has the same active ingredients as Dramamine
25mg meclizine hydrochloride

Since its the same active ingredient it should make people feel the same on it.

The Dramamine I've seen has Dimenhydrinate as the active ingredient.

The packaging on the Bonine says this:

Bonine® works up to 4 times longer and causes less drowsiness than original dramamine.*

 

[Samantha Becker]

We just go back from the World and the cruise. Son has ADHD and taked Focalin XR. Was actually quite a nightmare when we got down there because we forgot his meds on the counter at home. We had to call have mail us a rx to our hotel, so 3 days without meds not pretty. At least we got before the cruise. Anyways, he took chewable bonine with it and there were no side effect and he did not get motion sick. Hope everything works out for your son.