Best option for motion sickness

[Peppeperoni]

I’ll be going to universal for a day with my mom! I know I can handle the rides, but she agrees it’ll be best to either take or wear something for motion sickness. I have seen everything from non drowsy pills to patches to the bands you wear on wrists.

What works best for you?

 

[Suprachica79]

Best option by far is the transderm scop patch. Requires a prescription and does have side effects in some people. Main ones are dry mouth and trouble focusing with your eyes, ie hard time reading small print.

Next are over the counter meds Bonine (meclizine) or Dramamine (dimenhydrinate). Side effects with these are minimal, but are not as effective as the patches. Good for those who can handle most rides but come off somewhat woozy.

I’ve read about sea bands but have never tried them myself. I have heard good results but working in pharma, I trust the drugs to work.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

The trans-derm scop patch is much more effective than the oral meds. As an added bonus, it is also apply once and you're good for 3 days. No issues mixing it with alcohol either
It is OTC in Canada.

 

[elfling8]

I prefer the meclizine to the dimenhydrinate. Not sure how well they will work for me on the rides, but I take Dramamine 2 (meclizine 24 hours) to fly. The original dramamine 4-6 hr makes me really grumpy. Like, hangry grumpy, like I will kill you if you look at me wrong. LOL Meclizine makes me a little stupid (I have to remind DH I took it so he doesn't give me the look if I'm being a bit slow) but not particularly drowsy or feeling bad.
Thinking DS and I will have to take it at least one day to enjoy all the rides. I'm good on roller coasters, but the simulator rides do me in.

 

[mycutiepatooties]

I used the Sea Bands on our cruise for a couple days. I had to take them off because they hurt. I actually had little round bruises from the pressure ball. They were itchy and tight. I hated wearing them. I switched to Bonine and I was fine -- just taking it everyday on our cruise. It was calm seas and I really couldn't feel motion on the ship much at all.

We have a Universal trip coming up and I tend to get very sick on the motion simulator rides with screens. Last time, I took no meds and didn't have Sea Bands so I rode everything with my eyes closed or sat at the exits with the bags while my family rode. I am strongly considering the patch for our Universal trip. I don't want to miss out on everything again like last time.

 

[Sue M]

The trans-derm scop patch is much more effective than the oral meds. As an added bonus, it is also apply once and you're good for 3 days. No issues mixing it with alcohol either
It is OTC in Canada.

Well that’s no fun on vacay!

 

[Sue M]

I use Bonnine. No side effects for me. Mostly for Hulk! And RR. Even with taking it I still won’t go on spin rides like tea cups or that rocket ride at Disney. It was too funny, one trip we stayed at The Fairfield Inn our first night before transferring to Portofino and they had a bowl of Bonnine in the lobby. It was great. First time I tried it. Now every time I go to Florida I stop at CVS and get some. We don’t have it in Canada (I don’t think).

 

[Darcy03231]

Another Bonine user here. I use it for the parks and on cruises and have not had any ill effects from it.

 

[DizMinMouse]

I need the prescription Transderm Scop patch b/c I have severe motion sickness & no other remedy works. This prescription has been a miracle for me enabling me to travel. However, after taking it for a week, I would always get severely ill for a couple days after removing the patch. I still considered it well worth it b/c I can’t otherwise travel. The great news is I found this article on the internet that changed my life. I used the “step-down” method using meclizine described in the article and I didn’t get sick when I got back from vacation & took off the patch! I’m NOT a medical professional so be sure to make an informed decision before trying this. Only try this if you get bad withdrawal from the patch like I do. Meclizine is the active ingredient in one of the types of over the counter Dramamine. I came home, took off the patch, & started taking meclizine a couple hours later. It was 50mg every 6-8 hours for 2-3 days. I did 3 days. Then 25mg every 8 hours for 4-5 days. I did 4 days. It was the first time I didn’t have withdrawal symptoms. IMPORTANT: I’m NOT a medical professional so don’t trust me. I rolled the dice & this worked for me so I just wanted to share this article:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3971103/

Side note: my main side effect from the patch is I become temporarily farsighted while wearing the patch.
I’ve used the patch for full weeks (which is 3 patches) on 8 separate occasions & I haven’t personally had any long-term effects.
Please only use the patch if Dramamine/Bonine doesn’t work for your motion sickness though. There’s no need to take a strong prescription if the over the counter remedies work for you.
Good luck to all my fellow motion sickness sufferers!

 

[Scifidiner]

Drink a lot of whiskey then mix in some beer, works for me every time.

 

[Suprachica79]

I need the prescription Transderm Scop patch b/c I have severe motion sickness & no other remedy works. This prescription has been a miracle for me enabling me to travel. However, after taking it for a week, I would always get severely ill for a couple days after removing the patch. I still considered it well worth it b/c I can’t otherwise travel. The great news is I found this article on the internet that changed my life. I used the “step-down” method using meclizine described in the article and I didn’t get sick when I got back from vacation & took off the patch! I’m NOT a medical professional so be sure to make an informed decision before trying this. Only try this if you get bad withdrawal from the patch like I do. Meclizine is the active ingredient in one of the types of over the counter Dramamine. I came home, took off the patch, & started taking meclizine a couple hours later. It was 50mg every 6-8 hours for 2-3 days. I did 3 days. Then 25mg every 8 hours for 4-5 days. I did 4 days. It was the first time I didn’t have withdrawal symptoms. IMPORTANT: I’m NOT a medical professional so don’t trust me. I rolled the dice & this worked for me so I just wanted to share this article:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3971103/

Side note: my main side effect from the patch is I become temporarily farsighted while wearing the patch.
I’ve used the patch for full weeks (which is 3 patches) on 8 separate occasions & I haven’t personally had any long-term effects.
Please only use the patch if Dramamine/Bonine doesn’t work for your motion sickness though. There’s no need to take a strong prescription if the over the counter remedies work for you.
Good luck to all my fellow motion sickness sufferers!

I had the exact same problem. About 24 hours after removing the patch I’d be incredibly nauseous and dizzy, sometimes even inducing vomiting for about 12 hours. It was for this reason that I attempted the bonine on my last trip with great results so I will be using that from now on. However, this step-down method makes a lot of sense and should work for people who just have to have the patch.

 

[mycutiepatooties]

Thanks for sharing about the side effects after removal. I appreciate the information.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I had read to make sure not to take the patch off early (even if you don't need it the whole 3 days). Following that advice, it 2as not a problem for my friend after removal. Obviously YMMV.

 

[FoodieFriend]

My family has varying degrees of motion sickness & we've found MotionEaze helps most of the time. My mother, who has the most severe cases, finds the MotionEaze doesn't work for her in really rough airplane rides or boat rides. She's tried SeaBands on cruises & again, that also doesn't work for her in extremely rough seas, but works fine on moderate seas. MotionEaze is an OTC "all-natural" liquid that you apply behind the ears that relieves my motion sickness. I've applied it even after feeling nauseous & it's relieved my symptoms without any side effects. I'm guessing it's made up of some sort of essential oils because it has a menthol/eucalyptus scent. I've found it at my local Walmart & I've seen it available on Amazon. I used Dramamine as a child & it really knocked me out, so I'm not into using drugs for motion sickness if I can avoid it. But that's just my personal preference. I'm trying a cruise for the first time in 2020 & I'm hoping MotionEaze will be enough, but I may have to pack some Dramamine as a backup. Hope you can find a solution that works without too many side effects.

 

[JPinkc]

Thanks for this thread as my wife had motion sickness from Exp Everest, on our last Disney trip, she had never really had it before, except a very mild case from Rock n Roll Roller coaster. I will be looking into the over the counter stuff mentioned.