Seasick Patches vs. Scopace Tablets

[Zandy595]

Tell me about the patch. I've heard that you change it every 3 days. Do they really stay on that long, even after swimming and showering?

Has anyone taken Scopace tablets (same medicine that's in the patch)? I've read that it's supposed to work better than the patch.

I know for sure that DS12 and I get very seasick and are planning on getting prescriptions for either the patch or tablets before our cruise. I just need to figure out which one (if our doctors give us a choice).

 

[lawmom3]

Here's my story:

On my first cruise I used the patch with no problems. It was a 4 night cruise. Then I used it again on a 5 night cruise. I am very prone to motion sickness and it did great on the cruise, I could feel the woozy movement of the ship but was NEVER nausious. Althought I did have very blurry vision, but better blurry than sick as a dog.

HOWEVER, the problem started after I took it off. I got home from the cruise and experienced 2 weeks of pure awfulness. I was not nauscious BUT it felt as if the floor was heaving and rolling constantly. I honestly never wanted to cruise again and I love cruising.

I've read that others suggest taking the patch off at night onboard while you sleep.

My doctor said that those severe motion disturbances afterwards are a rare side effect. Ironically, my stepmother experienced the exact same thing as I did. I think hers only lasted a week though.

My next cruise I'm going to take Bonine and ginger but have the patch with me in case of emergencies and just take it off at night.

Oh, and yes, it stays on very well.

 

[cruisinmama06]

What happened to Lawmom isn't rare - I see people comment about that all the time with the patch. It's not like you can just remove the patch and it's out of your system...it can have some nasty side effects for weeks afterwards. It can cause vision problems, which is never good.

I get severe motion sickness, so I take Bonine the day I hit the airport. And continue taking it until I get my "sea legs" which is usually by Day 3.

I would never use the patch.

Bonine works and less side effects.

 

[disney1990]

A friend of mine used the patch and had the same side affects. Plus, she was really, really tired on it and couldn't have a drink if she wanted one. I recommend the Bonine pills.

Personally, we started taking ginger pills a couple days before we boarded. We had the wrist pressure point bands, but we didn't need them. However, one member of our group did. After he got sick the first night, he kept the bands on night and day.

 

[Zandy595]

Ginger is absolutely useless, at least for me. And I'm not sure I trust Bonine to work, especially for the rough boat ride on the Tulum excursion. I know for a fact that it doesn't work if you take it after you start feeling sick. DS and I both wanted to die on a deep sea fishing trip this summer.

Does anyone have any good experiences with the patch?

 

[Lollipop's Mom]

Does Bonine make you sleepy?
I got quite sea sick on a 4 night carnival cruise we took about 3 years ago. I bought something at the gift shop, but it made me stoned and sleepy. I lost that last day of my cruise pretty much.
Is there anything out there non-drowsy?

 

[Zandy595]

Bonine made we very sleepy, especially after I forgot and had an alcoholic beverage. Knocked me right out in one of the shows.

 

[cruisinmama06]

Does Bonine make you sleepy?
I got quite sea sick on a 4 night carnival cruise we took about 3 years ago. I bought something at the gift shop, but it made me stoned and sleepy. I lost that last day of my cruise pretty much.
Is there anything out there non-drowsy?

If you bought in a gift shop it was probably just normal dramamine...which does make me very sleepy.

Bonine made we very sleepy, especially after I forgot and had an alcoholic beverage. Knocked me right out in one of the shows.

Yeah mixing alcohol with an anti-histamine is never good.

 

[love2travel]

Sandy, I am prone to seasickness. But, what I usually do is start taking dramamine the day before I leave and take one a day the entire trip and have never had a problem. I usually take it at night so if it did make me drowsy.

DH used to scuba dive and used the patch and never had any complaints with it. I think it all depends on the person. I know people that have used it and complained of very blurry vision.

 

[Zandy595]

Sandy, I am prone to seasickness. But, what I usually do is start taking dramamine the day before I leave and take one a day the entire trip and have never had a problem. I usually take it at night so if it did make me drowsy.

DH used to scuba dive and used the patch and never had any complaints with it. I think it all depends on the person. I know people that have used it and complained of very blurry vision.

I think DS and I will probably get the patch and try it out before the cruise. If we have any bad reactions we'll have to go with OTC stuff and hope for the best. That's a good idea to take it right before you go to bed. Was it out of your system enough so you could have a drink in the evening without it knocking you out?

 

[love2travel]

I think DS and I will probably get the patch and try it out before the cruise. If we have any bad reactions we'll have to go with OTC stuff and hope for the best. That's a good idea to take it right before you go to bed. Was it out of your system enough so you could have a drink in the evening without it knocking you out?

Oh believe me I had a few cocktails and never had a problem, LOL. I think they make it in a non-drowsy formula too.,

 

[rhondamccollough@hot]

I bought the non drowsy Dramamine today and plan to use that on our 4 night leaving the 31st!

 

[Pooh nut]

My wife and I used the patch this April. It worked great for both of us. I did have some difficulty focusing in on the small print on the menus but otherwise had no ill effects. We also did enjoy a cocktail or 4 on several days.

I was a little rocky the day after I took it off but nothing really offsetting. And, yes, they do last for 3 days each.

It is a wonderful option for me and my very, very seasick wife.

 

[tngal]

I have heard a lot of bad things about the patch which leads me to not want to use it, that being said, to each their own. We just used meclizine the morning of boarding the ship and once each morning thereafter and never had a problem at all. I had taken a cruise about 4 yrs earlier and was quite ill and i hadn't taken anything for it. The ginger i have tried for other stomach problems besides seasickness, and it worked quite well. JMHO...hope you find something that will help and doesn't make you feel bad afterward!!

Lisa

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

I'm a fan of the patch. I won't cruise without them! I used it last cruise and felt great for the entire trip. My close up vision was blurry (I had to hold things away from me a bit to read), but returned to normal by the end of our departure day (I removed the patch before I went to bed the night prior). I didn't notice any dry mouth or anything - but my husband uses patches as well and says they make stuff taste funny and really dry out his mouth.

I cannot take any of the oral motion sickness medications without becoming extremely fatigued and tired. My first cruise, I took Dramamine (doesn't matter which kind - the less sedating formula still knocks me out) and pretty much spent the entire cruise in a medication induced haze. When I didn't take the Dramamine, I felt absolutely green.

If you can take Dramamine without problems, go ahead and get it - much cheaper!

 

[tinapomp]

Does anyone have any good experiences with the patch?

My DH and I both used the patch on our last cruise. We got a prescription for it before we left, at the recommendation of a good friend of ours. It is called the Transderm Scop patch. We got on the ship and totally forgot about putting them on. The first day we got sick and that's when we remembered we forgot the patch, and put it on. We took a short nap and woke up feeling wonderful. We were told to just cut it in half for a smaller dosage, and we had no problems at all with it. We swear by it and are going to use it again on our cruise in November.

 

[elgerber]

My DH and I both used the patch on our last cruise. We got a prescription for it before we left, at the recommendation of a good friend of ours. It is called the Transderm Scop patch. We got on the ship and totally forgot about putting them on. The first day we got sick and that's when we remembered we forgot the patch, and put it on. We took a short nap and woke up feeling wonderful. We were told to just cut it in half for a smaller dosage, and we had no problems at all with it. We swear by it and are going to use it again on our cruise in November.

Did you cut it in half then? I am so glad to hear good stories about the patch, anyone else have some? My dd and I took a sailboat trip in Cabo last year, with dramamine and both thought we were going to die!

 

[Jaime]

I have friends who work off-shore on the oil rigs the patch is very poplar with them especially in rough seas and I never heard them ever complain about them...they recommended it to us for our cruise...they say they never get sick when they use them but always do when they don't...

 

[rcchello]

Landsickness may not have been related to the patch. I remember getting it for about an hour after being on a yacht for four days and I wasn't on any medication and did not get seasick.

Here is a quote from health.yahoo.com:

Landsickness," also known as debarkation sickness or mal de débarquement syndrome (MDDS), is a rare and poorly understood condition that affects some people who have spent time at sea. After returning to land, it's not unusual to feel, briefly, as if you're still on a rocking boat. This feeling typically passes within hours or days. But for an unlucky few, it continues indefinitely.​

 

[tinapomp]

Did you cut it in half then? I am so glad to hear good stories about the patch, anyone else have some? My dd and I took a sailboat trip in Cabo last year, with dramamine and both thought we were going to die!

We sure did. Both my DH and I cut it in half and used that. It worked like a charm for both of us.