Seasick Prevention- Does it always work?

[icekdz]

Do you know of anyone who has gotten seasick despite taking precautions to prevent it? I have read the the previous posts on the various methods of preventing seasickness and know the different ways to do so. I plan on talking to my doctor about the patch. I am just very worried about being miserable the entire time though as I have had very bad experiences flying and getting sick. My fear is that despite taking Bonine or the patch I will still be sick. I get sick in the car if I even try to read the map while dh drives and most times I fly so I know that if I don't try to prevent it I will get sick.

Thanks for the help!

 

[texas-disneymom]

I get motion sick very easy on land, watching bouncy home videos, etc... but even in 20ft + seas have had no problem when taking Bonine. I did the patch on a cruise about 17 yrs ago and had all the bad side effects so decided to just try the Bonine and I love it. The only time I am the least bit bothered is when I get home and still have my sea legs!

 

[nehdeh]

I'm going to try the Bonine and/or Ginger tablets this cruise. I've done the Sea Bands and they didn't work at all for me. I've also done the patch and had ALL the bad side effects (either that or I was sea sick) and was miserable. I don't get car sick--but can't read in the car, flying doesn't really bother me either. I'm hoping the Bonine works fine.

 

[cgannon]

I got seasick on our first cruise, can't read in the car, get sick on whale watching boats,etc. I used the patch last week on the ship - the first 2 or 3 nights were pretty rough. I still felt pretty sick and could not eat til the 4th day on the ship. The side effects from the patch were extreme dry mouth (and my contacts were soooo dry) and some slight dilation in my eyes. I mean extreme dry mouth! I can honestly say after 2 attempts at cruises, trying ginger pills, sea bands, and bonine on the first and the patch on the 2nd - that's it for me for cruises!! It really isn't worth all the month being sick onboard - although I think the Western with less days at sea maybe would have been better.

 

[icekdz]

Thanks everyone! We are considering switching to a four day instead of the seven day so that we can give it a try. That way if I do get sick it will be for a shorter time. I really want to go but do not want to be miserable.

 

[Twinklee]

My dh gets motionsickness extremely easily. He can't even play our dd's playstation because the motion on the screen makes him sick. We were on last week's Magic cruise and had very rough seas the first two days. My dh took Dramamine one time the first day and was fine that evening, even ate dinner without any problems that night. He didn't take anything else the rest of the cruise and was fine.

Toni

 

[DrCavin]

Whichever meds you decide to use, try them before going. If you somehow have a reaction to them, it will be much better being at home than already on the ship!!

Remember sea-sickness has two stages. Stage One: You think your going to die. Stage Two: You wish you were dead!!!

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

Well, we were on the 4/17 Wonder and had rough seas just going out from Port . . .probably from around 5:30 - 11:30pm and then it smoothed out.

But we all took Bonine before boarding and DH and I both got very sick from the motion. DD and DS just felt naseous. We tried to have dinner, but ended up retiring to our cabin for the rest of the night . . .it was like we were all too drunk to stand straight . . .We all went to bed with our clothes on . . .

We were very thankful the rest of the time because there was barely any noticable motion at all and we had smooth sailing.

 

[LiserAnn]

I get motion sick pretty easily. I did the patch and hated it. Had all the sick effects and decided I'd rather feel sick and deal with the patch. The last cruise we went on my DH and I took the ginger capsules which we bought at the health food store. We were very regimented with taking them. Now, DH is worse than me...he almost got sick on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland and we both did GREAT with it. We were able to even have a glass of wine at dinner with no issues. There was one night the seas were rather rough and we felt quezy but not pukey. We just went back to the cabin and watched TV in bed and were fine the next day. We did pack Bonine with us just in case but never had to use it.

 

[thomprod]

The trick to preventing seasickness is to take your medication before you feel the need to do so. I took one Bonine tablet every morning of our 7-day cruise, including the morning before we boarded, and had no problems. We even had several days with 12-15-foot seas. No drowsiness, no nausea. Do not wait to take something when you start to feel sick. It's probably too late then.

 

[PENCOYS PIRATE]

Hi Just a quick ? thought someone might be able to help.
Can we just go into a chemist and buy Bonine over the counter.
( sorry from the U.K and our system is a bit different over here)
Can children take it 8 & 9 ?
Would you reccomend taking them before you cruise?
I dont know if any off us will suffer with sickness but seeing its only a 3 day cruise I dont want to take the chance.
Thanks Chucklechops

 

[LiserAnn]

In the US Bonine is available over the counter at a pharmacy or drug store (is that the same as a chemist in the UK?) so you can just ask for it. Here it is sold next to the dramamine. It's chewable.......

Lisa

 

[spotdog]

The generic name for Bonine is Meclizine. It is not recommended for children under 12, maybe your pharmacist (chemist) could tell you why, I don't know. Both Dramamine and Bonine work pretty well for me, I like to sleep alot with Dramamine.

I tried the patch about 15 years ago and it did stop me from throwing up, but the side effects sent me to the ER. So I would strongly advise you to try it BEFORE your trip.

Fresh air, watching the horizon and not "fighting" the motion have helped me alot too. Seasickness has not been a big problem on any of my 3 Disney Cruises.

 

[rsjj]

tried green apples...that worked for me! honestly!! give it a try.

 

[the kabuki]

Newbie here wondering the same thing for DH who is prone to motion sickness.
From what others who have cruised have told me the big part is taking the meds before you even get on the ship and take them faithfully, even if you aren't sick. Does this sound right?

With the patch, if you use it and it doesn't work, can you take bonine still?

 

[LiserAnn]

tried green apples...that worked for me! honestly!! give it a try.

I heard this from someone else...so what did you do, eat a green apple (granny smith) when you feel quezy? And that's it? Seems so simple!!

 

[zukeeper]

From what others who have cruised have told me the big part is taking the meds before you even get on the ship and take them faithfully, even if you aren't sick. Does this sound right?

I think it definitely helps to start wearing the patch before vacation if only to get your body used to it on non-vacation time. I went on an extremely calm cruise and began wearing the patch the 1st day. My mouth was so dry I was constantly drinking water and my short distance eyesight was terribly blurry. I figured that I didn't really need this patch since the water was so calm and I felt fine so I took it off that night. By lunch the next day I had turned green. I immediately took Bonine, but it made me woozy and drowzy. The patch went back on, and my eyesight was still blurry, but the dry mouth seemed to fade away after time. Some people just get seasick and it's not worth ruining your vacation by experimenting on board if you know you are one of those people. By the way, I can go on a small sailboat or catamaran in rough waters and not be affected at all, it's just the long term effect of a cruise ship that gets me.

Becky

 

[rsjj]

I heard this from someone else...so what did you do, eat a green apple (granny smith) when you feel quezy? And that's it? Seems so simple!!

hi there, LiserAnn!

yes, just eat it! our pediatrician recommended it (along with benedryl) for our 2 boys. they were 2 & 4 at the time. i tend to get seasick/motion sickness. going from little ferry boat rides to catalina, reading while in a car, etc. the first night, i was a bit queasy. more so during dinner time, since by then, the ship has already sailed a bit. so i asked for green apples from our waiter. and ate a couple slices. and was fine afterwards! honest! and yes, it was that simple! it just really seemed "too good", but it worked for me! and our youngest, we felt was feeling something, cuz he didn't really eat during dinner (this was all on the first night)...and that's so not like him! he ususally have a huge appetite! so we thought he might feel a bit queasy, and gave him some apple slices, and he was back to normal, as well!

i really don't know what it is, but we will definitely do the green apples again! should we get queasy. doesn't hurt! maybe it has something to do with the tartness of it? who knows.

give it a try! good luck!

 

[LiserAnn]

Thanks rsjj! I tend to get motion sick just like you described in your post! So, I'm going to give it a try!

Lisa