What do you take to prevent motion sickness?

[Kasmir]

Hi, Fellow DISers!

The last time we were at Disney (which was only a day and we tried to hit three parks! Note to self: NEVER AGAIN!), we rode Star Tours at MGM early in the day and it made me so ill that it just about ruined my entire day.

The memory of traveling on the monorail to the MK and spending a fortune to purchase Dramamine, Immodium and Pepto is NOT a good one.

PS - Maybe it's not the case now, but at that time, the Emporium was the only place at MGM or the MK that you could get these items.

Anyway, I know now that motion simulators make me sick. I've never gotten sick on any other rides, but I don't want to take any chances.

I'm really looking forward to our trip in Dec and want to avoid any motion sickness issues. So what do you take to prevent it?

Thanks in advance!
Sheila

 

[Golf4food]

Ginger pills seem to be the consensus recommendation. I also get a bit motion sick on rides with lots of jerky movement, but can tolerate them if drugged up on dramamine, etc. Some others here have recommended ginger pills, so we got some and will try them out this weekend when we go. I plan to need them for Mission Space, Star Tours, etc... I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Poohgirl]

I LOVE rides, but ever since I've gotten a little "older" I can not handle spinning ones at all so I pass on those, but simulator rides get me too. Dramamine didn't even cut it... Before I left for my trip to Disney last year my Dr. gave me Meclizine. It was great! I went on everything. The only ride I didn't feel "right" after was Mission Space. Even that wasn't too bad and went away after an hour or so I felt like a kid! Its a must have for me now.

 

[Kasmir]

Hi, Renee - Did the Meclizine make you feel tired at all?

I'm going to check out the ginger pills too!

Thanks for your input!

 

[shirleyb]

I have a prescription for Meclizine, since I get vertigo periodically. The active ingredient in dramamine is meclizine! Probably different strengths though. I will skip Body Wars and Star Tours, but I do want to try Mission Space. I will try it last thing in the day though, so it can't ruin my day.

 

[Vivianne]

I got a severe case of motion sickness after riding Star Tours. I just avoid those types of rides. Even the memory of it makes me feel queasy

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

SIL takes meclizine and it is the same dosage as the "non-drowsy dramamine" label.

 

[ottawa-newbie]

Has anyone ever tried those "Sea Bands", or any other pressure point devices for motion sickness?

 

[maxaroni]

Star Tours and Body wars made me feel so ill on them. I avoided them the last time we went but may try again with dramamine or ginger pills. I can't take spinning rides, either, so forego the Tea Cups. Petrified to try Mission Space. I get sick on a swing anymore. I've heard that it's something about getting older and it throws off your equilibrium but don't know how true that is.

 

[emeraldlover]

I have tried them when on my first cruise. You need to put them on the exact pressure point on your wrist supposedly to have any relief. I didn't notice any difference except for a sore wrist. I noticed many people wearing them and they said they worked. I wonder if they work as long as you "believe" they work.

I, too, cannot do spinning rides or simulator rides (ever since my daughter was born - pre-pregnancy - NO PROBLEM), and thought I would try the "less drowsy" (I haven't found any NON) Dramamine. It works when I cruise. So.......

 

[Vivianne]

When we went to Maine, DH and I tried those Sea-Bands ($20/ea.) they offered on the catamaran cause we wanted to see the puffins and whales. I felt no difference

I was poorer (you got $10 back if you returned them) they expect people to get sick the way they chase after the whales. Never got to see the puffins as I couldn't lift the binoculars. Was I glad to get off that boat..

 

[ptslp]

I have used the less-drowsy dramamine for motion sickness- not really for rides at parks, but for travel and it didn't make me drowsy at all- I took it every 12 hours both times I went on a cruise.

For the motion simulator rides, I have gone on a few (I get motion sick pretty easy)- my one recommendation, if you are going to try again, would be if you start feeling a little bad, close your eyes. Part of the problem with motion sickness is what your brain thinks you are doing. You will still be moving, but the drops, etc. will be lessened in your brain and you will just be moved around in the simulator. I did this on Back to the Future in Universal years ago and it helped me a ton!

Good luck!

 

[Chicago526]

I get motion sickness on rides that spin (like teacups) so I usually just don't ride them.

But I really wanted to ride Mission:Space, and I knew that not only does it spin, but that it's basicly a really large centerfuge! So I took two Dhramaine pills when I got up that morning, and we rode M:S first thing. Worked like a charm!

The only problem is that it made me so sleepy that I fell asleep during Universe of Engery! Those slow moving vehicles are really relaxing!

 

[WDW LOVR]

Drink lots and lots of beer. That way if you lose lunch you won't know what to blame it on

 

[YourMajesty]

I have trouble with motion sickness and vertigo and my ds has trouble with car and air travel. We give ds a chewable dramamine. The orginal dramamine has dimenhydrinate (a form of the same ingredient in benedryl). He only takes a half and never seems to be overly sleepy. The less drowsy dramamine has meclizine which is also in the chewable Bonine. Both are used for motion sickness but both of them can make you drowsy according to my ENT DR. The ENT said valium works the best for vertigo. That would probably take care of the motion sickness and any other "irritation" you might experience....not that i've tried this. I would like to get a report from those getting ready to try the ginger. The sea bands do not work for me. The dramamine usually helps with the roller coasters but I'm afraid to try mission space and only did the simulator rides once! When I went on a cruise I was given a prescription for a phenergan gel you rub on your wrist. Maybe that would do the trick. Good luck!

 

[Kasmir]

Thank you so much, Everyone! Some great advice that I'm going to check into...

That's a good idea for the Phenergen gel, but I'm allergic to Phenergen. I do have some leftover Zofran, that I thought that I would take along just in case.

I'll ask my Dr about the Bonine/Meclizine. If worse comes to worse, I'll drink a cup of coffee with the Bonine/Meclizine. Oh, the horror!

Drink lots and lots of beer. That way if you lose lunch you won't know what to blame it on.

I'm going to go loaded like a pharmacy -- anything to avoid that misery again! I hear such mixed opinions on the sea bands - I don't know if I'll get those or not.

So if you see a lady weaving down Main Street, drunk on beer, with a sea band on both wrists, and a medical bag full of anti-nausea street drugs -- that's me!

PS -- My kids talked me into going on a simulator ride at Navy Pier, when we were in Chicago not long ago. I got in the ride and just looked at my feet or the seat the whole time and really did pretty okay. Yes, I felt a little queasy, but not absolutely devastatingly sick. My Dr says that simulators make you so sick because your brain and eyes can't seem to rectify the movement properly.

 

[4Iowans]

At Christmas time, the kids and I took Ginger twice a day and took Bonine before we headed to the parks. It worked, this was the first time I could handle the tea cups in years.

My daughter used phenergan a couple of weeks ago for the flu. It knocked her out.

 

[kandeebunny]

bonine is an OTC med, I take it for flights and such I get wretched motion sickness!

 

[aubriee]

When I went in January, I knew my GD would want to ride just about everything, so spoke to my doctor before I left. He said he didn't know if anything really worked unless you believed it did 100%. He felt that if you felt you were going to get sick then you would (power of suggestion). His advice (with my history of vertigo and low B/P) was to avoid the rides I knew would make me sick. I told him that wasn't an option, as I wanted my GD to ride whatever she wanted.

He told me to take two ginger pills a day, eat a banana 30 minutes before riding, take 25mg Antivert (same thing as meclizine and bonine) that he prescribed and then gave me another prescription for Transderm Scopolamine patches to change out every three days just in case the other stuff didn't work. I didn't need the scopolamine patches. I didn't get sick once. Of course my GD chickened out on Mission Space after we saw three teenage boys casting up their accounts after they rode it. We did do Star Tours and the tea cups however with no problem.

I'm taking my ginger pills, antivert, and scopolamine patches with me when I go back in May, but am unsure if I'll get the nerve up to try MS. I really want to though.

 

[Carol1973]

When my DH and I go on cruises we always take Bonine instead of Dramamine. It doesn't make you tired. I have no idea how sea sickness relates to motion sickness so I don't know if that's a good alternative for most people but you might consider it.