SEA SICKNESS - Has anyone used TransdermV?

[thunder_lin]

Has anyone used this product? It is the bandage you put behind your ear for 3 days. I'm sure I used this product 20 years ago and never had a problem but they no longer sell in here and the pharmacy is not giving it a good recommendation.

Any recent users out there?

I know a lot of people use Bomine (or however they spell it) but we can't get that here either.

Canada is very restrictive when it comes to medications.

I have access to getting the TransdermV and was planning to use it.

Should I?

[cradawg]

you may want to try the relief band. it's a little pricey, but it seems to work rather well. it looks just like like a watch, but it actually sends little pulses to your brain to make you think you are not sick. i bought one for my wife because she gets sick when i take her on my boat. last week we were on a catamaran in cozumel and a guy on the boat started to get sick. my wife gave him the relief band and he felt alot better pretty fast.

[clr0806]

I have used the Transderm patches on both cruises without any ill effects or sea sickness. Will be using them again this summer on my next cruise. They do require a prescription here in California.

[star7228]

How much are the relief bands and where can they be purchased?

[TVguy]

Just ask your doctor for a perscription, normally very easy to get. The patches are the only way to go, I've tried all the others and the patch is the only thing that has worked everytime and in very rough seas on small boats. :)

[CruiseShelly]

Also, on many ships I've been on, they offer Bonine (the generic version) free at the ship's health center. You might want to contact NCL and see if they offer this on your particular ship. I am a believer and devotee to Bonine as it has always worked for me with no side effects.

[cradawg]

star7228-

 

you can get them at drugstores, marine stores even walmart told me they could order one if i wanted them to. they are around $80-$90 which is a small price to pay for those who are prone to sea sickness. they have a website, but i don't think i'm supposed to put links on here. just google relief band and it should come up first.

[jnc411]

Hi, yes we have used the Transaderm patch, and my husband swears by them. He will be using them again on our cruise next month. Now that being said , our daughter who is 30 has used it in the past and had problems with dry eyes and mouth and blurred vision, so she will no longer use them. I personally use the generic brand of Bonine, which is Meclazine and it is sooo much cheaper than Bonnine, it doesn't make you drowsy, my daughter uses that now also and it seems to work pretty well for her. IF you can't fine the Bonnine/Meclazine where you live , you might try an online search and see if you can buy it that way. Good luck, when you are sea sick you have to get better to die. :(

Cori

[golflady]

I too have used the patch on 11 of 12 cruises. My first cruise was on the wonderful Norway; I had terrible sea sickness. I will be using them again next week on Mariner. I would not cruise without them.

[MaryEllen1952]

I've used the Scop patch and never had any problems. You do need a prescription in the U.S. It is not an O-T-C- medication. O-T-C meds do nothing for me.

[tricialee]

thunder lin,

 

I was just at the pharmacy the other day scoping out my options for buying stuff in Canada before I leave. They had Bonamine on the shelf at Shoppers right next to the Gravol. It said it was a 24hr formula, and it is the same medicinal ingredient as Bomine. (meclezine)

[texsam]

My wife and I got the patch from my doctor (a prescription) and I am glad we did. We had some rough water the first night out, and then about a half a day coming home. There were people on the ship that had to get a shot on board (at 90 dollars a pop) to ease their sea sickness. We were fine with the patch. That was on the Sea which is a smaller ship at 42,00o tons. I don't remember what we paid but it wasn't anything like 80 dollars.

[MLinFL]

Just want to share my experience with the "patch". I used it on a 10-day cruise. I followed the directions, replacing the patch every 3 days and alternating where it was placed. I did NOT get seasick while I was on the cruise. HOWEVER, after I came home, I was sick for almost 3 weeks with syptoms very much like seasickness. :( I was so dizzy and nauseous - I would have sworn that I was still on the ship. These symptoms started just a few hours after I removed the patch.

 

It seems that many people have great success with the patch - and that is wonderful - wish I was one of them. :) But it doesn't work for everyone.

 

I now use a combination of bonine, ginger and if it is really rough - the relief band.

 

Mary Lou

[MobileMystic]

I thought I was the only one to get "land sickness". Do you know if this is because of the patch or is it just from being on the ship?

[rho88]

You can get Transderm at the pharmacy here in Canada. But you have to ask for it because they are kept in the prescription drugs area. You don't need to have a prescription though. They worked fine for me on my last cruise. i think I paid $15 for 2 and each last for about 3 days.

[cali-croozer]

I thought I was the only one to get "land sickness". Do you know if this is because of the patch or is it just from being on the ship?

 

A friend of ours did not get seasick throughout the cruise (I don't think she ever had to take a pill, and she certainly did not have the patch). Anyway, we spent the following week in Disneyworld and she was "land sick" for several days.

 

 

As far as the patch......my husband also likes to use the patch. I am not able to use it (read the warning labels.....), but I, along with my younger son, use meclazine, as needed, and my older son, who's prone to motion sickness, takes meclazine daily. I always take a pill on the first day, just in case, and then see how it goes after that. It takes a while for the medicine to take affect so I don't like to take a chance on that first day!

[oceanmysteries]

When I cruise its usually with a large group of all ages, friends and family. So, I bring everything I can. The last cruise we went on was Explorer of The Seas and my own family was fine but EVERYONE in the rest of family and friends were sick at some point. I carried the patch and pills in my bag. I saw many people on elevators who were REALLY sick trying to get HELP, and people offered me $50.00 to 150.00 dollars for the Patch! Of course I was there on the elevators handing them out for FREE! Moral of this story....Come Prepared! My own mother tells me , that as a baby I wouldnt go down to sleep unles I was rocked....So for me I love the rocking motion.Lets hope that lasts!

[dizliz]

I am trying the patch for the first time on our upcoming Dawn cruise. I am going to take the advice found elsewhere on these boards and try it out before sailing. If there is going to be a reaction, I want to know about it before I am on the cruise. Someone suggested cutting it in half if the side effects were too much. Our daughter did this on her last cruise and was quite pleased with it.

 

I bought a Relief Band on Ebay for $56. After 2 days of total seasickness on our last cruise, I'm going prepared this time!;) I figure the cost of the Relief Band and the patches are a great deal less than the cost of those 2 seasick days!

[Lilygrace]

Just want to share my experience with the "patch". I used it on a 10-day cruise. I followed the directions, replacing the patch every 3 days and alternating where it was placed. I did NOT get seasick while I was on the cruise. HOWEVER, after I came home, I was sick for almost 3 weeks with syptoms very much like seasickness. :( I was so dizzy and nauseous - I would have sworn that I was still on the ship. These symptoms started just a few hours after I removed the patch.

 

It seems that many people have great success with the patch - and that is wonderful - wish I was one of them. :) But it doesn't work for everyone.

 

I now use a combination of bonine, ginger and if it is really rough - the relief band.

 

Mary Lou

 

I use the patch when I cruise and I read on the board one time that you need to keep the patch on for at least 3 days when you get off the ship until you get your sea legs back or else you can get very seasick off the ship. I always get enough patches so I can wear one for 3 or 4 days after I get off and I do fine.

[Summertime]

Liz, that's a good idea to try the patch out before you go. It is like a miracle drug in that it definately does the job with motion sickness - it keeps it completely at bay. Unfortunately for me it comes at a price and when I use it to fly it's totally worth it to live through the side-effects because when I'm off the plane, the patch comes off and once it's out of my system I feel good. The problem with a cruise is, I don't want to suffer through the side effects for a week straight. I get a dry mouth so things taste kind of funny, it dialates my eyes so I have blurry vision and that means I can't do any reading and it also just makes me feel kind of out of it. I'm always happy when the drug is out of my system and again totally worth it for a plane ride. I don't want to expereince sea-sickness on my first cruise so I'm going to try out the Bonine before I go just in case it works and the few people that I've talked to say that they don't experience any side effects. If it dosen't work I guess I'll suffer with the patch, it's better than feeling nauseated and sick all week.

 

Good luck with your trial run and let us know how you did.

 

Summer

[Lilygrace]

Summer I am with you. I also don't like the side effects of the patch but I would rather that than miss a minute of my upcoming cruise and be sick. I am going to try Bonine while reading in the car (that always makes me sick and dizzy) If that works then I might try the Bonine on the ship and still bring the patch or the $80 watch thing just in case.

[DesrtDrmr]

I, too, suffer from motion sickness in/on any form of transportation!!! :( I have used the patch for ten of eleven cruises and have not had any problems. I didn't use it on one cruise, because it was off the market, being reformulated. I used Bonine (meclizine) at that time. I was still a bit queasy with the meclizine, but it was better than nothing.....I think! :)

Check with your doctor and make sure your meds/if any, are compatible, and that Doc thinks it's okay for you.

I always seem to wear one at home for a few days..........til the three days are over, and am not rockin' and rollin' at home. I did that on our first cruise, and it took a couple of days for it to wear off...........I've heard of some people that have had this problem for a very long time. I'd take meclizine at home, if I felt that way......don't know if it would work, but it would be worth a shot!

I do think that the poster above that suggested having an extra patch to try at home, before your cruise, during the week when you could reach your doctor, had a good idea. I don't know about cutting them in half.........I'd ask the doc or the pharmacist. Sometimes the medication is not spread evenly throughout the patch, or pill, or whatever it is.

Have a great cruise!!!

[MobileMystic]

I have decided to try the reliefband.....I also have some meclazine just in case. I know that the patch blurred my vision so that may have aggrevated the "land sickness"....Hope the band works!:) :o I may get patches from Dr to have on hand in case of the worst. I would love to know for sure that cutting them in half to reduce the dose works.

[sylkyone]

Since I was in 2nd grade I have had problems with motion sickness. I have tried using everything over the counter that is available to no avail. I first got the "patch" about 7 years ago. Now I can travel!!!! Before I couldn't even look into my purse while a passenger in a moving vehicle without feeling extremely sick. First time using the patch I was able to read a book on the drive to Disneyland from Oregon. It was a miracle.

 

I use the patch even though I do have some of the side effects with blurred vision. When my vision gets a little blurry I take that patch off for awhile (saving it) and then put it back in a few hours. Don't ever put a new one on before your 3 days are up or you will have the side effects very strongly-not good.

 

If you get really sick-ever had problems at all with motion sickness while traveling-this patch beats everything else out there. The side effects are a small price to pay when it makes you feel so much better.

 

I won't leave home without it!!!

 

Becky

[Nickymjw1]

Here is some info on "land sickness" which is knows as MDD (Mal de debarquement)

 

I had severe dizzy spells after my 1st cruise and it took several weeks to get over it. I was really getting worried I was going to have it forever! I have used the patch last time, but the side effects were bothering me (blurry vision and severe dry mouth and throat very dry) so I took it off. I am going to put 1/2 patch on and see how I do with that.

 

Welcome to the MdDS Balance Disorder Foundation site!

Have you recently returned from an ocean cruise and feel like you are still on the boat?

Maybe you've recently been on a plane, train or lengthy car ride and it feels just like you are on a ship at sea, rocking to and fro 24 hours a day.

You may be suffering from Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS), a rare and misunderstood balance disorder. While MdDS most commonly follows a cruise or other type of water travel, reports of MdDS symptoms have been described following air travel, train travel and other motion experiences. Occasionally, it has been reported following frequent elevator use or sleeping on a waterbed and can even be brought on spontaneously.

Symptoms usually include persistent sensations of rocking, swaying and/or bobbing and can be accompanied by imbalance. For a more complete listing of symptoms, refer to the Symptoms link on this site or one of the articles written about this malady. Articles about MdDS can be accessed through the Articles link and related topics accessed through the Related Links.

Symptoms of rocking and imbalance are often experienced following a cruise and usually last for a few hours or days. This is more commonly referred to as "landsickness." Mal de Debarquement Syndrome refers to symptoms which last over one month and often for years. It is this form that this site and the MdDS Balance Disorder Foundation focuses on.

We at the MdDS Balance Disorder Foundation hope this site helps you learn more about Mal de Debarquement Syndrome.

 

 

Here is the link to their website:

http://www.nhffoundations.net/synapse/homepage/view_public.cfm?edit_id=45&website=nhffoundations.net/MdDS