Patch for motion sickness :Tips for 1st time user

[jsjjkelly]

I get motion sick pretty easily on ships. I've used the patch now each time. My mother in law uses them, and she had dry mouth pretty bad but I didn't. But just the first time and not the second. So maybe it's an adjustment period for that? We both thought the spot where the patch sits kind of itches... but we do swap them out after the 3 days they recommend.

 

Also, you may want to request an extra just in case. On my last cruise, I was in the shower and was washing my hair not realizing what I was doing and I ended up taking it off! Of course it wasn't sticky anymore, but I had just put it on! Thankfully my mother in law's dr had added her an extra just in case. Oh, and you switch sides when you put on a new one.... I wanted to see if I would be OK without it, but lasted all of an hour and was feeling pretty nauseous pretty quickly. I put on the patch, but by that time I still didn't feel like eating as it was dinner time! So it's not an automatic relief, but it does take awhile to get in your system.

 

Hope this helps!

Shawn

[MsMot]

TransDerm-Scop is a patch prescribed for prevention of nausea/vomiting associated with motion sickness. The patch is generally applied behind one ear at least 4 hours before departure. It is currently the state of the art drug for prevention of motion sickness. The primary side effect is dryness of the mouth. Other side effects include pupil dilation, blurring of vision, dizziness, and itching/redness at site of application.

 

Several ways to help with possible side effects include keeping Certs/Life Savors/etc on hand to help with dry mouth. ALSO...it is not well known but one may remove patch at night and replace backing and re-use the next morning therefore lessening the daily amount of drug absorbed.

 

 

 

ALL treatments of motion sickness other than TransDerm-Scop is with an antihistamine....ie meclizine, cyclizine, and dimenhydrinate et al.

TransDerm Scop is what I've used on all my cruises. Knock on wood- I've never had a side effect.

[MsMot]

SO can I message you my address?? :p Just kidding!

Holy crap! My co-pay at CVS was $48.00 and I thought that was cheap.

[CMM]

thanks for the information! I was reading that your chances of side effects are much greater if you don't wash your hands and get it in your eyes. I don't want her sick for the cruise because of her motion sickness medication!

 

I'm wondering if the symptoms linger after removing it? I hope the patch will work well for her.

[fridaythe13th]

I've seen the wrist bands for sale on the ships right at the stores.

[mardimay]

I am a BIG girl and I use a full patch always.It was too much for my teenage daughter so I removed it and cut it in half for her....perfect. I drink no alcohol with it but a good side effect is that I drink a lot of water! I brush my teeth more often and it seems to help. I put it on the night before my cruise at bedtime. I get sick on anything that moves and this works great for me. When you replace every 3 days change to the other side and wash off excess from the previous ear. Good Luck and enjoy your cruise!!

[dixieva]

Here's another thought on the patch-if you have any eye problems more than likely your doc will not give you an RX for it. My sister is 82 and has some mild eye problems and her doc said absolutely not on the patch for her.

[JerseyPirates]

My 16 year old gets motion sickness all the time. We are going to try the patch out on our upcoming cruise to see if this will be a good option for her with some future traveling next year. She has tried Bonine, Dramamine, relief band shock watch, ginger etc.

 

I've heard that there can be some negative side effects with the prescription Patch and wondered if anyone has any tips to share.

 

I've used the patch for airplanes and cars, and my only advice (for adults) is to remember to remove the patch before consuming any alcohol as the two don't mix well. But it does work quite well for motion sickness.

[joycebosley@comcast.net]

My husband gets sea sick so he uses the Bio Bands.They are made with velcro so you can adjust them.He dosen,t get sick and no side effects at all.He swears by them.It says you can use just 1 but he puts 2 on.He says if 1 is good 2 is better!!! :D Go to bioband.com to order them.Hope that helps. They are cheaper in the long run and are reuseable.

[msheep]

I've seen the wrist bands for sale on the ships right at the stores.

 

Hi, do you remember how much are they on the ship? I will take Bonine as a precaution. I wonder if the seaband will work for me if I wear it AFTER I feel seasick? I don't want to buy the wrist band in advance, so wonder how much more expensive they are on the ships. :p

[cruisebabe50]

Hi, do you remember how much are they on the ship? I will take Bonine as a precaution. I wonder if the seaband will work for me if I wear it AFTER I feel seasick? I don't want to buy the wrist band in advance, so wonder how much more expensive they are on the ships. :p

I bought mine on the ship because I was using Dramamine and somehow lost them. The only option was the seabands and I was skeptical. They cost me around 15 bucks at the gift shop but once I used them I never used anything else. I love them because I can still drink while wearing them. I found out the hard way that drinking and Dramamine did not work well together.

[Stokeset]

I suffer from terrible motion sickness!! Our first cruise I took Dramamine and slept the whole time. Tried Ginger didn't work near well enough, HOWEVER I tried the patch and am a believer. I have to wear the patch if I am flying, riding in the back seat of a car etc. Even with the patch IF it gets rough I have to go to bed :( but I feel fine if it's smooth. I do get really bad dry mouth so I drink a lot leading to many trips to the bathroom :rolleyes: but it's not to puke so I'll take it :D!!! Take some SUGAR FREE candy for her...it helps with the dry mouth. And good luck....motion sickness well it just stinks!!!

 

Watch out for the sugar alcohol content in "sugar-free" candies. You can end up with diarrhea if you eat too much- which kind of defeats the purpose of avoiding being sick!

[CMM]

As the original poster I wanted to report we are back and she liked the patch. She felt a little odd, had some double vision when trying to read and had dry mouth. But she said it really helped. I had her reading while sitting backwards in the car on the way home to test it out.

 

Then a week after the cruise she got really bad motion sickness just driving in the car and said" boy do I feel a difference without the patch".

[Luckyone2]

I would get deathly ill on cruises "before the patch." It is the best thing ever! You have to be sure and wash your hands after putting it on. You don't want to touch your eyes cause it will cause them to dilate. My husband, who never,ever gets seasick, got seasick for the first time on our last cruise while I was right as rain with my patch. I never had any problems with the patch. I never cruise without my patches!

[adamt]

I used the patch twice. Wore the entire week. The drymouth was terrible, and I always seemed fatigued. I didn't really want to drink alcohol because of the terrible dry mouth, and felt like I was fighting a cold. On my 2nd to last cruise, I put it on again thinking that maybe the cold like symptoms were me fighting some sort of bug. After day 1, it started again. I took the patch off and was fine for the rest of the trip.

 

Bonine put out a new 24hr formula. I went deep sea fishing this summer as a hurrican was blowing by North Carolina. Worst.Seas.Ever, and not a drop of motion sickness. A pack of 12 of these Bonine are around 5.00. Welll worth it with NONE of the sideeffects of the trans derm patch.

[o-state girl]

I've been on 9 cruises and always used the patch with very few side effects. Warning...my first cruise lasted 10 days, and I became very land-sick and foggy headed for almost a week after leaving the ship. Apparently some people have bad reactions to coming off of the patch. Since then, I quit using the patches after the 5th day at sea, and I neither get sea-sick or land-sick afterwards.

[jill5269]

Here's a question. I did okay on my last cruise using ginger and the Sea-band. I cruised in June though. This time I'm cruising September 15th.

 

I'm bringing all the above and Bonine. I was thinking of getting the patch "just in case", but can I put it on during the cruise if the waters get rough? Will it still work? I heard that you need to put it on before you get sick.

[Buffettfan 225]

I cut my patch in half and it cut out most of the side effects and I didn't get sea sick. Before I cut it in half, I would get blurred vision and very tired.

I also experienced effects of blurred vision/dilated pupils,dry mouth - likely the problem is our body weight being lower -thus more absorption ratio for our system. Currently there is only one dosing level for the patch.

 

Upon looking up official Scoplamine website it states directly not to cut patch at all, and reapply second patch on other side after three days.

The main reason - per talking with a pharmaceutical chemist at Lilly and an internist - cutting it allows more medication to be released faster or in unknown rates by it not be sealed and unknown effects.

I like idea of cutting it making it smaller, but alas not recommended.

http://www.transdermscop.com/prescribing-information.htm

[hannahsmomtoo]

Here's a question. I did okay on my last cruise using ginger and the Sea-band. I cruised in June though. This time I'm cruising September 15th.

 

I'm bringing all the above and Bonine. I was thinking of getting the patch "just in case", but can I put it on during the cruise if the waters get rough? Will it still work? I heard that you need to put it on before you get sick.

 

I would like to know this also...

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Get some gum and the wrist band ..

[gvlgolflady]

SO can I message you my address?? :p Just kidding!

 

 

Ditto:D

[JerseyPirates]

I feel like such a landlubber instead of a pirate when it comes to the ocean movements, I'm fine on fresh water and short ocean/bay excursions, but sometimes the sea does tend to make me queasy... I am bringing the patch (used it decades ago without side effects but we'll see if the modern version is stronger), Bonine (because it is recommended for it's lower potential for drowsiness), and the Sea Bands (which provided me some relief on my first-ever cruise back in 2000). Also, some Tylenol PM in case there are significant swells, as I am deathly afraid of deep water (really, I am a mess!) so I'd rather be sleeping through a storm than experiencing it fully. The DH, on the other hand, will most likely be singing sea chanteys and downing rum during a storm, so there's that... ;^)

[hebbynan]

I used the patch on my first cruise without any problems. On the next cruise, I used it again and my fingers and legs swelled up so bad! I had to take my wedding rings off and put them in the safe after the 2nd day (and it was a feat just to get them off!). It was the weirdest thing. I also started to get dizzy and feeling nauseas and it was from the patch. This time I got Bonine, wrist bands (which helped me with both pregnancies) and the drops for behind the ears. I also plan on bringing some gingerale cans onboard in my carry on. I'm hoping these things will work for me or otherwise you'll know me on board.....I'll be the one walking around with barf bag all the time! ;)

[Shebely]

Ok, I just returned from an Alaskan cruise 2 days ago. The weather was beautiful, but I still suffered from dizziness due to my motion sickness. I have used the grey wristbands for years and I took Bonine, but it wasn't a help. I could not use ginger because of a minor medical procedure that I am having tomorrow. On Day 2 I went to get the Acupuncture treatment and I was better almost immediately. After the treatment, he put tiny beads in my ears and on my wrists. The cost was $75, but it was so worth it for me. I have tried the patch in the past but it gave me an odd feeling and dry mouth.

[Shebely]

I forgot to add that on our whale watching trip, the Captain had Motion ease which she gave to a gal who was getting ill. Motion ease is a liquid that you smell or put behind your ears. It seemed to work for the her.