Has anyone had landsickness of MdDS post cruise? How long did it last?

[sail7seas]

Were it me, I would not risk it.

Why risk a debilitating illness when it is easily avoided by vacationing elsewhere?

What fun would you have worrying the whole time you could, at any moment, develop symptoms.

 

Good luck and best wishes.

 

[cruiserfromalabama]

I never had a problem with mal de debarquement after my first two cruises to the Caribbean. No problems with sea sickness at all while on the cruises either. We didn't cruise again until 6 years later and decided to go on a New England/Canada cruise. We had a wonderful cruise, but the weather was different than our previous cruises. Very windy and slightly chilly with rough seas! Still no sea sickness! After our flight home, I had the normal feeling of needing to regain my land legs(typical for me for at least a week after a cruise). This time it lasted 6 months and so I web searched and found out about mal de debarquement. Couldn't understand why I got this after my third cruise, so I tried to figure out what was different with this cruise than our other two. The only factors I could come up with was bad bad jet lag before the cruise and windy cooler weather!

 

Nine months after our last cruise, we boarded the plane to fly to Venice for a 5 day pre-tour of Italy with a 7 day Med. cruise. I took all precautions I could to prevent jet lag and made sure I took my sinus allergy meds daily. No problems at all after this cruise and had a wonderful trip. We will be taking another cruise in August and I will take same precautions as before!

[topgallent]

I am looking for accounts of people who once had or are prone to landsickness or MdDS post cruise (not sea sickness, people who are fine on the boat) and have had episodes of landsickness for 2-4 weeks after previous cruises who have successfully avoided recurrences by taking Clonazepam before during and after the cruise or Bonine (meclizine). I have noticed some people claiming taking Bonine (meclizine) has solved their landsickness problems even though they don't have seasickness and I'm keen to hear more about this.

 

I had an episode of landsickness of MdDS once after a rocky 7 day cruise that lasted a little under a month and I'm researching ways to prevent this from happening again so I can keep cruising.

 

If you have only had landsickness for 2-5 days that's considered normal and not really the demographic I am looking at. :)

 

Also if you tried it and it didn't help that's also news.

[KrabbyKelly]

Just a word of warning, my daughter takes clonazepam for a different reason, and its pretty sedating. She takes 0.5 mg up to 3 times daily and weighs about 100 pounds. I personally have taken meclizine for severe vertigo and find it's not very sedating for me- just gives me a dry mouth. Clonazepam is certainly a good medication and effective for its various uses- just be mindful of the side effects. I hope you stay well and have a great time on your cruise!

[hightownCO]

I take meclizine whenever I cruise and also have taken it when vacationing at Disney World. After the cruise I just feel a little movement but no real problems. I take 25mg morning and night when cruising. No real effects that I notice.

 

Meclizine is also perscribed for Vertigo and also goes under the name antivert.

 

You might want to start it the day before your cruise ends and then continue a couple of days.

[PortSideCruzan]

I am looking for accounts of people who once had or are prone to landsickness or MdDS post cruise (not sea sickness, people who are fine on the boat) and have had episodes of landsickness for 2-4 weeks after previous cruises who have successfully avoided recurrences by taking Clonazepam before during and after the cruise or Bonine (meclizine). I have noticed some people claiming taking Bonine (meclizine) has solved their landsickness problems even though they don't have seasickness and I'm keen to hear more about this.

 

I had an episode of landsickness of MdDS once after a rocky 7 day cruise that lasted a little under a month and I'm researching ways to prevent this from happening again so I can keep cruising.

 

If you have only had landsickness for 2-5 days that's considered normal and not really the demographic I am looking at. :)

 

Also if you tried it and it didn't help that's also news.

 

 

Hi Topgallent, :)

 

20 to 30 hrs post cruise I begin to experience 'moving sidewalk' sensations and

dizziness that typically lasts about 10 days or so.

I do indeed experience Mal de debarquement symptoms after a voyage.

For some reason it is heightened when I am in the shower (post cruise),

but is experienced at rest, simply sitting on the couch.

I will give you a very brief history of myself; I am a 48 yr old male with multiple sclerosis.

I never experience motion sickness during cruising. Only my typical

vertigo-like symptoms brought on by the disease itself & not heightened

by ocean or ship movement.

Of course this disease has a huge laundry list of symptoms associated

with it, including vertigo, but I do not typically experience MdDs symptoms

for so many days in a row as I do post cruising.

 

I use vertigo meds (mostly Meclizine) on a regular, but not daily basis. Sometimes while

cruising I will use a Transdermal Scopolamine patch as a preventative measure

a day or two prior to disembarking.

 

That being said, within 10 to 15 hrs after a cruise I use both meds together.

25mg Meclizine 3x a day along with the Transdermal Scopolamine patch

in effort to combat & lessen the effects of the moving sidewalk sensations,

vertigo & dizziness (spinning) symptoms.

 

I do this for at least 10 days to two weeks. After 7 days I taper down

the Meclizine to 1 to 2 a day.

 

Normally when I get vertigo symptoms, moving sidewalk sensations they usually

last less than a day; when exacerbated fully they typically last 1 or 2 days

before they subside.

However, like I said above, after a cruise, the symptoms are heightened for a good 10 days or so.

 

Sorry to ramble on; but let me lastly say that what works for one may

certainly not work for another. It is always wise to speak to one's doc.

 

Have a great day, I hope all is ok & well.

 

:)

[cruzegurl104]

I had to use Bonine for a few days after we got back from the Fascination. It was the most "land sick" I've ever been. :( I even had a hard time driving without wanting to puke. Ughhh,, it was awful. I'm hoping after our next cruise, I won't have that problem!:)

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

I get land sick for close to a month after all of our cruises.

When I was 14, I slipped and bumped my head on the shower door when I was getting out of the shower. The impact (didn't hit it hard, just a little tap on the head) caused the boot shaped part inside of my ear to move and my inner ear fluid drained out. This caused me to have horrible land sickness for almost two years after. The doctor prescribed Antivert for the vertigo and it did the trick.

As another poster said, Antivert is just prescription Meclizine. I always take Meclizine with me on the ship and take it if I start feeling any vertigo. The dizziness usually stops within 30-60 minutes. Our November cruise was really rocking and rolling so I experienced horrible land sickness after we got home. It hit me about 3 days after we debarked. We left the ship on November 29th and the land sickness started easing up right around Christmas. I could barely walk at times and would fall over when sitting up. The Meclizine helped when I felt really rough.

These things effect everyone differently. I would advise that you talk to your doctor about the issue and see what they suggest since it effects you for such a long period of time after a cruise. Inner ear problems cause vertigo or land sickness because the inner ear controls balance. If anything throws off the regular workings of your inner ear, your balance will always be a little off until things are able to regulate.

[vbmom87]

:eek:

I am looking for accounts of people who once had or are prone to landsickness or MdDS post cruise (not sea sickness, people who are fine on the boat) and have had episodes of landsickness for 2-4 weeks after previous cruises who have successfully avoided recurrences by taking Clonazepam before during and after the cruise or Bonine (meclizine). I have noticed some people claiming taking Bonine (meclizine) has solved their landsickness problems even though they don't have seasickness and I'm keen to hear more about this.

 

I had an episode of landsickness of MdDS once after a rocky 7 day cruise that lasted a little under a month and I'm researching ways to prevent this from happening again so I can keep cruising.

 

If you have only had landsickness for 2-5 days that's considered normal and not really the demographic I am looking at. :)

 

Also if you tried it and it didn't help that's also news.

 

As I posted earlier, this happened to my neighbor. Her first cruise went just fine. However, after the cruise she developed the dizziness, nauseousness, etc. Her doctor even put her on the patch when she got home. It helped her symptoms but then she got the blurred vision. Eventually it resolved itself. It took many weeks...actually I think it was a few months. As I posted she said taking an airline flight actually seemed to cure her problem. Perhaps it was ready to resolve, but this was the experience she had.

 

Early this month she went on her second cruise. I had suggested to her that she try Bonine (with doctor approval), but to start it several days before her cruise and to continue it for awhile after her cruise. She ended up starting to take it several days before the cruise began (I think she said three days). I just talked to her two days ago and asked how it went after. She said she stopped the Bonine the second day after getting home, but started to feel funny, so she took it again and continued to do so for about a week. After that, she said she was fine. She was most grateful to me for the suggestion, as she was, indeed, very concerned about a repeat occurrence of her land sickness.

 

Now you have to know, what worked for one person, may or may not work for another. However, I hope you are as successful as my neighbor. After her first experience, she did not know if she wanted to ever cruise again. However, her daughter really wanted to go on a cruise for her senior trip. Turned out well the second time around. I hope you are as fortunate. I recommend you discuss this with your doctor.

 

If you have any specific questions you went verified or just have any other questions for her, I would be happy to ask her and share her responses with you.

[fungirl76]

Clonazapam is used to treat mental health symptoms; I'm not sure how that would help you with land sickness. This medication is prescribed and Dr will monitor the patient over time. It sadly can be addictive and abused as well. As another poster stated it is also very sedative; I would use an alternative like bonine or ginger pills.

[Eeyoregon]

Just a word of warning, my daughter takes clonazepam for a different reason, and its pretty sedating. She takes 0.5 mg up to 3 times daily and weighs about 100 pounds. I personally have taken meclizine for severe vertigo and find it's not very sedating for me- just gives me a dry mouth. Clonazepam is certainly a good medication and effective for its various uses- just be mindful of the side effects. I hope you stay well and have a great time on your cruise!

 

Good advice. I can't imagine clonazepam being of any help for land or sea sickness as it is NOT an antivert medication. It's also a controlled drug, requires a prescription and his highly addictive.

 

Meclizine would be my choice...I use it every cruise and for flights as well as amusement park rides. Super cheap and over the counter. I like the chewable version as it works more quickly. I use the 25mg but many can get by with the 12.5mg tablets.

[topgallent]

In response to those who don't know why I mentioned Clonazepam (Klonapin), it was suggested by 3 ENT doctors who specialize in MdDS.

 

"

Treatment for Mal de Debarquement

 

After the MDD has started, most medications that work for other forms of dizziness or motion sickness are ineffective. Specifically, antivert, bonine, meclizine, dramamine, scopolamine seem to be of little use. Valium and related medications such as Klonapin are helpful in some persons. There is some worry that these medications may prolong the duration of symptoms (although this worry has not yet been tested by a research study). An antidepressant called amitriptyline may also be helpful. Occasionally persons with rocking due to other causes respond to one of the SSRI type antidepressants," -http://www.tchain.com/otoneurology/disorders/central/mdd.html

 

"Prevention: It is possible that medications taken prior and during boat travel might prevent development of MDD. Anecdotal evidence suggests that while antivert and scopolamine are ineffective, some people can prevent MDD by taking Valium, Klonapin, or Ativan prior to getting on the boat or airplane. Again, this possibility has not been tested by a research study and a trial, perhaps controlled with one of the medications known not to prevent MDD might be helpful. Nevertheless, medications which suppress the inner ear or block adaptation to inner ear signals might be useful. "

 

However, although this doctor says ANTIVERT® (meclizine HCl) is not effective I have seen a lot of posts by some people who say taking it prior during and after cruising has prevented symptoms of landsickness. Unfortunately those people didn't always clarify how long they had landsickness, if it's the same weeks-long problem I had or something shorter.... So I was looking for more evidence. Also some people seem to say taking Klonapin during a cruise doesn't work to prevent MdDS from coming back... and as some have said it is very sedating. I take .5 mg and it does make me sleepy. Still I think it I could manage 1mg a day if it worked at all.

 

I don't think I have problems with the inner ear but I am sorry for those that do. And to the man who posted and has MS I understand slightly how that feels as I recently was diagnosed with a neuropathic pain condition which is or is like CRPS (doctors differ).

 

I would love there to be a sure way to keep the landsickness off the table beacause being dizzy for weeks after a cruise, best case senario if it happened (instead of months or years), would probably flare up my other symptoms.

[topgallent]

I forgot to mention this is my father's Cruise Critic account and he has no trouble cruising. They are about to board here (and I was invited)

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?shipCodeSearch=NO&flexibleMonths=false&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&pageNumber=1&voyageCode=N324&webItineraryIdForAudit=EMS315

[Gopherpharm]

Just remember that clonazepam is a benzodiazepine and should not be mixed with alcohol. It is very sedating and a real hassle to taper off of (you will have withdrawal if you take for weeks then suddenly stop). It seems like your symptoms are more complex than garden-variety seasickness and this forum is likely not a great way to get medical advice. Talk to your doctor and pharmacist.

[topgallent]

Thank you for the comments... my other medical condition that I have has nothing to do with MdDS/landsickness. It's just that stress would make the other condition more difficult to handle for the period of time that I had new symptoms.

 

MdDS is different from garden variety landsickness which lasts 3-5 days tops yet it is little studied and affects a lot of cruisers, not just myself. Anyone who has felt landsick for more than 3-5 days and whose symptoms may have been alleviated by more motion, like a car or train, had MdDS. MdDS is little understood and understudied. But accounts of what has helped others deal with their symptoms is helpful. Most who know it's MdDS are still suffering the long episode that they got stuck with after one cruise and have no advice about new cruises because they won't cruise anymore, so those with mild recurrent symptoms who are able to control those symptoms are those I'm interested in learning from. And I have spoken to several doctors, again.

[CowPrincess]

OP, from your first post

 

I have been invited on a 14 day cruise around the Mediterranean leaving on April21 of this year

 

It is now April 20. I hope you are able to make a decision on whether or not you are cruising. You are pretty much past the time limit for information gathering.

[sail7seas]

Are you going on the cruise, OP?