Seasickness patch

[Alzaman]

They make the patch where I work. It is a good product but it is perscription for a reason. You need to talk to your doctor to make sure that any other meds you are taking will not be affected by "scope". Also to learn about the possible side effects. For those with mild motion sickness issues an otc is probally better then the patch.

[cherylandtk]

Alzaman is right--for some it is a godsend, for others it is worse than the seasickness. For the majority of people, it is not necessary and other products will do the job.

 

If you are new to scopalamine, talk about the drug with your doctor or pharmacist and TRY ONE PATCH at home with your normal routine. Better to find out if you are prone to the side effects before your cruise instead of on your cruise.

[maximus92]

I was wondering about this. I don't get motion sickness from riding on a bus or train or car (unless I'm riding backwards.) As far as air sickness, I get uncomfortable in a pressurized cabin (Commercial) but am fine in an unpressurized cabin (military.) The only time I got seasick was riding in a small boat after I ate, but I've been rafting, canoeing, and taken the ferry at Disney and have been fine. This is my first cruise, and I'll probably be fine cause we'll be in the Caribbean, but I'm afraid I may get sick after I eat. What should I do? I usually take Dramamine for the Air Sickness, should I opt for the Bonine or Ginger?

[agmom2]

Bonine, bonine, bonine. I am very prone to motion sickness and the bonine was great--even the one day the Ecstasy experienced the outer bands of Dolly and the open deck was closed. And just for insurance, I took a ginger capsule with meals for the first couple of days only. The only regret I have is that I should have taken the bonine a couple of days after returning home. I was more dizzy and queasy after returning home than I was on the ship. It only lasted about three days, though.

[thinfool]

I am getting negitive feedback from my doctors regarding the Trans patch( seasickness patch) .

 

Take it along and try it if you like.

 

I took it on our first cruise, but never since and never will. Other posts have described some of the difficulties associated with it.

 

I would add that, if you want to have any fun with mama....don't take the patch, tho ymmv! ;)

 

Finally, if you are sailing the Caribbean in the winter months, you may not need any meds. Our last Princess cruise to the Southern Caribbean (in March) was so flat that I had to go on deck to verify that we were still on a ship.

[kankansista]

Take it along and try it if you like.

 

I took it on our first cruise, but never since and never will. Other posts have described some of the difficulties associated with it.

 

I would add that, if you want to have any fun with mama....don't take the patch, tho ymmv! ;)

 

Finally, if you are sailing the Caribbean in the winter months, you may not need any meds. Our last Princess cruise to the Southern Caribbean (in March) was so flat that I had to go on deck to verify that we were still on a ship.

 

Cruisers with true mal de mar, often feel very sick on glass like waters.

Do not take Scopolamine to try it on the cruise. The secret to this patch is it MUST be applied 6-8 hours prior to stepping ONBOARD. It will not work once you have started to cruise.

This patch is NOT sold in other countries as a prescription. It is bought on the shelf. I too have used for all my cruises, and NEVER had any side effects. It is not cheap though.

[tugboatjulie]

Is Bonine a RX drug? Does it cause as much drowsiness as LESS (ha!) drowsy Dramamine?

[bunnyluv101303]

which OTC is better??? Dramamine or Bonine??? do generics work as well??? I'm going on my first cruise in about a week and am nervous about getting sick!

[karenem]

In my very limited experience, both work as long as you take them ahead of time. Dramamine knocked me right out, but I was so miserable that I didn't care. I took it at night and then switched to bonine in the AM.

[highrollers]

 

Is there such a thing as Children's Bonine or Children's Dramamine?

 

 

 

Yes, there is such a thing as Children's Bonine. We purchased it for our son when we just recently took him on his first cruise. Luckily, he was fine and never used it.

[mavenair]

I used the patch also but what no one is telling you is that you still feel the ship swaying. It's very annoying. There's a metal taste in your mouth also. You don't get sick but you are dizzy all the time and it's worse when you get to port and are on land. Bonine, dramamine and ginger didn't work for me; seabands are a joke. When we hit rough water I was pretty much out of commission and in bed. If you are prone to motion sickness like I am, I would seriously reconsider your trip. I am so sorry I took this cruise; I pretty much wasted 6000 dollars. It was my first cruise and will be my last. And I really wanted to love cruising--so much so that I went knowing the drawbacks. Maybe you can learn from my mistake. SO SORRY!

[Desdemona01]

Not to be a drama evoker:rolleyes: but I would suggest trying other methods first. My DH used the patch for several cruises with no problem. On our 12/06 cruise he awoke in the middle of the night on the third day of wearing the patch, itching and feeling awful. He turned on the bathroom light to see that he was one giant hive from head to toe. He got out the literature that came with the patch and near the bottom of several pages was the warning that it can cause allergic reactions. He removed his patch and within a few hours was back to normal. He went to the ship's store and bought Seabands and was fine for the remainder of the cruise. He has since used them on subsequent cruises with no problem. I always have bonine in our toiletries bag, just in case, but he hasn't needed it.

 

Just because you haven't had a reaction YET doesn't mean it can't happen. I read a short time ago, on another CC thread, where a woman became so incoherent and out of control that she and her husband were put off at the next port on their Alaskan cruise--when checked over at the hospital it was diagnosed as a reaction to her patch.

 

To blithely assure people that there isn't any risk with this DRUG, or that the "risks are worth it", is uneducated. This drug was, in fact, pulled off of the market for some time because of the side effects. Clearly there are still MANY side effects that can be risky to dangerous.

 

I would trust your doctor over any advice on a message board, JMHO.

Des

[clought]

Hi there i am going on my first cruise for my boyfriends sisters wedding in april 2009 with explorer of the seas. It starts in Cape Liberty and we have three days at sea then we go to barbados, two of the virgin islands, dominican and antigua. I am VERY worried about seasickness as i have been prone when on small ferries/boats in the past. The main worry is that i will be sick at the wedding! has anyone been on this southern carribean cruise around april time? what were the conditions like? what is the best thing to take to avoid sickness and is there any websites i can lookup to see the sea conditions for april-typed it in google and shows no results each time!. Thanks so much for any help you can give me.

[Hybrid93Hatch]

Do you have to actually see the physician to get the patch or can this be called in and requested?

 

I really don't want to blow $$ on a visit just to get a few patches :o

[wookieecat]

Alzaman is right--for some it is a godsend, for others it is worse than the seasickness. For the majority of people, it is not necessary and other products will do the job.

 

If you are new to scopalamine, talk about the drug with your doctor or pharmacist and TRY ONE PATCH at home with your normal routine. Better to find out if you are prone to the side effects before your cruise instead of on your cruise.

 

I just got a prescription for the patch. I've tried all the OTC and sea bands and they don't do anything for me. I was wondering if I could try it out beforehand just so I knew ahead of time what the side effects, if any, would be for me. Thanks for answering my question before I asked it :) I'm going to try it this weekend.

 

Do you have to actually see the physician to get the patch or can this be called in and requested?

 

I really don't want to blow $$ on a visit just to get a few patches :o

 

I e-mailed my doctor and told her what prescriptions I was on and she just asked how long my cruise would be and called it into the pharmacy. No visit needed. It might depend on age and what other health conditions you may have so just call and ask if you need to make an appt.

[Stevekiel]

I used the patch once. I got sick and felt better when I took it off. Although it was very rough.

[wookieecat]

I picked up my prescription for the TransDerm patch today. I was reading the literature and 2 things popped out:

 

1. Regarding alcohol, it says "Limit alcohol consumption" and "May cause drowsiness. Alcohol may intesify this effect."

 

2. "This medication can cause temporary blurred vision and widened pupils if it comes in contact with eyes."

 

In other words, wash my hands and I can imbibe in a beverage or two :D I'm still going to try it out this weekend to make sure I don't have any other side effects.

[TransplantedOkies]

I just bought 100 Meclizine 12.5 mg tablets at Sam's for $5.02. Hopefully since these are half strength(brand name bonine is 25 mg)there won't be as much drowsiness.

[Bazzi]

Dont they also have some sort of shot that you can get once you board the ship?

 

You can get a shot on board the ship - it is Premathizine (Phernegan) but it is administered at the Ship's Physician's discretion. Apparently it only works once you have shown symptoms of seasickness - you can't have the shot in readiness.

 

My partner and I were both seasick (in very calm waters) so I guess our Doc on the QM2 figured we qualified!!! From memory we had the shot late morning, the Doc told us it would make us very sleepy and we slept for most of the afternoon but then absolutely no seasickness at all for the rest of our transatlantic crossing despite having rough seas on a couple of the days.

 

Cost USD$50 each but worth every cent.

 

Having read the posts, we are going to try some Meclizine this trip and see how we go.

[CruisingCaity16]

I am getting negitive feedback from my doctors regarding the Trans patch( seasickness patch) .

 

 

I have a tendency to get motion sick very easily. I can even get queasy driving a car, whereas most only get queasy riding in the car. I was first prescribed the Transderm Scopolamine patch for a trip to Disney. It was a week long and I only had 1 side effect....I started to become farsided by the end of the week.

 

This is a concern for me on the cruise ship...cause that'd be a bummer not to be able to see clearly, so I will be cutting my patches in half....aka half the dose. So far on land half is plenty and that means being able to go longer without side effects!

 

These are stonger than dramamine and bonine, but I took those so long they no longer do a thing for me so I always use the patch or something called "Travel Gum." The gum is fantastic...unfortunately it's not available in the states. I have to buy it when I'm in Europe.

 

As far as Dramamine vs. Bonine...my vote is for Bonine. I am much less drowsy with it and will probably have some on had in case the patches don't work out.

[CPT Trips]

DO NOT cut the patch in half! The package insert clearly states that.

 

The patch is designed to deliver a controlled dose of medication over time. If you cut it, either all the medication could leak out before you put it on, or all the medication will leak out as you put it on giving you too high an initial dose and no residual dose.

[CruisingCaity16]

DO NOT cut the patch in half! The package insert clearly states that.

 

The patch is designed to deliver a controlled dose of medication over time. If you cut it, either all the medication could leak out before you put it on, or all the medication will leak out as you put it on giving you too high an initial dose and no residual dose.

 

 

My doctor told me to do it and the kind I get doesn't leak it's solid...so I've used it at least a dozen times like this no problem.

[CPT Trips]

I'll leave it to readers to decide whether to follow potentially dangerous advice. Here is what the manufacturer says on their web site:

"How to Use Transderm Scōp

 

For the prevention of motion sickness, plan to apply one Transderm Scōp patch at least 4 hours before you need it. If the patch is to be used in conjunction with scheduled surgery, it is applied the evening before surgery. For cesarean section, the patch is applied one hour prior to surgery to minimize exposure of the unborn child to the drug. Wear only one patch at any time. Do not cut the patch."

(oh to be able to bold)

 

http://www.transdermscop.com/transderm-scop-patient-information.htm (scroll down)

[agentgirl]

Tip from one of my closest friends- also my pharmacist. You do not have to put the patch behind your ear. It works just as well (maybe better) when placed on the hip. Also discreet~ no one knows you're wearing it. Works for me....and my husband....my pharmacist....his wife....etc.....

[kmlarkin]

I have used the TransDerm patch for every cruise and it is, honestly, a God send for me.

 

I can't stand on a dock or sit in a kayak without being sick for hours. Meclizine (the generic of Bonine and Less Drowsy Dramamine) and Dramamine knock me out for a good day or more, so they are out of the picture. Seabands don't work for me, and neither does ginger tablets.

 

If you decide to use the patches, be sure to put it on about 4 hours before boarding. Don't cut it, and wash hands well after putting it on. Some people do have adverse side effects such as very blurry vision, very dry mouth and nervousness. I have a bit of dry mouth for a day, but that is it. If you have bad side effects and seas are rough, then take it off and get some free meclizine from guest services.

 

I found your post very interesting. I get sleepy/tired at anything that says might make you drowsy. What is the name of the patch that you use and where can I get it?