Sea Sickenss - The Holy Grail of Pills.....

[UFO]

I have been undertaking a few experiments on some lab rats (read friends) in regards to Sea Sickness tablets, as my wife suffers a form of vertigo/sea sickness when she gets out of still waters - Basically she has to lie down as everything spins around her - although she is not sick.



I know others on this forum have espoused the virtues of Stugeron, but I thought I'd share some first hand experience of 3 people who suffer from Sea Sickness.


Being in Australia I had to get them from outside of the country as they do not sell them here for some reason.


The first subject who suffers quite badly from seasickness came on for a 3 day passage down the East Coast of Australia - Having popped a couple the night before and one a couple of hours before sailing and then one every 8 hours he was absolutely fine with NO Sea Sickness symptoms, although the first 24 hours he was very drowsy/sleepy, but this passed.


The second subject wanted to come across the Australian Bight from Portland Victoria to Perth, but I thought that was a bit of a big one, so I picked him up in Albany WA. He has suffered sea sickness for about 10 years and again I dosed him up as before. Our first 3 hours was into a very bouncy 20Kt wind and nasty chop - Again he was very sleepy and at one point did feel a bit queasy but was not sick.


Once we got the wind behind us and moved offshore a bit he was a lot better. He took another pill and went to bed at the end of the day.


The next day he only took half a pill and was not sleepy at all - We hit some big weather with constant 34Kt winds with the highest gust to 42Kts and around a 6m swell which was throwing us around a bit - He was fine and did not take anymore for the rest of the trip!


My wife was the last subject - She took 2 the night before and was out like a light - The next morning she was still a bit groggy, but did not take anymore and made a 5 hours sail up the coast in 20Kt winds off the stern and a relatively calm ocean - Which was miraculous, as this would have had her lying down previously.


All of the subjects had tried other meds with varying degrees of success, but all felt that Stugeron was by far the best they had ever taken, the only drawback being the drowsiness.


I hope that helps anyone looking for a seasickness remedy

[StuM]

What dosage where the pills? They can come in 15 and 25mg pills. But there's also Stugeron Forte 75mg!



Given the reported drowsiness, I'd assume they were not the 15mg? And you certainly wouldn't want two of the Fortes.



Never heard of people taking them "the night before". First dose a couple of hours before departure has always worked well for my crews.

[hpeer]

Yes, beware of the FORTE. They can cause Stugeron induced Parkinson’s which can take up to a year to go away, or never.

My Wife bought some over the counter Stugeron and didn’t check the dose, yup Forte. I figured it out when I noticed she was having trouble walking and developed a tremor in her hands. Thankfully she has recovered and still uses the reduced dosage.

[JPA Cate]

We once knew a guy who started the Stugeron 3 days before leaving, and was good for the passages, but believed he needed the 3 day start up.

I take mine in the morning after I wake up and before we leave, but they are the lowest dose. Sometimes, i get sleepy about 1/2 hr. after taking them. If i go have a snooze, I'm fine again in about 45 min.

My favourite strategy against sea sickness is stugeron, and I've tried almost everything else, before it.

Ann

[UFO]

Originally Posted by StuM

What dosage where the pills? They can come in 15 and 25mg pills. But there's also Stugeron Forte 75mg!



Given the reported drowsiness, I'd assume they were not the 15mg? And you certainly wouldn't want two of the Fortes.



Never heard of people taking them "the night before". First dose a couple of hours before departure has always worked well for my crews.

Just the 15mg Ones - Still seemed pretty strong!


They took them the night before as our passages were at first light


Worked perfectly for my wife as she did not take one in the morning and it kept her going for the day.

[robert sailor]

Best sea sickness meds out there in my experience, taking the first tablet the night before is a recommended procedure for those most apt to get sea sick. Some people can get sleepy and others including myself have absolutely no reaction.

[Symphony]

as far as I know there is NO ramping up needed for Stugeron. the 15 mg dose comes and goes from your body within 5 hours. If you are going to sleep I think you have too much. take one an hour before sailing, then repeat after 3 hours at most. repeat after 6 hours better. try waiting a bit longer before taking successive doses. It is best to help you acclimate to the motion rather than take it long term.

[Bunter]

My wifegets very seasick and suffers from motion sickness on land. Culing pills are best for her. They are non-drowsy and do not affect her heart. (Stugeron is a calcium channel blocker and will affect both heart and muscles.)

[Scrimshaw4]

I highly recommend using a product called Relief Band. Unlike pills it imparts no side affects. It is battery operated and worn on the wrist. I have used it on a number of different crew members that normally get VERY seasick and have witnessed great results. It's so safe that the USFDA has approved it for use by pregnant women to combat morning seasickness and by the FAA for commercial pilots to use to address motion sickness. Purchase the model that has replaceable batteries. JMHO

[chrisr]

in my experience no s/s cure works for everyone...but stugeron comes close. certainly works for me

although a slightly more expensive cure has been to convert from a mono to a cat. the different motion means no need for anything.

cheers,

[Mystic38]

not sure that anything is guaranteed to work for everyone.. personally I have had success many times with a scopolamine patch, and if anticipated rough, or the start of an Atlantic voyage (hmm..redundant??..lol) then with a bonine chaser for a couple of days.. usually after two patches (5-6 days out) i have been good.

good read, may consider trying stugeron out this year

[Greg Mason]

My wife always had symptoms of sea sickness and we tried everything from patches, bands, gravol, stugeron, mercalm and the only effective one for her was gravol suppositories. We all have 2 things in life, things we swear by and things we swear at.

[alansmith]

Usually scopolamine works well for me. But last trip down to Mexico’s Sea of Cortez I found the side affects terrible. I was so dizzy I felt like I was whirling around even as I laid in my bunk. Also I had very pronounced cotton mouth. I will give sturgeon a try.

[carioca]

Had severe dry mouth from using the scopolamine patch. Drinking lots of fluids didn't solve that problem. Also hallucinations at night. Not fun. The chemicals in the scopolamine patch will dilate your eyes. Had sweat run from behind my ears to my eyes to find that out. (It is hot in the Gulf of Mexico in the summer.) Stugeron has worked well. Highly recommended. Or fly to your destination. Air sickness might last several hours. Sea sickness can last for days...My record is 14 days. USN, small surface ship, North Atlantic, off of New England, November 1975. No available medications then...

[Scotty Kiwi]

My wife recently used scopolamine 1 day into a 15 day passage. It immediately and noticably improved her health and participation, and surprisingly, no side effects, no dry mouth, no eye dilation.

After three days she removed the patch and then realised she'd not removed the plastic backing! Jeez! Placebo effect - but observing it - it was effective enough (I'm not recommending this approach ... or am I?)