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Sea Legs and Dizziness


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I have only been on one cruise and I really liked it but when I got home I felt dizzy and funny feeling for about a week. To me it felt like a drunk feeling when you sat still everything seemed to be spinning and gave me that want to throw-up feeling - I did lay in the bathroom several times, thinking oh no, I hate throwing up please no. I had the patches on the ship, but once I got home, it really came on hard and made me feel terrible for several days. Even to the point I was telling my wife, "you will never get me on a cruise again." You see how that ended up I am going again. I did take Dramamine and it helped but it makes me really drowsy.

I want to know from you very-seasoned (doesn't mean old) cruisers -  is there any way to get rid of that feeling quickly?

signed, oh my, I am getting back on a ship in 90 days - ugh?

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Not a doctor and I only have the funny feeling for about a day.

Dramamine has a non-drowsy ginger based formula. There are a lot of ginger based products to use as a remedy at home for an upset stomach. My favorite is ginger tea.  I don't wear the patch so I don't know if you could have worn it for an extra 24 hours to help.  

Were you sick after your last cruise?  Even a mild cold could have made this worse as it creates problems with the inner ear.  You could possibly try a decongestant if you think it is an inner ear issue.  If it is going on for a week, you should go to the doctor and check for an ear infection.

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4 hours ago, melski94 said:

Not a doctor and I only have the funny feeling for about a day.

Dramamine has a non-drowsy ginger based formula. There are a lot of ginger based products to use as a remedy at home for an upset stomach. My favorite is ginger tea.  I don't wear the patch so I don't know if you could have worn it for an extra 24 hours to help.  

Were you sick after your last cruise?  Even a mild cold could have made this worse as it creates problems with the inner ear.  You could possibly try a decongestant if you think it is an inner ear issue.  If it is going on for a week, you should go to the doctor and check for an ear infection.

I was not sick at all. After I got off the ship I felt a little wobbly but went through Miami airport no problem. When I got home and woke-up the next day I felt it and the next day it got worse. Then I made the mistake of laying on the bed one afternoon and it felt like a full on drunk feeling of the room spinning. I think the more you move around the  better you will be for getting it to go away. I took Dramamine at night and passed out. I think it went away in about 4 days. I am HOPING that the more I cruise maybe the better I will get at it.  At least that will be my excuse for a while.

Just looking to hear if anyone has any methods to ward off the wobbles?

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I experienced two weeks of this after our last cruise (Mediterranean on AIDAperla). Haven't found a thing to help against, it just went away eventually. On the 3 other cruises we had before that I never had a problem, not on the ship and not on land - even though I got pretty ill on one of them (bronchitis that developed into pneumonia). I'm guessing it depends on the way the ship handles the waves, this one was rolling quite a bit as if they didn't use the stabilizers - even though the sea looked pretty calm.

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58 minutes ago, Matt said:

To be clear, you were fine on the ship but once you got home it all started happening?

I had a patch on while on the ship. First time I ever had one and it made me feel a little strange but not enough to let me get sick. I felt OK on the cruise but once I took the patch off at home is when I started to really notice a wobbly - nauseous feeling and it increased that feeling for three days and on the  fourth-fifth day I started to get a little better until it was finally gone within a week.

Now for clarification on me - I was 20 years in the military and flew on an ISR platform for Operation Iraqi Freedom and the first night of the war I got really flight sick while doing air-to-air refueling so it is not unheard of me to feel sick on a not so stable environment. ?

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5 minutes ago, Neaxan said:

I experienced two weeks of this after our last cruise (Mediterranean on AIDAperla). Haven't found a thing to help against, it just went away eventually. On the 3 other cruises we had before that I never had a problem, not on the ship and not on land - even though I got pretty ill on one of them (bronchitis that developed into pneumonia). I'm guessing it depends on the way the ship handles the waves, this one was rolling quite a bit as if they didn't use the stabilizers - even though the sea looked pretty calm.

I hope the more I go the less I get sick. I guess I will find out in the next 90 days.

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First, thank you for your service!! Second, I wonder if the patch may have had a hand in getting you off kilter. I have used the patch in the past and had that weird feeling. Now, I just go without anything and get used to the movement fairly quickly on the bigger ships. The sea bands also helped during rocky times and smaller ships. Third, I wonder if you just picked up something that hit you after you got off the ship. It could have been ear/sinus issue or something else. Seriously, stay positive about your next cruise. You do not want to psych yourself out and get yourself self, no self fulfilling illnesses!!

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7 minutes ago, Adriana said:

I wonder if the patch may have had a hand in getting you off kilter. I have used the patch in the past and had that weird feeling.

I wonder that too. My wife and I had one on and she got so weird on it that she was having an issue even having a clear thought and was stammering her words badly. She threw it out after day two.  Mine made me feel strange with an exceedingly dry mouth for the first day and then it lessened and after day three I got a new one only start the process all over again.

I might try your suggestion and go without. This is just a four day cruise so I can bring Dramamine with me just in case.

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4 minutes ago, Tim B. said:

This is just a four day cruise so I can bring Dramamine with me just in case.

My wife and I use Bonine for motion sickness. It's an over the counter and works just as well as Dramamine, if not better, and no drowsiness. :27_sunglasses:

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6 minutes ago, Tim B. said:

I wonder that too. My wife and I had one on and she got so weird on it that she was having an issue even having a clear thought and was stammering her words badly. She threw it out after day two.  Mine made me feel strange with an exceedingly dry mouth for the first day and then it lessened and after day three I got a new one only start the process all over again.

I might try your suggestion and go without. This is just a four day cruise so I can bring Dramamine with me just in case.

Oh wow!! Yup, I would drop the patch. It works great for some, but the side effects can be worse than seasickness for others. I have heard this from a number of people. Try the sea/motion sickness bands. I was so skeptical of them until I went on one of the smaller ferries/go fast boats from Miami to Bimini and was all sorts of such until I bought a pair and wore them. They help and no side effects or drowsiness. I found that on the larger ships, you really are fine. This is coming from a person who gets seasick standing on a doc.

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And maybe before trying any pill, see if the combination of candied ginger slices and some green apple is enough to do the job. Real ginger works absolute wonders on an unsettled stomach, even if it’s something like ginger capsules and not the sort you chew.

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We always feel the wobble after we get off a ship, as our ears and sense of balance are re-adjusting to land.  I've noticed the newer ships tend to be better with the after-wobble, as they are more stable on the water so it requires less adjusting than the older ships do.  

Our first cruise was 26 years ago, and we still feel it, so it doesn't necessarily get better with more cruises. 

My un-educated opinion is that it has more to do with your internal sense of balance (vestibular system) than it does whether or not you get seasick. I never - I mean never - get seasick, airsick, carsick.  My husband does all the time.  I have had sinus & ear problems for my entire life.  My vestibular system has a hard time functioning properly when my sinuses are full than when they are not.  My husband has no sinus or ear problems.  While I may not have had any seasickness when my husband does, I wobble a lot longer than he does when we get off the smaller ships.  

Harmony last September - I was fine within a day.  Adventure last May - it took 2 days.  I'll be on Serenade which is even smaller for 12 nights later this year - I expect at least 3 days of wobble when I get back.  Now after 7 days on Grandeur next year...she's so tiny it may take me a week to be right.  LOL 

Those that don't experience any "land legs" when they get off the ship may have had one of the following happen: very port intensive itinerary so they were at sea pretty much only at night; and awesome vestibular system so they don't feel any change as their body instantly adjusts, or it went away so quickly they don't really remember feeling it.  

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On 7/28/2018 at 3:11 PM, rjac said:

My wife and I use Bonine for motion sickness. It's an over the counter and works just as well as Dramamine, if not better, and no drowsiness. :27_sunglasses:

This is what I use too!  I have heard too many things about the patch making you feel weird so I was afraid to try it.  Bonine works good for me (I use it for flying also).

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It was most likely the patch, you mentioned you had it on for several days.  The longer the patch is used, the more severe the rebound effects are. The pharmacological half-life of scopolamine in the body is about 9 hours, but the sensitized effects in the vestibular nuclei center can last for days to weeks.

Scopolamine acts in the central nervous system (CNS) by competitively blocking cholinergic transmission and receptor sites from the vestibular nuclei to higher centers in the CNS and from the reticular formation to the vomiting center, which is the proposed mechanism for transdermal scopolamine in the prevention of motion sickness. With scopolamine, the receptor sites are sensitized over time and cholinergic neurotransmitters are accumulated, which results in rebound effects when scopolamine is stopped, causing an overstimulation of the vestibular nuclei and the reticular formation of the vomiting center and hence the sensation of motion sickness.

Personally, I can't take the stuff at all.  First my mouth dries out, I want to sleep, and then I get a horribly bitter taste in my mouth that won't go away.  That along makes me sick to my stomach!!  I've since bought some sea bands but haven't used them...... Seems I'm not as motion sensitive as I used to be, I used to be on proton pump inhibitors for reflux, which caused me to be constantly dizzy.  Once I stopped taking those, I don't feel sick in rough weather.   

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After thinking back on the last cruise I do feel it was the patch that caused lots of problems. It caused a malaise like feeling in me and such a dry mouth that there was never enough fluids that could solve the dry throat. This time I vow :100_pray: there will be a difference. So let it be written so let it be done!

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Get ya 24 hour Bonine or Dramamine. Take it at night before you go to bed and you won't be drowsy during the day. Most important, start taking it 2-3 nights before you cruise!! It needs to get in your system. If you wait till your on the cruise and feel sick then take them you will spend 2 days in your cabin till they get in your system. Better to be safe then waste 2 days. Take it from someone that has severe motion sickness. I even have to take it before any surgery with anesthesia. 

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12 hours ago, NeonD7 said:

It was most likely the patch, you mentioned you had it on for several days.  The longer the patch is used, the more severe the rebound effects are. The pharmacological half-life of scopolamine in the body is about 9 hours, but the sensitized effects in the vestibular nuclei center can last for days to weeks.

Scopolamine acts in the central nervous system (CNS) by competitively blocking cholinergic transmission and receptor sites from the vestibular nuclei to higher centers in the CNS and from the reticular formation to the vomiting center, which is the proposed mechanism for transdermal scopolamine in the prevention of motion sickness. With scopolamine, the receptor sites are sensitized over time and cholinergic neurotransmitters are accumulated, which results in rebound effects when scopolamine is stopped, causing an overstimulation of the vestibular nuclei and the reticular formation of the vomiting center and hence the sensation of motion sickness.

Personally, I can't take the stuff at all.  First my mouth dries out, I want to sleep, and then I get a horribly bitter taste in my mouth that won't go away.  That along makes me sick to my stomach!!  I've since bought some sea bands but haven't used them...... Seems I'm not as motion sensitive as I used to be, I used to be on proton pump inhibitors for reflux, which caused me to be constantly dizzy.  Once I stopped taking those, I don't feel sick in rough weather.   

My MIL changes her patch every three days.  She puts it on the morning of the cruise, and then starts her three day countdown.  Sometime she will put it on the night before the cruise, but has found she doesn't always need it that early.

She complains about the dry mouth a lot. 

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