Feeling dizzy/like I’m on a boat after two and a half hour boat tour.

Im getting scared and am curious if this is normal and came across this forum. Now I wasn’t on a cruise, but I went to Alexandria Bay Wednesday to Saturday last week and on Thursday went on the Uncle Sam Boat Tour. It was a two and a half hour boat tour that took you around the islands. It was a three floor boat, and I spent most of it on the third floor near the front railing looking over. After we got off the boat, I had the tiniest of sensations I was still on a boat, but it didn’t feel weird. But Friday it started to hit me when I woke up. If I lay on my side and rocked it’d feel like I was moving and rocking on a boat. Walking around made it kinda go away, but standing still or sitting up I just had the sensation. And when I woke up Saturday I still had it, but worse it seems. The car ride home made me feel a little better, but when I got out of the car I felt so dizzy like I was going to fall over. I had the feeling all day yesterday and now today, too. I feel fatigued and weak, and when I walk it feels like I’m walking on the deck of a boat, like it’s bobbing up and down, and my head just feels dizzy. I was fine the day before the boat ride. It wasn’t my first time on a boat, either, but probably the longest. Last year I went to Niagra Falls on the Maid of the Mist and didn’t feel like this, and last year also went on the Sea Rocket boat ride at Ocean City MD and felt fine, albeit a tiny bit like I was on a boat afterward for a few hours tops. But this, this is just making me feel like crap. I took a motion sickness pill, that didn’t help. I feel like I can’t concetrate on stuff, like if I’m sitting down and going to reach for something I feel like I’ll fall over. Same if I bend and squat, I feel I’ll tip over any second.

I’m starting to get worried this won’t go away. I hate this feeling of being dizzy and bobbing. Will this go away, and is constantly feeling like this for 3 days normal? Thank you!

Look up Vestibular Disorders; it deals with inner ear function and the feeling of swaying, vertigo, dizziness, imbalance, etc.

It happened to my wife a few years ago as a result of yoga.....of all things.

Good luck.

I have a neck injury that does the same thing. But i bet you have an inner ear issue. Try a decongestant.

I had that happen after my cruise! What I found helped was any other movement. So car rides or walking. And when I was sitting I found that chewing gum helped a great deal because it seemed to somehow trick my mind. It took a full week to totally go away.

What you are experiencing is not rare. Ask your Dr. If the Epley manoever would be helpful in getting that vestibular imbalance back to normal.

It's called mal de débarquement. Happened to me for the first time 9 years ago, after a 6 days stay in Venice involving lots of vaporetto rides, and lasted 2 weeks. Had it happen a few years later after a 4 day cruise in Greece, lasted 2 or 3 weeks. I looked up all I could read on it - it seems it happens mostly to people who are not seasick (I 've never been seasick in my life) and mostly after short stays on the water (les than a week). Nothing much helsp - it passes with time. My solution is to book only "long" cruises (more than 10 days).

It's more common than you think...even long-time sailors get it occasionally. It will usually resolve on it's own after a couple weeks....generally in less than a month...but it may only last a few days! Antihistamines can be helpful.

I don't get "sea sick" either...and I've had it twice....doesn't happen every cruise, thank goodness!

I recommend seeing your doctor. I had a mild case after my last cruise and a worse one after the previous cruise, but not nearly as bad as yours sounds. My really bad case I used SeaBands even though I was back on land and they helped quite a bit. That might be a fairly inexpensive, low risk option to try while waiting to see the doctor.

Hope you feel better soon.

Neither of us ever had that happen to us.

I agree -- see your doctor just to make certain that you do not have an inner ear infection. He should be able to prescribe something for you to take.

What you are experiencing is not rare. Ask your Dr. If the Epley manoever would be helpful in getting that vestibular imbalance back to normal.

Glad to see someone else mention this. The symptoms sound like vertigo, which may or may not be related to the boat trip. I had it for months until my physical therapist cured it with the Epley maneuver - took about 15 minutes and it was totally gone. Google it - a very simple series of controlled head movements that allow the displaced floating particles in the ear to fall back where they belong. Check with your doctor or therapist before having it done, but it shouldn't be any problem for most people.

Go see your doctor. While it sounds like MdDS is the most likely cause, there are other possibilities. One specific concern that makes me say go see your doc ASAP is that motion sickness drugs did not work for you. These DO usually work for inner-ear balance issues, whether it's motion sickness, Benign Paroxymal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) or MdDS - so assuming it's the same drug(s) you have used for motion sickness which worked for you before, this is probably not just MdDS or BPPV. Your doctor can go through some tests which narrow down the problem to physical, central nervous system, proprioceptive (how your body 'feels' where it is in relation to the environment) or even psychological root causes.

Odds are it's still one of the more common and minor issues like BPPV or a hopefully-short case of MdDS so don't panic, but self-diagnosing (or trusting us random internet weirdos) and using the Epley is a bad idea - because it does move things around inside your inner ear if that is NOT actually the cause it will likely result in worsening your condition, and unless done correctly you can actually injure your neck. It's much better done to you by a professional than by yourself, though there are modified and simplified home versions, like Brandt-Daroff, which are gentler and remove the risks of injury (but are correspondingly less effective than the faster movements of Epley, assuming that problem is your inner ear 'stones' being out of place).

I have MdDS frequently after short boat trips - and also one bout of just random-onset same symptoms that I spoke with my doc about (diagnosed as Benign Positional Vertigo - same as my wife spontaneously developed a few years back). Normally it resolves in hours or days, and I never feel unbalanced enough to be at risk of falling, and just like you walking around or sitting in a moving vehicle removes the symptoms for me so far - so I just sit in a rocking chair (consistent back & forth movement always helps me) at home for the duration. My wife found a week of twice-daily Brandt-Daroff did the trick for her, I have always found the problem just resolves itself eventually, but we always check with a professional to be sure what's going on before attempting any cures!

On 8/20/2018 at 9:28 PM, PirateMan93 said:

Im getting scared and am curious if this is normal and came across this forum. Now I wasn’t on a cruise, but I went to Alexandria Bay Wednesday to Saturday last week and on Thursday went on the Uncle Sam Boat Tour. It was a two and a half hour boat tour that took you around the islands. It was a three floor boat, and I spent most of it on the third floor near the front railing looking over. After we got off the boat, I had the tiniest of sensations I was still on a boat, but it didn’t feel weird. But Friday it started to hit me when I woke up. If I lay on my side and rocked it’d feel like I was moving and rocking on a boat. Walking around made it kinda go away, but standing still or sitting up I just had the sensation. And when I woke up Saturday I still had it, but worse it seems. The car ride home made me feel a little better, but when I got out of the car I felt so dizzy like I was going to fall over. I had the feeling all day yesterday and now today, too. I feel fatigued and weak, and when I walk it feels like I’m walking on the deck of a boat, like it’s bobbing up and down, and my head just feels dizzy. I was fine the day before the boat ride. It wasn’t my first time on a boat, either, but probably the longest. Last year I went to Niagra Falls on the Maid of the Mist and didn’t feel like this, and last year also went on the Sea Rocket boat ride at Ocean City MD and felt fine, albeit a tiny bit like I was on a boat afterward for a few hours tops. But this, this is just making me feel like crap. I took a motion sickness pill, that didn’t help. I feel like I can’t concetrate on stuff, like if I’m sitting down and going to reach for something I feel like I’ll fall over. Same if I bend and squat, I feel I’ll tip over any second.

 

I’m starting to get worried this won’t go away. I hate this feeling of being dizzy and bobbing. Will this go away, and is constantly feeling like this for 3 days normal? Thank you!

Did yours ever clear up?? I’ve had the same experience after a 6 hour boat ride in Miami and I am Miserable!! My doctor said it is likely Mdds but that it usually clears up with time. It’s been 10 days and I’m suffering hard. Also the internet has scared me to death!! Would love to hear a status update of your story!!

@Tsommer12  Have you tried chewing gum? Almost constantly chewing gum helped tamp down the rocking feeling until the Mdss went away. 

https://www.webmd.com/brain/home-remedies-vertigo#1

Vertigo and some remedies for it!

Hmmm.  For years my husband has suffered what we call his "spells."  Dizziness (but not vertigo), sweating and pale skin.  Lasts about a day.  I've always suspected low blood sugar but something to do with his inner ear sounds possible, too.  His doctor kinds of brushes it off.

I have been suffering from vertigo since 2011. My PCP told me that having the Eppley Maneuver does not always work and can cause other problems. I have been to ENT's 'and virtually every other king of doctor.Nothing works.I cannot travel by plane or train and have been to more ER's than you can possibly imaging.