Regarding Transderm Scop

[DrHfuhruhurr]

Hi everyone,

 

We went on a 4-day caribbean cruise about two years ago, and I was sick as a dog for a big chunk of the trip. I became nauseated around dinnertime on the first day, and I stayed queasy throughout. The nausea was at its worst until the evening of the second day. Because it gradually improved, I'm not entirely convinced I was sick due to seasickness. I've ridden plenty of private boats and ferries, and I've never been seasick before.

 

(Also, I stayed pretty sick after the cruise, becoming nauseated after most meals, and I lost about 30lbs over a three month period. Eventually, I went to the doctor and he thought I might have giardia, since it all started with a cruise. He didn't test for it, but he gave me antibiotics, and after that my issues cleared up completely. So I assume he was right--but it seems weird that that's what made me sick, since I got sick within hours of getting on the boat. I don't think giardia symptoms appear that fast.)

 

At any rate, that's a lot of information just to get to a simple question. (Sorry.) We are going on a 7-day cruise to Alaska later this month (leaving out of Seattle), and I decided not to take any chances. I had my doctor prescribe the patch, just in case. However, since I'm not convinced I was ever really seasick, I'd rather wait and see if I get sick on this cruise before putting on the patch. (I tried a test run of the patch a week ago, after reading some of the side effects, and it worked out okay. But vision was a bit blurry, and I was slightly nauseated coming off of it afterward. I'd rather avoid all that if I can. I'd also rather avoid buying the patch for future cruises, since it ain't cheap.)

 

So, the question: Have any of you tried putting the patch on *after* getting seasick? Does it work that way? The instruction say it must be applied a few hours *before* getting sick, but I'm wondering if putting it on afterward will still work.

 

Thanks for any feedback/advice! :)

[Shmoo here]

Hi everyone,

 

We went on a 4-day caribbean cruise about two years ago, and I was sick as a dog for a big chunk of the trip. I became nauseated around dinnertime on the first day, and I stayed queasy throughout. The nausea was at its worst until the evening of the second day. Because it gradually improved, I'm not entirely convinced I was sick due to seasickness. I've ridden plenty of private boats and ferries, and I've never been seasick before.

 

(Also, I stayed pretty sick after the cruise, becoming nauseated after most meals, and I lost about 30lbs over a three month period. Eventually, I went to the doctor and he thought I might have giardia, since it all started with a cruise. He didn't test for it, but he gave me antibiotics, and after that my issues cleared up completely. So I assume he was right--but it seems weird that that's what made me sick, since I got sick within hours of getting on the boat. I don't think giardia symptoms appear that fast.)

 

At any rate, that's a lot of information just to get to a simple question. (Sorry.) We are going on a 7-day cruise to Alaska later this month (leaving out of Seattle), and I decided not to take any chances. I had my doctor prescribe the patch, just in case. However, since I'm not convinced I was ever really seasick, I'd rather wait and see if I get sick on this cruise before putting on the patch. (I tried a test run of the patch a week ago, after reading some of the side effects, and it worked out okay. But vision was a bit blurry, and I was slightly nauseated coming off of it afterward. I'd rather avoid all that if I can. I'd also rather avoid buying the patch for future cruises, since it ain't cheap.)

 

So, the question: Have any of you tried putting the patch on *after* getting seasick? Does it work that way? The instruction say it must be applied a few hours *before* getting sick, but I'm wondering if putting it on afterward will still work.

 

Thanks for any feedback/advice! :)

 

 

Yes, it will still work, even if you wait until you show symptoms. It just feels like it isn't working, since it does take a little time to get into your system.

[DrHfuhruhurr]

Thanks very much for the reply. I think I'm going to give it a shot without the patch, but it's good to know I can still use it if everything goes south. :)

 

-dt

[Shmoo here]

Thanks very much for the reply. I think I'm going to give it a shot without the patch, but it's good to know I can still use it if everything goes south. :)

 

-dt

 

Just a little more info - my husband (who's always been VERY prone to motion sickness) got the patch for our first cruise, and it served him well. By the time we were on our 3rd cruise, the side effects from the patch were more bothersome than ever. Don't know if his system has now adjusted, or just the very smooth water we were having meant he wasn't as affected. He took the patch off about 6 days in (we were on a long cruise) and has never looked back.

 

He still brings them along, but has pretty much moved on to seabands now, with an occasional Bonine on really rocky days.

[geoherb]

My DH is another who can no longer tolerate the medicines for seasickness. They were giving him lockjaw.

[Philob]

Eventually, I went to the doctor and he thought I might have giardia, since it all started with a cruise.

 

If its giardia you may have been infected prior to your cruise since it usually takes 7 to 10 days for the symptoms to develop, but it can take from 3 to 25 days or longer. You can pass the infection to others during the entire time you are infected. You may be infected for months, even if you don't have symptoms.

 

In my "didn't know any better days" I did a lot of back country camping and saw a lot of warnings about giardia or giardiasis. Ignored every one of them :rolleyes: until I spent the weekend before Fall classes started sleeping next to the loo :cool:

Edited May 13, 2016 by Philob

[zqvol]

Hi everyone,

 

We went on a 4-day caribbean cruise about two years ago, and I was sick as a dog for a big chunk of the trip. I became nauseated around dinnertime on the first day, and I stayed queasy throughout. The nausea was at its worst until the evening of the second day. Because it gradually improved, I'm not entirely convinced I was sick due to seasickness. I've ridden plenty of private boats and ferries, and I've never been seasick before.

 

(Also, I stayed pretty sick after the cruise, becoming nauseated after most meals, and I lost about 30lbs over a three month period. Eventually, I went to the doctor and he thought I might have giardia, since it all started with a cruise. He didn't test for it, but he gave me antibiotics, and after that my issues cleared up completely. So I assume he was right--but it seems weird that that's what made me sick, since I got sick within hours of getting on the boat. I don't think giardia symptoms appear that fast.)

 

At any rate, that's a lot of information just to get to a simple question. (Sorry.) We are going on a 7-day cruise to Alaska later this month (leaving out of Seattle), and I decided not to take any chances. I had my doctor prescribe the patch, just in case. However, since I'm not convinced I was ever really seasick, I'd rather wait and see if I get sick on this cruise before putting on the patch. (I tried a test run of the patch a week ago, after reading some of the side effects, and it worked out okay. But vision was a bit blurry, and I was slightly nauseated coming off of it afterward. I'd rather avoid all that if I can. I'd also rather avoid buying the patch for future cruises, since it ain't cheap.)

 

So, the question: Have any of you tried putting the patch on *after* getting seasick? Does it work that way? The instruction say it must be applied a few hours *before* getting sick, but I'm wondering if putting it on afterward will still work.

 

Thanks for any feedback/advice! :)

 

 

Before going all the way to the patch, try Bonine, it's OTC and for most people has no side effects.

[ISLABONITA]

Patch did not work for me.. I guess I didn't give it a chance but the night before boarding a 7 nite cruise on a small ship in the Galapagos I was feeling the same symptoms of seasickness.

What has worked for me is meclizine ( bonine prescription) sea bands, ginger root capsules and ginger rock candy.

[nat9511]

I use Bonine. I used to take one in the morning and one at night but have now cut that down to one in the morning. I have not been seasick since taking Bonine.

 

I used the patch when I first started cruising and it made me feel horrible so I switched to Bonine. It is cheap and can be bought at CVS, Walmart etc.

[CPT Trips]

The downside of pills is that if you wait until you are tossing, it's too late. That said, scop is a drug with some wicked side effects and adverse reactions.

 

I take meclizine every night on a cruise.

[SuiteTraveler]

Thanks very much for the reply. I think I'm going to give it a shot without the patch, but it's good to know I can still use it if everything goes south. :)

 

-dt

 

Ask you doctor if you can take Bonine. This is an over the counter medication that works great for motion sickness. If you doctors says it is OK, go to the drugstore and buy some Bonine. Take one the morning you board the ship. If your ship encounters high seas and the Bonine does not seem to be doing the trick, put the patch on and discontinue taking Bonine. The patch is only good for 3 days, BUT usually on an Alaskan cruise the only time you will have high seas is the first and/or second night going up from Seattle or Vancouver and the last night coming down. Once you are visiting ports in Alaska the seas are normally very, very calm and you likely will not need any anti-seasickness medicine at all. The Bonine is good for moderate to high seas and has few to no side-effects. The patch can make your vision blurry and your mouth dry along with several other unpleasant side effects including feeling like you are drunk but if you are in high seas and Bonine is not quite doing the job, it is better to use the patch and go midship for the day with a book and just ride it out. If you encounter high seas at night, best place to be is in bed. Should you be doing an excursion on a small boat in Alaska (such as whale watching) take a Bonine that day.

[GORDONCHICK]

Bonine is much much better than the patch! The side effects of the patch were nasty for me. You should have less problem with AK, but since you're doing RT out of Seattle, you may not have the smoothest ride (compared to sailing out of Vancouver where it is pretty covered). Still, I would check out Bonine instead. I always take it at night when getting ready for dinner. If the seas are rough (if you see crew putting out barf bags around the ship), then take another one. I never thought I'd get seasick because I grew up on boats but that was on lakes and not the ocean. I got sick on our first cruise. I did the patch on the 2nd, and never again! 3rd one used Bonine and haven't used anything else since.

[pbnjrockette]

Another vote for taking Bonine! I take one before setting foot on the ship and daily while the ship is at sea and it has worked well. The patch made me very ill and I felt drunk for several days and unable to enjoy our first port! Never again!