Sea Sickness and Stugeron

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Conmerra

...Bit like buying something from Microsoft and having it come from Apple.
...

So everything Microsoft puts out, originated in Seattle?

[jaga]

Originally Posted by Connemara

Bit like buying something from Microsoft and having it come from Apple.
Connemara

Personally I'd be thrilled if I bought something from Microsoft and had it come from Apple - it might actually work and be secure! I'm writing this on a Mac and do all my sailing computing, including charting, on a Mac, with the exception of Sailmail.

I was referred to CanadaDrugsOnline by a major reputable offshore sailing expedition company who have used them for years. I've also confirmed both the source and the product independently, so I'm quite comfortable with it.

BTW - it's shipped from the UK because while Stugeron is quite legal in Canada it is not imported, so you can't actually walk into a pharmacy and get it there.

[bayview]

We have been using sturgeron for years now and have found it to be the best motion sickness medication for us by far. Even when your at the stage where your head is spinning and your about to chuck, if you can get a tablet down ,you feel perfect within 20 minutes. Its best however not to leave it this late.

We both suffer from seasickness at the start of most voyages.

Regards.

[jaga]

Originally Posted by bayview

We have been using sturgeron for years now and have found it to be the best motion sickness medication for us by far. Even when your at the stage where your head is spinning and your about to chuck, if you can get a tablet down ,you feel perfect within 20 minutes. Its best however not to leave it this late.

We both suffer from seasickness at the start of most voyages.

Regards.

Must be made by Apple, not Microsoft

[CarlF]

Another vote for Stugeron bought through Canada Pharmacy. I've also bought it over the counter in London and Bermuda. At $30 plus shipping for 100 tablets it doesn't seem worth the trouble to counterfeit - the packaging is from the European manufacturer Janssen-Cilag. It's unfortunate that the drug is not available in the US as it has been sold in Europe without a prescription for many years.

I've found Stugeron to be better for me (fewer side effects) than Scopolamine. But I've sailed with others who get no side effects from Scop and find Stugeron doesn't do anything for them. A survey of ARC participants found Stugeron the most liked remedy - but only by a small margin.

As many others have reported, all of these pills work much better if started a day before an offshore passage. I've also found ginger and Emergen-C packets (recommended by the Neals of Mahia) to work well with or without the drugs.

Mahina Expedition - Offshore Cruising Instruction

I can't remember where I saw it, but the most interesting explanation for seasickness is that it comes from our earliest ancestors. Let's imagine that a prehistoric man experienced the situation where his inner ear felt motion but his eyes said he was standing still. Since prehistoric man didn't have a cruising sailboat, he was left with the explanation that he was hallucinating, most likely due to food poisoning. The correct survival response was to empty the stomach -- quickly.

Carl

[Jim Thomsen]

We are currently cruising in Europe and have purchased Stugeron a number of times and it seems to work and as far as we see, has no side effects other drugs have (like sleepyness). My understanding is that it has been a generic drug for a long time in Europe and since no drug company can make money off it none have tried for FDA approval. That may not be true, but it's what I have read.
A good discussion of seasickness drugs is on the Mahina Expeditions website: Mahina Expedition - Offshore Cruising Instruction . They run blue water trips for about 50 people a year for more than 15 years and have worked with researchers on seasickness. Some interesting reading anyway.

Jim

[Jim Thomsen]

Carl,

Sorry, I missed your post with the same link to Mahina.

We are believers in Emergen-C, along with the other suggestions of the Neals and over the past 3 years have had little problem with seasickness.

I like the explanation for seasickness...makes sense to me.

Jim

[al.dresser]

Avoid scopolamine without medical advice. Too many central nervous system effects (dry mouth, flushing, etc). Stugeron (cinnarizine) is an antihistamine in the same family as Bonamine (meclazine). Bonamine used to require a prescription but once it went over the counter (OTC) Pfizer dropped it as unprofitable. Both are very effective for seasickness and are non-sedating.
As for the mail order pharmacies, the ones with Canada or Canadian in the name were originally operated by Canadian pharmacists in Canada but they moved to the Caribbean as laws changed. The whole idea of counterfeit drugs from Europe or the Mediterranean has to do with protecting the profits of the major drug companies. They are made in their factories in Europe, India and Africa and meant for areas of the world where the prices are lower. Its all dollars not necessarily efficacy.
Can't vouch for asia though.

[Kettlewell]

good stuff
We have been using sturgeron for years now and have found it to be the best motion sickness medication for us by far. Even when your at the stage where your head is spinning and your about to chuck, if you can get a tablet down ,you feel perfect within 20 minutes. Its best however not to leave it this late.

We both suffer from seasickness at the start of most voyages.

Regards.

+1. It takes a lot to make me so sick I need to take something, but if I get to that point (after something like offshore engine repairs) I can take a Sturgeron, lie down for 15-20 minutes, and then I'm reasonably ready to go. My wife who gets seasick fairly easily has tried most of them, and finds the Sturgeron has the least side effects. She felt positively loopy on Scopalamine and was basically useless after putting on a patch.

[hellosailor]

Scopolamine was also OTC in the US for a number of years and then it was pulled--not because of what it is, but because folks were mixing it with other drugs to illicit purposes.

Personally I found sturgeron to be worthless...but everyone reacts differently. Scop IS serious meds, and shouldn't be taken trivially. Preferably at home where there's aid and comfort to be found for the first trial. I always warn the rest of the boat if I'm using Scop, just in case it makes me a raving psychopathic axe murderer with bulging eyes and a cardia condition. (Which everyone agrees is better than mal de mer.<G>)

[Mark Johnson]

I've found Scopolamine patches to be the most effective, but haven't felt the need for (the strong stuff) in many years. For me, the side effects were tolerable, mostly blurry close up vision. My wife uses Stugeron, (from our UK friends), as the Scop patches leave her "trippin"! I have also used Stugeron on occasion, and find them quite effective.

If you do a 3 day scop patch, and still feel queasy, I wouldn't do another 3 day scop patch. I tried this once, and my vision eventually got to where I couldn't read the chart at all! It's strong stuff!

Mark

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Scopolamine was also OTC in the US for a number of years and then it was pulled--not because of what it is, but because folks were mixing it with other drugs to illicit purposes.

Personally I found sturgeron to be worthless...but everyone reacts differently. Scop IS serious meds, and shouldn't be taken trivially. Preferably at home where there's aid and comfort to be found for the first trial. I always warn the rest of the boat if I'm using Scop, just in case it makes me a raving psychopathic axe murderer with bulging eyes and a cardia condition. (Which everyone agrees is better than mal de mer.<G>)

I took my wife off of "the Patch" forever, when she was on night watch far out at sea, and started alarmingly pointing out that she saw CONDOMINIUMS out there. "No more Patch for you girl!" M.

[hellosailor]

Mark, forget the patch. You'd want "Scopace" which is a little white pill taken several times daily. Easier to control the dosage, easier to start light and stop without throwing out a 3-day supply.

[Kettlewell]

Scop does strange things, like the time my wife called me up from a sound sleep because there was a big light right ahead! It was the moon rising...

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Mark, forget the patch. You'd want "Scopace" which is a little white pill taken several times daily. Easier to control the dosage, easier to start light and stop without throwing out a 3-day supply.

Thanks... Good to know. The times I have needed it was usually for a 24 hour event, or first day out, and the pill sounds better. Also, the patch can so easily be rubbed with your hand, then finger in the eye to scratch, then goodbye focused vision. M.