Stugeron from Canada Drugs Online

[Calypso52]

At a recent Safety at Sea medical seminar, Dr. Wisch highly recommened Stugeron (Cinnarizine) as an effective seasickness medication, in addition to the patch. This is available OTC many countries but not in the US. I purchased some from CanadaDrugsOnline. My order took three weeks to arrive because the overseas fulfillment agent dropped the leading zero on my zip code. Also the agent packed tablets that have only a year left before expiration( two year since mfg.) Probably not a big deal for blister packed meds but I thought others might want to know. I’ll get some “fresh” tabs when we get to Bermuda.

[Lodesman]

Stugeron is not available in Canada either

[Kenomac]

Can I suggest trying Bonine (meclizine), which is over the counter here in the US and very inexpensive.

[CarlF]

I find Stugeron to have the best balance of efficacy and low side effects (especially drowsiness) of the over the counter drugs. If I take a big enough dose of Bonine to do any good, it really knock me out.

Sea sickness remedies seem to effect people differently, so the best advice is to try different ones until you find a favorite.

Stugeron has been made since 1955 by Janssen a division of the US company Johnson & Johnson. Available over the counter at any pharmacy in the UK (and most other countries except the US and Canada). I order it from Canada Drugs Online too. It always seems to take 3-4 weeks to arrive. Price is very low. 100 of the 25mg pills is $35 (I usually break a 25mg in half).

When I offer it to guests, I start them on a lower than recommended does - often that's enough. For some reason, starting early with a 15mg pill the night before the trip seems to result in fewer side effects the next day.

While the shelf life is listed as 3 years these are usually conservative. On this link it's listed as five years

Stugeron tablets

[k. michael marquardt]

Originally Posted by Calypso52

At a recent Safety at Sea medical seminar, Dr. Wisch highly recommened Stugeron (Cinnarizine) as an effective seasickness medication, in addition to the patch.

Never ever do use cinnazerine in addition to anything. You either use Stutgeron or another drug but never never combine it, could be deadly!
To our experience - and we use it for all our guests - Stutgerone is simply the best, no addition needed.
You just should apply it right: One tablet 12 hrs prior to sailing and one just before slip the lines (or weigh the hook) . This should be sufficient for any person xmt children who never should take anything.
cheers

[collgh]

I find that Gravol,(Dimenhydrinate) has worked well for years.over the counter in canada.I bought a 100 pill container,before saiing from cape breton to dominica.most are still left.

[Ribbit]

I haven't had an instance yet where giving Stugeron to somebody seasick, hasn't worked (let them dissolve under the tongue, then the seasick are usually fully recovered within about 20 minutes).

As I am not exactly prone to seasickness, as a preventative a half a 15mg tablet about 30 minutes before going on board, and then a half tablet each day after, until sea legs are acquired, hasn't failed for me yet,

Others require a bit more dosage, and starting with them a bit earlier, it seems.

[Steadman Uhlich]

What follows is offered in a friendly tone of voice and with the sole intent to help others avoid Mal de Mer or seasickness.

Anecdotes and personal experience are hard to beat.

By that, I mean we tend to believe what worked for us will work for others just as effectively.

I prefer to trust scientific studies which use double blind testing methods, etc.

For anyone considering using Stugeron (cinnarizine), you might want to consider the following too:

"However, a recent 2012 study comparing the effects of cinnarizine to transdermal scopolamine for the treatment of seasickness, concluded that scopolamine was reported as significantly more effective and as having fewer adverse side effects than cinnarizine.[14] This led to the conclusion that transdermal scopolamine is likely a better option for the treatment of motion sickness in naval crew and other sea travelers."

Citation Source:
14] Gil, A.; Nachum, Z.; Tal, D.; Shupak, A. (2012). "A Comparison of Cinnarizine and Transdermal Scopolamine for the Prevention of Seasickness in Naval Crew". Clinical Neuropharmacology 35 (1): 37–39. doi:10.1097/WNF.0b013e31823dc125. PMID 22139622.

[CarlF]

Steady Hand,

Do you have the text of the study? I'd be interested in reading it. But without knowing the particulars (time the patch was on, dosage, type of side effects, etc.) it's hard to give it much credence. And it's likely that the makers of the drug (Sandoz a division of Norvartis) funds research like this - as all drug makers do. We don't know if they funded this study but a healthy skepticism is always required.

I've used the patch several times without problems but I have witnessed several crewmates on sailing boats have truly scary, dangerous and debilitating side effects. Panic, irrationality, vision loss - that sort of thing. In these cases, the the patch had been on for more than 24 hours.

I've sometimes wondered if the stresses of being on a small sailboat offshore (fatigue, salt covered skin, high sun exposure) makes the side effects more likely than on a large cruise ship or naval vessel. But I have never seen a study on this.

There's also the well know, but not well tested or understood, problem of patch withdrawal syndrome. Here's a 2014 report

Scopolamine Patch Withdrawal Syndrome

We agree that seasickness medication effects people differently and it is good to experiment. Since I have found Stugeron is effective for me with minimal side effects, there's little reason to risk Scopalamine. Others will have a different experience.

Carl

[TacomaSailor]

I've only used Stugeron and have no experience with anything else.

BUT - I have a LOT of experience with Stugeron and have given it to many of my guests. It works as advertised and the only side effect is drowsiness in some people.

Some of my experiences
- Four trips south from Seattle to San Diego. Myself, my wife, brother, four friends, three others on a large boat I was skippering for the owner

- Annapolis to BVI both my brother and I used it. Crossed the Gulf Stream east of Hatteras in a full gale and saw 10'+ waves for another 36 hours. Neither brother or I had any sea sickness. Another experienced crewman tried a Scopolamine patch and really suffered.

- Two trips from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas myself, my brother, my wife, another friend all successfully used Stugeron in some pretty rough conditions

- Two trips from Cabo to San Diego - rounded Cabo Falso in a light gale with Stugeron in my system - no problems

- Five or more crossings of Sea of Cortez or multi-day trips up or down the Mexican SW coast.

A very important characteristic of Stugeron is that you can take it AFTER the symptoms start and, IF you can keep it down, it will stop most symptoms within a couple hours.

A dentist friend also swears by Stugeron and has used it for himself and many crew on:
- Four trips Seattle to Puerto Vallarta
- PV to Florida
- PV to Hawaii

Funny Story about my first use of Stugeron

I picked up the package in Tijuana. I read Spanish fairly well and thought I understood the dosage of approximately 15 - 25 mg for a 200 pound adult. I also thought the tablets were 25mg. Took a full tablet as did my brother.

Three hours later neither of us could stay awake while motoring westbound in the Straits of Juan de Fuca into 20-knots and very short and steep 6' waves. The next day I read more closely and found the tablets were 75 mg.

We had each taken between 3 and 5 times the recommended dosage.

[amytom]

Used the patches in the Navy and was still sick the first few days out, every time.
On my boat I use stugeron and if I take it as directed I only get a bit tired the first day.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[giant]

I have only been seasick once, was vomiting and barely functioning. Put a Stugeron under my tongue and it was instant relief. Always try to keep a few with me just in case. Wouldn't rely on anything else.

Keen to try it for my next hangover. Anyone tried that?

[cruiser_wannabe]

I am a huge fan of Sturgeon. I am very prone to sea sickness and this remedy worked extremely well for me.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[nitpik]

It would appear that CanadaDrugsOnline was raided by the RCMP, and has been ordered to stop selling drugs online to the US.
I have just checked all the various Canadian drugs online sites, and I cannot find a single one that lists Stugeron or Cinnarizine.

Does anyone in Canada or the US have a current source for Stugeron?

[Calypso52]

Thanks all for the comments. My original post was inartfully worded. Dr. Wisch DID NOT recommended combining the patch and Stugeron. As one of our respondents noted, NEVER combine medications. As Dr. Wisch pointed out if someone is on the patch and it is not working, you may NOT layer on addl meds. But it appears from the anecdotal comments that if one begins small doses of Stugeron in advance of going to sea, this is the best plan. The patch appears problematic for some. And at $22 a dose for the patch v. pennies for Stugeron, I'll be starting my crew on Stugeron.

And I have suppositories for those who do not shape up!