Seasickness, Fear & anxiety

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Rumrace

As to you mindset dunno. Laugh more maybe

That’s a really insulting post. I would suggest you consider changing it.

[thomm225]

I tried the sea bands and every other OTC drug for motion sickness/ seasickness even Ginger Gum.

Then one day I happened to pick up some plain old Dramamine Chewable tablets which were advertised to work in 1 minute.

On a really rough day back in 2014 I drove/steered for 4 hours and was about to blow chunks then remembered and took one of the Dramamine Chewables.

It worked instantly.

Since then I usually will take 1/2 a normal Dramamine pill when I leave the dock due to all the setup stuff I'm doing which means I'm "not seeing the motion."

Anyway usually that's all I will need for the next 2-5 days unless there is a strange and/or very rough occurrence.

[Rumrace]

It’s certainly was not intended to be.
Therapy is not a skill set most forums have. Assumptions are many, as are the advisers.

The cheery side of life has a better view. I prefer it over judging folks.

[Freeeeedom]

My girlfriend and I suffered from sea sickness. We tried the 'sea sickness glasses' and they worked like magic! We wore them for half an hour or so and then didn't need them for the rest of the day, even when we had some significant motion on the boat. I think the only reason they are not the commonly used remedy is that they make you look like an idiot.

[skkeith]

I double the shout out for seasickness glasses. These work for seasickness and car sickness. Put them on before getting onboard.

[NaClyDog]

Originally Posted by Chotu

That’s a really insulting post. I would suggest you consider changing it.

Like every community on earth, the sailing one is full of the good, the bad and the ugly. Sadly.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by northwestsailor

Hi. After trying EVERYTHING (except the patch - I didn’t want to use prescription drugs) Monique from the YouTube channel Drake Paragon turned me on to the over-the-counter seasickness pills made and sold only in the Faroe Islands. THEY WORK!!!! They are called Koffinautin and are 50 mg koffein (caffeine) and 50 mg diphenhydraminhydroclorid. You can write to the pharmacy in Torshavn at Tjaldur@apotek.fo and order them. Can’t recommend them highly enough. Didn’t feel speedy or tired from them. If you are single handing try them before you sail to see how they affect you.

This sounds like a cup of black coffee and a Dramamine. Repeat as required. Always worked for me. Beyond that if you regularly spend a long day on ocean at least twice a month you can gradually wean yourself off drugs.

[fxarcher]

MAYBE THIS WILL HELP: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...um+-+Emails%29

[wholybee]

Sea sickness and anxiety reinforce each other. The anxiety that you know you will get seasick, will make you seasick. And you are only anxious because you know you will get seasick.

My experience is that medication works much better than homeopathic remedies for seasickness. Homeopathic remedies are (IMHO) effective because belief in them reduces anxiety. That is a totally valid reason to take them, I'm not suggesting anyone stop taking them. But for guests that are prone to severe seasickness, I keep drugs in my first aid kit, not Ginger or magnets.

Without fail, every single person who has been seasick on my boat gets over it very quickly when I make them steer. Holding the wheel, being in control of the boat, and watching the water/waves as a reference to steer seems to bring senses back together. I suggest you try that on your next outing, without anything else first. I think it would be very helpful for you to know that if/when you get sick, you have a quick and easy way to deal with it. Knowing that should help your anxiety.

One technique for dealing with anxiety is with very short, limited exposure to the trigger, and over time increasing that length. So, maybe, once you know that steering will work, hold of without steering and sit in your anxiety for a few minutes. Then when you are very uncomfortable, give yourself some relief, and steer for a while. Then, overtime increase how long you go without steering.

I would do this for a few trips, without taking any medication. Then, once you were used to how it feels, and confident that you can deal with the seasickness, start taking medication before you leave. Preferably starting the regimen (whatever the box says) a day early, not just when you get on the boat.

[Bullshooter]

"Carvedilol, sold under the brand name Coreg among others, is a medication used to treat high blood pressure, congestive heart failure (CHF), and left ventricular dysfunction in people who are otherwise stable."

The OP stated he is diabetic. I think it may be dangerous to suggest that he take the Coreg, unless you are a doctor who understands any connection between this drug and diabetes. I am not one, just trying to help.

[Apollo366]

My experience has shown me that getting into fresh air, looking at the horizon, and doing some thing like steering settles the stomach very quickly.

Once this is used it seems to calm out the Mal de Mer on subsequent sails.

Just my $2.00, inflation you know!

Wayne

[jmschmidt]

Drugs, drugs, drugs! Come on folks, only one person in a hundred thousand has inner-ear issues which can cause disorientation resulting in motion sickness. Anxiety and apprehension are the cause and they all in your head.

The public roads where I live produce a rougher ride in a car than most of time I've spent on the water and a much rougher ride than I've experienced in 15,000 hours of flying airplanes. But people continue to get sick in airplanes too even though the up and down motion in turbulence is only inches, not feet or yards.

Man up, keep your eyes on the horizon, don't go below, stay hydrated (not with beer) and avoid diesel exhaust fumes until you toughen your constitution.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

Drugs, drugs, drugs! Come on folks, only one person in a hundred thousand has inner-ear issues which can cause disorientation resulting in motion sickness. Anxiety and apprehension are the cause and they all in your head.

The public roads where I live produce a rougher ride in a car than most of time I've spent on the water and a much rougher ride than I've experienced in 15,000 hours of flying airplanes. But people continue to get sick in airplanes too even though the up and down motion in turbulence is only inches, not feet or yards.

Man up, keep your eyes on the horizon, don't go below, stay hydrated (not with beer) and avoid diesel exhaust fumes until you toughen your constitution.

"Man up" is not how you cure an over production of adrenaline in the body.

If you ever get cancer diabetes or some physical problem like an over production of adrenaline is, I hope you can "man up" your way out of it.

[s/v Jedi]

I guess everyone has their own best option incl. placebo effects, but here is what we give guests that have had seasickness in the past:

- every morning, or 1 to 1.5 hour before departure: one pill meclizine (has different product names around the world; this is the one that is the “less drowsy” option that only needs one pill per day)

- every night before sleep, or when going off watch: one pill dimenhydrinate. This too has different names but it’s the one you need to take every 6 hours (but we only do one before sleep in addition to the other pill)

Success rate 100% for us

1 per day: https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-...-prodid-690044

1 before sleep: https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-...prodid-1011866

[JPA Cate]

Hello, Roque,

I, too have suffered from seasickness, and motion sickness on land, too. I tried most everything, the non-nausea wrist bands [I didn't vomit, but still felt awful], non-prescription drugs [worked better on land], and I tried the patches (scopolamine) [no vomiting, but awful dry mouth--but no hallucinations]. For me, only low dose Stugeron works. It is cinnarizine hydrochloride, and in large doses used to tread vertigo. With the Stugeron, after about 1/2 hr., I am okay. It is available in England and Belgium, and possibly in Spain. Take one the night before you leave, and another in the morning, of the day you leave. Then one 8 hrs. later. Sometime the third day of the trip, I don't need it any more. For my body, if the boat motion gets a particular type of jerky, then mal de mer will come back, but, again for me, a half hour to 45 min. after taking it again, I'm okay.

There are other things you can do (the glasses might work for you) that do help. Getting behind the wheel or grabbing the tiller and hand steering, for instance, try to focus on the horizon, that helps me, some. Sleeping on the boat overnight before going out also helped some.

There is a psychological component to seasickness: it is more likely to come if you expect it; and also, being fatigued or cold or frightened seem to intensify it, as does breathing diesel fumes. There is nothing shameful about it.

You can keep experimenting with various things: some people like to use preserved ginger, and it helps them, and possibly ginger tea the morning of departure. (Take about an inch of ginger root, slice thin, pour a liter boiling water over it, and let it set 5 minutes. Drink all of it.) I tried just about everything, including the antihistamine plus upper combo. Many things help to some extent, but after years of it, I have settled on the Stugeron, for its lack of side effects, and its efficacy. It purely works way best for me. We buy it by the 100's. It keeps well on the boat.

This is post #2 in this thread from chrisr: "naturally everyone is different however stugeron is the only drug that i have seen a lot of success with for sea-sickness

as far as anxiety goes...there is no cure. i've been sailing for getting on towards 60 years and i still feel it on occasions. only a fool will say they don't

the only thing that helps is experience...never let your anxiety stop you doing what's gota be done. with experience the level at which anxiety kicks in goes up and up such that you rarely get it any more. of course at this point the anxiety becomes an invaluable warning signal !

the other thing i find helps is to remind myself...'what's the worst that can happen ?...i die ! well news for you : we're all going to die one day, so...'

cheers,

Any how, I think Chris has the right of it.

Good luck with this, and by the way, you don't need psychotherapy for it (though hypnosis might help), you will find something that works. Let us know after you've found it.

Ann