Seasickness, Fear & anxiety

[Roque2021]

Good morning to everyone

I hope you all are great, I am a newly in the forum from Spain.

It takes me to write this some time, as sometimes I feel ashamed, but probably my love for sailing is bigger than the EGO

I like sailing and anything to do with the sea in general, I work on digital marketing for the marine industry and sail on a sailing club with a Sun Odyssey 36I

I suffer from seasickness, I know it's not a problem at all, but I make it a problem, as when I start to feel bad or I know the sea state is not going to be flat, I have some anxiety and then o completely block myself and I want to come back to port.

Is an experience really hard to control, on top of that I am diabetic with type 1, I do not want to be sick because the insulin and carbohydrates when I vomit decompensated my blood sugars, so I try to retain it?

I have the opportunity to sail different boats from clients but most of the days I say no, as I do not want to mess other people days at sea, or be scared of something happen

I do kitesurfing, and I can go with 2 meters waves and 26/30 knots of wind and no problem, but in the boats is a different history, saying this I would like to know what some of you can tell, I know 70 % is my head, but I do not know how to solve it, some people said to go out as much as I can, but fear and anxiety are bigger than my dreams, and I really want to change it.

So any recommendations, any therapist how can help with sea issues…

Many thanks to all for reading this… I wish you a fantastic week

[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,

[Chotu]

Anxiety. Carvidilol. Holy crap, I've never experienced anything like it. First time to take it your anxiety is gone. It's a miracle.

[deblen]

Originally Posted by Roque2021

Good morning to everyone

I hope you all are great, I am a newly in the forum from Spain.

It takes me to write this some time, as sometimes I feel ashamed, but probably my love for sailing is bigger than the EGO

I like sailing and anything to do with the sea in general, I work on digital marketing for the marine industry and sail on a sailing club with a Sun Odyssey 36I

I suffer from seasickness, I know it's not a problem at all, but I make it a problem, as when I start to feel bad or I know the sea state is not going to be flat, I have some anxiety and then o completely block myself and I want to come back to port.

Is an experience really hard to control, on top of that I am diabetic with type 1, I do not want to be sick because the insulin and carbohydrates when I vomit decompensated my blood sugars, so I try to retain it?

I have the opportunity to sail different boats from clients but most of the days I say no, as I do not want to mess other people days at sea, or be scared of something happen

I do kitesurfing, and I can go with 2 meters waves and 26/30 knots of wind and no problem, but in the boats is a different history, saying this I would like to know what some of you can tell, I know 70 % is my head, but I do not know how to solve it, some people said to go out as much as I can, but fear and anxiety are bigger than my dreams, and I really want to change it.

So any recommendations, any therapist how can help with sea issues…

Many thanks to all for reading this… I wish you a fantastic week

Are you always sailing as crew?
Would you get sick if you were captain?
For some people,a busy mind helps prevent "anxiety" sickness.
Cheers/Len

[Nickodemus]

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.

Doesn’t sound like an anti-anxiety medication to me!!

[Jack Lahr]

Transderm scampolomine —a prescription patch with 3 day effectiveness works! Talk to your doctor about this?

[Mlp48]

I have been to several Safety at Sea seminars and they once had a PhD who was said to be an expert on motion sickness. He said, "the more fit you are.. the worse your motion sickness may be". More ice cream, Mom !

More seriously, I always have a queasiness when headed out to sea but I think adrenaline is the cause and anxiety would likely trigger that.

I have had to perform as I've more frequently been the "paid hand". My cure has been to eat and drink was usual and understand that is tough hah to swallow.

I do try to STAY BUSY.. and seem to get over my queasiness quickly in doing that. I know if was easier for me to stay busy as I was more than expected to.

I see people decline as they just sit and bounce and get more and more green. I also know that some very good seamen, seawomen too, have had severe mal de mer. Most owners I've skippered for have been VERY prone !

I will always loathe certain odors. Diesel fuel just isn't wonderful. One nice woman brought aboard 2 huge casseroles of "Chicken and Sage" and I was amazed to see how much I hated that. I ate it..and felt better. I will never again order anything with that herb.

I was once on the bow hanking on a sail and headed out to sea but being buried by waves coming over the deck. Not good. I was offered a liverwurst and onion sandwich as I climbed back into the cockpit. OH that was GOOD but I don't think I've ever had a 2nd !

I think you must try things.. try and try again. There is a way..

[sailor_ed]

Carvidilol can cause problems with hypoglycemic awareness in diabetics. It is a heart medication for high blood pressure. A better anti-emetic (but still a prescription drug in the USA) is promethazine. It is used to combat morning sickness in pregnancy and is usually taken with psudoephedrine to prevent possible drowsiness. My wife can take this while starting to exhibit nausea and within 15 minutes go below to navigate and cook supper in complete comfort. Your results may vary but others who have tried it have reported similar results.


You may also find that as your anxiety diminishes your seasickness will too.



Caution: I am NOT a doctor! These are suggestions to discuss with your physician! Individual dosages vary!


Fair winds,

Ed

[sepharad]

Originally Posted by Nickodemus

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.

Doesn’t sound like an anti-anxiety medication to me!!

It is a common usage, depending on the medical status of the patient.


It's a beta blocker with reduces heart rate and reduces BP. As a retired psych nurse I saw it used for that purpose.



It has issues. It can play a role in developing diabetes and can be troublesome to get off of if used regularly. It messes with some peoples sleep and can have side effects of dizziness and nausea.


It's not for people with heart conditions, asthma, emphysema or liver disease.


So Nick, that is not its original use, but yes, it can be used for anxiety, alcohol withdrawal and other purposes.


That said, talk to a psychiatrist known to be a skillful prescriber for drug advice, not here, if you want a good result.

[Scrimshaw4]

For over 20 years I have utilized a product called Relief Band to treat sea sickness for my crew or guests. It works incredibly well with no side affects. It is non medical, approved by the FAA for pilots with motion sickness, US Dept. of Health for morning sickness. It was originally developed for dialysis patients for nausea. It is available thru Amazon. The low cost version ($130) is quite sufficient. Just get an extra battery. JMHO

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Nickodemus

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.

Doesn’t sound like an anti-anxiety medication to me!!

Well, it is. Google harder. It's an off label use.

it took me a while after the heart attack to realize it, but I had never felt better in my life. I couldn’t understand why I just felt good. Calm. kind of happy in a way. I was wondering if it was the after effects of general anesthesia, one of the drugs, but I didn’t know.

apparently my entire life I had raging anxiety. I never knew any different so I thought that was normal. I used to get panic attacks all the time. Almost weekly. Carvidilol blocks the stress hormones involved in anxiety physically.

it’s the most odd sensation. You feel the thoughts of a panic attack coming or the thoughts of anxiety coming, but it doesn’t happen. There’s a physical block. Even though the thoughts are there, you never feel any of the physical manifestations of the anxiety. My hope is that one day I will be able to go off it and my brain will no longer have the anxiety thought process anymore because it really hardly does. It’s being trained by the carvidilol.

It has been a miracle for me.



I’m on the lowest possible dose. And it is just incredible.

I feel like seasickness does not go along well with anxiety. I had anxiety my whole life and if I ever did get seasick, it was a disaster. I couldn’t do anything. I was incapacitated. But with this, I feel like I could maybe be seasick and just deal with it. And the anxiety that multiplies the seasickness x100 wouldn't happen.

[DEAN2140]

Originally Posted by Jack Lahr

Transderm scampolomine —a prescription patch with 3 day effectiveness works! Talk to your doctor about this?

I second this. I sailed from Tahiti to Hawaii, 3000 nm, with just my girlfriend. I was also anxious about my mal de mer but with transderm I could cook dinner or read below with no concern. It drys your mouth a bit but given the alternative.....

[PineyWoodsPete]

Originally Posted by Nickodemus

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.

Doesn’t sound like an anti-anxiety medication to me!!

It's a "beta-blocker" analog, with Inderal (propranolol) the original, dating back to my med. school days in the mid-60's. Specifically, this class of meds are Adrenalin Antagonists, suppressing the racing pulse, shaking, sweating, feeling of impending doom, etc. characteristic of acute anxiety attacks, as well as lowering BP, pulse rate, and heart contractility in the non-anxious state.

Soon on it became a very effective favorite of performers subject to "stage fright" or social anxiety to take before the event, without the sedation of the Valium class of anti-anxiety meds. A miracle drug of sorts to those afflicted!

[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.

[Rumrace]

Sea Bands. You can get a nice range of colours. I keep them for guests who steal them. I heard they help flying and tennis. Who knew but they really work.

As to you mindset dunno. Laugh more maybe