Travel sickness........ I'm crook!

Submitted: Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 16:26
ThreadID: 83915 Views:3754 Replies:13 FollowUps:10
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Jumped on a bus from Rosedale Vic to Wollongong the night before last.

I've done the trip by bus on Fire Strike Teams and had no big problems.

I suffer from motion sickness. I took a couple of stemitals and jumped on board. An hour later didn't feel good. It turned out to one of the worst nights of my life! Very embarassing as I faced into a bag over and over.

I picked up the little tipper I'd gone up there for and started for home. Had to stop to upchuck out the window many times. 24 hours later still suffering a bit.

When I was a kid I had so many remedies applied: sitting on newspapers, distracting singing of 'row row row your boat', gum tips, barley sugar, Quells..... nothing worked until I got a prescription for the above... but the big smooth shiplike coach was too much for me as it swayed along the winding roads. Shudder.

Any other sufferers out there, or am I alone?
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Reply By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 16:29

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 16:29
Royce, that sounds very severe. I would be talking to a doctor.

I feel for you mate.

Cheers
Allan

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Follow Up By: Member - DAZA (QLD) - Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 16:53

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 16:53
Try eating Ginger, very good for Sea Sickness,

PS, as mentioned see your doctor could be Inner Ear problem.
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Follow Up By: Fab72 - Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 21:54

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 21:54
Still on the ginger topic..... drink Dry Ginger Ale, or Ginger Beer. Ginger is a very good natural settler for the stomach.

Your does sound worse than normal sickness though. You may have a 24 hour bug or something. One thing's for sure...keep the liquids up. Easy to dehydrate if you're being that sick.

Fab.
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Follow Up By: Member - Royce- Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 23:52

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 23:52
Doctor consulted... completely in the normal range. There are plenty of people who like me can't ride on a merry-go-round or swing on a swing or swim in the waves without feeling crook. .....sigh

Ginger tried... no use at all. All sorts of fizzy drinks.
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Follow Up By: Fab72 - Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 08:25

Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 08:25
Bugger Royce. Glad to hear there's nothing else wrong with you. At least that's a positive.
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Follow Up By: Member - Royce- Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 09:08

Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 09:08
I'm fit as a Malley Bull Fab.... 'cept for the arthritis, slipped disc etc... just age related stuff!
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Reply By: blue one - Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 17:36

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 17:36
Get a seat where you can see the road looking forward not out the side.

Helped a lot with the kids.

Cheers
AnswerID: 443130

Follow Up By: Member - Royce- Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 23:54

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 23:54
A seat by the window certainly helps.... unless it is night time. These big coaches only have the front seats with any but side vision. Those seats were reserved...

If it had been daytime, I think I might have managed.
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FollowupID: 715241

Reply By: Member - Brian P (SA) - Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 18:00

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 18:00
Hi Royce.
I work on the water and I agree with Allan B. If I was you id get a check up at the doctor. It might be a bit more than motion sickness. I might be wrong but. Gust my bit. Brian.
AnswerID: 443135

Follow Up By: Member - Royce- Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 23:56

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 23:56
Thanks Brian. The doctor is where I get my pills! Seen a few. To make my trips to Tassie on the boat every six months or so, I need to pop a few high strength pills an sometimes a sleeping tablet to get me across.

Motion sickness is avoided wherever possible by sufferers. I'm a bit silly,... I still do stuff that makes me crook.
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FollowupID: 715242

Reply By: Madfisher - Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 18:17

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 18:17
As others have said sounds more serious then travel sickness. But try and sit in a forward seat where you can concentrate on the road ahead. And pretend you are driving, but coaches are bad especially up the back.
Cheers Pete
AnswerID: 443139

Follow Up By: Member - Royce- Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 23:58

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 23:58
Would have if I could. Sadly I couldn't get a front seat.

When I was a kid, I used to 'wag' school by spinning around a few times... vomit and tell Mum I was sick. ... now that is a bit sick in itself !
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FollowupID: 715243

Reply By: Member - Rob S (NSW) - Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 18:55

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 18:55
Hi Royce

Motion sickness is the pits,
The US military have spent millions on trying to cure it
Google sea sickness etc you will get heaps of info.

The best remedy i have found and use is Blackmores travel calm
herbal based on ginger no side effects like Quells and stemitals, drink real ginger beer like Bundaberg and any ginger foods Daza suggested as well.
You will also find on the interweb the best food to avoid before travelling.
When im travelling on water or in the 4wd or on my bike for long trips i will have a few Blackmores Travel calm dose the trick for me.

Rob
I only ever made one mistake
and that's when I thought I was wrong!

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AnswerID: 443141

Reply By: BV - Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 19:27

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 19:27
Royce,

I can sympathise with you, as I also suffer from severe motion sickness. On a bad day I cannot when walking change direction abruptly without feeling queasy. No boat or bus travel for me, the smallest planes I will go on are those that travel between the capital cities, and then only when loaded with medication. As for car travel, I have to drive if the trip is more than about 20 minutes long. I have learnt to drive very smoothly, no sudden braking or sharp cornering.

I do take a drug called Cinnarizine. Nothing else works. It can only be prescribed by a specialist and then only with the approval of the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Administration in Canberra. It helps, but is not foolproof. If I do get sick I am laid up for 3 days.
AnswerID: 443145

Reply By: funnyfarm - Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 19:35

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 19:35
Yep, i get it bad too. When i was a kid, i would get it travelling about 5km into town. Now i still get it, along with sea sickness, plane sickness, i even get very severe morning sickness which requires hospitalisation for rehydration etc, although i am not sure alot of you can say that LOL.

I found with my last bub, they prescribed me restavit (it's a sleeping tablet but also anti hystamine) and this helped things a bit, but no good if you are driving as it zonks you out.

My only tip, is have something light to eat before you leave so you have something in your stomach, other than that, no tips, just a huge amount of sympathy. i feel for you.
AnswerID: 443146

Reply By: Member - Craig F (WA) - Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 22:29

Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011 at 22:29
Hi all,
After a work injury (neck) 10 yrs ago I started to get very severe sea sickness, As I worked for a shipbuilding company and did sea trials I tried everything to no avail. For the last 2 yrs I have been taking "Serc" betahistine dihydrochloride. I then take ginger tablets leading up to travel.. It works to date.
AnswerID: 443163

Reply By: Nargun51 - Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 09:25

Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 09:25
I have done that trip a few times by bus (both ways) at night and it is one of the worst trips for feeling a bit seedy on.

I don’t get travel sickness in usual circumstances, but there is something about that road and the way the buses drive it at night that seems generate travel sickness

I wonder whether it has something to do with the fact that whilst it is a fairly windy road it is also a high speed road that the buses travel at a fair rate of knots – greater ‘g’ forces and more changes of direction?
AnswerID: 443178

Follow Up By: Member - Royce- Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 09:56

Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 09:56
You put your finger on it.

Rough, bad camber, windy, stop start, yet smooth and rocking motion of a modern coach... the worst situation.

It is now 2 days since I got off the bus and I can still feel a bit of a head sensation. Ah well.... it's all part of the big adventure.
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FollowupID: 715258

Reply By: brushmarx - Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 09:56

Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 09:56
I had a similar problem on an interstate coach many years ago.
The coach driver suggested a move from the back of the bus to midway between the front and rear wheels.
The driver said that was the most stable place, and the vertical movement was more than halved compared with sitting in the front or rear.
It worked.
Cheers
I'll get there someday, or die wanting to.

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AnswerID: 443179

Reply By: Alloy c/t - Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 10:41

Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 10:41
Our 12yr old suffers motion sickness bigtime , only cure we've found that works each and every time is Scopalamine patches , 1 patch behind the ear is good for 72hrs , biggest problem is supply , they are not an over the counter chemist item in Australia so we get ours from NZ by buying online , not exactly cheap at $20 per packet of 2 patches but beats having the boy upchuck in the car / bus /train /plane , funny bit is he has never gotten sick when on a boat.
AnswerID: 443182

Reply By: Tim - Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 10:56

Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 10:56
This has been a long term enemy of mine as well.

There is a very simple solution (sometimes not always practical). Basically, motion sickness (MS) is caused by the fluid in your ears telling your brain one thing (for example that your moving) while your eyes tell your brain something differant (your still). So when you sit on a coach, your eyes see the coach itself and everything is stationary however as it pitches and rolls around on the road, your ears tell you brain you are moving. Your brain deals with these mixed signals by bringing on nausea etc etc. This is the same as if you are reading while in a car. The book, through your eyes, tell your brain you are stationary however your ears tell your brain you are moving.

Now to stop the mixed signals.......close your eyes. It means your only getting 1 set of signals going to your brain and prevents MS. I would imagine once MS has started to come on it may be too late and like I said, it may not always be practical but it will work.

The eating of lollies/chewing on gum has slight effects on this theory as it slightly changes the fluids in your ears as you suck and swallow.

They say.... When you get MS, for first hour you think your going to die and after that, you wish you were already dead!
AnswerID: 443186

Follow Up By: Member - Royce- Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 12:09

Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 12:09
Yep... my experience too.

Usually sleep is the only escape and then strangely I when I wake up I am able to handle things better...... and then..... and then when the motion stops.

My 'land legs' aren't there and I get crook all over again.

That's what happened after I picked up the tipper to drive home. At every traffic light or corner as I stopped I had to lean out the window and barf!

Hard work... I was too tired to drive, but too crook not too...
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FollowupID: 715263

Reply By: Member - Brad S (SA) - Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 23:02

Thursday, Jan 27, 2011 at 23:02
Be careful when using prochlorperazine and metoclopramide (generic names...Google 'em). Take only one at a time.

There are many side effects...again Google is your friend. Possibly the worst is an occulargyric crisis...very scary and requires urgent attention. An early warning sign of having too much of these medications is muscle stiffness and rigidity...you can literally freeze up..urgent medical invention is required. Usually not fatal but very distressing, painful and uncomfortable. These medications are "related" to the older major tranquilizers aka anti-psychotic medications and can give susceptible people significant side-effects (The newer types of anti-psychotics tend to be more tolerable...sort of). Note: this means these can also be sedating for many folk...not good to be driving etc etc...Check with your doctor about when and how much to take. These medications are good at the right time and doses.

I take the ginger extracts when flying and these seem to help. But when I'm really crook and I'm turning inside out, the above mentioned medications work great...usually as an injection.
AnswerID: 443265

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