Whoa, Marilyn! I had this vision of Kalmia there on the boat wearing nothing but her patch! Guess I'm just too concrete. Off to bed...

Well, maybe if she had 3 patches...Go to bed, Betsy! :-D

I found some brilliant stuff in England called "Joy Ride". I had run out of Bonine and needed something for the flight back home and found this at Boots at the airport. When we flew into New York, we encountered a rare mid-winter thunderstorm. All the length of Long Island (100+ miles) we were rocking back & forth and going up and down. People were screaming and throwing up. I am very prone to motion sickness and didn't have any queasiness at all. In fact, the attendent gave me a bottle of champagne since i was one of the only ones who didn't barf.

One thing I've recently realized about sea sick medication... most of them contain lactose as an inactive ingredient. That's bad news if you're severely lactose intolerant like me.

On a recent check, Dramamine (regular andd non-drowsy) and Bonine all had lactose. The only thing I found that didn't was a CVS version of Dramamine (regular).

I plan on using the patch or the CVS stuff on my upcoming cruise in Alaska... although I hear the waters are generally calm so I might not need it.

However, we may do the Kenai Fjords tour on our land trip, so hopefully the patch will help there.

Saltines, ginger ale, dramamine and ativan ... this will hold you to the cocktail hour ... which, once reached, is the answer.

BostonJay, you can take the patch off for a few days if you are in calm waters and then put it back on. Save the little packet it comes in.

Hmmm...my bs detector is going off big time after visiting the above mentioned website. Doesn't really tell you what the "product" is, but since it's not "absorbed by the body either orally or through the skin" it must be some sort of mechanical device. I'll stick to scopolamine myself.

I would never buy from a site where they don't tell you exactly what a product IS or show you a picture of the thing. I think "nauseated" needs to come back, and give a little more detail, if this is on the up-and-up! I think your b.s. detector is in fine form, Marilyn.........

My detector always goes off when I click on a nickname to see that there is only one post!

Bonnie, wanna bet "nauseated" will never come back after posting this commercial? :)

How they overestimate their cleverness..........:-)

bonnie, my bs detector is usually in fine form -- it gets so much practice.

The Transderm patch works well, but tends to "fall off" if you decide to exercise the night or morning before going to sea.
Should you decide to use it, be very careful after applying same: if you get it in your eye(s), you'll have double vision for a month - wash your hands lots.
As a former USN Medical Officer (LCDR '74-'78), I would recommend some Cognac twice a day while out there, LOL!
M

Gee, my patch stayed on behind my ear with no problems through 3 days of showers, hiking, drinking, etc. Where are you applying yours, mikemo? :S-

Just to share... I used the transderm scop patch on my recent cruise to Alaska. For first 3 days it seemed to work, but when we hit our first port and the cruise stopped... but I kept moving. It's now 8 days later, and I'm still moving... still feel like I'm on the ship going up and down, left and right. Although I never got "sick" in the regular sense of the word, the doctors I saw on the ship and back home said that the vertigo I'm experiencing is actually a manifestation of sea sickness.

It may not be the patch's fault however, as the South African doctor explained, I might have had a "Crap" inner ear to begin with ... but I thought my experience might shed a word of caution on the patch. That same doctor also told me that the patch is not perscribed by anyone other than doctors in the US, partially because the side effects and inability to manage doses on the patch.

My wife used Bonine, and it worked, although she said she did feel tired.

One last comment... for any cruise-goer who was told that "the front of the ship doesn't move much... it's Alaska!"... it's a lie. When the cruise ship hit open seas, we moved a lot (3rd cabin from the front). The middle of the ship was fine, however.

I am not prone to seasickness, but everyone I know uses the rx patch. I will give you this small bit of advice:
When you hit rough seas,
Keep your head above your knees!

It's true - I was fine on a rough ferry crossing until I bent over to tie my shoes. And then... despair.

It's funny, JetLag, for me I can be fine as long as I am horizontal. As soon as I stand up I feel ill.

BostonJay, the patch that I used was only effective for 3 days. So maybe it wore off before you were off the water, and the queasiness set in then? Very odd!

I still swear by cutting it in half and would recommend trying that for anyone who is a lightweight or sensitive to meds. You can always put the other half on.

BostonJay, did they really tell you the front of the ship doesn't move much because it's Alaska? That's a riot. The center of the ship will always move the least, and that goes for top-to-bottom center as well. We had a front cabin on our first trip -- makes me green to think about it.

Hi Marilyn,

While you were horizontal, I'll bet your head stayed above your knees, no? ;)

I was fine lying down, I was fine sitting up, I was fine standing up, but I was NOT fine when I stood up and bent over. When I told this to a sailor, he laughed. I didn't find it quite so funny at the time...

You're right, JetLag! I just didn't think of it that way. It's odd how it can come on you so suddenly. And when you are the one suffering, it's NEVER "funny!"

This doesn't answer Memee's question (since she asked for an over the counter med) but while we're discussing the patch everyone who uses it should know that scopolomine is now available in pill form, Scopace. Each pill is an 8 hour dose and is effective within an hour of taking it, compared with having to deal with set 3 day doses that take 6 hours or more to become effective. Plus you don't have to have a goofy patch behind your ear during vacation. And like Mikemo, I had trouble keeping the patch on through three days of swimming, sweating, and showering! Frankly, since the pill form is just as effective as the patch, and the cost per hourly dose is about the same, I can't think of a single advantage the patch has over the pill. And no, I don't own stock in Hope Pharmacueticals; I'm just a person who loves the ocean but is very prone to motion sickness. The patch was the only thing that was effective for me, and when it came out in the pill I was estatic- an 8-hour dose is just perfect for plane rides, day-long boat trips, etc.