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Is There Any Medication For Long Term Motion Sickness?
Question: Is there something for long term motion sickness? I am active on CrossFit and it involves a tremendous amount of situps and ab work, which makes me extremely nauseated, the same feeling as being on a boat.
Brief Answer:
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
If Scopolamine patches work for you, you might get benefit from antihistamines such as Dimenhydrinate or Meclizine, 25 mg every 6-8 hrs as needed. If sedation is excessive, the dose can be reduced to 12.5 mg or even 6.25 mg. Other antihistamines used for motion sickness include Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), or Chlorpheniramine. The non-sedating ones like Zyrtec or Allegra don't seem to be effective for this. The down side of the antihistamines that work is that they can be sedating.
There is oral scopolamine - it's not used often because it has a short duration, but for what you are needing it may be enough. Typical dosing is 0.25 to 0.8 mg one hour before exposure to motion and then 0.25 to 0.8 mg three times daily as needed. Oral scopolamine has been discontinued in the United States but may be available from compounding pharmacies.
You can try using an acupressure point: P6. There are youtube videos of instruction of how to massage or apply pressure to pericardium point 6.
There are also "environmental modifications" you can do that can help, such as looking at the horizon or a distant, stationary object. This is a trick dancers use when spinning.
Consider sucking on hard ginger candies if you anticipate experiencing symptoms of motion sickness. Acupressure bands are typically applied to both wrists prophylactically but can also be worn after symptoms have begun. While there haven't been a lot of studies on these complementary things, they appear to be beneficial and not harmful.
I hope these suggestions help you. Please let me know if I can clarify.
Regards,
Dr. Bonnie Berger-Durnbaugh
General & Family Physician
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
If Scopolamine patches work for you, you might get benefit from antihistamines such as Dimenhydrinate or Meclizine, 25 mg every 6-8 hrs as needed. If sedation is excessive, the dose can be reduced to 12.5 mg or even 6.25 mg. Other antihistamines used for motion sickness include Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), or Chlorpheniramine. The non-sedating ones like Zyrtec or Allegra don't seem to be effective for this. The down side of the antihistamines that work is that they can be sedating.
There is oral scopolamine - it's not used often because it has a short duration, but for what you are needing it may be enough. Typical dosing is 0.25 to 0.8 mg one hour before exposure to motion and then 0.25 to 0.8 mg three times daily as needed. Oral scopolamine has been discontinued in the United States but may be available from compounding pharmacies.
You can try using an acupressure point: P6. There are youtube videos of instruction of how to massage or apply pressure to pericardium point 6.
There are also "environmental modifications" you can do that can help, such as looking at the horizon or a distant, stationary object. This is a trick dancers use when spinning.
Consider sucking on hard ginger candies if you anticipate experiencing symptoms of motion sickness. Acupressure bands are typically applied to both wrists prophylactically but can also be worn after symptoms have begun. While there haven't been a lot of studies on these complementary things, they appear to be beneficial and not harmful.
I hope these suggestions help you. Please let me know if I can clarify.
Regards,
Dr. Bonnie Berger-Durnbaugh
General & Family Physician
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
are you able to prescribe the scopalamine liquid here?
Brief Answer:
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
No, we don't prescribe on this site, sorry. The doctor's on this website are from different states as well as countries, and so we aren't all licensed to prescribe in a given state. For example, I'm licensed in the US in Wisconsin by our state medical licensing board.
The oral Scopolamine may be difficult to get because it was discontinued in the US. So you would have to get a prescription for it to be compounded and then give that prescription to a compounding pharmacy.
I googled compounding pharmacies for XXXXXXX (as I see that's where you are from) and found a list of a number of different ones. If there is one near you, and you want to pursue getting it compounded, you can give that pharmacy's phone number to your doctor to help move the process along (but call the pharmacy first to make sure they are able to do it and the price too). I am not sure if it will be a liquid, capsule, or tablet, but usually compounding pharmacies will make it however you want.
Hope I have answered your query.
Regards,
Dr. Bonnie Berger-Durnbaugh
General & Family Physician
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
No, we don't prescribe on this site, sorry. The doctor's on this website are from different states as well as countries, and so we aren't all licensed to prescribe in a given state. For example, I'm licensed in the US in Wisconsin by our state medical licensing board.
The oral Scopolamine may be difficult to get because it was discontinued in the US. So you would have to get a prescription for it to be compounded and then give that prescription to a compounding pharmacy.
I googled compounding pharmacies for XXXXXXX (as I see that's where you are from) and found a list of a number of different ones. If there is one near you, and you want to pursue getting it compounded, you can give that pharmacy's phone number to your doctor to help move the process along (but call the pharmacy first to make sure they are able to do it and the price too). I am not sure if it will be a liquid, capsule, or tablet, but usually compounding pharmacies will make it however you want.
Hope I have answered your query.
Regards,
Dr. Bonnie Berger-Durnbaugh
General & Family Physician
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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