motion sickness and alcoholic beverages

[FishyMom]

I've been reading through the various posts on remedies for motion sickness, but most of the medications have warnings to not drink alcoholic beverages while taking them.

My husband & I are taking a 3-day cruise in November for my 50th without our boys, so we will definitely want to enjoy a few drinks. I get motion sickness very easily, so I'm looking for options to avoid this. I've taken the non-drowsy version of Dramanine in the past (the one with Meclizine) during a WDW/Universal trip and it worked great for me with rides, but I don't remember having many drinks during that vacation, so I can't remember how it might have affected me. Regular Dramamine (or Gravol for us in Canada) makes me drowsy, so I can't take that. Unless it's changed within the past couple of years, we can't get Meclizine in Canada, so I can't test it out with a few drinks ahead of time. The original plan was to pick up Dramanine or Bonine in the US on the way to the airport in Buffalo.

Does anyone have any experience with drinking and motion sickness remedies? Would the patch or Sea Bands be a better option? I don't have any experience with either of these, so don't know how effective they might be. Has anyone taken Meclizine and still been able to have a few drinks?

Thanks!

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Has anyone taken Meclizine and still been able to have a few drinks?

Short answer first. Yes, I have.

I think those warnings mostly are about watching how it might effect you and being careful with heavy machinery, not giving up alcohol all together.

I took Meclizine (as Bonine) once a day, for the whole 7 day cruise (plus the travel days before and after) and still drank "some." I'm not a huge drinker anyway, but I did the Whiskey and the Cognac tastings, plus a mixed drink or a beer here and there, and some beer and wine in our room. OK. Now I sound like lush. LOL. What I mean is, if you are asking politely if you can take Meclizine and then get drunk, I can't tell you, but my "normal" amount of drinking didn't seem to give me any problems. Mostly, I would suggest you start slow with the drinks, to see if the Meclizine is making the alcohol effect you differently.

Have a great trip!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I've been reading through the various posts on remedies for motion sickness, but most of the medications have warnings to not drink alcoholic beverages while taking them.

My husband & I are taking a 3-day cruise in November for my 50th without our boys, so we will definitely want to enjoy a few drinks. I get motion sickness very easily, so I'm looking for options to avoid this. I've taken the non-drowsy version of Dramanine in the past (the one with Meclizine) during a WDW/Universal trip and it worked great for me with rides, but I don't remember having many drinks during that vacation, so I can't remember how it might have affected me. Regular Dramamine (or Gravol for us in Canada) makes me drowsy, so I can't take that. Unless it's changed within the past couple of years, we can't get Meclizine in Canada, so I can't test it out with a few drinks ahead of time. The original plan was to pick up Dramanine or Bonine in the US on the way to the airport in Buffalo.

Does anyone have any experience with drinking and motion sickness remedies? Would the patch or Sea Bands be a better option? I don't have any experience with either of these, so don't know how effective they might be. Has anyone taken Meclizine and still been able to have a few drinks?

Thanks!

Definitely not with the patch. If the patch you're referring to is the scopolamine patch. The scop patch has many side effects, most notably dry mouth and blurry vision. But can also include hallucinations and disorientation - not what you'd want to experience along with drinking.

In my opinion (and my opinion only) if you're going to be drinking, I'd go with sea bands. No extra chemicals to mix with the alcohol. Although, I'm sure many people have had a drink (or two) while taking meclizine.

 

[FishyMom]

Thanks! That's exactly what I was looking for. I'm long past wanting to get drunk while on vacation (it's my 50th, not my 25th), but a few drinks throughout the day & with dinner would be nice.

 

[mevelandry]

I don't know if you have Ginger Gravol in the US but this is what we take and we can definitely have a drink with it.

 

[Westcoastwild]

If you don't have the side affects, drinking won't do anything. If you do have the side affects, drinking will make them worse. (Basically).

But I can't tell you how much worse because I don't drink much on the water. Mixing booze and seasick meds doesn't seem to effect me much, but booze in general is one of those things that will increase the chance of seasickness (my seasickness is so bad that meds sometimes just delay the inevitable). So if sea bands work, I'd do that. If they don't work, take something that does, and have a drink to see how you feel. (Seabands don't do much for me, so I wouldn't rely on them.)

 

[jrabbit]

I use the Less Drowsy Dramamine and will have a drink or two per day with no ill effects.

 

[Capt_BJ]

I suggest you try your 'cocktail' at home ... b4 your cruise ... and see how you react ......

 

[musicgirl]

I usually use dramamine less drowsy, one in the morning and one around 6pm. I like to keep it in my system. I have never had any problems even after having a bit too much to drink. Now, that being said everyone is different. I agree to try it at home first. I also like to take ginger chews just in case.

 

[oakleycat]

My husband takes mezclizine (bonine or generic) and has never had any problem with drinking (tastings and drink at pool/dinner, never getting drunk so YMMV on that).

 

[cheermom2four]

I've taken bonine chewables on my last two cruises and didnt have any issues with having a drink (actually 2 during captains gala - free drinks whoot!) with them and I would take max dose of bonine as evenings were the worse for me with motion sickness.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I take Bonine on the ship and it says it is non drowsy, but it does make me tired. I don't drink much normally anyway. I usually have a sail away drink and that seems fine with the Bonine. Drinking several drinks in one day - I don't know about that.

I used to use sea bands when I got nauseated. They worked good for that. Eventually, my issue changed to dizzy/vertigo and the bands didn't seem to help with those symptoms. That's when I switched to Bonine.

 

[Miggee]

hmm.. i'm a bit worried now, I get motion sickness REALLY bad, just thinking about tea cup ride makes me sick, this will be my first time cruise and I got the sea patch, and I plan on drinking..(what's a vacation without wine and cocktails?!) so hopefully it works out.. if not.. then i guess i'll have to avoid cruises moving forward.. fingers crossed!

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

hmm.. i'm a bit worried now, I get motion sickness REALLY bad, just thinking about tea cup ride makes me sick, this will be my first time cruise and I got the sea patch, and I plan on drinking..(what's a vacation without wine and cocktails?!) so hopefully it works out.. if not.. then i guess i'll have to avoid cruises moving forward.. fingers crossed!

Read some of the other motion sickness threads for people's experiences. Cruise ships are not like most of the other things you may have gotten sick on. They are MUCH bigger, and most of the time very stable. I get motion sickness in lots of ways, and I take Bonine as a precaution on a cruise ship, but really don't have any issues on the cruise ship.

 

[WallyBear]

I really disliked the sea patch because of the side effects. Bonine worked perfectly and I didn't realize you weren't suppose to have any alcohol and I did! No issues, but everyone is different.

 

[TXDCLfan]

hmm.. i'm a bit worried now, I get motion sickness REALLY bad, just thinking about tea cup ride makes me sick, this will be my first time cruise and I got the sea patch, and I plan on drinking..(what's a vacation without wine and cocktails?!) so hopefully it works out.. if not.. then i guess i'll have to avoid cruises moving forward.. fingers crossed!

My wife gets motion sickness very easily and uses the patch and has had no issues having 2-4 drinks a night..but that is her.

 

[Miggee]

My wife gets motion sickness very easily and uses the patch and has had no issues having 2-4 drinks a night..but that is her.

this makes me happy, LOL..

 

[phinz]

My wife has used the patch before and she's had drinks throughout the day, drinks in the Concierge Lounge, pre-dinner cocktails in Skyline and wine at dinner, all in the same day, without any deleterious effects.

 

[jrabbit]

hmm.. i'm a bit worried now, I get motion sickness REALLY bad, just thinking about tea cup ride makes me sick, this will be my first time cruise and I got the sea patch, and I plan on drinking..(what's a vacation without wine and cocktails?!) so hopefully it works out.. if not.. then i guess i'll have to avoid cruises moving forward.. fingers crossed!

Well the Tea Cups are generally way more intense than anything you will experience on a cruise. But on the other hand, the Tea Cups only go for two minutes, and the cruise motion is "forever".

I take Dramamine at the Parks (to survive the day) and on the Cruise as a preventative (only been sea sick about 4 times in 120+ nights, so now DW monitors my Dramamine intake on cruises).