dangerous?

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Just got back from Doc.
Turns out she's a diver too. And married to quite a traveled, veteran diver.

She said she thinks it's motion sickness and not to cancel the dive this weekend.
She looked in my ears and said that if it was an inner-ear thing I'd be complaining of headaches and vertigo and stuff.
Not just the swaying/bobbing feeling of still being in the water, or the nausea.
I told her that it lasted for awhile after coming ashore.
She said she knows people who feel it for a day or two.

So she prescribed the Scop-patch and told me to put it on Friday night so I'd have all day Saturday to determine if it's having any ill-effects before diving Sunday. And she said to pop some Sudafed the morning of the dive - that it's what she does and it helps with the ears too somehow. She advised to load up on the water and that she feels better if she goes on a full stomach - fig newtons and coke actually.

She said if treating the motion sickness does no good then she'd send me to the ENT to explore this further.

All I know is I'm loading for bear - I'm bringing accu-pressure bands, PLENTY of water, ginger tablets, a horse-shoe, a rabbit's foot, and dramamine as a backup.

Wish me luck! Assuming I come back safe & sound, I'll post the results by Monday.
Thanks for the tips
 
Well, I am glad to hear she did not think it was anything serious.

Hope you have agreat time on the dives, make sure you let us know how it goes OK?

Jeff
 
will do.
like your rover, by the way.
:)
 
cra2:
All I know is I'm loading for bear - I'm bringing accu-pressure bands, PLENTY of water, ginger tablets, a horse-shoe, a rabbit's foot, and dramamine as a backup.
The bands are fine, as well as the water and ginger, leave the Dramamine at home, at least don't take it without consulting your doctor again. It might interact with the scopalamine in a negative way. Just because it's non-prescription, it's still a drug (and a fairly strong one).

I generally take bonamine if I think seasickness is a possibility. For me it offers the best protection with the least side effects (mainly dry mouth, I drink more water/juice to compensate)
 
Groundhog246:
The bands are fine, as well as the water and ginger, leave the Dramamine at home, at least don't take it without consulting your doctor again. It might interact with the scopalamine in a negative way. Just because it's non-prescription, it's still a drug (and a fairly strong one).

I generally take bonamine if I think seasickness is a possibility. For me it offers the best protection with the least side effects (mainly dry mouth, I drink more water/juice to compensate)
Thanks for the advice.
I asked the doc while I was there.
I said, "what happens if I DO get a wierd reaction from the scop patch on saturday around the house? Do I then have to cancel the trip sunday or can I pull the patch off and use dramamine for the trip?"
She said I could switch over to dramamine.
As a matter of fact, like I said in my post, she even suggested taking Sudafed the morning of the dive as well.
I asked if there was any risk of adverse interactions between the Sudafed and the Scop, or the Sudafed and the Dramamine, or the Scop and the Dramamine.
She said no.
?
Go figure.
 
Too bad you haven't got a little more time before your trip. I'd have suggested at least taking a dramamine and trying at least a shallow dive with it. Depth can increase effect of some drugs, so you might find yourself narc'd or sleepy, etc at depth. At the very least, advise your buddy and preferably everyone along what you've taken. If you haven't yet go to DAN's website and join/purchase their dive insurance. To paraphrase AMEX, don't dive without it.
 
Thanks.
I've got 3 dive buddies going with me who've all been told to stay close and keep an eye on me. And we're planning on taking it easy and allowing me to focus on this condition.
 
Perhaps I forgot to udpate this. Thought I did. Sorry.
Took the Scop Patch on Saturday morning so I could see what the side-effects might be before the Sunday AM dive.
Felt a little sluggish and VERY dry-mouthed Saturday.
Went ahead and dove Sunday AM. Seas were rolling a little, enough to knock you over if you didn't hold onto something, but not like a storm or anything.
Also had the accu-pressure wrist-band on, and also drank PLENTY of fluids (mostly due to the dry-mouth), and ate saltine crackers for snacks.
I didn't get sick (though my wife who didn't have the patch did), but I could tell the conditions were ripe and it almost felt like my body wanted to get sick. I took things slow, stayed away from the exhaust fumes, and watched the horizon as much as possible.
Don't know if I just got lucky this time, or if the sea-band worked, or if the scop patch worked, or if it required all of the above. Who knows.
But I was happy I didn't get nauseas.
Unfortunately though, upon arriving back at shore, I noticed that I had the dizziness though, that I had felt after the other boat dive and river drift dive.
I felt like I still had my sea-legs causing me to sway when I walked.
And all the way up to 36 hours later, I was still a little off-balance when I walked, and I had a slight case of the "spins" if I sat still and tried to focus on one object.
Not spins like out-of-control vertigo.
Just the feeling you get after drinking some, when you stare at the wall, but the lines keep shifting a little like you just got off a carnival ride. Can't tell if it's my eyes that won't sit still or if the lines on the wall keep dancing.
So, what scares me is this sounds like Vertigo, no?
The doctor had thought this was just dizziness, but I don't know which it is.
I called DAN. They said that with vertigo, the room spins. With dizziness (motion sickness), you spin.
???? how do I tell which is which?
 
I'm sure I've had both, but not sure how you'd tell them apart. I've had similar effects after a prolonged period aboard (week long boat trip), where the shore keeps moving for the next day or more. I have found the more I go back anf forth, boat, shore, boat, shore, the more acclimatized I become. I rarely get seasick, but if I do, it's likely to be early in the season, after not boating all winter. One days trial of the scop patch before diving doesn't tell you much either. Since they're good for several day, did you wear the same patch? I'd try wearing another on a weekend not diving. Put it on Friday after work and wear it all weekend. Or even earlier on Friday and wear it till Sunday (or until you notice side effects). Any side effect, dry mouth, dizzy, etc, will likely be increased at depth.
 

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