Scared after cruise advice please

I just got off my first cruise 7 days ago and I loved my cruise. My husband gave me the cruise as a gift for my birthday. Sunday after I got home I felt very tired and just strange which I had kind of expected. Monday dizzy but ok. Tuesday horrible dizzy feelings and panic feelings. Ended up in ER with panic meds, anti-nauseous meds, and meclizine. Next day went to ENT and he said it was from cruising and should get better in couple days. Gave me a steroid shot and told me to take Xanax or meclizine depending on how I feel. Here almost 7 days later hardly better. I have some hours better than others but overall not good. I am very scared and just want to feel better.so weird how dizziness and panic attacks happen at same time. I will say I am better than earlier this week. Please help with any encouragement or advice. Oh and I am prone to motion sickness so I wore the patch the day before I cruised until the day I got home. Thanks.

Could be that you are having a reaction from the patch. Did you tell the doctors in the ER that you had worn the patch? I have read on these boards about bad reactions that people have had from using them. I have worn them and they didn't bother me with any side effects. But, after reading those comments, it has about scared me from ever using them again. I would definitely talk to your doctor about the patch, and see if he thinks that it is the cause of you being so sick for so long. The last 2 cruises, I haven't used any motion sickness meds and I got along just fine.

But, I will tell you that I usually feel the way you are describing for about 24 hours after returning from a cruise. It is not a good feeling, pretty much feel like I'm sea sick and I not doing anything but sitting at home! I know not to plan on going back to work the day after getting home, that's for sure. So, I know how you feel, sure hope you get to feeling better soon!!

I just got off my first cruise 7 days ago and I loved my cruise. My husband gave me the cruise as a gift for my birthday. Sunday after I got home I felt very tired and just strange which I had kind of expected. Monday dizzy but ok. Tuesday horrible dizzy feelings and panic feelings. Ended up in ER with panic meds, anti-nauseous meds, and meclizine. Next day went to ENT and he said it was from cruising and should get better in couple days. Gave me a steroid shot and told me to take Xanax or meclizine depending on how I feel. Here almost 7 days later hardly better. I have some hours better than others but overall not good. I am very scared and just want to feel better.so weird how dizziness and panic attacks happen at same time. I will say I am better than earlier this week. Please help with any encouragement or advice. Oh and I am prone to motion sickness so I wore the patch the day before I cruised until the day I got home. Thanks.

Post #2 (which follows yours) makes a good point and might be worth checking out if things don't get better soon. However, it sounds also very possible to me that you might be experiencing this thing called "mal de debarquement" (debarkment). It's kind of a continuation of motion sensitivity for a while even after you've returned to land, which may have compounded itself by making you anxious because you didn't understand what was going on. A certain percentage of passengers can experience this for a few days or even a few weeks after a cruise, and apparently it happens more frequently to women than to men. I had it pretty badly once after a particularly rocky cruise and it was unsettling for a while, but it did get better and then soon enough it went away altogether. You might try googling it and, if it sounds like that's what could be going on with you, perhaps that knowledge will at least make you a little less anxious while you're waiting for your inner ear (or whatever it is that causes it) to settle down.

Yep, for sure the patch has some nasty side effects that most are not aware of such as dizziness, blurred vision, etc. In the Caribbean, it is mostly calm and if you need something buy the wristbands (drug free) but you really do more harm than good with the patches. JMHO from previous experience...

Yep, for sure the patch has some nasty side effects that most are not aware of such as dizziness, blurred vision, etc. In the Caribbean, it is mostly calm and if you need something buy the wristbands (drug free) but you really do more harm than good with the patches. JMHO from previous experience...

I used the wristband on my first ever cruise in November and was fine. It decided to use that instead of the patch because like you said I had read about those nasty side effects. Never had a problem once, in fact by day four took the band off and was just fine. Momo, hope you get well soon.

I'm with the other posts. There are basically three things it could be:

1) Reaction to patch. Something I had happen to me once with the same symptoms - I got too much of one drug in my system and it caused my body to start having anxiety/panic attacks with weakness and diziness even after I went off it.

2) Reaction to "lack of motion"

3) Something you picked up on the trip. Food posioning can come and go with lasting anxiety effects.

Whatever it is that is throwing your body off, it is responding with the anxiety attacks. It will continue to do that until a CHEMICAL REACTION causes it to stop. Start taking something like Celexa (anti-anxiety) that builds up in your system is the best course of action. Most doctors don't know this. It does take a few weeks for it to go away.

Please feel free to contact me via Cruise Critic, I am haping to make recommendations to help. This is SO similiar to what I went through.

PL

Hi Momof 3,

I had the same symptoms you are experiencing after my second cruise. I noticed my first night home sleeping in my own bed that it was rocking and I thought, in my sleepy state that I was still on the ship. When I woke fully I felt very strange, got out of bed and immediately lost my balance and bounced off my closet door. My sisters, who were with me on the cruise, were having fairly severe issues as well. It was pretty constant the first 3 days and I took over the counter sea sick (I called it land sick) meds. As the week progressed, the vertigo and imbalance became more off and on but persisted for a few weeks.

About the panic attacks, I have to tell you that I was quite disconcerted by the swimming sensation in my head. It gave me a feeling of a loss of control and I never knew when it was going to make me lose my balance. So, I'm not surprised that an attack of anxiety accompanied this. I do want to emphasize that we tend to brush off anxiety when it is sometimes a clue that something else is wrong. It sometimes accompanies thyroid issues as a single example, so make certain that if your symptoms persist that you follow up and not assume anything.

I will confess that I have had panic attacks a few times and they are dreadful. I'm also a retired nurse so I understand this from both perspectives.

I can understand how land sickness could be a trigger.

Best of luck to you.

I just got off my first cruise 7 days ago and I loved my cruise. My husband gave me the cruise as a gift for my birthday. Sunday after I got home I felt very tired and just strange which I had kind of expected. Monday dizzy but ok. Tuesday horrible dizzy feelings and panic feelings. Ended up in ER with panic meds, anti-nauseous meds, and meclizine. Next day went to ENT and he said it was from cruising and should get better in couple days. Gave me a steroid shot and told me to take Xanax or meclizine depending on how I feel. Here almost 7 days later hardly better. I have some hours better than others but overall not good. I am very scared and just want to feel better.so weird how dizziness and panic attacks happen at same time. I will say I am better than earlier this week. Please help with any encouragement or advice. Oh and I am prone to motion sickness so I wore the patch the day before I cruised until the day I got home. Thanks.

BTW, I worked in ENT and the treatment you received should give you some relief. The steroid should calm down any inflammation in your inner ear and Xanax isn't a bad short term treatment for sudden onset panic attacks. If you've had them before this, you might want to tell your physician. Xanax isn't appropriate in panic disorder, which is different from a panic attack in response to a "fight or flight" reaction meaning any thing that scares the bejebus out of us!

The Scopalamine that is in the patch does have a long half life, but if you didn't have a problem while you wore it on the ship, you probably tolerated it fairly well.

Don't get discouraged. Sometimes it takes more than a few days, but it does go away.

My sister went through this twice. She wore the patch. Dr. said it was withdrawal from the patch, side effects of the patch, and she should NEVER use them again. She was sick for two weeks each time. HORRIBLE vertigo, nausea and panic. She too ended up in the ER the second time. Dr. also did some kind positional therapy.

She now uses Bonine and has never been seasick and no side effects. It was so unexpected because she had cruised prior to this without seasickness or the need for any meds.

She kept upright as much as possible. Avoided bending over. And if she felt the dizziness coming on she would focus on an object that was stationary. Took about two weeks for her to be comfortable driving.

Good luck and hopefully each day will be better.

I just got off my first cruise 7 days ago and I loved my cruise. My husband gave me the cruise as a gift for my birthday. Sunday after I got home I felt very tired and just strange which I had kind of expected. Monday dizzy but ok. Tuesday horrible dizzy feelings and panic feelings. Ended up in ER with panic meds, anti-nauseous meds, and meclizine. Next day went to ENT and he said it was from cruising and should get better in couple days. Gave me a steroid shot and told me to take Xanax or meclizine depending on how I feel. Here almost 7 days later hardly better.

I guess the only solution is to never leave the cruise ship!!! :P

I am not a doctor and would never poo-poo what a doctor says but I have been a sailor my whole life and what you are describing sounds to me like you are trying to get your land legs back. The fluid in your inner ear was set in motion by being on the ship and it's still moving. It can take a couple of weeks but eventually this fluid will stop moving and you will feel better.

Could be Mal de debarquement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mal_de_debarquement

Sounds similar to what I had after my 2nd cruise. Took about 6 months to finally abate. Thought I was going crazy til I found out it is not that uncommon. Hasn't happened since :D

I have never used the patch so I won't comment on that, but I will say that mal de debarquement can be severe. I had it after one cruise- I thought I had a brain tumor:eek:. It lasted for three weeks at full volume. It was made worse by staring at a computer screen- if I looked longer than a couple of minutes I would be grabbing the desk as though I was about to fall over. It was a very rough cruise, weather wise, and I think that may have had something to do with it. I will get random "whoa!" feelings after one cruise or another, but I know what it is now and it has never been as bad as it was that time. The panic attacks you describe- I don't know if you are especially prone to them but I can see where worryng about the dizziness, etc might cause them.

Just a thought- you may have picked up something in port. Something you ate, or some insect that bit you might be the culprit.

Hope you feel better soon. My horrible time happened after my fourth cruise and has never happened that way again.

If it's the Patch you are having an allergic reaction and should be treated with a round of steroids, not just a single shot.

But it could be something else--an inner ear infection. Did they check for that? If that's what it is, you probably won't get better without a round of antibiotics.

My husband is very prone to motion sickness. He uses the patch for up to 2 days after we cruise. His only symptom is occasional blurred vision.

I do not use the patch, but start bonine the day of debarkation. I don't get sick on the ship or in port, but often feel dizzy, disoriented and wobbly for days afterwards. The bonine helps, but doesn't fix it entirely. For me it takes a little time. It hasn't discouraged me from cruising, but I know I am prone to this and plan my post-cruise activities accordingly.

It is a terrible feeling and I hope you feel better soon.

Hi- Hope you are doing better.

Yup....I agree with others that have posted. It is the patch.

It has some nasty afterwards reaction to it and what you are experiencing....... is it.

just take it easy and if its still occurring after several weeks, go back to your Dr. for more advice on what to do.

Hope you are feeling better and never wear that patch again.

Hope this helped

7 days post cruise and mal de is top of my list - feel I'm getting magnetically dragged across the desk now - the first 5 days were terrible - I was walking like a puppet - hey like one of The Thunderbirds - how it is...:rolleyes: :cool::cool:

You would have to rule in or rule out the patch - ie.... not wearing it on a cruise - the next one....

Boy, could I relate to what you described with the computer. That was the last symptom to clear up.

Here's another suggestion for the op (I do hope she comes back) and I'm curious to know if this helped anyone else. Go for a car ride everyday. A good long one and shorten the ride a little every day. I found motion helpful and I was able to retrain my inner ear balance centers to adapt to both movement and being stationary. Also, don't look down when you're walking. Keep your head up much like you would do on a ship gazing at the horizon to prevent or help seasickness.

Forgive me if I've been redundant, but I'm just typing ideas as I think of them.

To the op, I hope you're feeling better. I felt better after about 3 weeks, but the improvement was gradual. My sister had a much harder time with it and it took her about 6 weeks.

I had no problems after the QM2 even after 36 hours in a force 10 gale Perhaps the fact that she's an ocean liner had something to do with it.

I'm so sorry this happened to you after your first cruise.

I have never used the patch so I won't comment on that, but I will say that mal de debarquement can be severe. I had it after one cruise- I thought I had a brain tumor:eek:. It lasted for three weeks at full volume. It was made worse by staring at a computer screen- if I looked longer than a couple of minutes I would be grabbing the desk as though I was about to fall over. It was a very rough cruise, weather wise, and I think that may have had something to do with it. I will get random "whoa!" feelings after one cruise or another, but I know what it is now and it has never been as bad as it was that time. The panic attacks you describe- I don't know if you are especially prone to them but I can see where worryng about the dizziness, etc might cause them.

 

Just a thought- you may have picked up something in port. Something you ate, or some insect that bit you might be the culprit.

 

Hope you feel better soon. My horrible time happened after my fourth cruise and has never happened that way again.

I did a goggle search, hanging onto the chair sides for dear life, while I was battling this to find out how to prevent it. The most common prevention that sailors use is very vigorous exercise shortly before you disembark. I thought the wrangling I did with my luggage would have filled that requirement :eek:

Wow. You are all so nice. I had hoped that maybe posting on here I would get responses to help me feel better and it did. I am so frustrated right now but I am having some good times and bad times. I (and my husband) are both starting to think it was the dang patch!!!! I felt fine on the cruise with it and I am normally very motion sick so I guess it worked but NEVER again. Now to just find the cure for these withdrawals. I should be well rested after whatever this is passes because all I want to do is sleep. Thank you again. I really hope to be able to cruise again one day and not let this scare me because I really loved it.

Hopefully this won't dissuade you from trying a cruise in the future. Some people can use the patch without problems (my mother did on her one cruise but it was a 4-day one) and other have to seek other remedies. It seems something that works for one person doesn't for the next. I use ginger, but for people on blood thinners, it's counter-indicated.

With some patches, if used for long periods, once you remove the patch you can experience withdrawals. Your body can get used to that medicaiton pretty quickly and if stopped "cold turkey" can cause withdrawals just like a lot of other meds. Sorry if someone else already posted a reply like this. Just skimmed through the other answers. I hope you feel better soon :)

Its the patch! I thought I was dying! It was the most awful thing in the world! I never researched about it and used it the entire 4 day cruise we were on! My son (12 at the time) used it as well! He never had any problems! I was a mess...honestly I don't even remember the 24 hour drive from FL to Michigan! It took a good month to be 100%!!!!! I WILL NEVER USE THEM AGAIN! I rather be sea sick then patch sick!!!

Yup....I agree with others that have posted. It is the patch.

I'm going to have to disagree with this statement. On my first cruise, I used the patch and didn't have any reaction at all after I got back on land. My second cruise, I did NOT use the patch and had all kinds of weird dizzy feelings when I got back on land.

I'm not saying that it is NOT the patch, just that I wouldn't say quite so definitely that it IS the patch.