Just reading about rides that aggravate my vertigo is enough to give me vertigo this morning. Sad but true.
I can ride nothing that spins, although I can ride KRR, weirdly. Screens and I don’t get along. Like, I can’t even watch parts of Dr Strange. Rides that go backwards or sideways bother me (HM and SE). I rode MMRR, and there was one spot with the waterfall I had to close my eyes. I don’t think I want to try remy. Weirdly, no problem with the Skyliner as long as I’m looking forward. I don’t get car sick.
Slow boat rides are my thing. I wonder about CoP; I’ve never ridden it. I also wonder about GG.
I’m so sorry that you suffer from vertigo so badly! I would thing the trackless rides would be a no-go just because they kind of whip you around. More than whether it will make her sick or not, it’s managing the fear that it might. And if that’s a risk she’ll want to take. At a minimum we’re going to go on every slow moving boat ride there is
Someone talked me into MMRR. The whipping me around is a problem for my body, but actually doesn’t trigger my vertigo. It’s weird. Like right now I’m afraid to go from lying down to sitting up; it’s that type of movement that causes me issues. Once I’m up, if I am careful not to move my head around, I’m okay. I can even work on my computer. But movement on screens could devastate me.
DH can’t ride anything. He thinks it’s his neck, but I don’t know how that works. Mine is an inner ear thing, I think.
I have pretty bad vertigo as well. Before any trip that involves flying or Disney I get a prescription for Scopolamine Transdermal Patch. You place it behind your ear and can wear it up to 3 to 4 days. I just swap my patch out half way through our Disney trip. It works wonders, the only side effect for me it makes my mouth dry, but it keeps me from after a ride like FOP.
My very first bout of vertigo, the worse one I’ve ever had, was my first trip to WDW, using those patches. I was in bed for two days over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. A doctor had to come to my resort room to get me back on my feet for DD3’s (now 20) birthday breakfast on 12/26. He told me that it could have been my ear infection, all the rides I rode the day before (e.g., MHTC, and Star Tours among them), the patch (which he said he’s seen happen before), or a combination of all three. He gave me something, not sure what, that helped me at least be almost functional.
This isn’t to scare anyone, just a warning that the patches, at the very least, don’t always work for some people.
I’ve been gradually getting worse when it comes to motion sickness over the years. Last few trips, I’ve been taking a HALF of a less-drowsy Dramamine (which is the same medication as Bonine, so either is fine) at the start of my day. It did wonders. I didn’t experience any motion sickness my whole trip.
I take a half a pill, because a full pill, I feel noticeably drowsy (despite the "less drowsy moniker). Having said that, it doesn’t make me as drowsy as the regular Dramamine, which pretty much turns me into a zombie!
I did a lot of research into treatments for this. Some very common recommendations have been proven to actually be no better than a placebo, such as Sea-bands and acupuncture. (This isn’t to say that people don’t notice an improvement with sea-bands…but this is only due to the placebo effect…probably simply because they act as a distraction, and alternative place of focus and NOT because they are actually doing anything.)
Treatments which include peppermint or ginger (including NON-DROWSY Dramamine) are effective at treating nausea/motion sickness after it sets in to settle the stomach, but they aren’t terribly useful at PREVENTING it to begin with.
Only anti-emetic medications, including Bonine and Dramamine, have been shown in controlled studies to actually prevent and/or reduce the onset of motion sickness. And, anecdotally, I have found this to be the case for me.
Oh a half pill is a good idea. One of my girls got terribly car sick when she was still in a rear facing car seat so I bought some kids Dramamine to take with us in case she has trouble.
I get bad motion sickness too, but a peppermint or a little sip of coke usually takes care of it for me pretty quickly. She doesn’t like either.
I get motion sick on elevators. It’s horrible. I take the less drowsy Dramamine the day before my trip and each day of and I’m totally fine. The only rides that get me are roller coasters where my feet dangle, and Star Tours. My sister’s vertigo though, is a completely different animal. When triggered it knocks her on her ass for at least a day. In addition to the nausea, she gets extremely dizzy and feels like she’s spinning.
This. Vertigo is very different from motion sickness. Vertigo has more to do with equilibrium. Motion sickness mostly causes a sick headache and nausea. I think people get them mixed up because you can get nauseated with vertigo. However, even vertigo can present differently in different people. I get the sensation of the room spinning. I’m perfectly fine if I don’t move my head quickly or look down. And it lasts days once triggered.
Technically, Vertigo is merely a symptom. So, you can’t really “Have vertigo” unless you are actively experiencing the symptom. Some people “get vertigo”, for a variety of reasons. But it isn’t like Vertigo is itself a condition. Just a symptom of a condition. So it is a misnomer to say, “I have vertigo,” unless you are actively experiencing the dizzy/spinning feeling.
So, motion sickness can be accompanied by vertigo…but vertigo in such cases tends to be very temporary. I get like that. I’ll ride things, and SOMETIMES experience vertigo in addition to nausea. Sometimes I just experience nausea, and sometimes just vertigo!
I hesitated even posting, because it comes across as nit-picky…but the distinction is kind of important. If someone says, “I have vertigo,” that really doesn’t help in determining best course of action in how to treat it without understanding the CAUSE of the vertigo. Sometimes the cause is unknown.
Ironically, I was just experiencing vertigo a few evenings ago. I almost NEVER get vertigo outside of the context of rides…or spinning around wildly like the Tazmanian Devil…but it went away by the next morning. MOST LIKELY it was due to inner ear fluid or something due to allergies, but I really can’t say for sure.
My vertigo is associated with Meniere’s disease, and Teva-Betahistine is a lifesaver. If I know I’m going to be potentially triggered, I’ll take it that day as a precaution to stay ok. There are a few things that can cause vertigo, so it’s just going to depend on her trigger.
I had my 3rd episode of vertigo within 2 years, some mid-range hearing loss, and my doc essentially ‘diagnosed backwards’ by starting me on teva-betahistine to see if it helped. It did (and quickly!), so they said I have Meniere’s.
I know @len has been busy these days so I’m tagging him again for more information on the two stationary simulators (looking at the book this time) for DL MFSR (how to ask for them and other questions from posts above ) and whether WDW also has these.
Good catch! @Len I’m surprised the two online descriptions of MFSR (WDW and DL) are not identical. The DL version describes those two stationary simulators under “Touring Tips,” but the WDW version does not.
after a ride like FOP.