[Kitty]

Does anyone here with MS also have motion sickness?

I have found that since my balance has deteriorated I've been more prone to motion sickness.....more specifically car sickness.

I noticed it the first time while riding in the car to the hospital for the birth of my grandchildren. DIL's father was driving like a maniac and I was getting sicker by the mile! Thank goodness I made it without having a major accident but it was close.

That was 9 months ago and I have not been in the car too often since then. Just for doctor appointments and the occasional visit to family.

The movement just makes me feel so nauseous and if I close my eyes it's worse.

I don't have the opportunity to go many places anymore and it really doesn't bother me too much. As many of you with MS know it's sometimes just not worth the effort. Takes me days to recover from just a simple outing.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has dealt with this and how you treat it. I have anti-nausea meds (OTC and rx) but they all make me sleepy.

[Starznight]

I started getting motion sickness when my eyes went squirrelly. If I close my eyes it's not too bad... but it still doesn't completely go away and will get much worse if we go around a corner while my eyes are closed.

I have tried Dramamine but it knocks me out cold. Its about the only medication that says it may cause drowsiness that does... big time... within 20 mins of taking it I'm down and out.

What seems to be helping me some, is closing just one eye. I don't know if its simply because of my vision or if it's a balance issue as well. Also making sure my seat isn't leaning back (that will make me sick quick, I have to sit upright) And making sure my feet are flat on the floorboard.

When we ride in the DH's Jeep however, the seats are tilted back, 5 point harness and the like on that... so I find wearing headphones does the trick then, listening to music seems to keep my equilibrium, but oddly enough not from the stereo, it has to be headphones.

[NurseNancy]

not exactly but what i've noticed now for a while is

i can't look up or to the side when i'm walking or i get dizzy and lose my balance. i think it's a neurological thing.

i've always been ok on a boat or in a car. thankfully one less thing to deal with.

[MSbelle]

YES!

During my last relapse I could no longer drive so I was being driven everywhere, but I was in the front seat always. I got quite nauseated every time I was in the car. I've since had a MS drug that worked incredibly well for me and it took away that symptom (and I'm able to drive again). But yes, when my MS is bad, it seems so is my motion sickness.

[Debbie D]

Kitty, my DD gets that way if she sits in the back seat of the car, or if the windshield is curved too much at the sides...never close your eyes in the car--it adds to the vertigo. Try to keep your sight glancing at a horizon somewhere every 30 seconds or so--it gives your sight stability.
Maybe closing one eye would help some--your eyes may not give your brain equal information and that might be causing your vertigo.
Talking to an eye doc or maybe look up the problem on the internet might give you some help. If sitting either in the front or back seat makes it worse, try the opposite and see if it is reduced.

Arrgghhh, the aggravating sxs that this stupid disease gives us...

[Kitty]

Originally Posted by Debbie D

Kitty, my DD gets that way if she sits in the back seat of the car, or if the windshield is curved too much at the sides...never close your eyes in the car--it adds to the vertigo. Try to keep your sight glancing at a horizon somewhere every 30 seconds or so--it gives your sight stability.
Maybe closing one eye would help some--your eyes may not give your brain equal information and that might be causing your vertigo.
Talking to an eye doc or maybe look up the problem on the internet might give you some help. If sitting either in the front or back seat makes it worse, try the opposite and see if it is reduced.

Arrgghhh, the aggravating sxs that this stupid disease gives us...

Come to think of it my worst episode of motion sickness was when I was a passenger in the back seat. My DIL's Dad was driving and he drives like a maniac! Switching lanes, speeding up, slowing down quickly and taking sharp turns. I have never been so glad to get out of a car in my life!

Your comment about my eyes possibly not giving my brain equal information makes a lot of sense. I'll ask about that. I need to go to the eye doctor again soon anyway. I have lost some weight and guess what are too loose now? My GLASSES!! Of all things! Couldn't have been my jeans.....oh, no......has to be my glasses! Guess I lost weight in my head!!