Are we more susceptable to sea-sickness after AN?

[HeadCase2]

  About 2 years before being diagnosed with an AN, I went deep-sea fishing off North Carolina, and spent most of the day sea-sick and heaving over the side.  The fishing was great and I enjoyed myself, even though I was throwing up about every half hour and couldn't even keep water down.  In retrospect, I'm wondering if it was the AN making me more susceptible to sea-sickness.  Once I got back to land, the nausea cleared up immediately.
I'm a little concerned that if I were to go deep-sea fishing again, which I would love to do, that after leaving the dock I'd be sea sick and  trapped for the day heaving over the side.  What’s been your experience with boats and sea sickness after AN?   
Regards,
 Rob   

[ppearl214]

Rob,

My thoughts........ if your AN is affecting the vestibular nerve and hearing and balance are thrown off for you, IMO, could very well be.  So, if your balance was/is thrown off, toss in a bit of dizziness for good measure, my bet is that it could definately have an affect....

...and next time you go deep sea fishing, can I come along?  You can bait my hook for me but I'm there with you! LOVE to go deep sea fishing.  Just heave in the opposite direction, ok?

Phyl

[Lorenzo]

Well, I don't fish, at all. But, on my travels from here to Europe I have to take a ferry for 24 hours to bring our car over. I did numerous times, winter and summer, high seas and flat waters too. Still doing it, even after treatment. I have to say, nothing has happened. In fact I think I feel less wobbly now than before treatment. I can even manage to eat a full meal with rolling seas without loosing it all again. So, I guess the experience you had was BEFORE your balance system had adjusted to the impaired hearing. Once your balance has adjusted, you should be ok. Not sure if that would apply to microsurgery mind you. Maybe somebody else has a view on that.
Ciao, Lorenzo

[Joef]

I was out on a small boat this spring (salt) and did not have any trouble, and was out a few years ago (Pre AN) in VERY high waves .. (I was holding on for dear life) .. and did not get sea sick .... so I think the short answer is no, BUT I'm sure it doesn't help .. some people have more trouble than others.. what I do see is now I have more trouble keeping balance.. I need to be holding on to something so I dont fall over...

[Windsong]

Rob,

What kind of fish were you after? lol...

My own experience on boats: 

No problems for most of my life, then during a holiday when I was on a boat in the ocean off Tobago, a nice attack of sea sickness. A stranger  nearby also had it but she had some gravol. So i blithely suggested we take one even though neither of us had a water bottle with us. Well, eating gravol is a horrid taste experience without water, so on top of the seasickness we were now quite "sick" from the taste. A gentleman nearby took pity on our moans and gasps and kindly offered us a beer from his cooler. Problem solved and we all had a great time after that. Snorkelling off the reefs not fishing lol....

Next episode was on a liner off Florida. I was fine on the upper decks early on but the farther out we got in the ocean the more I felt seasick. After dropping anchor and after a storm came up with waves heaving the vessel I really felt seasick and by then i was somewhere down on a lower deck. Rescue came in the form of dramamine and spending most of the trip lying down on a couch in the captain's office. (after throwing up into the wind and rain over a railing on a top deck).... Not a good trip.

Spending a couple of days on a big yacht going through the lock system up here and then in Georgian Bay was fine;   however, the water was pretty calm. That was a great trip.

All this was 15 to 10 years before my An was found. I haven't been on a boat of any kind since a "viral" attack seven yrs before my An was discovered. The vestibular nerve was pretty much destroyed then (probably affected by the An) and it took yrs to compensate with balance. I still can get wobbly. Plus my neurotologist said it can take as long as 2 years to do that.

Maybe if you take a good dose of gravol you can go deep sea fishing?
Reel in some good catches!!!

all the best,
W.

[Gennysmom]

I haven't tested this yet...let me know...I had great sea legs before surgery, never ever had a bout of sea sickness, to the point that I was on a ferry that hit a storm and everyone got sea sick except for about 5 of us.  I haven't had the opportunity yet to put my sea legs back on, but I can tell ya that I can do 8 hours in a train just fine.  Made me tired as heck, but I didn't get motion sickness. 

[roub1]

 A few years ago I had no problems with boats and water. Last couple years, before surgery were bad, couldn't spend an hour on the water. I got a buddy with a new boat who has been after me to try it out, haven't had the nerve (Don't want to be the first to decorate his deck). I was kinda hoping someone would say it all goes away. Guess I'll have to try it for myself.

[Jeanlea]

Rob,

I've been out fishing both before and after my AN surgery.  I didn't really get seasick before.  One time I was feeling a little queasy so my dad told me to keep my eyes on the horizon.  That helps.  I was also on a ferry boat in bad weather and didn't feel too good.  That was all befoI'd give it a try if I were you.  Good luck fishing!!re the AN.  This past summer I was on a fairly large boat in Lake Superior.  The waves were about 6 feet or so.  I didn't feel sick at all.  Found I could walk as well as anyone else on board.  Also went out on a much smaller boat that was being tossed about by the waves.  No seasickness again.  I did find I was able to stay upright better than the others on board.  It was just like the "box" at my therapy sessions.   I'm planning on going back to Isle Royale again this summer in Lake Superior for more fishing.  Good luck fishing!!

Jean

[kat]

Hi everyone


The AN has not had any effect on my sealegs  before or after GK . I feel lucky since we spend several months every year on our sailboat and we were really concerned about possible balance problems and seasickness but so far (touch wood ) I have been feeling fine .

Regards Kat

[littlemissrory]

Hey Rob-
I had my surgery in May 2004, I had alot of trouble before surgery with dizziness, nausea, vomiting, nystagmus...a few months after surgery all was well.  The nausea and "strange vision" issue returned in September 2005 (possibly from scar tissue shrinking and affecting the nerve)-and in November 2005 decided it was time to learn to sail.  Honestly, I was green the first few times...and then fine.  Never vomited and didn't feel so bad that I didn't have fun.  The way I saw it then was if I was going to feel like that on land why not jump on a boat and have some fun-sailing is awesome!  The nausea and "strange vision" has since subsided again and I enjoy alot of time on the water in Puget Sound,  even with bad weather all is well.

Personally, I'd say go!  Deep sea fishing is too much fun to miss.  Skip the caffine, drink Ginger Tea (the best is Yogi Tea), try Sea-Bands (found in the pharmacy) all as a just in case your worried...and none will cause additional side effects.  It is thought to be very good for healing to throw your brain off-balance...in doing so it learns much quicker to balance.

Have a great time on the water.
Cheers,
Rory

[Kilroy1976]

Let's not get a"head" of ourselves here. Seasickness can be a separate and distinct problem, and more often than not it exists in the absence of an AN. Especially when deep sea fishing, where there are large waves and a relatively small boat, it's pretty common to get dizzy/nauseous/etc. I've been seasick while fishing more times than I'd like to admit, and most of those times were either before my AN had developed or before it grew to its present size. The AN can ruin balance and all of that, and I'm sure it can and does cause or increase seasickness, but... I'll just say, there are many tough, healthy people that will barf their brains out when the waves make the world go up and down and round and round.

(Does anyone know where the Love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours...)

[Obita]

(Does anyone know where the Love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours...)


Kilroy1976:

Lake Superior has a fair amount of my own barf in it from pre-AN fishing trips.  That lake can be mean.  I would try it again if I get the chance.  How could it be any worse post-op?

Kathy

[HeadCase2]

Kilroy,
  I loved the quote.  Anyone who has been seasick knows just what the author meant. 
  I guess I'm going to try some shorter fishing expeditions before signing up for another all day trip.

  I'd like to tell you some funny stories about gang boat fishing off the NJ shore.  Gang boats are where they take you out with about 30 other fisherman lined elbow-to-elbow all along the sides of the boat.  The captain takes the boat out to some location he knows of and yell's "Drop 'em!".  If nothing is biting, he yells "Bring 'em up!" and off you go to another location.  All this is punctuated by the cursing of the mate (and the cursing that only people from Phily and NJ know how to do) when lines become tangled by the inept and the drunk.
  It common for some of the fisherman to become seasick on these outings.  There was one man, who looked to be in his seventies, who for some unknown reason thought the best place for being seasick was the bow of the boat-- this didn't work out well when he started to hurl into the wind.  I also fished next to two brothers, when one of them became seasick he laid on the deck with his head over the side.  His brother never stoped fishing, and just put a foot on his brother's back so he wouldn't go over the side.  We later christened the boat the "Barf Boat II".
  On one trip, there was a particularly obnoxious guy from NJ.  He was a coarse lout, with a gravely voice three times louder than everyone else on the boat.  Every other word was a curse word, and he just never shut up.  This went on for a few hours.   Later when he went to the Head (which had an aroma that only a gang boat can have), the mate flipped the outside latch on the Head's door, trapping the lout inside.  Everyone on the boat could hear this guy bemoaning his fate. "Heeeey!, let me out, I'm diein' in here!"   Everyone on the boat could hear him, but just kept on fishing with a slight smile on their face.  No one moved to let him out.  After about 15 minutes of being trapped in the Head in 90+ degree heat, the mate finally let him out.  He was subdued the rest of the trip.  At the end of the trip, the mate recieved much bigger tips than normal.

Regards,
 Rob

[Joef]

HeadCase2, LOL .. thanks for the laugh !! 

[antoinette]

Yes, we are. And it also add to the vertigo from other ennoyances like allergies and sinusitis. In fact any cold, flu, drink or fatigue becomes the merry-go-round which will make you noticed if you walk in public. So it is better to sit, or go to bed after drinking lots of water. Try to be warm, smile as if you meant it (apparently, it helps) take a great book to bed, make sure the bathroom is not too far as you will use it a lot and if you are sea-sick... You know what I mean.
Shy away from raw food, vegies or fruits. cook everything for a few days to a few weeks. Take religiously a little supplement of vitamins, and good luck.
ant