I am new to this forum. I have been a member of the mal de debarquement forum for almost 1 year. I currently have been rocking,vertigo,nausea, fatigued and having headaches since last September 2008. I had migraines when I was you and recently after a hyperbaric treatment started having migraines with auras. I am extremely motion sensitive. I saw Dr Timothy Hain in March 2009 and he listed MDDS , MAV and quick spins. I tried Trileptal and propranolol with no success. He also tried me on Klonopin which helps the rocking a little but is not a cure by any means. Trileptal actually made my symptoms much worse and I had elevated symptoms for about 3 months afterwards. I use Klonopin when my rocking and vertigo is unbearable. I have done vestibular therapy twice with no success. I am in my 30s and so ready for this to go away. I am extremely hypersensitive to all medications. I have also gain 20 lbs in 1 year since having this so I really do not want weight gain as a side effect of the medication although if it made this rocking go away I would probably take it. Any suggestions for motion sickness and meds that will help with this rocking would be greatly appreciated!
Hi there,
Welcome to the forum! Glad you have found us and hope we can be of help. Sorry you are suffering.
I was wondering how much klonopin (what dose) you have taken? If it helped you, have you ever tried taking it regularly, not just when the rocking gets to a level that you are forced to take something? It will not cause weight gain.
All the best,
lisa
Isn’t rocking the absolute worst? As for medicines, on both his “MdDS” page and his “Rocking” page, Dr. Hain recommends trying an SSRI, particularly Paxil.
He also says benzodiazepines are helpful. Of course, Klonopin is one of the most potent drugs in that class. However, it doesn’t help me at all, so sometimes it’s worth trying various ones. Some people here like Xanax; Ativan seems unpopular; and Valium helps some people, including me (though it takes 5 or 10 mg to help me).
I have the rocking all the time. It just get worse when my BP goes up or with whether changes etc. Dr Hain recommended .5mg twice a day but it makes me tired and there is some question to whether if it is a vestibular type thing going on, then the Klonopin may be hendering my brain compensating so I do not take it regularly. It does help cut down when the rocking is really high but I still rock just not as bad. The klonopin does not help with motion sickness though like when I have to ride in a car. I am considering trying verapamil or Topamax.
Hello-I’m new here, this is my 1st post. Just had to jump in on this & tell you that my Migraine specialist, Dr. Carolyn Bernstein-Boston, MA, gave me an RX for Scopolamine Transdermal patch last week for bad nausea. It’s a small patch you put on the smooth skin behind your ear. So far so good with this patch. I have rocking sensation too… taking 1 1/2 mg Klonopin daily helps that…but not the nausea. So i have high hopes w/this patch as it’s helping alot.
My pharmacist told me alot of people on sea cruises wear these. Am extremely medication sensitive & so far no side effects w/this patch 
Wishing you relief soon,
Shari
Unfortunately, I gained 4 stone on Klonopin. It stopped the rocking one day and never again even though I took a low dose for a long time. When I took it, I would eat for some reason.
It does seem to help some people, it is just so individual with MAV brains!!!
Best to you,
Sally
Meclizine has helped me many, many times when the motion sickness/nausea was bad. I needed only 25mg/24hr, but once took 25mg twice in a 24hr period. Usually, I could go about 36hr between 25mg doses. I’d still feel off-balance and dizzy on it, but it seemed to make me not care, that is, the associated nausea was gone. I tried half a 25mg promethazine once, and it helped also, and didn’t make me dizzy. Meclizine always makes me dizzy, and one time, it actually made me feel worse. I’ve had some help from 5mg of Valium, but it really doesn’t do much for the nausea, but reduces the anxiety that comes with suffering from the motion sickness and worry how long it will last, etc.
I’ve very recently tried amitriptyline because after months of being off-balance and motion sick, I began getting trigeminal nerve pain and then migraine w/ and w/out visual aura. I took it just two days, but began having some nervous feelings on it and some unusual heartbeats, so I stopped.
For the next two days w/out it, I felt very sick with nausea and a pounding heartbeat. I’m going to my neuro this Tuesday to report my amitriptyline experience. He also prescribed Zofran for nausea, but I never tried it.