Motion Sickness Medicine?

Because I am a news writer, I get a lot of notices. I subscribe to many alert lists because I am always looking for things to write about.

The U.S. government has a lot of lists it will send out with new articles, new finds, new studies, etc.

Today I received my notice from the nimh.gov site. This is the National Institute for Mental Health.

I have long had an interest in mental health issues. I think this is one of the most misundestood areas of humanity. I also think it affects everyone, even those folks who presume themselves normal. I think our mental states are a reflection of our environment, the things we eat, people around us, the air we breathe, and things that are unknown because they occur on planes not available to us (as in having a soul).

Two new scientific studies caught my attention.

The first:

How Strep Triggers Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – New Clues

This study says that the strep virus creates an antibody that them mistakenly acts on a brain enzyme, causing a form of OCD in children.

I found this interesting because I have almost always had some mild form of OCD. I even attribute my nail-biting habit, which comes and goes, to OCD and have at various times thought it was because I wasn't eating something, I was missing some vitamin, or what-have-you. My OCD symptoms also sometimes manifest in checking behavior. I have been known to go back home two or three times to make sure I've turned off various electrical items. I am much better about that than I used to be and it is not a problem, just sometimes an inconvenience. (I also have replaced most of my appliances with things that turn themselves off.)

The second article was this:

NIMH Researchers Discover Medication’s Antidepressant Potential

The story:

A commonly used sedative and motion-sickness treatment shows promise as a fast-acting antidepressant, according to a study conducted by researchers at NIMH. Patients with major depression or bipolar disorder who had predominantly poor prognoses improved dramatically, showing significant decreases in symptoms associated with depression and anxiety almost immediately after being treated
with the medication.

In two studies, NIMH researchers discovered the antidepressant and anti-anxiety efficacy of the medication, scopolamine (Scopace®). Study participants treated with scopolamine showed significant reductions in the severity of their depression and anxiety symptoms shortly after receiving a single intravenous dose. This reduction in symptoms persisted after treatment, which suggests scopolamine may have strong, fast, long-lasting antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects. According to the researchers, patients in the studies tolerated scopolamine well and reported no serious medical adverse outcomes. . . .

Now this intrigued me, because I have motion sickness/dizziness/vertigo stuff. I had never heard of this drug scopolamine for motion sickness and it isn't one that has been prescribed for me. Apparently it is found over-the-counter in England but not in the U.S. It is available here by prescription.

I found this information on the drug:

Scopolamine

Scopolamine is the single most effective antimotion sickness drug, consistently providing more protection than any other single medication in clinical trials.(9) It is particularly useful for intense motion or for patients who are very susceptible to motion sickness remedy.

Scopolamine is a belladonna alkaloid that acts like atropine. . . .

Scopolamine has been shown to be effective in all the classic cases of motion sickness, involving car, air, train, and sea travel, as well as exposure to virtual reality systems.(25) It is currently available for prescription in two forms: a transdermal patch and a low dose tablet. Each dosage form has its respective benefits and disadvantages which warrant consideration when evaluating the needs of any particular patient. . . .

. . . Low dose scopolamine tablets, (Scopace, Hope Pharmaceuticals), are also available. . . .

I am no fan of drugs but I am also not happy feeling sick nearly every time I get in a car. This is not a constant problem but when it occurs it is an issue. When this is acting up, there are days I can't even drive myself, much less ride with someone. Dramamine and related over-the-counter drugs do nothing but put me to sleep, which is fine for long trips but not good if you need to go somewhere and be coherent when you get there.

So this information is useful to me. I am particularly pleased to see the relationship to this drug with Belladonna, as I had already figured out that taking Belladonna at night can keep me from feeling sick in bed. Sometimes when this is acting up, if I turn over, I feel like I'm laying on a ship. The Belladonna works well for that and I think now I should probably take it when I go on trips to see if it will help.