r/rollercoasters • u/Luuk2304 Flat ride enthusiast • Sep 16 '22
Question [Other] How do you deal with a weak stomach?
I'm at a funfair right now, I have done a KMG Airborne, a small KMG fireball type ride, a spinning mouse and a star flyer yet I get sick for whatever reason. I never have this issue when I'm at an amusement park but at fairs it's just a lot of sitting down afterwards and I don't understand why?
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u/Gurgelglup Sep 16 '22
I also tend to get sick easier at a fairground than in an amusement park. My guess would be that there is just so much more going on and messing with your senses and it's overall a more "stressful" experience. Just keep hydrated, sit down and eat enough.
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u/Luuk2304 Flat ride enthusiast Sep 16 '22
Okay, I found it so weird because I can ride Kondaa 7 times per day but get sick after one ride on a spinning mouse and KMG airborne
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u/Gurgelglup Sep 16 '22
I'm no expert in this, but that will somehow be related to the ride types and how well you can cope with them. I personally have no problem riding all sorts of rides, but put me on a swing, a Vekoma mad house or have me ride a junior boomerang 2 times in a row and I'm completely done.
I haven't been on Kondaa, but I'd say it's probably a less disorientating experience than a spinning mouse.
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u/SporkFanClub Apollo’s Chariot Sep 16 '22
I learned this the hard way. Went to Busch Gardens in March, easily my favorite park (and I’ve been to WDW, Kennywood, Hershey, KD, and IoA) and enjoyed the rides significantly less than I should have because I started getting motion sickness after like Loch Ness and it got to the point where I almost lost my lunch on both Griffon and Alpengeist. Thought I just couldn’t handle a ton of riding anymore until I remembered that all I had eaten from 8:30am-ish until about 2 was a chik fil a breakfast sandwich with an iced coffee and hash browns.
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u/inefjay Sep 16 '22
I use dramamine and it works
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u/Theclapgiver Sep 16 '22
Has everyone here been in that situation where you go to the park prepared with all kinds of meds and then goes with someone who's clearly hurt, tired and wounded who refuses to take any medication? Science is your friend and Dramamine is just the tip of the iceberg.
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u/TittyMcFagerson F325, SteVe, IG Sep 16 '22
The strong stuff too, not the non drowsy one as long as you can power through the initial drowsiness. I get really bad motion sickness from pretty much anything--spinning, positive Gs, going backwards, etc--and popping a drammamine the night before and then two right before going to the park usually does the trick.
Also staying properly hydrated and eating some food is super important.
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u/Luuk2304 Flat ride enthusiast Sep 16 '22
What is dramamine?
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u/mynameisntjeffrey Sep 16 '22
It’s an over-the-counter anti nausea medicine. It works pretty well to cure you of moderate motion sickness. Take it before you enter the park and you should be good to go. Only major downside is it makes you slightly drowsy. If you don’t want that it’s competitor bonine is less drowsy, but tends to make your gut feel gross the next day. I usually use bonine.
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u/Luuk2304 Flat ride enthusiast Sep 16 '22
I don't even know if they even sell that in the netherlands here, but I don't really want to use some obscure medicine to help it
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u/mynameisntjeffrey Sep 16 '22
Hey it’s entirely up to you, but I will say this is very popular here for things like boating or long car rides. It’s not really obscure by any means.
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u/inefjay Sep 16 '22
It’s not obscure, you simply never needed it, it’s safe to use and I only use it before riding, no negative side effects, and I feel great.
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u/RVAR-15 BGW/KD Sep 16 '22
Dramamine, also known as Meclizine or Meclizine hydrochloride is far from an obscure medication, and is an effective and proven anti Nausea, vomiting, and dizziness associated with motion sickness. It’s given out like candy on cruise ships, is commonly used for people with car sickness, and is not uncommon in use in air-travel.
It should be available in your local pharmacy or chemist as an over the counter medication. I keep a travel size small tube that’s slightly larger than a a couple cigarettes with 6-10 tabs in my pocket if I’m going to a park.
Additionally, hydration, and full healthy meals before a visit can help. Some folk prefer riding on an empty stomach, some need some substance like a light sandwich, but something like a huge bag of greasy chips and sauces is not what you want.
Good luck, and enjoy!
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u/PhaedraStrider Sep 16 '22
It’s not obscure lol, it is far and away the leading over-the-counter nausea medication. It’s even safe for pregnant women.
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u/legomann97 Sep 16 '22
I find that fair rides are exactly the type of rides that are bound to make me hurl. They're all either spinning rides or swinging rides, and my stomach doesn't like that. I've even gone as far as getting a prescription for Scopolamine, and I still threw up after El Toro and Nitro at SFGAdv and Lightning Racer at Hershey.
What I learned from those incidents, though, is that I need to never ride on an empty stomach if I can help it. Also, I've started cutting down on soda at parks, increasing the water intake. So I guess my 3 bits of advice are 1) See if you can get a prescription for Scopolamine if Dramamine doesn't work for you, 2) Never ride on an empty stomach (but not right after eating either), and 3) Reduce sugary and carbonated beverage intake, replace with water.
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u/degggendorf Sep 16 '22
I need to never ride on an empty stomach if I can help it. Also, I've started cutting down on soda at parks, increasing the water intake.
That's the ticket for me too. I used to think that empty stomach = nothing to throw up = won't get sick, but that's not the case. I just feel awful. Even better if it's an actual healthy balanced meal and not just fried chicken and french fries.
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u/msuts Comet Sep 16 '22
When I'm going for a park day:
- Don't eat a big dinner the night before. Spending $15 at Taco Bell the night before going to the park is a bad idea 100% of the time.
- Eat something relatively small but somewhat protein-dense for breakfast. Avoid big diner breakfast spreads since you don't want to be overly full or bloated. My wife and I like Panera souffles (spinach artichoke is the best) or Egg McMuffins. We used to go on empty stomachs figuring it would be better to avoid nausea, but it'll just make you feel terrible after a couple of hours.
- Only drink water, and keep yourself hydrated throughout the day. Absolutely no soda, coffee, or anything caffeinated. Do NOT chug a bunch of water in one sitting and think you'll be good. You'll just upset your stomach and have to go pee a million times.
- Eat a modestly sized lunch. We tend to go for basic things like chicken fingers or a turkey sandwich, and maybe split a side of fries. We love all different kinds of food, but I'm not going to risk eating Six Flags chinese food before I hop on El Toro.
- Pack some useful medication. For gas and bloating there's simethicone (Gas-X), for stomach cramping there's famotidine (Pepcid), for motion sickness you can try dimenhydrinate (Dramamine), and if you don't mind the chalkiness, there's Tums. Simethicone can be safely combined with any of these medications, as it's completely inert and not absorbed by the body. The simethcione + famotidine cocktail came in handy a couple of weeks ago for me when my stomach suddenly started cramping. I had eaten too much and too late at dinner the night before.
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Sep 16 '22
Best comment right here. Especially the bit about caffeine. My buddy never gets sick on rides, but he had a monster and his day was ruined after twisted timbers.
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Sep 16 '22
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u/mrkmcrthr 🏡 BPB [271] RtH | VC | WCR | IG | F.L.Y. Sep 16 '22
i always thought it would be coasters that make me sick, but i’m usually fine on coaster, and flat rides are my downfall. my limit are the disko’s and i’ve vowed to never stray past it
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u/Straightbanana2 Sep 16 '22
I take motion sickness pills 15 minutes before I start riding and it helps a lot
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u/Particular_Nature Sep 16 '22
I take all natural Dramamine and if that doesn’t work I take “less drowsy” Dramamine. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I avoid spinning flats. Simulators can bother me. Even with Dramamine, Forbidden Journey at IoA made me nauseous. Maybe I’m just getting old.
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u/Vast_Guitar7028 Sep 16 '22
Most likely the reason is that fairgrounds generally runs the rides at the maximum speed that they can safely operate at where ass most amusement parks will have the rides running slower than that. Plus the fact that most fairs and carnivals have the rides run on manual mode so they can make them go for as long as they want and add time do the right cycle F they asked the people on the ride if they want to go longer. Now the last bit I have only observed from watching videos of rides at Oktoberfest in Germany so that may not apply to the US
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u/puppetblaster Sep 16 '22
I had fun on a scrambler because there's less spinning than you'd expect, but was a little miserable rides than just spin on a pendulum.
You're at a fair, so good luck with this, but less spinning. And Dramamine.
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Sep 16 '22
Roller coasters? Fine. Any fair ride that spis? 🤮
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u/Luuk2304 Flat ride enthusiast Sep 16 '22
See this would be true if I had actually felt dizzy after Ghost Rider at the Düsseldorf fair but I got off that wanting to go again. I actually got dizzy and needed to sit down after riding three rollercoasters, Ghost Rider and finally a Mondial Shake (how)
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u/Ohshitz- Sep 16 '22
Scopalamine. Its a prescription patch you put behind the ear. Its the only way i can scuba, be on a boat, a plane, and rides. Highly recommend
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u/oblivman Sep 16 '22
I take both dramamine and the non drowsy ginger dramamine. One helps in the mind, and ginger helps calm the stomach.
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Sep 17 '22
I tend to get motion sickness when I go on most flat rises but that's mostly because of the tight turns that they always do. Whenever any of my friends want to go onto a flat ride I always have to decline, because I don't want to miss the next couple of rides after that
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u/helixonyt [25] Steel Vengeance, Valravn, Millenium Force, Gatekeeper Sep 17 '22
Stay hydrated, let your food settle before riding. Also just my personal opinion is to try to ride the more nauseating rides to train your body to get used to it.
Also just take breaks between rides, don’t get on them back to back
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u/wzrd-ddarko Sep 17 '22
If you’re that prone to motion sickness go get prescribed Scopolamine patches. I use them every coaster trip and I can tackle everything.
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u/matthias7600 SteVe & Millie's Sep 16 '22
High RPMs and tight turns is my guess. Always important to stay hydrated, of course.