The Faces and Stories of MdDS

DARRELL'S MdDS CASE HISTORY

September, 2003

I have only been aware of the "diagnosis" for about a week. Before that I just called it "Post-Cruise Syndrome." I knew of no other people with the same symptoms. Luckily, my symptoms have been relatively mild compared to what others report. My first cruise was a 10 day cruise to the Caribbean in 1990. I had no problems on the ship. When I got off the ship, I still felt like I was on the ship for about a week. I didn't think that much about it as the feeling went away spontaneously. I have subsequently been on seven cruises. Each time the symptoms have lasted longer, with the last time being about five months. I have the swaying feelings present most of the time, but not enough to alter my life. It is more annoying than anything else. Like others, I have no symptoms while driving in a car. I don't notice cloudy thinking any more than when I am "normal." In 1997, I was on an eight hour narrow-gauge train ride that was quite rocky. Following that I had the worst symptoms I have experienced. Instead of rolling or swaying feelings, I had more jerky type of sensations like on the train. The only thing that changed those feelings was a cruise three months later, after which only the swaying persisted for several months. I currently am six weeks after an Alaskan cruise, experiencing my swaying symptoms. Over the years I have informally asked a number of my ENT colleagues (I am a 61 year old male OB-GYN physician) about my "Post-Cruise Syndrome," but none of them seemed to be acquainted with prolonged symptoms following cruises. At their suggestions, I tried Antivert and Valium without relief of symptoms. Being a physician, I am not a very good patient so probably didn't give the medications an adequate time to work. Last week, I talked to one of the ENT physicians again about my symptoms. This time he suggested I probably had Mal de Debarquement Syndrome. He now knew about the diagnosis because a year before, following a cruise, his wife suffered from MdDS for about four weeks. He suggested that I do the vestibular tests just to be sure they were normal, which they were. I am willing to live with the symptoms (it looks like I have no other choice). I am looking at a cruise in the Baltic Sea next year, hoping that my symptoms will be gone by then, but sure they will return following the next cruise.

June, 2005

My symptoms in 2003 went away in five months. I did go on the Baltic Sea cruise in July, 2004. I tried without success taking Klonopin at night to see if that medication would prevent symptoms. My symptoms again lasted five months and were similar to past episodes. I have taken no medications to lessen symptoms. I have been symptom-free now for six months. I am going on a Mediterranean cruise next month. I may try taking Diamox to try to prevent symptoms, but doubt it's efficacy for prevention.

July, 2007

The symptoms returned following the Mediterranean cruise despite taking Klonopin twice a day while on the cruise. There was no remission before the next cruise twelve months later to Norway. A remission did happen one month after the cruise (symptomatic a total of thirteen months). After a day long jet boat ride, the symptoms seemed to start to reside, but this may have been coincidental. I was in remission for eight months until a particularly stressful few days apparently caused a recurrence of symptoms seven weeks before my cruise to the Polynesian Islands earlier this month. I had never had a recurrence "spontaneously" (not related to a cruise or train ride). As expected, since the cruise I have been symptomatic at about the usual level for me, noticeable but not annoying enough to use medication. I am going on another jet boat in a couple weeks to see if this activity will start a remission.

July 16, 2007

Last modified on June 21,  2010