Week long cruise leaves Brit woman sea-sick for decade

An English woman who went on a week-long Mediterranean cruise in a boat has developed a syndrome that has left her feeling seasick for nine years.
 
Jane Houghton, 46, is suffering from the rare Mal de Debarqument Syndrome makes sufferers feel the effects of bobbing about on a rough sea.

She developed the condition during the trip to Palma, Spain, in June 2001.

"It's a similar sensation to walking on a mattress or a trampoline," the Telegraph quoted Mrs Houghton, from Warrington, Cheshire saying.

"Everything around me is rocking and rolling. Objects sway about and I'm constantly unbalanced.

"On a good day, it's like being on a calm sea, but when I get a bad day, I can barely stand.

"When I first got off the boat, we treated it as a bit of a laugh. I went out for dinner and the tables were bobbing about, she said.

"After a couple of weeks, I started to get seriously worried. My doctor thought I could be suffering from motion sickness, and gave me tablets, but nothing helped.

"I was referred for an MRI scan. I was petrified that I had a brain tumour, but when the results came back clear, I convinced myself I was going mad, to the point where I started feeling suicidal. My doctor was baffled," she added.
 
Irrespective of spending months carrying out balance exercises, nothing could relieve her of her symptoms, and experts believe her brain may have "locked" itself into thinking it is constantly in motion.

Professor Yoon-Hee Cha, a neurologist from the University of California, and the world's leading expert on the condition, said the condition was very rare.

"Mal de Debarquement Syndrome is an under-recognised disorder, for which there is no cure. It can be devastating to the patients, usually women, who are often in the prime of their lives," said Houghton.