Comments on: The Punisher and the “Coast Guard Cocktail”

By: CatAK

CatAK — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:41:53 +0000

I used to work on fishing boats in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska and it was very common for folks to use some form of the Coast Guard Cocktail. I used a variation – substituting Benadryl (diphenhydramine) for the Phenergan – and absolutely relied on it. It works perfectly! The only problem is that, as far as I know, you can no longer buy ephedrine over the counter. Years ago when I was using this, you could buy ephedrine capsules in large quantities OTC.

By: Craig Peterson

Craig Peterson — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:23:08 +0000

I just came home from a 3 day fishing trip in Alaska. After one day with scopolamine patch I was offered the “Coast Guard Cocktail” a capsule of 25mg each ephedrine and promethazine. It works! I’m very susceptible to motion sickness. The scopes patches generally work well for me, but I still suffer from occasional sickness in particularly rough seas. And scopes patches cause the active ingredient to stay in your system for the duration of your trip. On the other hand the Coast Guard Cocktail made me feel entirely normal with no sickness while fishing in the open ocean on 6 to 8 foot swells. It’s golden!

By: Edward

Edward — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 06:10:36 +0000

The reason for the use of the cocktail (mentioned around hour 10 I believe since the craziness began) is that he spent over 24 hours just ‘observing.’ In fact, it’s only at well past hour 39 that he actually goes into action, so even with a sedating effect he’s got the advantage over his targets, both physically and mentally.

By: Your Obedient Serpent

Your Obedient Serpent — Sat, 17 May 2008 15:34:36 +0000

…or it might have been Scope-Dex.

By: Your Obedient Serpent

Your Obedient Serpent — Sat, 17 May 2008 15:33:05 +0000

I was in Uncle Sam’s Confused Group from 1985 to 1990, and around ‘87 or so, they did indeed introduce a two-pill “cocktail” of nausea suppressant and stimulant for those prone to seasickness. I don’t recall the specific combination, being blessed with an iron stomach that only rebelled in the most extreme conditions, but “ephedrine” sounds right for the stimulant. I do remember someone saying (inaccurately, but close enough for government work) that it was “like the stuff in Sudafed”.

And, yes, Coasties need seasickness pills, but it’s not a slur against them: it’s our JOB to go out into the worst weather conditions possible, to rescue folks who shouldn’t be out there. The Navy steers AROUND storms; the Coast Guard steers INTO them.

Let me state for the record that if you spend 20 hours in 20-foot seas in a 44-foot boat on an irregular basis, you WILL call Ralph about a Buick at least once or twice. The question is whether or not you let it STOP you. One of the finest coxswains I knew had one of the weakest stomachs, but it never slowed him down, even when the boat he was piloting was rolling severely. The “Coast Guard Cocktail” was a godsend for him.

It’s possible that they’d discontinued it by the time Arkonbey had joined; I also seem to recall someone saying that they were “trying out this new thing”.

Semper Paratus!

By: Swierczynski

Swierczynski — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:08:38 +0000

Michel’s right–it was all his idea, putting my ridiculous name on the bottle. I first encountered this in a piece I wrote for Men’s Health many years ago, but I’ll be damned if I can remember the source.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:30:04 +0000

I’ve never heard of the “Coast Guard Cocktail”, but I’ve read about the NASA pills. Maybe its an urban legend that developed from the NASA pills. (NASA pills also used in the “vomit rocket”.)

ScopeDex-
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1370/is_v19/ai_3664124/pg_3
Scopolamine can produce a number of side effects, including drowsiness, dryness of the mouth, blurred vision, a sensitivity to light, and heart irregularities. To combat the drowsiness, NASA has given its space-sick-prone astronauts the stimulant dextro-amphetamine along with scopolamine, a combination the space agency calls ScopeDex.

The legalized speedball, seems to work. I read somewhere that ScopeDex works better than Scopolamine by itself. ScopeDex is the first choice. If they run out of it, on the vomit rocket, then they have to use scopolamine. It seems that ScopeDex is superior to straight scopolamine. Some persons do better with ordinary dramamine. I guess a lot of it has to do with your personal chemistry.

By: Michel Lacombe

Michel Lacombe — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:05:39 +0000

I’ll take that extra credit for myself, thank you, as I dropped that on Duane uninvited.

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:28:06 +0000

BjamesB,
The Punisher was purposefully trying to make his “prey” sick, and the salt pills will do that.

By: Kerlyssa

Kerlyssa — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:27:38 +0000

I didn’t know phenergan was that sedating. I took it for a 10 day stomach virus a few weeks ago, and while I felt lightheaded I didn’t sleep any more than usual. Ephedrine would have had me bouncing off the walls.