Sedative on flight?
 

Ok, perhaps this board isn't the <u>best</u> for this question because I think most who post here are seasoned fliers who aren't nervous, but I trust you folks and am too embarrassed to post on the main US board.

Has anyone had experience taking a mild vallium (Lorazapan? sp?) while flying? My doctor is giving me a prescription for my upcoming flight. I'm a nervous flyer and am hoping this will help. Can anyone tell me what to expect? Does it knock you out? Just make you relaxed? What's been your experience?

A friend recommended Xanax, but my doctor is trying this out for me instead.

Any input appreciated, but if you have nothing helpful to add, please don't reply. Please be sensitive. Thanks.

I have tired Bendaryl for the same reason. I was prescribed at the time. It is available non-prescription now.

Worked well for me. It was relaxing. I did not feel strange at all.

What do you not like while flying?

I have other ideas that have also (not instead of) helped me.

Don't be embarrassed. Anxiety is not a joking matter.

Best wishes.

No one knows for sure how you will respond to this type of medication. You may want to consider trying the medication at home first (well before your departure date) to see how it effects you.

You will also get the anecdotal stories of someone who took one pill and slept for 3 days, etc. Take those with a grain of salt!

Best wishes to you.

Thank you.

Yes, I will &quot;test run&quot; at home.

I also have sleeping issues (or lack of sleep issues!) and frequently can't settle into sleep after a flight. We arrive at our destination late at night so a little leftover drowsiness might not be bad ;)

Valium, Lorazepam, (same as Ativan) are in same drug category and come in all different strengths - Ativan is not a &quot;mild valium&quot; - it is chemically very similar.

Reaction to any is dose-related and varies by individual. Good plan to listen to your MD and not &quot;a friend&quot; or people on this travel board. (even me)

Of course you doctor is the only to give YOU advice. But in my recent experience on flight to and from HI from Dallas....I took a 5 mg Ambien and slept for 4 hours going to HI [it was an early AM flight arriving at 3pm so I wanted to nap not do a whole nights sleep]. On way home took a 12.5 Ambien CR and slept 7 hours. Had dinner on plane, took pill...next thing I heard was &quot;we are making our final approach to DFW.&quot;

I also have sleeping issue on a regular basis so I have taken Ambien before with very good results, so I knew what I was getting into. I always wake up totally aware, so no grogginess.

Again, this is something best to come from your doctor.

As always, this note is IMHO only.

Hope this helps...
Debi

I use melatonin because (I think) you can mix it with alcohol. I'm flying BA and Qantas during Christmas and I can never pass up a free wine.

Hopefully you're not like me. I've tried Xanax and two different strengths of Valium, and even with a little bottle of wine on board, they did nothing. Unfortunately, I seem to get so wired it cancels them out.

cruisin tigger,

that's kinda what i'm afraid of-- nothing. i get pretty worked up about flying. i've tried a sleeping pill before on an 8 hour flight, and didn't sleep.

we shall see....

You asked about nerves, not sleep and have gotten answers about both - they are obviously not the same and medications for either differ.

Unless you have some odd reaction, the Ativan will relax you. Sleeping may or may not follow - some people just can't sleep sitting up in a chair, regardless of how relaxed they are. So expect relaxed, maybe you will sleep as a bonus, but at least you will not be agonizing over engine noise changes, turbulence, weird bumps and thumps (I know - I do the same thing).

Hmmm - why not something natural, like hypnosis, meditation or valerian root to help you sleep. Because of deep vein thrombosis, it's best not to be totally knocked out when you're sleeping. You'll want to have your body relaxed enough so that you are moving around at least a bit during a flight, especially a long one.

Thanks again for the suggestions and advice.

I got the prescription and will be conducting a &quot;test run&quot; tomorrow night.

I'm a healthy, fit 27 year old with low cholesterol and even lower blood pressure. Fortunately, DVT is the least of my concerns. I have too many others as it is ;) !!

Lynnejoel1015,

Even though I'm an experienced flier, I'll have my times where I'm just jumpy about the whole thing. I don't know why.

Keep in mind Gail's great point. Your concern sounds more like you want to be relaxed, an anxiety issue, not a sleeping issue. Similar, maybe, but definitely not the same. That may make a difference in your MDs selection of medication.

At the risk of sounding simplistic, my strategy is simply to have a few drinks before the flight. Of course, maybe that's not your preference, option, or you simply do not partake.

If you do drink, take it easy, especially while in flight. I could have four beers on the ground - about my limit. But two in the air and I'm feeling it.

I also try the &quot;head game.&quot; That's where I use my logic and tell myself that flying is the safest method of transporation, etc. Along those lines, if the flight attendents are relaxed, then there's nothing to worry about.

Let us know how your at-home test with any prescription works out, okay?

I really do appreciate everyone's concern and suggestions. It shows that people do care about helping others.

I took the Lorazepan (sp?) about an hour ago now, with food, and I do feel more relaxed- like my eyes and face feel heavy. Of course, tonight's a Friday night taking it easy at home. So I might need a bit of a dosage increase for a flight to really settle me down.

Yeah, the root issue is flight-anxiety not sleep. If I could sleep through the flight, great, but because of my high anxiety whilst in the air, sleep is never gonna happen. So, we'll take a crack at the anxiety. Feeling nice and relaxed now (1mg).

Will report back after trip and let ya'll know what worked.

Thanks again, we depart Thursday evening, 11/16.

Lynne,

Google &quot;fear of flying.

I saw a really good free online flying stress help program that is done by a commercial pilot. It helped me.

I also ordered two flying and stress cd's from Amazon that I took on my long flight that helped. I listened to the cd's twice before flying. All these things helped me.

Sorry, I don't know how to do a link.

I also always try to take a great book and magazines with lovely beach photos (helps with that closed in feeling I get in planes).

Wishing you boring flights (that's what I always long for).

Have a great trip.

There's helpful treatment for aviaphobia (fear of flying) as noted above, but you asked about the meds; as noted, lorazepam/Ativan is an antianxiety med and as such helps reduce anxiety, though some take it for sleep as well. The Xanax is fast-acting and so less desirable from the standpoint of addiction potential and thus often preferentially prescribed. Your doc's treatment plan and your &quot;test drive&quot; sound right on.

Just reporting back, if anyone's interested. Took a valium 4 hours prior to flight, was able to work until hubby picked me up- had no effect on my work. Took a pill as we boarded. Did indulge in a glass of wine. Let me tell you, that was the best flight ever! Smooth sailing, and I slept through a good chunk of it. Worked like a charm.

Flight home overnight last night was bumpy the whole way (OGG- LAX- captain warned us to expect it) and I followed the same course of action in terms of the pills &amp; alcohol. I still sweated and my thigh muscles shook involuntarily, but I managed to not start crying! And got a little bit of sleep. Still feeling the effects today, though. Head is dizzy.

I will always fly with this drug! Hope this report helps anyone with flight anxiety decide if they might want to talk to their doc about drugs. Worked pretty well for me. If I had to worry about driving afterwards, perhaps I wouldn't have had the drink. In this case I did not.
-L

Although I am glad it worked for you, mixing alcohol and valium can be quite dangerous and can have unpredictable results. If the dose of valium alone did not do it for you perhaps your MD can next time prescribe a slightly higher dose and you can skip the wine. Depending on length of flight, there are several very similar drugs that wear off (half-life) in different lengths of time.

The dizziness is probably a from combining the alcohol and valium plus dehydration (which is actually one of the most common cause of dizziness in otherwise healthy people)