mayall

I will be taking a nine hour flight and I am a fearful flyer.I have taken Valium in the past,but because the flight is so long I thought maybe I would just sleep with the aid of ambien.Anyone have a similar experience or advise on which would be better.

isabela

a gravol works for me.
On the other hand, you could just get a lot more comfortable with a few cocktails lol

matnikstym

i just returned from a 23 hour flight from livingstone,zambia to sfo and on the way over the ambien didn't work at all! could have been the excitement of my first trip to africa or the sounds of the airplane. first night in johannesburg, took an ambien and slept like a baby for 10 hours. maybe valium would be best for you.

francophile03

I was wondering if there were an emergency onboard and you have taken sleeping pills that knock you out for the duration of the flight, what would happen? Can you wake up if necessary and be able to function allright? Just taking a Benadryl tablet knocks me out and I can't imagine taking an Ambien or Valium.

daisy58

my husband has fear of flying, and his doctor gives him Xannex..seems to do the trick for him, and just relaxes him, doesn't make him go to la la land

AJPeabody

Not safe if there is an emergency. Can cause memory loss and impaired judgement at end of flight. Can't be used with alcohol.

Not recommended.

cigalechanta

I don't approve of taking anything.

LoveItaly

That is why I have never taken anything, the worry as to how I would be in case of emergency and coherent I would be on arrival. Just a couple of glasses of wine for me.

mayall, if you are going to take "something" you will should talk to your doctor of course. And I would should expirement at home say a week before the flight so that you know how your body and mind reacts to it. Best wishes.

travelwith3kids

As a an anaesthesiologist I recommend: 1. Speak with your physician. 2. Ask about alprazolam (Xanax). It is a good anti-anxiety agent with little sleep inducing effects. Don't dring alcohol with it. 3. If even more anxious triazolam (Halcion) is effective and the product monograph even discusses "traveller's amnesia" where you conduct yourself lucidly but my not remember certain events afterward. Therefore in the case of an emergency you would be able to respond accordingly - again no alcohol. Both very safe and effective but triazolam has more sleep inducing effects causing most people to dose off (rousable however) for about 3 hours.

francophile03

This is all very helpful information that's good to know. That's amazing the effect of being lucid yet not being able to recall what occured later on.

djkbooks

For years I resisted the urge to try Ambien for all the reasons mentioned by others.

I'm not too concerned about an emergency - how often does that happen? And, I think I'd rather not know what what happening, since there's probably nothing than can be done about it.

Even so, I only take one if I've packed a meal to enjoy either at the airport or as soon as we board the plane so I have 8 hours to sleep. If you wait until after drink and food service, you won't have enough hours. It doesn't keep me asleep for more than 6 hours usually. And, it's important to test it out at home a few times (not necessarily nights in a row).

What I REALLY like Ambien for, however, is getting a good nights sleep once there. I'm a night owl, and usually charged up while in Europe and tend to be awake until way too late for the first few nights. Ambien really helps adjusting to the time change.

anna_roz

Since we are all intelligent and responsible adults here, I think it is o.k. to state an opinion or a personal experience.

A friend of mine swears by Ambien. I took a 5mg Valium during several long-haul flights and found it to be largely ineffective. Like, I would get a headache and still would not be able to sleep. Perhaps a 10mg Valium would be better.

So, now I just have a one too many drinks which works fine every time. As for being alert/awake in the event of an emergency, this is the precise reason I want to be out in the first place.

Anna Roz

francophile03

It had crossed my mind that to be knocked out completely if your plane crashed, blew up, etc. would be better than being awake. Anyway, it's good to hear both sides.

djkbooks

Everyone is different, but I've never experienced any side effects with Ambien and wake up faster than without it.

I used to do the several drinks thing, but didn't like arriving fuzzy, drowsy, and waiting for the alcohol to wear off. I think alcohol also slows you down for many hours afterward.

degas

Everything in moderation.

Take no more than 4 valium and six beers for any 8 hour flight.

Be sure to use the bathroom before you pass out.

Shadow

I've taken Ambien my last two trips...it has helped me a lot to sleep on the plane...however, I've never been alone on those trips..so, if I needed to be woken up I've had someone there with me.
Anyway, what works for me is to take it during the meal...that way I get to have my meal and then go to sleep...I've only taken it on the flights from LAX-Dublin which are about 10 hours...I usually sleep 4 or 5 hours which is great...I don't have to keep thinking about the flight...the down side is I would love a glass of wine with dinner but they really say DO NOT do it!
I awake and am ready to go!
Shadow

jog2121

Xanax works for me! Wise wisdom from the doctor and I agree. Xanax won't leave you hung over and/or depressed. It will also relax you enough to get a bit of sleep in on the flight.

ddgattina

Without getting into the discussion of whether/ what drug, I just wanted to mention that the recommendation is that you wait until the plane is in the air, at altitude, and well on it's way, to take any medication that makes you sleep or might affect your behavior.

The vast majority of problems on flights that might require you to be alert occur around take-off or landing. (and let's face it, if an emergency occurred midflight--what could you do? Maybe it is better to be asleep...)

Doctor supervision is advised in any case...and I don't think it is ever wise to take a new medication for the first time on a plane! Take it at home first, and figure out what the effects are and what the appropriate dosage should be. For example, I found that I could take half or even less of the doctor-provided dose of ambien and still have it put me to sleep. So I take the smaller dose, and see if that works first. The drug seemed to work 5 hours for me (but it might be very different for you), and I could wake up and function pretty normally if I had to, especially at the lower dosages (at home you can set an alarm and see if it wakes you, and how you respond to test this).

sandi_travelnut

I have taken a 5mg Ambien on all my overseas flights and it works great for me. I never take at home or on any other occasion. What I like about that dosage is that I only sleep for 4 hours but it feels like a really restful sleep then all of a sudden, I'm fully awake and ready for a complete day of running around. I feel no ill affects of it at any time.

Saraho

I used to take ambien 5 mg for long plane trips or to help with jet lag, but then I started having really bizarre nightmares every time I took it. My daughter gets this side-effect from ambien also. My mother actually had frightening hallucinations when she took ambien 10 mg.

So now I won't take ambien any more, but I might take xanax although I feel very tired after I wake up when I take that.