colleen61

I will be on an overnight flight from Toronto to London- I don't sleep well at the best of times and often take zopiclone. Does anyone have any experience with taking sedatives on long flights?

jetsetj

I took an Ambien and it did nothing. My sister halucinates on them. Not a good thing a on a plane !!

i plan to ask my Dr for something for my trip this fall.
I have never taken Zopiclone.
Does it make you sick to your stomach?

janisj

some do, some don't -- what works for one could be a disaster for someone else. Ask your doctor . . . . .

colleen61

I have had no negative side effects from zopiclone- I usually only take a half tab when needed.

Cimbrone

I take xanax every time I fly from the US to Europe. I call it the poor man's first class. It makes an otherwise unbearable experience bearable for me. I think if you take Zopiclone with good results, then I don't see why you shouldn't take it to fly.

hetismij

Just make sure you are not in an aisle seat trapping some poor soul in whilst you snore the flight away! I've had that and it is miserable believe me.
Personally I prefer to sleep badly on the flight but at least be aware of what's going on...just in case. I can always catch up on my sleep once I'm landed. The time zone change will affect you whether you have slept your way across the Atlantic or not.

TommieG

I usually ask my doctor for a quick-working sleep aid with a short term effect (like zopiclone) for cross-atlantic flights. I sleep very badly on plains and this at least helps get to sleep easy and get a few hours of sleep. My experience with these kinds of sleeping aids, is that you will wake up very quickly if necessarry.

And even though this does not prevent a jet-lag entirely (like 'hetismij' is alos pointing out), I do have the feeling i rcover more quickly form the jet-lag.

Gordon_R

Here in the UK, there's an excellent natural product available in the supermarkets and chemists called Nytol Herbal which I find very effective for long-haul flights. No risk of nasty side effects from the powerful prescription drugs some people reach for.

JeanneB

I believe jet lag and sleepless flight has more to do with the entire departure day than with the type of sedative. If I'm flustered, arrive late at airport, or otherwise am disorganized on departure day I can pretty well count on no sleep and at least two days of jet lag after arrival.

For me, it's critical to get packing and other tasks completed at least 1 or 2 days b/4 departure. I no longer over-pack. I stop reading travel sites (sorry Fodors)...if I haven't got it in my notes by then, I don't need it. Obsessing over last minute details just gets me rattled. And I start adjusting my sleep/awake/eating times 4 or 5 days in advance.

Here is our routine for the flight:
We always have a longish layover in Atlanta. Settle into a restaurant near the gate and order a big bowl of hot soup, bread and red wine. I'm already yawning by our usual 9pm boarding time. Once on the plane, another glass of wine (no dinner)and a Tylenol PM. Soft slippers, earplugs, my satin baby blanket I carry with me...all add up to comfort. I can usually count on sleeping 5 or 6 hrs.

Have not had any jet lag since we started this routine a few years ago. But I still think the most important thing is to get all the details out of the way in advance so that departure day is relaxed and non-hectic.

tcreath

I swear by Ambien and refuse to fly overseas without it. It helps make the flight over a lot more tolerable (I sleep about 75% of the flight) and I wake up refreshed and ready to go. I also take Ambien for the first night or two of my trip just so that I don't want up, wide awake, at 3:00 AM due to jetlag.

Everyone is different and every product works different for each person. For example, Tylenol PM (or anything OTC) never works for me, at home or on a flight. Absolutely try any new method at home a few days before trying it on the plane. If you have any negative side effects, you don't want to find out about it halfway through a transatlantic flight!

Tracy

cmlyons

If you go with Ambien, take a 10 mg, not a 5. The 5 put me asleep for about an hour and then I was awake the rest of the flight.

colleen61

Thanks for the input- 20 years of shift work as a nurse{and recently menopause}make for a VERY light sleeper!

rogeruktm

The last couple of trips I took 1/2 Ambien, slept for 4/6 hours and on the first night or two a whole pill allowing me to sleep for 10 hours. Made for a better trip. Still, it takes me a couple of days to get over jet lag.

scdreamer

Whatever you decide to take ... a week before you travel do a dry run with it. Some people have reactions to drugs that may hardly affect others. No one wants to have a freak-out experience on a transatlantic flight!

plufmud

2 Bloody Marys and 1 ambien

Therese

"Just make sure you are not in an aisle seat trapping some poor soul in whilst you snore the flight away! I've had that and it is miserable believe me."

I use Ambien and am (always, as I'm claustrophobic) in an aisle seat. I make a point of telling the person next to me that I'll be very groggy, and that he/she should feel perfectly free to step/climb right over me. So far I haven't run into a situation where the window seat passenger wasn't fit enough to manage getting out of his/her seat without my standing---if that does happen I'll probably try and switch rows so as to keep that from being an issue.

In future if you find yourself next to somebody who is sleeping soundly with the help of a sleep med you can assume that you won't really disturb them by climbing over them. Even if they do wake somewhat they'll drift back to sleep, and if necessary can probably even stand to let you out.

StCirq

I never sleep on planes. I just soldier on through, make sure I get plenty of sunlight, eat lightly, keep walking, and go to bed around 9-10 pm and I'm fine for the rest of the trip.

kybourbon

>>>cmlyons on Jul 16, 09 at 08:46 AM
If you go with Ambien, take a 10 mg, not a 5. The 5 put me asleep for about an hour and then I was awake the rest of the flight.<<<<

Ambien, whether 5 mg or 10 mg is short acting and will only last about 4 hours. Ambien CR (time release formula) is longer acting and lasts about 8 hours. The outer coating on the CR dissolves first and lasts four hours and the inner coating later to kick-in for the next four hours. While you can cut regular Ambien in half, you should never cut the time release CR due to the way it dissolves and the does you would get.

Gordon_R

Is it just me, or is there something a bit alarming about people casually popping powerful prescription drugs at the drop of a hat? I may be mistaken but I think I read recently that there's a huge problem in the US in particular with people getting hooked on prescription sleeping pills and painkillers. I'd be interested to know how many Europeans would be knocking back hypnotic drugs just to catch a few hours sleep on a plane - any even more curious to hear of any European doctors who would prescribe for this purpose unless in really extreme cases.

Therese

Hmm, some sweeping Euro vs U.S. generalizations about to head our way?

Never mind, I'll give you my own experience. I've used Ambien for travel for many years and have become neither dependent nor addicted. A single 30 tablet prescription typically lasts me for an entire year or more, so that even though my M.D. prescribes for refills I always have to have it called in, as the original prescription has expired by the time I need a refill. I also used it non-stop for a period of several months (due to insomnia caused by another medication that I needed short-term) and again, had no problems with addiction or dependency. My normal sleep pattern is very good and very predictable. I have no qualms whatsoever about using sleep meds in this setting.