Freaking out about flying

[Mori Anne]

Hi, I am planning my trip for next week, and I overlooked one very important detail. I hate flying!!! I freak out. To make a long story short, I was on a plan that had some major issues, so I hate flying now. My sister uses some type of prescribed drug from her dr to eliviate stress during flight, but she has a nasty headache the next day from it. I was wondering if anyone has these same issues and if you do, what does your DR perscribe you that has little to no side effects? Hope this is okay to ask this question here. Thanks

 

[tigsmom]

I hate flying as well! There are many medications your doctor can prescribe to help you out, but get to see him ASAP as you need a day or two of medication in your bloodstream before you fly.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Is driving to WDW out of the question ????

 

[tigsmom]

Is driving to WDW out of the question ????

Well it takes us 2 days of sometimes not so easy driving to get to WDW (more if the road construction/traffic is very bad) and it seems the OP is more than a few hours north of me ... That would be four or more days less of WDW and if you only have a set amount of time to visit...

When we go in the summer we drive as we have 2 weeks vacation, but a winter trip (which is really like a four day weekend) we fly.

 

[tigsmom]

Bring along a portable DVD player and watch movies like: Airport, Airport 75, Airport 77, Alive, Diehard II, Turbulance, Lost (TV show), Flight of the Phoenix, etc.

*smack*

Not very funny!

 

[octoberbarry]

My DW has some pretty big issues with flying and she's found an herbal supplement that works very well for her. Hyland Calms Forte...you can get it in most natural food stores...is very effective, with no head-ache afterwards, so if you're not against trying the homeopathic thing, it works for her...

 

[LouDisney]

Flying is not my favorite thing to do either, but like Tigsmom said, there are medications that will help you relax. It's really not that bad at all, once I am up in the air I am ok. I take a book or magazine to read, depending on how long my flight is, I may take a portal dvd player/IPod.

 

[Erika]

I've never had a problem with flying (turbulence actually makes me sleepy, go figure) but I wanted to agree with those who are suggesting a portable dvd player in addition to whatever medications your doctor may prescribe. The time passes really quickly. If you get a splitter for the headphones, whoever sits next to you can watch, too. My husband and I almost always take our player when we fly! They have really come down in price.

 

[napnet]

Last time i had to fly i called my doctor and he prescribed me Xanax (same day!) which worked rather well. I hate flying and this was the only way. I took one an hour before getting on the plane and then another one when we got on. I dont remember much about the flight :snore:

 

[Mori Anne]

I am going to call the dr today and get something. I would love to drive, but it would take so long to get there, plus we would have to drive through Boston, NYC area, Washington DC, and a few other major cities. Having two kids makes the sit in traffic unbearable. I am definatly going to take your suggestions on bringing the DVD player, but I'll be skipping the suggestion as to the fabulous plane crashing action thrillers...lol.... Thank you. I really appriciate the supportive responses. I will definatly look into the herbal remedy as well.

 

[Raven66]

Bring along a portable DVD player and watch movies like: Airport, Airport 75, Airport 77, Alive, Diehard II, Turbulance, Lost (TV show), Flight of the Phoenix, etc.

:lol: Oh that is bad!


I am also afraid to fly. I don't take anything (not that I'm opposed, I'm up for it) I just use my daughter. I put on a brave face because she is there. Of course the smile looks completely fake and when she asks if I'm ok, I'm answering thru clenched teeth. I also think my DH and DD are a little embarrassed when I get off the plane and throw myself to the floor kissing it. :lookaroun

Seriously, I think I might look for that herbal remedy someone mentioned.

 

[Monty]

Realizing that logic has little to do with phobias...

Driving is considerably more likely to kill you than flying in a commercial airliner. North American carriers have the most stringent regulations for safety and general maintenance of any of the world's carriers. I don't know the exact statistics, but air travel in North American is the safest mode of transportation available.

Relax, buy drinks and be happy - You're going to Disney! It's all good! :sohappy:

 

[Ella's Mommy]

I really hate to fly but my dr gave me Zanex znd it worked like a dream. It is an anti anxiety drug that does'nt leave you with a hang over. Some one above suggested taking it twice, but I would disagree. It all depends on the level of your anxiety and the dosage the dr prescribes. It always makes my flights feel like a breeze.:wave:

 

[mousermerf]

I got a basic sedative prescribed before a root canal cuz I was freaking out - you might want to do a "test run" with the med, cuz the stuff for the root canal made me yack

After yacking, i was oblivious to the world though

 

[napnet]

I really hate to fly but my dr gave me Zanex znd it worked like a dream. It is an anti anxiety drug that does'nt leave you with a hang over. Some one above suggested taking it twice, but I would disagree. It all depends on the level of your anxiety and the dosage the dr prescribes. It always makes my flights feel like a breeze.:wave:

I only took 2 cause im 6'2" 280... one did very little to me I'm extremly scared of flying too. My wife loves it and WANTS turbulance. she is insane. Either way i am the worst person to fly with because i dont want to be touched or talked to or open my eyes until we land. Either way the xanax put me to sleep more than made me less anxious. I didnt yack the whole flight as well... a first for me

 

[MSTINKHERBELL01]

I know the feeling, I hate flying as well. I'm so convinced that the plane will crash or get hijacked or whatever. I faced my fears in July and went on from Fla to Chicago on SW airlines all by myself. I walked on like a champ and a few white wine glasses later and my faith trinket by my side we had landed.

Honestly, I'm still very afraid to fly and prob. always will be. I have HUGE anxiety about it but the only way to fight your fear is to face it (easier said than done...I know). I'll be thinking about you!!!!:kiss:

Samantha
MSTINKHERBELL01

 

[tikiman]

I love to fly but certain planes worry me and some I won’t even get on. Because of my line of work and some of my co-workers were engineers at companies that will remain nameless that make the planes we fly, I actually pick my flights by what type of plane and what company. It is not always the cheapest (rarely is) but I figure increasing my chances that me and my family will arrive with no issues is worth the cost. I even visit a site where all accidents have to be reported and that has tips on safe flying. Since I know how many mechanical things are designed I do worry sometimes about things failing. I spend most of my day designing out any chance of things failing.

The bottom line is that the saying about flying being safe than driving is true and your chances are very low that something will happen but the other issue is things do happen so the more educated you are the safer you can feel and feel good about the choices you make. I will end by saying that I will not fly with some of the “low cost” airlines for very good reason.

We fly to Hawaii often and you don’t want to have to make an emergency landing on the way to there.

 

[tikiman]

You mean you don't want to experience a "water landing?" :animwink:



Just once, I would love to be able to yell out, "No matter what you call may it, it's still a CRASH!"

Yeah….water landing. Like we are going to skip until we slow down, than everyone can deploy the slides and grab their flotation device from under the seat and don’t forget to pull the cord after you exit the plane and not before. Make sure you do this calmly than detach the slides to use as rafts.

 

[pisco]

Another "unhappy flier" here. I would recommend Ativan (lorezpam). It is a fairly mild but very effective anti-anxiety medicine that you can take for a couple of days before and during the flight. I just completed to 9 hour flights within a week and was actually able to sleep and enjoy a few movies on the flights with these meds.

Also, if at all possible try to book your flight on a larger aircraft. Both of the 9 hour flights were on 777s and they were the smoothest flights I have been on in a long time. It seems that the larger planes are less susceptible to turbulence than smaller planes, which makes for a far less nerve wracking flight in my experience.

The last bit of advice I can offer is from my father-in-law, who is a retired airline captain. Just try to remember that no plane has ever crashed because of turbulence. It is just not possible. If there was an upper air disturbance strong enough to put a plane at risk, both the Air Traffic Controllers and the onboard doppler systems would detect it and the flight would be redirected to avoid it. If fact, they will typically reroute planes to avoid most turbulence if possible to provide a more pleasant experience for the passengers. If you do hit some turbulence just remember that it is nothing more than "potholes in the sky" (my father-in-law's description).



Good luck with the flight and just keep telling yourself that it is worth it to get to WDW!

 

[Woody13]

I second the advice concerning Lorazepam. I'm not afraid to fly, but major hurricanes coming my way cause me a lot of anxiety. When hurricane Dennis came to visit us this year, an ER doctor prescribed some Lorazepam for me and it did the trick. After taking the drug, everything was "Hakuna Matata".

My regular doctor prescribed an additional 15 tablets for me just in case for future use. Haven't had to touch them but it's reassuring to know I have them available if needed.