pkerr

DFW to CDG. Night flight.

I can sleep anywhere.. work... park bench... concrete floor. But not on an airplane. Maybe 15 minutes... I have flown DFW to HNL and that's about 9 1/2 hours and no luck on that one either. Even had semi lay flat seats.

This is my first Trans-Atlantic and I'm considering Ambien.

Pluses / Minuses of it's use? Whole tab or half?

Thanks

Boraxo

Airplane - never. Risk of DVT is too high, particularly in economy. Better to get up and walk every hour (assuming you are awake) or sleep naturally for whatever period works. And don't forget about the potential (rare) safety moments.

Better solution: take ambien the first evening on your arrival date to adjust to new time schedule.

skipaway

This must be a popular topic--similar discussion over on travel products forum.
No one can give you really good safe advice except your doc, after a discussion of any co-morbid conditions that might affect you. If ever there were a place for the "YMMV" acronym, it's in any discussion on med effects and adverse drug reactions. That said, I would think Ambien (now in generic, zolpidem) would be one of the most suitable meds for plane sleeping.

My own experience: night shift, and I can't sleep during the day. Took 5mg Ambien and waited to get sleepy. Nothing happened, so I decided to lie down and read. Instantly asleep. Woke up 4 hours later with no hangover. (I'm a person who will feel groggy for 24 hours after a Benedryl cap.) If you've got to hit the ground running, and IF, big if, you react similarly, this is worth the office call to get the Rx. Try it at home if you have an important meeting at the end of your flight, then you'll know.

MrHalliday

I am lucky enough to usually sit up front, so don't take Ambien;
I want to enjoy the F&B and AVOD.
This Ambien story may make you think a bit...

Last year IAH-LHR in CO BF, I was seated next to an interesting
almost retired gentleman heading to the oil fields of Algeria.
We had a good chat and knocked back a couple Jack Daniels.

He fell asleep, then 5 minutes later his hand reached up
and starts massaging my head !

I gently removed his hand, and he woke up, rather embarassed.
...said something about "reaching for the light switch".

He fell asleep again, and it happened again !

Later towards landing he said he had washed down
an Ambien with one of those JD's.

pkerr

Thanks for the thoughts.

After reading many other threads on the subject, I think I'll take a test run at home and try half a pill and see what happens. (my wife has a prescription.)

Ocn Vw 1K

Please continue the discussion as the thread moves to our Travel Products forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

ralfp

Excellent idea (at home & half pill). Not that I would condone such illegal behavior.

Taking Ambien (or any psychoactive drug) for the first time when on an aircraft is a bad idea.

Make sure it's regular Ambien (not CR). Depending on the release mechanism used by the CR form, splitting the pill in half might result in half dose or a full dose without the extended release.

czarina

I have spoken withy my doctor about it, and he told me that I should only do take the medication if I can get 7-8 hours of continuous sleep on that flight. He did not recommend that I take it for anything shorter than that duration. I agree with another poster about the risk of DVT. I urge you to speak to your prescribing physician and follow their advice.

ralfp

Sonata (zaleplon) is an option for shorter flights; it lasts just a few hours and is slightly faster acting than Ambien (zolpidm). There are a few short acting benzos available, such as triazolam (Halcion) and midazolam (Dormicum, not available in oral form in the US).

I don't understand the concern about DVT. Is sleep induced by a hypnotic more likely to lead to DVT than sleep without sleep aids? Sure, sleeping, as opposed to being awake and moving around, might increase the likelihood of DVT, but what would Ambien et al. have to do with it (other than making one sleep)?

Paint Horse

Exactly. I do not see any relationship between a sleep aid and DVT.

SamMarkand

I seldom recommend Ambien (generic name: zolpidem) for patients if they are flying. Ambien can have some nasty side effects, including memory loss and a hang-over effect in some patients. For transatlantic travel, I typically prescribe Sonata (generic name: zaleplon) for frequent flyers. Sonata will put you to sleep usually for four to five hours, and it can be repeated once if necessary. You will not miss any meal service, and you should not arrive feeling excessively tired.

Both Ambien and Sonata are available generically, but I find Sonata to have a better profile for patients who do not want to drag in the morning.

The short acting benzodiazepines are another consideration, but triazolam use has decreased markedly in the past few years and you may have trouble finding a pharmacy that keeps it in stock.

Midazolam (trade name Versed) is available in the United States in an oral solution, but it is used for anesthesia and conscious sedation protocols and your physician will probably be unwilling to prescribe it given the current labeling approved by the FDA. As for the other benzos, e. g. lorazepam (trade name Ativan) and alprazolam (trade name Xanax), they are still frequently used as sedatives but not as hypnotics ("sleepers"). Ativan has a long half-life, and Xanax is rather unpredictable.

I suggest talking to your doc about zaleplon.

antlass

Thanks for that recommendation. I am one of those that have bad memory loss issues with Ambien, and Lunesta just doesnt work well for me.

Oh the the topic of sleep aids & DVT... perhaps the concern was that if you are asleep the entire flight, you may not move around at all (and certainly wont "exercise" like they recommend) and therefore increase the risk of DVT.

ralfp

I got some "OTC" midazolam (Dormicum) in Thailand a while back. Worked like a charm.

MilesDependent

I don't think sleeping pills and travelling mix. I've seen too many fat b@stards druelling, snoring, farting, falling out of their seats, unable to be woken by the crew --- don't want to be one of them.

Plus, I think an airplane is somewhere I like to be alert. I had ambien (aka Stillnox in Australia) and I had a terrible reaction. Half asleep, half awake --- after about 4 hours I ended up snapping out of it. I was sitting upright, with my legs crossed at the wrong end of the bed. Imagine being like that on a plane. My point is --- give a sleeping tablet a test run at home first.

N965VJ

I’ve used melatonin in the past, but now I seem to be able to get by with power napping.

Oh, I can do that without pills, trust me.