Fornebufox

I'll echo the observation that everyone's different. An occasional Ambien works well for me, but many people report unpleasant side effects. You want something to calm you rather than put you in a coma, so work with your doctor to find the right solution, and give it a dry run before you fly. I also agree with the suggestion to work on your mental state. Even for seasoned flyers a long flight in coach isn't much fun. But you have to remember it's not about the flight, it's about the wonderful things that await you when you land. Good luck.

adamak

Doc gave me Valium when I had my Lasik surgery. It didnt' make me sleepy, it just made me calm (aka, don't give a crap about whatever). That's much better IMHO for a flight, cause you don't want to be totally unalert.

pinworm

Short acting benzodiazepines are best for this situation..I suggest Lorazepam or Clonopin..they are effective yet short lived so by the time you get to where you are going, you are not drowsy or sedated.

I think benzos are better than Ambien. Ambien is a sleeping pill..benzos simply keep you calm..and happy!! You CAN sleep easily on them if you want to be knocked out. Most benzo's also cause amnesia for the duration of the effects..so if the flight is bumpy or otherwise crappy, you lose the sense of it going on endlessly because you don't really remember 5 minutes ago and you don't get cumulative anxiety.

But NEVER combine them with alcohol. EVER.

Failing gaining a perscription for benzos, a few dramamine can knock you out pretty good..but you will be groggy for several hours.

nickyboy

large quantities of alcohol

nickyboy

billgrates3

I have never been nervous flying, in fact i generally enjoy it ... especially since I became an elite freq. flyer and always seem to get a biz upgrade, or at least an exit row seat.
However, I often have trouble sleeping on longer flights, so I take a over-the-counter benadryl and a cognac or brandy. Generally, this combo puts me out fairly quickly for at least 4-5 hours.
More than once i have fallen asleep still holding some of the liquor in my glass! Once I spilled it on my pants, making me smell like a drunk for the rest of the trip.
[recommendation: keep the glass on the "table", not in your hand ]

nkedel

^^^

Yeah, that's it exactly. Response to these things is quite individual, and it will also depend on your doctor's preferences (and for the newer, non-generics, what your insurance will cover.)

FWIW, the other big piece of advice to know is always try any drug like that at home at an off time first, NOT on a plane - you do NOT want to find out that you have a bad reaction to something or that it doesn't work for you while in flight.

Aside from the usual options, for sleeping on very long flights, I really like trazodone. Has the added benefits of being dirt cheap, and not a scheduled drug.

AAJetMan

Thanks for the update.
I forgot to mention that I also carry melatonin (over the counter), which I've switched to when getting away from ambien.

tony732

Oooh...forgot about that one. Now that you mentioned it, the 5mg tabs work quite well

deubster

YMMV, but when I've tried melatonin, it made me sleepy, but I also felt groggy and dragged for hours the next morning.

The OP is worried about being unable to sleep during the entire flight due to flight anxiety. My best advice would be maybe a half an ambien (run this by your doc first) washed down with a big glass of wine to calm the nerves. How about some soothing music in your headphones and a relaxing book (leave the riveting page turners behind) after the glass of wine.

thegeneral

Talk to your doctor. He/She can prescribe you a bunch of things like valium, xanax, adivan, etc. I'd avoid the dramamine. Should you have an anxiety attack, I'm not sure it would help. Your doctor has training in things like this and given the amount of people they deal with, they'll have seen it before.

It's a real fear and if it impacts your life, it is a valid medical problem. They won't mind breaking out the script pad for that. Be open when you talk to them. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. You get a lot better medical advice there then on a travel forum.

ralfp

Klonopin (clonazepam) is NOT short-acting. It's also not a very good hypnotic.

squeakr

I was a very nervous flyer and in fact did not fly at all for several years due to my extreme anxiety. I have always enjoyed once I got to new places but like the OP, would want to be knocked out to get there. Over the years
Flyertalk has helped quite a bit - no joke - meeting lots of people who loved flying was a great help.

In terms of your flight though, here are some things I learned over the years:

• Part of my anxiety came from the fact that I get very motion sick even riding in a car on a curvy road, and on my first flights as a young person I didn't realize this so I connected flights with vomiting. Which made me more nervous.

• I took combination of Dramamine/Valium; Dramamine/Ativan;dramamine/Klonopin for years, trying to see if any of them would mask the anxiety enough so I could rest. Valium was by far the longest acting and left me with the worst "hangover" afterwards. The relative "shorter-acting Klonipin with the dramamine was by far the best to take the edge off but did not help me sleep.

•.I have never taken ambien after hearing too many stories from friends who had unpleasant side effects for who DID get "knocked out" and had to deal with baggage claim etc while in a doped up state. HOWEVER other friends swear by it so YMMV.

• Combatting anxiety is not the same as being able ot sleep. I am not anxious on flights anymore with the rare exceptions of EXTREME turbulence, but I still can't sleep well.One thing that helps is to schedule long distance flights for times I'd be sleeping anyway and not try to fight it.


•.I do not drink on flights where i plan to sleep . i find the dehydration interferes with my sleep more than the alcohol helps.

•.I did take a mini course years ago on fear of flying and the one helpful fact that stuck with me is,, some people become MORE anxious when they consciously try to relax. I am one of them so I don't do things to RELAX, i do things to DISTRACT - bring a great book, your own music etc.

I currently don't take anything when I fly and actually like to fly now. so It can be done.

GOod luck and do talk to your doctor. AND be sure to try whatever medication you plan to take so you won't be totally confused or freaked out when you take it on your flight.

newbiztraveler

I think I may need something. Up until recently, I've been a relatively calm flyer. However, flying in and out of DEN every week is scaring the bejeezus out of me. A few weeks ago, I was on UA448 to PHL and there was nonstop turbulence for the first 1.5hrs of the flight. I've never been so scared in my entire life. There were billowing black clouds with lightning outside of the windows that we were turning around. The flight attendants were seated for nearly all of those 1.5hrs.

Ever since then, I've been checking turbulence reports before I board (don't know why, it's not like I can change it) and white knuckling it throug the flight. Drinking sometimes makes it more tolerable, but not by much. I'm kind of lost as far as what to do - I don't have much choice about the commute, as it's part of my job. To be honest, after that flight, I seriously considered never getting on a plane again.

OCDFlier

Newbiztraveler, I know how you feel. When I was living in Houston, flying out of there was the worst. It was like, when isn't there a supercell in Texas? Now that I am back in DC, it's not as bad but I am still nervous. The worst turbulence I ever encountered (and I consider myself fortunate) was over JFK. It felt like the plane kept dropping and speeding up, it was awful. I was better as soon as we broke the clouds and I saw the ground. There's something comforting about seeing the ground for me.

TheBeerHunter

I used to cry and clutch my husband too hard during flights. Then, my doc gave me a scrip for Ativan. I've been 100K+ mile/year flier ever since.

Talk to your doc. But there are lots of options.