I was more commenting on the pharmacy that is being prescribed.

Fair enough.;)

Do you prefer any certain brands? I'd love to try these. I love tea and could definitely use help sleeping on planes. I can't take sleep aides as they tend to all be too strong for me.

Thanks!

Alprazolam, aka Xanax . 0.5 works for me. Just ask your pediatrician. I have this thing where I get nervous day before we fly. My brain keeps on going thinking what we didn't pack, how we are getting to airport and so on. Stupid crap like that. I have been fighting it with sleeping pills, alcohol and everything else for years. Now its one little pink pill and good night. One after we get to the airport so I don't start calling home and see if I forgot to turned off the stove and closed the garage door.

LOL I think this is hilarious, especially considering the strong reaction in the other thread about fake service animals. Pretty much everyone here agrees that someone with flight anxiety can't have a service dog so an alternative solution that doesn't affect any fellow passengers is also not ok.

Yikes.. Glad there are many people here that are more understanding. Popping pills isn't always the answer, but I think some of us who just don't fly as easily as others need to do something.

I "only" fly about 150k miles a year.. not as much as many here, but that's a LOT of time in the air suffering.

And wildly overused and dangerous when overused and used improperly (super bugs, anyone?). Plus some serious side effects like dizziness.

Cipro should only be used after consultation with a doctor and then used only with the proper dosage and period of time.
To me these are 2 sides of the same coin. I grew up in the 60s and we learned to cope with life by popping, dropping, snorting or shooting something. These days kids never learn how to behave because rather than treating ADHD with a swift kick in the butt, we have the kids drop pills. No one learns to handle their problems. We all search for an external solution. Drugs, dogs, booze, whatever. Problem is that those don't solve the problem, they mask the symptom. Unfortunately we seem to live in a society these days where that is good enough.

My only contribution would be to say ... take the Ambien for a trial run first (if you aren't taking it already), and then take it for a trial run with alcohol. I know, we all say, "I won't drink while I take it", and then you do ... and bad things happen (let me tell you ... :)).

For jetlag, melatonin worked wonders for me. I say "worked" because it also made my heart race, so I had to stop taking it. Haven't found a replacement yet, so I just deal with the jetlag the best that I can.

For sleep on a plane, Ambien (10mg!) is the only thing I've tried that works for me. I use it only for travel; that each tablet costs me $2(!) under my insurance plan encourages me not to abuse it. I've been taking it for the past 15 years without incident, but some of the stories I've heard are pretty scary.

It's amazing how people respond totally differently to the same drug....

LOL no you're not supposed to combine, but since I'm in international medical sales, I speak to quite a few doctors who travel. I've heard the ambien + glass of wine more than once... not as a recommendation, but as common practice.

I do love to drink on a plane, but on the flights where I need Ambien, I'll avoid it. I'm too afraid to end up like one of the scary stories! Would hate to be sleepwalking around the cabin.

Agreed in some cases, but often time mental issues carry a stigma that is only perpetuated by comments like these. Would you ever tell someone with diabetes that he or she is being a wimp using insulin? What about telling an epileptic to just suck it up and deal with seizures instead of popping pills?

Yes we should attempt alternate therapies whenever possible, but anxiety is a legitimate issue and not everyone can just think their way out of it. Insomnia is a terrible thing and when you're traveling for business, you have to arrive fresh. If you can't sleep in other ways, taking an Ambien from time to time seems to be better than suffering.

There was a whole thread here couple of years ago documenting weird things people do after taking Ambien - like chewing electric cord or going to office and doing something there without recalling such an action.

Are you sure you wanna to end up on evening news in a local (hope) TV?

forgive my ignorance as i have only traveled abroad a few times, but how are you going to get in trouble carrying a narcotic (or anything for that matter) if it is in the original bottle you got from the pharmacy (and or) you have a note from your dr stating you take x,y,and z? I have a swiss and Italy trip coming up and have been told this should not be a problem as i occasionally have need of a narcotic for back pain. Is there something else I need to do? I am not talking large qualities here either.

No, you will be fine with small numbers of pills for personal use that you actually need in the original packaging.

The discussion above is about taking some along "just in case you might have an injury and might need 'em." I frankly think narcotics are grossly overprescribed these days and really can't understand prescribing them unless they are needed at the time of prescription.

I guess I could just imagine some healthy looking young backpacker showing up at a humorless customs agent with 50 Norcos in his bag and having an unpleasant few hours.

"What are you taking these for?"
"Oh, nothing, I just brought them along in case I break a leg or something."
"Riiiiiiigggghhhhhttt.... Do you have any more secreted around your body? Let's check...."

Pretty much the same med but my doc gave me lorazepam to sleep on the plane. Sure its not a sleeping pill but its anxiety that keeps people awake on planes. Well that's what my doc thinks

As an example - List of Restricted Medication in the UAE

Xanax, which is a popular choice among public in this thread, might end up them into a serious trouble. There were couple of cases here mentioned - do a search and number of threads will come.

You should be fine.