Medication for fear of flying - over the counter

[DirectionToPerfection]

I'm hoping people may be able to help me out with this one. My DH is a very nervous flyer, we're doing an 8 hour trip this weekend and his GP has refused to give him diazepam (DH hasn't had any previous issues with it, GP just doesn't want to prescribe it for fear of flying).

Is there anything over the counter that people have had success with?

Propanolol will reduce physical symptoms (racing heart, sweating, feeling sick)which in turn can help people feel more relaxed overall. It absolutely is prescribed for anxiety.

Phenergan (promethazine) is used for sleep mostly, other than its real use as an antihistamine but it absolutely does relax people and is used in injection form on mental health wards as part of rapid tranquilisation- to calm people down quickly.

Propranolol won't do shit!!!

Its off label for anxiety, my GP wont give it to me for that, hence I buy it online. I dont have a fear of flying but I need it for something specific to reduce my panic.

Its off label for anxiety, my GP wont give it to me for that, hence I buy it online.

This is concerning to hear as my experience is that if you don’t get diazepam or a beta blocker (which always seems to be propranolol), doctors want to prescribe antidepressants for anxiety. I’ve always resisted these as I don’t want to be on a medicine that I’m bound to for the long-term when most of the time my anxiety is manageable without.

That's my exact experience too. I need 20mg, not the teeny tiny pills. I feel like I'm all wafty and happy. I look like I'm hiding inside a hoodie with my headphones in.

It's just so hard to get them now. My dear old doctor retired and the youngsters want you to try mindful colouring in.

So true about the colouring in!

I suspect the reason Valium has never been great for me is that I’ve never got anywhere near 20mg. I used to take about 3/4 x 2mg tablets for a long haul flight and experienced the unpleasant chilled-panic-chilled rollercoaster mentioned above so learnt to time taking them so they were rationed for when stress was particularly acute. I have certainly never been able to rely on them for a full stress-free flight. These days, I don’t even get prescribed anywhere near that - 2 x 2mg for a 16hr flight with the gp working out how many I can have with a pad and paper. I was told I might be unresponsive in an emergency, which is truly laughable in my case!

Aldo told to look into counselling and mindfulness. Done that, didn’t work. Or a fear of flying course. Thanks, but I know how planes work and having one good, short flight does nothing for the fear of being trapped for ten hours or when the plane starts bumping about.

I met a bloke recently who had been prescribed a high dose of Valium despite never having taken them before and couldn’t help but wonder if there was an element of sexism at play.