GP refused me Valium for a long flight

[MinesaBottle]

DH and I are flying to Australia next week for a family funeral. I don’t cope well with flying at all, and for the last few years I’ve gone to the GP and been prescribed a few 2mg Valium for the flights (we’ve already been to NZ this year - another funeral) and last year (dsd’s wedding). Which is a way of saying I’ve taken it on long flights before with no issues. I don’t drink alcohol on flights either.

I went to the GP today to ask for some Valium or similar and she flat out refused! She said she won’t prescribe Valium for flights because ‘you won’t move around and you’ll be at risk of DVT’. How much did she think I’d take?! I’ve flown on it before and always been conscious (I can’t sleep on planes anyway) and moved around; I always get an aisle seat so I can get up. She prescribed propranolol instead; I’ve never had it and it only calms physical symptoms of anxiety, not mental ones (is what she said). I’m also worried it might interact with paroxetine; she said not but didn’t actually look it up!

Weirdly I was in tears when I got in—I think because of the disruption to my usual routine when flying. I feel like she was judging me too. But regardless, should I see a private GP (there’s one near work) and see if they would prescribe five or six Valium or similar? I need the mental calming too. I have ADHD and my thoughts race at the best of times, never mind on a long flight heading to a funeral!

I’m not involved in procedures that don’t require a regional or general anaesthetic or sedation so I won’t comment on those.

However if a procedure can be done under local it’s often a great choice. No fasting, no sedation afterwards, able to drive and work straight off.

But we seem to have drifted off the thread! My point was that there is often good reasons why a Doctor may do something different than you were expecting. You go for their skill and experience - not with a shopping list. Of course we get it wrong sometimes and I’m always learning from my patients. But I try to do what’s best for them. Sometimes this changes over the years as new evidence or guidelines comes out

Yeah, autistic people can respond very differently. And even NT people, I wake right up from GAs and am never groggy, even after longish ops (the longest I've had was 3 hours).

Don't they still make you fast in case the local doesn't work? I tried to have one op under regional block. Had to fast and they still sedated me (it was on my leg), because most people are super nervous. I don't remember, of course, but the surgeon said he pinched me with forceps and I jerked my entire leg and said 'Ouch!' so the anaesthetist then gave me a GA. I didn't care either way but was told later what had happened.

I had been told to fast, though.

I didn't have to fast for a tendon repair on my arm… no sedative either. (The surgeon had wanted a GA! Luckily the anaesthetist was happy to back me up.) I was just disappointed they wouldn't let me watch; I could tell he had a pair of forceps wiggling about right up inside my arm to try and find where the tendon had boinged back to, and really wanted to see what was going on and how they'd reattach the two ends. But they put a screen up :(

Work on your phobia/flight anxiety. In October I flew to NZ. This was the first time I had flown in 11 yrs due to flying phobia. The last flight I did before that was to Paris when I was hysterical and crying and at one point crying out quite loudly "we're all going to die!". Taking meds wasn't an option as I'm nursing and we had 5 children with us so I couldn't really just switch off and let DH deal with them all. I can honestly say 2nd flight was fine as were the return flights. On take off for the first I did lots of "tapping" and I used this again when we hit bad turbulence 30mins into the flight. I recommended Nick and Eva Speakman - their book over coming anxiety. And lots of the other YouTube videos about overcoming flying phobia and anxiety. Really, for your health and future tackling the problem is better than masking it.

See another gp. 2mg is a very small dose and you’re a grown woman

Which, OP is a grown woman but she's not the one legally liable if it all goes tits-up.

The thing about the legal liability thing is that it's daft when people (and I'm not accusing anyone here) get resentful that doctors won't do something cause they're scared of being sued. Because the reason the doctor would be at serious risk legally is that they've been advised by the people who look into these things that the risks outweigh the benefits. So yes, from a selfish point of view, the doctor wouldn't want to do it. But do you really want to do something that the people who advise doctors think is not worth the dangers?

Just to go against the grain (on the few posts I did read). Propranolol did the opposite for me it brought on panic attacks (not flight anxiety just generalised social). It made me incredibly dizzy, so much I couldn't move around when taking it without looked pissed! It also made me really nauseated and a bit breathless (panicked breathing). So that made my anxiety sky high. It was horrible. I tried a few times but it genuinely brought on panic attacks so I refused to take them again. A few friends have been prescribed it and some said it did nothing, others said it worked.

I take it your friend has some sort of long term anxiety disorder and has been taken diazepam a long time??? Becasue 20mg is by far in excess of starting doses. I have patients who dont even get doses that big for severe acute anxiety and agitation alongside chronic psychosis

I’ve taken up to 30mg when flying. At the same time I was reading a book. I take it once - or maybe twice a year - when flying. It just doesn’t affect me much. Sedatives in hospital don’t work on me much either. Interesting about the autism link here - I’m definitely not autistic.

I think your anxiety is clouding your ability to be reasonable.

Your GP sounds like they have been very thorough. They have examined you, listened to your history, considered the current guidelines for medications when flying and prescribed you medication that won’t interfere with what you are already taking.

Just because it is not your choice of drug doesn’t mean the GP is wrong.

FFS @beautifulstranger101 for the third time, I didn’t call the OP an addict. You seem to be taking this way too personally. As another HCP on this thread has said, the OP may have been flagged for asking for benzos again in a fairly short timescale. That is a drug-seeking behaviour. I’m still not calling the OP any sort of addict. The OP knows I’m not calling her an addict. The doctor shopping comment was not even referring to the OP, it was again a general comment. You seem much more upset than the OP over this!

I take propanol for flights. Works a treat

I'd take one to try it out before. No side effects for me but might be good to try it. It blocks panic via adrenaline rush. Doesn't make you drowsy.

Good luck

TAKE a sominex , promethazine, and sleep away the journey. You can try it at home and see if it works for you as it's OTC.

@ViaSacra - my bad

Note to self: RTFT

No way I should get valium. With or without mixing it with booze Ur reactions are slower. If the plane crashed, your reduction in reaction time could cause other passengers to die, u might or might not survive. The doctors who refuse are right. The ones who continue to prescribe valium, could be legally liable for huge compensation bills. Better to practice legally safe medicine than honour on an unsafe limb

TWD89 + Solitaryradiator

do you know if private GPs would also prescribe sleeping tablets like Zopiclone please? As am suffering from really awful jet lag indicuded insomnia whenever I travel for work recently and could really do with a back up supply.

do you know if private GPs would also prescribe sleeping tablets like Zopiclone please?

Need to go to PushDoctor for that mostly. Or, if you can get to Europe, Spain in particular (do you speak Spanish), you can get it OTC in some places and definitely in Mexico and many parts of the Caribbean. I use it regularly but my father is Spanish and I go to Spain or my family go to Spain regularly to visit family (one of my sisters lives in Spain).

Try melatonin. You can get that online, I recommend Biovea, a European site, for it. It's OTC in Europe and in N. America but only by prescription here but it's fab for jetlag, IME.

@Iknewyouwerewaitingforme I’ve no idea sorry, my GP prescribed me Valium for flying no problem.....

My guess is to go to an older GP. They are great and have so much experience and empathy regarding people's needs.

I am in a country where NHS is not available but a private GP is there for just such eventualies.

There are audits and so on carried out on EVERY GP let it be said.

Anyway, why do the drug companies make Benzodiazopens anyway? I expect they are for back spasms, withdrawal from alcohol and so on,

If such drugs are so bad why are they still being made?

I think they give them all to me Forgotmy 😂 I've still got an enormous stockpile of lorazepam I ended up with from accidentally ticking all the boxes on my repeat prescription request a few times.

You need to find a better way to deal with your flying anxiety than to just pop a Valium! My friend did numerous sessions of hypnotherapy and it worked really well. Think about getting therapy.

Which doesn’t really help OP for her upcoming flight for the funeral

I take Stugeron when I fly. It's a travel sickness medication, but it really helps me stay calm

@LastMichaelmas

LOL. I have a huge stash too. Oh sorry, there goes the doorbell again. Ha ha. Just a joke.

This is all just command and control. I would hazard a guess that many a GP is taking the odd Benzo too to get through their day. Sorry now I did not mean that to include every GP in the country either.

I filled a scrip for 90 5mg Valium today which will last me for two years or more. Not a whimper from the GP or the pharmacist either. Cost me 30 euro.

But my GP knows me by now and understands the relevance of calming drugs in my situation. Everybody hurts, sometimes.