Frightened to Fly

[FairyLightBan]

I have to fly in September to Jamaica for a wedding. I am absolutely shitting it. The doctor won't give me anything to help me fly and I don't know what to do 😭
I haven't flown for 6 years, well before COVID but I have to fly for my son's wedding. I cannot not go. What do I do? I have no partner for support, my family are flying out for 2 weeks but I'm doing a week so not flying with anyone. I'm absolutely dreading it. Can anyone suggest a calming product that I can take??
AIBU in wanting a sedative from the doctor??
I'm even looking online for something/a tablet to help

Apparently there's a course you can take provided by the airlines that will really help.

I know how you feel OP. I recently flew for the first time in around 17 years. I stopped due to a bad flight and when we booked it, I was lying in bed panicking etc etc. I managed to postpone the fear and told myself to stop worrying until the day. When the day came, there was a bit of nerves but not the crying, not being able to function wreck I'd envisioned. It was fine. I hope you're fine too.

You could try sleeping tablets such as Nytol or Boots Sleepeaze. My GP won't prescribe me Diazepam for flying any more.

I have to go. I'm cursing them even booking a wedding there, is there anything I can take? I had diazepam before and it took the edge off. I want something similar

I just don't know why? Is there anything on the Internet I can get? I'm desperate

Will doctor not even give you beta blockers?

I can understand why they’d be reluctant to give you sedatives or anything addictive but beta blockers aren’t addictive and are great for calming that adrenaline / panic reaction. I have used both valium and beta blockers for flight anxiety and now just use the latter and find that that’s enough.

if there’s a health reason why they won’t give those to you then I’d suggest a short course of CBT. You may need to pay privately if you want it in time for your son’s wedding but I think a discrete number of sessions would do it.

if it helps, if you’ve ever smoked, crossed the road, Driven etc then you’ve already done far far more statistically dangerous things than flying.

My very understanding GP gives me Lorazepam whenever I fly...one for short flights to e.g. the UK, two for longer ones (I have flown to Siberia a few times with a change in Moscow...pre-Ukraine invasion). He only ever gives me enough for the flight and no more. I live in Germany not the UK though.

They won't prescribe Diazepam anymore apparently because if there is an 'incident' on board they want you to be alert rather than zoned-out. Not very reassuring!!

I had to resort to sleeping tablet plus a bit of alcohol.

I have a terrible fear of flying .. normally get some Diazapam, and 2 glasses of red .. then sleep all the way.

Drs no longer keen to perscribe them, so I will be buying some from the Internet.

i have done Hypnotherapy, done the courses, read the books .. and all that works is drugs & alcohol.

i know this will not go down well with people on here, but sooner that than a panic attack on take off

Reasons why diazepam is no longer prescribed…

Diazepam is contraindicated (should not be prescribed) to people with a phobia according to the BNF which is the main reference guide for prescribing for doctors. It can also have a paradoxical effect in some people where it causes disinhibition instead of relaxing them which can be dangerous in an enclosed space.

If you are sedated and there is an emergency how will you manage to get off the plane safely? Taking medication that causes people to be sedated and reduces their mobility can increase the risk of DVT.

It could also be argued that it’s not the role of the NHS to prescribe medication so that people can do leisure activities like flying as it’s not a healthcare need and this should be dealt with by a private doctor especially at a time when there is such demand for GP appointments.

Good luck trying to get Diazapam on the internet, I didn't find a way.

Try to do a course if you can. There’s probably even something on YouTube.

Id be wary of drugging yourself up if you’re travelling on your own. It might be better trying calms or something initially. Tell the crew you’re really nervous and they will keep an eye on you. There is usually a diazepam type drug in the onboard medical kit that they can give you if they think you need it.

Night nurse liquid really helps

…and if all else fails go for Phenergen .. like knockout drops

It really really helps me to know that the most risky part of the journey is the car ride to and from the airport. Could you try kalms? The day not the night one. Easily found anywhere

I did this course, just the online version not the one with the practice flight, and it really does help, I recently flew to Australia with no panicking! https://www.fearlessflyer.easyjet.com

There is a book by Allen Carr on fear of flying which is meant to be very successful, he is the guy who wrote the book about stopping smoking which helped millions of people quit

You have plenty of time to do a short course of hypnosis/hypnotherapy. You weren't born with this fear so it developed at some stage in your life. Finding (and dealing) with that root cause is the best way of solving it.

Can you remember when and why you first became scared of flying?

I know someone who had a relative in a similar situation. They did a short internal flight with them a few weeks before the long haul. Flew from Edinburgh to Gatwick and back again. The relative was still a nervous flyer, but doing a short flight beforehand removed some of the over-thinking anxieties that had built up since they last flew.

I didn’t fly for 20 years so it became a real phobia. Then I got so fed up if not having holidays abroad.. I went to a private GP, paid £125 in total for consultation and prescription for diazepam for ‘fear of flying only’. It’s fantastic, the only way to do it if you ask me! I’ve been on holidays abroad now 4 times in 3 years and I feel like the whole world has opened up to me again!

Don't drug yourself because it’s a long flight and you might need the loo. Instead download your favourite lighthearted tv series and you’ll look forward to watching this. Get noise cancelling headphones and you won’t hear the plane sounds. Tell the staff that you are frightened of flying and they will check on you. Get to the airport early so you have all the time to take it easy. Keep the arrival in mind and visualise yourself with your family.

Covid stopped me flying and I became more scared as I got older

Can you afford to go business class? I know that seems a strange suggestion but the distraction of it can help a lot of people.

Also then if you do get some nytol or something to help you sleep, you can actually sleep!

You don’t take one dose of diazepam and lose all your faculties and descend into unconsciousness or become so uncontrollable lunatic as suggested by others. It’s just takes the edge of the anxiety/panic. yes it’s a long flight so just be sensible and take one as directed prior to take off and landing if you need it.. I asked the GP to prescribe me one extra so I could try it out before my first flight.. so I knew what to expect..

Some people do! We (crew) once nearly offloaded a passenger who wouldn’t come out of the loo for take off. When we opened the door ourselves he was slumped and acting like a complete drunk. The captain was arranging to return to stand so we could get him off the plane when his girlfriend rushed over and said he’d taken diazepam because he was a nervous flyer. We let him travel and he slept the whole 8 hours, but god knows how we’d have got him off in an emergency. He probably shouldn’t have traveled.