Traveling to thailand from Australia nervous flyer

[Leteesha07]

Hi im traveling to thailand soon from Australia it is quite a long flight about 8 1/2 hours. I am scared of flying and in the past have taken 2x 2mg diazepam(valium) which only took the edge off thats about it. I have never flew this far before and am very anxious i would preferbly like to sleep the hole way instead of being scared the hole way, is there anything i can take for this? Will a higher dosage of valium do the trick?

a fear of flying course would be a better idea. You are a risk to yourself and other travellers if you are this scared, and it will wreck the trip as you have to fly back.

not moving all that time risks DVT too.

do something or cancel the trip. I recognise it is a real fear but it is never essential to fly.

You could try some doxylamine. You can get it over the counter at pharmacies. It's usually called Sleep Aid and things like that.

I got some when I had insomnia and it was very effective. I only took about a quarter, maybe less.

I've also taken the herbal 'natures own complete sleep advanced' which you can get at Coles and Woolies. It's much more effective than I thought it was going to be.

Forget taking pills, it masks the problem only until next time.

I would also look at enrolling on a "fear of flying" course whilst properly address the underlying causes of your anxiety with your doctor. You do not have to sleep for the flight duration.

Oh ive flewn many times but my tickets already booked and would love to travel world. Yes my trip is very soon and unfortunately were i live we dont have classes like that. My last trip i took diazepam didnt really work mind you it was only 2mg

Also its an overnight flight so would love to fall asleep

ok, you're a voluntary flyer so brutally you can't be that scared or you wouldn't have booked!

diazepam, like all drugs, doesn't work on everyone. You have been warned about DVT.

look online for relaxation and similar therapies.

the people who say go on a fear of flying course and that will do the trick cant have had a fear like you describe!! I do. the only thing that gets me through is 5mg of diazepam every 4 - 6 hours. it does not make me sleepy in the least but it does take the crushing fear away. I used to take 10mg but have worked hard on reducing it. the thing to do as well is to give yourself something to do every hour. I get up and go to the bathroom, wash face and hands do a bit of stretching and listen to some of the relaxing music. I have never and will never be able to sleep on a plane but over time have worked on making it doable. that's the best you can hope for OP. and yes, I have been on the course and had hypnotherapy and this is as good as it gets as far as flying is concerned for me.

no-one said it WILL do the trick. Drugs may not either, they don't seem to work for the OP.

why it is necessary to do something you hate so much is beyond me. Because it isn't. And anyone that scared of flying isn't going to have a good holiday due to worrying about getting back. Pointless and expensive exercise.

I take diazepam for flying, have done for years, and to be honest 2 x2mg would hardly do anything for me, although everyone is different as other posters have said.

I am on about the same as mummymeister, though I don't think my fear levels are quite as bad - but not far off. I do agree with her advice re distraction. Flick through magazines, do puzzles, play games on your phone/tablet,etc. Anything that distracts is good.

A higher dose may help you nod off so talk to your GP (though some are more sympathetic than others).

I have also done a fear of flying course - it has certainly helped so worth looking into. There's also apps and audiobooks out there that you can download to help with relaxation exercises and breathing techniques.

Try not to worry about it being a longer flight - I tend to find longer flights easier as once the plane has levelled out I'm less anxious and if I've taken a decent dose I may even get bored. I actually dropped off for about 20 minutes once on a 4 hour flight which was a big deal.

Good luck!

Yes as i said ive flied before never a long haul lIke 8 hours, but i think i can handle it being 8 hours with my hubby And a group of our friends so they will definitely keep me busy i will go gp and see if she can up my dosage of diazepam, hopefully that will make me drowsy so i sleep oonce im leveld im fined but when turbulence kicks in thats what gets me thanks for feed back everyone

Dont sleep much the night before

Then you will be more tired

Take something warm to wear on the plane
Even though a blanket is provided planes can be cold
Hat, hoody