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Xanax, Ativan and other anti-anxiety medications

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C172		#21	[-]
Posts: 2 (10/21/09 16:53:00) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Capt Tom, Lucky for me I have no fear of flying. I love it so much that I have started taking lessons at my local municipal airport, first solo was just a couple weeks ago. Now i have 10 hours solo flight time under my belt in a C172. Looking forward to becoming a private pilot. I have recently purchased a couple of tickets for my wife and I from JFK in New York to Hong Kong. We will be flying coach with Cathay Pacific on a 777-300ER, nice aircraft. Hopefully it will be comfortable for the 15-16 hour flight. I have not been able to sleep well the past couple of nights anxious about the long haul. The thought of being trapped in the aircraft for such a long duration is what I find so bothersome. Having to be in such a tight space with three hundred strangers adds to my discomfort. The seat configuration is nine across, three sets of three. I have purchased the window and aisle seats hopeing I will get lucky and have an extra empty seat. I doubt it will be vacant. I would feel more comfortable in buisness class but the cost difference is immense. Even better would be in the flight deck jump seat. I have thought of different ways to help myself cope with the long duration of this flight. Purchasing a bottle of scotch, deprive myself of sleep before hand, and my sister's recommendation of taking Lorazipam. Not sure of this medication, was told that it would make me relaxed and tired. I figured that her suggestion was better then knocking back some Jonnie Walker. After reading your posts on this forum about the dangers of Xanax I'm not sure if this medication is the right course of action. Any feed back would be greatly appreciated
Capt Tom Bunn MSW LCSW		#22	[-]
Posts: 2743 (10/30/09 07:08:39) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	When taken as prescribed, meds will not provide much, if any, help. Meds shut down the ability to be aware of conflict. They work with that kind of anxiety, the kind caused by internal awareness of conflict, but that is different than anxiety about the outcome of the flight. Meds don't shut down awareness of concern about the outcome. And, because meds reduce awareness of internal process, they can cause trouble: they may it hard - perhaps impossible - to distinguish what you imagine from what is really happening. So, if you start imagining there is a terrorist, or the pilots are asleep, or the wings are going to break, etc., meds can keep you from recognizing these are just thoughts. They become "reality", at least they do in your own mind, and that is all it takes to produce terror. As a second issue, there is always reason to be cautious about sedation when flying. Deep Vein Thrombosis is not a huge risk, but it does double after only four hours of sedation in a passenger seat during flight, and then increases more after that. DVT is a clot in the legs due to stagnation of blood flow when sedated and seated. If a clot comes loose, it can lodge in the lungs or heart or brain. So if anyone reading this feels chest pain AFTER flying, see a physician immediately. DVT can be treated, but untreated it can cause fatality. If meds, or alcohol, were the only way to deal with flying, and if meds or alcohol were really effective, then perhaps the risk of DVT might not matter. But meds don't help much, and may hurt. The same is true of alcohol. The way we stop anxiety is more effective by far. We teach you how to link each distinctive moment of flight to memory of a moment which tends to produce a hormone that shuts down the fear system. As you read from people who use this when flying, this does work, and works amazingly well. If you are interested in a method that works well and has no heath drawbacks, take a look at www.fearofflying.com/relief If you sign up, when you get to video clip 9, call me at 800 332-7359 so I can make sure you have set it up perfectly so you get the best results. After that, you complete establishing the links, and then call me from the airport to deal with anticipatory anxiety. This works. You will be amazed.
dobsd		#23	[-]
Posts: 2 (12/30/09 05:07:10) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Wow this is scary. Before my last flight my Doctor prescribed Diazepam & Propranolol. He said the Prop. would 'dull my fear receptors' and the Diaz. would take the edge off. I still had a panic attack after taking them as prescribed but also an Air Hostess gave me a free Double Gin & Tonic, even though I did tell her about the meds. If I had known all of this then, I most definately would not have taken the meds. Scary.......

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Note from Capt. Tom

I know everyone worries about weather, but pilots really do not worry about it. We simply - instead of worrying about it - completely prepare for it. Before going to the plane, we review the weather at the destination. If it is not 100% sure to be within legal limits when we arrive at the destination, we must specify an alternate airport in our planning documents, and load on plenty of fuel for going to the destination airport, and then if need be, diverting to the alternate airport.

The legal limits are conservative. Even when weather is slightly outside the legal limits, any airline pilot could still land safely. You can rely on the captain never to land when the weather is not legal, and legality limits are reached prior to safety limits.

If you are still anxious, call me and we can talk it over. I'm at 877 332-7359 from 10 AM until 7 PM Eastern time.

For effective help, even if you are flying in a day or two, sign up now at www.fearofflying.com/fasttrack and call me when you finish Clip 9 so I can make sure you are all set.

Using Weather Information

If you enter your ZIP Code or City at the top of the weather presentation, it will give you weather for your area. Or, you can enter your destination ZIP Code or City.

Click on the "LOCAL RADAR" button to see whether or not there are thunder-
storms. Keep in mind, however, that we can either fly above the storms when cruising or fly through gaps between storms. During landing, we cannot fly above them, but fly through gaps, or through the area of the storms where the turbulence is least.

Turbulence, though it may cause anxiety, does not mean anything is wrong. Turbulence does not mean danger. The plane can handle far more turbulence than Mother Nature can dish out.

Though flying in turbulence is safe, it doesn't feel safe. And here is where the SOAR programs come in. We can help you feel as safe when you fly as you actually are.

You can see these programs at www.fearofflying.com/store.

For questions on aviation or the psychology of aerophobia, click here to e-mail Capt. Tom Bunn, MSW, LCSW.

To contact the SOAR business office (media contacts, brochures, replacement tapes, billing, shipping), click here to e-mail Lisa Hauptner, MS.