My freakin flyer hubby can no longer fly, solutions pls ??

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lmere12

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This morning I dropped my husband at CNS for SYD on the 10:20 on Jetstar.. He had taken his Kalma pills but walked up 'almost' to the aircraft for his pre booked seat aisle row 2 and the anxiety overcome him and he had to ask for them to retrieve his bag and disembark:( He is 45 yrs and flew plenty on domestic then suddenly became anxious when flying. Kalma pills helped but now they are no longer working. If anyone has suggestions please .... feel free to advise me... tks
 
I think seeking professional advice would be important.

Qantas offer a fear of flying course - that might be a good place to start.

Best of luck to you and your husband.
 
That's no good.
What are kalma pills and what's in them?
 
Thank you I will look into the links, difficult if you have to 'fly' to attend.. Kalma pills are a mild sedative. For all the negatives you hear of Jetstar I have a big positive...:) The fare was a non refundable etc, but they called him to say under the circumstance they would be happy to change the dates of the flight for him or maybe credit them. Unexpected but welcomed..:)
 
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I've always been sceptical of taking powerful pyschotic medication to help with anxiety, there are so many horror stories of what these do to the statisically unlucky.

Definetely agree with others that treating the underlying cause is the way to go - whether it be more understanding about flying, analysing previous experiences that cause the anxiety or others.
 
lmere12 said:
Thank you I will look into the links, difficult if you have to 'fly' to attend..
Click to expand...

There are sessions in Brisbane over the next two weekends. I would suggest you get your husband booked in and take the train down :)

Might take a while, but at least he won't have to fly.
 
I don't mind flying it's the crashing part I dread. Considering I just flew RTW 70 odd hours when I use to be afraid of a 60 min SYD OOL . I seeked medical advice and he gave me Valium I took one tablet before every flight and was comfortable
 
As mentioned Fearless Flyers is the go.
Xanax, Valium and Kalma pills like alcohol are not the answer.
They are avoidance behaviors and make the problem worse.
Commercial flying is just incredibly safe - the safest mode of transport available.

Confronting your fear with professional help is the best answer.
Anxiety is very common.
Get referred for some counselling.
Then do the Fearless Fliers course.
 
A question for those medically trained who feel equipped to answer: do beta blockers help in this type of situation?
 
Blackbird said:
Get referred for some counselling.
Then do the Fearless Fliers course.
Click to expand...

The above is what I was thinking...

I know when this problem began... some years ago he went to Syd for a footy final partying it up with his mates... Tired with a big week end behind him a friend suggested to get into the red bulls (think he had 2 or 3) never had them before & no idea what was in it. There began the beginning of the now end...! His heart raced and each time he got on an aircraft the problem got a little worse. It's crushing for us, living in FNQLD you NEED to travel by plane for our business and leisure.
Being the good wife I am, I will offer in time to travel his share
 
lmere12 said:
The above is what I was thinking...

I know when this problem began... some years ago he went to Syd for a footy final partying it up with his mates... Tired with a big week end behind him a friend suggested to get into the red bulls (think he had 2 or 3) never had them before & no idea what was in it. There began the beginning of the now end...! His heart raced and each time he got on an aircraft the problem got a little worse. It's crushing for us, living in FNQLD you NEED to travel by plane for our business and leisure.
Being the good wife I am, I will offer in time to travel his share
Click to expand...


Mid life crisis perhaps? What about a shiny new red sports car?
 
I have told my story a number of times and not afraid to keep telling it.

I started suffering from panic attacks around 20 years ago. If anyone has had these then you will understand. Not fun at all. They would come out of nowhere and sometimes I could sense them and other times I could not. I was prescribed Valium (5mg) and told by doctors to load up on Valium when panic attacks came on.

I went to a psychiatrist twice very early on. I am sorry but it was a total waste of time.

The first few times on a plane were difficult as the panic attack would start and Valium would sometimes take 20-30 minutes to have effect and by that time I was really stressing. I found counting between times I could take a deep breath helped to pass the time until the Valium would take effeft. Most times 1 valium would be enough but there were times where I needed 2 Valiums and on the rare occassions it would take 3 Valiums.

Then I had 9 years where I did not fly. Panic attacks would still come and go but slowly started to get used to them.

When I started to fly again I became a little smarter and would take the Valium before the flight but sometimes it would take a little longer than usual to kick in.

Around about this time, or a few years later, the panic attacks had almost disappeared and now transformed into anxiety attacks. Visited the doctor one time and mentioned the Valium and he recommended to use 1mg Xanax as it was quicker acting than Valium.

This did the trick perfectly and I would take 1mg Xanax around 30-60 minutes before flight and there wouldn't be any anxiety.

Anxiety still comes and goes like the panic attacks but now I have been experimenting with less medication. For the past 12 months or so I have been taking 0.5mg Xanax before flights and this does the trick just fine. Occassionally I may need to take the other 0.5mg as well especially on longer flights. And what I have found is that for the longer flights the 1mg Xanax is sufficient and the anxiety disappears on board.

As for my life away from flying if I feel like the anxiety is too much then I take 0.25 Xanax and work my way up if not sufficient. Xanax usually takes 5-10 minutes to take effect.

I am not a doctor but simply telling my story and if it helps anyone all the better....
 
lmere12 said:
Thank you I will look into the links, difficult if you have to 'fly' to attend.. Kalma pills are a mild sedative. For all the negatives you hear of Jetstar I have a big positive...:) The fare was a non refundable etc, but they called him to say under the circumstance they would be happy to change the dates of the flight for him or maybe credit them. Unexpected but welcomed..:)
Click to expand...

Phrases I never thought I'd say: Well done Jetstar.
 
JohnK said:
As for my life away from flying if I feel like the anxiety is too much then I take 0.25 Xanax and work my way up if not sufficient. Xanax usually takes 5-10 minutes to take effect.
Click to expand...

I too take my xanax with me whenever I travel, but I hardly use it these days.

Initially, I would have to take a tablet about 10mins before boarding and it would kick-in during the take-off roll (which is my anxious trigger).

I saw a really good psychologist, only once mind you, who gave me some really good breathing exercises whenever I felt like the anxiety was about to hit. Basically, you take a deep breath (count to 3), hold it for 3 seconds and imagine that your rotating the 'air' in a clockwise position in your stomach region - 'rotate' it three times. Then you breathe out through your nose slowly... and repeat. It was a great tip that I still use to this day in many situations, not just in an aircraft.

Sounds a bit strange but it worked.

Also, rub some lavender essential oil on your wrists (Doterra is the best) - that helped me too.
 
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