<p>Don’t give/take benadryl for the first time on a flight. Many years ago, I had a terrible journey to England with my daughter. I succumbed to the temptation to give her benadryl for the return journey (something i had said I would never do). Got my comeuppance when I discovered the hard way that benadryl makes some kids hyper. What a nightmare.</p>
<p>mrscollege, you and I are the same kind of flyer.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>So, please skip the wine, wine, wine routine when you are working in the office ;)</p>
<p>I have traveled overseas with my 2 d’s since they were little, so they are well used to the overnight flights. I second the suggestion of benadryl- though agree you should try it before. Or maybe Tylenol pm etc. When mine were younger and restless, I would just give them a Tylenol and tell them it would help them sleep- worked wonders.</p>
<p>I pods with some relaxing music would help. I know she is older, but I used to bring little “gifts” for the flight, new book, puzzles etc. Maybe fuzzy socks, lip balm for your d. Who doesn’t like getting gifts.</p>
<p>I love to fly, but have a couple of friends that have similar anxiety to your d. Thankfully, they still fly over the pond to visit us!</p>
<p>I agree that your daughter should try out any drug she might want to use prior to an actual flight.</p>
<p>My single experience with Ambien was an overseas flight returning to the U.S. It did work for me, in that I slept like a baby, but I wouldn’t use Ambien again. It hit me like a brick. I remember trying to keep my eyes open to look out the window during take off, but being unable to, and I was out for the entire flight. I don’t remember a thing about the flight after not being able to keep my eyes open for takeoff. It wasn’t an issue since I was with my DH, but I’m a little uncomfortable with the thought that I was that “out”. </p>
<p>And while I woke easily at the end of the flight, I felt decidedly off kilter the entire next day. Sort of drunk. It wasn’t jet lag. Again, it wasn’t an issue because I was home, but I wouldn’t want to feel that way if I was out if the country. </p>
<p>We’ve made many long flights over the years. DH has occasionally used Ambien with ease, and we’ve all used Benadryl once in a while. But no more Ambien for me.</p>
<p>Note that Tylenol PM is just tylenol with benadryl . </p>
<p>swimcats, what a story! Always feel for parents on those long flights.</p>
<p>I am a whiteknuckle flyer despite all the relaxation tips. I have 2 flights (2-4 hours) alone coming up and am seriously considering asking my md for xanax. my concern it’s how I’m going to be on landing since I have 2 hours of driving once I get there. Does it make you loopy or just calm you?</p>
<p>Another road-weary international business class traveler…</p>
<p>Several glasses of wine and 2 benedryls generally allow me to get in 6-7 hours of reasonable sleep on long haul flights (Africa & Australia). For Europe, I cut the benedryl to 1. I’m a light sleeper anyways and wake up whenever we hit a bump even on the lie-flat seats. (which are hard as rocks - don’t believe people that say it’s like a bed. My recliner at home is more comfortable). Going to Northern Europe from Oct-Mar is horrible, as the air is very turbulant. </p>
<p>I have a colleague who take Ambien and she’s a zombie for over 12 hours. Guess she’s one of the women who should cut her dosage. </p>
<p>I’ve hesitated to take true sleeping pills such as Ambien because of the risk of not being able to wake in the event of an emergency.</p>
<p>I’ve taken things before, it doesn’t always help but it takes the edge off and allows me to sit still for the period of time flying. Definitely talk to a physician, they should be able to help with something.</p>
<p>I would be happy if she could sleep thru the bulk of the flight , but be alert once we land …but I would like that for me too ! Don’t want to be a zombie or in a fog the next day</p>
<p>Whatever medications you plan to take, make sure to try it out first at home. OTC sleep aids vary. Doxylamine (ingredient in Nyquil) works for me while Benadryl makes me jitter. I halve or quarter the pill since I don’t like the drowsy feeling the next day.
I also hate the feeling of being totally unconscious in a public place like an airplane so I just want a couple hours of nap, not zonked out!</p>
<p>I’m surprised that nobody has mentioned melatonin. It’s available OTC at most stores. Another herbal sleep aid is valerian, which comes in capsule form as well as in herbal teas like Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time Plus. They won’t help with anxiety issues (like Xanax), but both melatonin & valerian are natural sleep aids & don’t require a prescription like Ambien or Xanax (anxiety). They aren’t effective for everyone, but are definately worth trying if you are looking for a sleep aid.</p>
<p>When I fly long distance I have taken Xanax with good results. I am a lightweight with any medication so I wait until I am safely in my seat to take it. Ambien is associated with complex sleep-related behaviors (sleepwalking, driving, eating,having sex, mowing the lawn, etc… while not fully awake, with amnesia of the event) and next morning impairment for activities requiring mental alertness such as driving and the FDA has recently recommended using lower dosages, especially in women. I don’t like benadryl or other antihistamines because they are very drying, and just riding in an airplane can cause dehydration, I wouldn’t want to add an antihistamine on top of that. Melatonin might be worth a try and it also is said to help with jet-lag/time adjustment.</p>
<p>I had no problem sleeping on Air Elbonia in the 80’s making the trip home. Of course, comfortable 36" pitch seats had a lot to do with it. When I fly to Europe these days it’s usually for business and we fly Lufthansa, and even after liberal doses of Luftwine or Luftbeer it does not work when seat pitch is 32" and the A340 is fully loaded… (our company is too cheap to pay for business class or better)</p>
<p>On long-ish redeye domestics I also used to be able to sleep, but again, with domestic carriers flying coast to coast cramped planes, no luck either. </p>
<p>See if you can book a flight that kind of leaves late in the day here and arrives in Europe early in the morning. It’s the most conducive for sleeping.</p>
<p>I have yet to see a flight from the east coast that leaves earlier than 6pm. The last flight we took we landed in Iceland for a short layover before heading out to Copenhagen. I slept on the 3 hour leg of the flight , but I still felt out of it for the first day.
It has been years since daughter has been there . The last time was during the month of May and the sun is uo from approx 3 am there until 11pm , so she got really disoriented between the jet lag and lack of darkness in the evenings</p>
<p>The best solution for not sleeping and jet lag for short hops across the pond (Atlantic) is just to take a day flight. Doesn’t help with anxiety, but sure helps with time adjustment.</p>
<p>I’m very fortunate that I grew up traveling and I can sleep anywhere in any position (though of course, increasingly as I age getting out of that position becomes more problematic!).</p>
<p>lje- I think you asked if the Ativan or Xanax would make one sleep. </p>
<p>I used Ativan a few years ago during a very stressful period of life. I didn’t take it daily but only when I felt extremely anxious. I’m a petite woman and found the Ativan made me sleep-which was what I needed. I experimented with taking 1/2 tablet, but it didn’t do much for my anxiety and didn’t cause me to sleep. </p>
<p>H is an anxious flier and car traveler. He’s taken Xanax in the past. It helped. He now takes a couple of Ativan. It does not cause him to sleep. It’s just enough to take the edge off for a flight or long car ride. </p>
<p>The difference in our reactions is our sizes I think.</p>
<p>I think I have posted this story before…but here goes. Twenty years ago both my folks took a sleep aid on a flight from LA to Madrid. The next day in the hotel, they realized that neither one of them remembered a single detail as to how they got from the flight to the hotel. Asleep on the plane and then >POOF< they were there.</p>