Can anyone recommend medication to combat fear of flying?

Question

I have an extreme phobia of flying Flight is 3 hours.

Answer 1

Just come back from a 9 hour flight and am still really really scared of flying. I went to my GP who gave me temazepam to calm me down and put me on flouxetine (prozac) to stop me worrying. The flouxetine had absolutely no effect whatsoever so after a few months I stopped taking it. The temazepam was brilliant. I took it once I was on the plane and by the time we had taxied out I was fast asleep. I slept for most of the flight (8 hours) and felt really good when I woke up. I'm still really phobic about flying and have discussed it with my GP again. He says he doesn't think I will ever get over the fear but he is willing to help with medication. Go see your GP and explain how you feel he may suggest medication or he may be able to help in another way. I only went as a last resort and I'm not cured but it is bearable. Good luck.

Answer 2

Fear Of Flying Medication

Answer 3

Some kind of tranquilizer. Valium, klonopin, or Xanax. I feel your pain, many years I suffered that, and I cured it by....flying.

Do you have the same anxiety in a train,bus, or someone else's car? If so, flying is not the problem.

Although flying is the safest way to get from a to b, the fact remains you are stuffed into a metal tube for 3 hours with 200 or 300 total strangers. It takes a while to get comfortable with that. You can overcome it, so fly despite your phobia. There are plenty of folks on that plane that are as uncomfortable as you. I can remember a time when I sat on the plane, and when they went to close the door, I had an extreme urge to bolt off the plane and keep running. Now I fly everywhere.

Answer 4

RE:
Can anyone recommend medication to combat fear of flying?
I have an extreme phobia of flying Flight is 3 hours.

Answer 5

Medicine prescribed by doctors only covers the physical fear and will knock you out. While medicine is a good way to hide from your fear, its really just as effective as sleeping.

Two statistics that calm my fears are that car crashes are nearly 100 times more common than a plane crash. Another is most plane crashes occur within 15-30m of take off.

Pilots are trained professionals who have to rack up thousands of hours of training before they can fly, not some average Joe who got his pilot's license.

And just like being a passenger in a vehicle, you're not in control anyway. So relax and just let go and enjoy the flight.

Answer 6

Diazepam (valium) will help.

It acts very quickly, is effective in single or intermittent dosages and will not stay in your system for very long as it is also excreted fairly quickly - but not so quickly that you will get adverse effects.

Diazepam comes under a group of drugs called benzodiazepines which if taken for an extended period of time can be addictive - but you certainly do not need to worry about this for your flight. So don't be put off by scare stories.

The major clinical advantages of benzodiazepines are high efficacy, rapid onset of action and low toxicity. Unwanted effects can largely be prevented by keeping dosages minimal and courses short.

You will need to see your GP to get a prescription.

Answer 7

Hi Sammy,

visit your gp and explain how much this phobia affects you and ask if they can give you something. I know a friend of mine gets something from her doctor when she has to fly, it probably is valium or some other type of sedative or relaxant, if you don't want that, try Boots Travel Calm tablets (over the counter- £2.50) they help relax you, may even make you feel tired and are designed for travel sickness etc

best of luck
xxx

Answer 8

You should have seen your Dr as they will usually give you a mild sedative. Buy some Kalms from Boots, that should help (partaking in a few vodka oranges on the flight may do the trick too!)

Answer 9

Anti-anxiety medication to reduce flight anxiety backfires. The temporary — and generally inadequate — relief gained comes with a high long-term cost. Anti-anxiety medications prevent anxious fliers from getting used to flying. They increase the anxious flier's sensitivity to the plane’s noises and motions. They impact the person’s memory and ability to learn. They cause psychomotor impairment. And, they are addictive.

According to research at the Stanford University School of Medicine, though the person taking anti-anxiety medication may feel more relaxed psychologically, there is increased arousal physiologically. “Alprazolam increases physiological activation under acute stress conditions and hinders therapeutic effects of exposure in flying phobia.”

According to research at the Stanford University School of Medicine, though the person taking anti-anxiety medication may feel more relaxed psychologically, there is increased arousal physiologically. “Alprazolam increases physiological activation under acute stress conditions and hinders therapeutic effects of exposure in flying phobia.”

According to research at the Stanford University School of Medicine, though the person taking anti-anxiety medication may feel more relaxed psychologically, there is increased arousal physiologically. “Alprazolam increases physiological activation under acute stress conditions and hinders therapeutic effects of exposure in flying phobia.”

In an New York Times article on flight phobia, psychiatrist Richard A. Friedman, M.D. wrote, "If you think you can outsmart your phobia with anti-anxiety medications like Valium and Klonopin, forget about it; they might numb you during an acute panic attack, but they will not erase your phobia. In fact, they could get in the way of therapy because they impede new learning, which is the essence of curing phobias.

What therapy works best? Sample my book (I'm both a retired airline captain and a licensed therapist) on Amazon at a.co/0n0P5v2

Answer 10

I have to take valium flying, makes a huge difference for me. Im absolutly terrified of flying aswell.