WHat happens if you have panic attack on plane ?

Hmm_Messiah

This probably sounds silly but am quite serious, been yrs since I was on a plane (and was fine ) but never a 4 hr flight

What happens if some one has a panic attack etc on flight ?

what do the flight attendants do ?

I don't suppose they have xanax or soemthing on hand ??

accensi0n

You should ask the airline.

JackieChan

H_M,
My advice is to talk to your GP. They usually prescibe Xanax or similar. It works a treat.

mikedragon32

Hmm Messiah wrote:

THREE
I've been sick the past weeks with abdo pain, was on a course of antibiotics, doc suggesting might be somethignlike diverticulitis. thing is pain is still there each day, to varying degree. WOuld I be safest not travelling ? Any one any experience of healthcare in Tunisia? I want to go - but keep questioning how good an idea. I can't even see how its possible to get home for less than 1500.00 e

Are you sure you should be going anywhere? It looks to me like even if you are fit to fly, you might freak out anyway!

I think you might get some useful hints from the A Team. Apparently Mr. T suffered similarly!

serotonin_sam

Firstly, If you do find yourself in this scenario, what you have to tell yourself is that theres going to be no negative outcome ultimately. Panic attacks are largely irrational - albeit that sufferers understand this but nevertheless find it difficult to control them.

Your obviously thinking this way for a reason - so if you think this is a possibility, then maybe you should visit your GP for some xanax/valium, etc.

It would be highly unlikely that the airline will provide xanax in this instance. Its a prescription drug - with possible negative side effects. eg. when taken whilst alcohol in the system.

rabbitinlights

My sisters friend had a panic attack on a plane going to the states after it hit some bad turbulance, Because she was freaking out and posed a threat to other passangers she was removed from her seat and taken to the rear of the plane where she was given oxygen and was pretty much held down till she calmed down. She was also given a warning when she left the plane by security at the airport explaining to her that the flight nearly had to be diverted. This happend about 3 years ago.

S.

serotonin_sam

rabbitinlights wrote:

She was also given a warning when she left the plane by security at the airport explaining to her that the flight nearly had to be diverted. This happend about 3 years ago

as someone who has experienced panic attacks/anxiety in specific situations, I am not surprised at the above. Having said that, I would have been demanding an apology for this type of treatment. If I wasnt getting an apology I would be inclined to take it further legally.

Ignorance is bliss when it comes to this type of disorder and it enrages me.

satchmo

If you have asthma then you can't take Xanax - I'm not sure why, but my GP told me this recently when I asked her for sleeping pills to get me and my girlfriend through a couple of rough 10-hour Vietnamese bus journeys!

WexCan

Most airlines carry only basic medication - ie Karvol for those experiencing ear pain, Stugeron for travel sickness, paracetamol etc.

My advice to anybody who experiences panic attacks is to tell one of the crew as you're boarding, most of us are decent folk and will check up on you and try to make the flight as smooth as possible.

rabbitinlights

serotonin_sam wrote:

Having said that, I would have been demanding an apology for this type of treatment. If I wasnt getting an apology I would be inclined to take it further legally.

She complained for months, but their simple answer was that she put the plane/passengers in danger, thus it was her fault and they had no choice but to act as they did. It seems they lumped it into the same catagory as an airrage incident.

serotonin_sam

satchmo wrote:

my GP told me this recently when I asked her for sleeping pills to get me and my girlfriend through a couple of rough 10-hour Vietnamese bus journeys!

Sounds like my 24 hour Vientiane -> Hanoi trip.Those experiences should be savoured and not dulled down by a dosage of benzo's! lol

WexCan

rabbitinlights wrote:

She complained for months, but their simple answer was that she put the plane/passengers in danger, thus it was her fault and they had no choice but to act as they did. It seems they lumped it into the same catagory as an airrage incident.

In the current security conscious airline world if someone starts panicking it'll start a chain reaction and soon you'll have a cabin full of nervous, scared passengers. While I don't agree with her being held down, and the remark by airport security, panic attacks do need to be dealt with firmly. For example, if you are hyperventilating as part of a panic attack, the crew won't give you oxygen because it's a mental issue not a physical one.

Indeed though, I can't see how she could have put the aircraft or the passengers in danger unless she tried to open a door (impossible once cruising - all modern passenger aircraft doors move in before opening out and the higher pressure in the cabin makes this impossible), tried to open the flight deck door or tampered with emergency equipment.

Hmm_Messiah

mikedragon32 wrote:

Are you sure you should be going anywhere? It looks to me like even if you are fit to fly, you might freak out anyway!

I think you might get some useful hints from the A Team. Apparently Mr. T suffered similarly!

o
I didnt go in the end so now i guesse even a bigger challenge next time. Being ill didin't help but in end of day was anxiety about how i'd feel confined on plane that made me cancel

I've flown beofre no problem - but only one hour flights and long time ago.

since then i think i've developed little phobias- i wasnt scared of plane crashing etc, but of how i "might" react on the plane knowing i could not get off - in fact i got chest pains the night before. knowing being overweight increases possible consequences of stress was the decider

I thought of xanax but really didn't want that experience.

I might try shor flights dub-belfast (if they exist!!) Im meant to fly to latvian alone in december and i don';t want my concrns to win over.

this time i think i was right , i mean i was suffering other pains anyways and then recognising all the signs of anxiety 24 hrs befoe the flight .

was tempted to go with my mate knowing i could leave before departure - but thought if i did that it would be too much a re-inforcement of bad experience

damn - wanted to see tunisia, millions do it, grrrr @ me .

WexCan

Oooh what a pity but it's your choice.

When do you get most nervous? Are there any particular things that worry you or is it just a claustrophobia-like anxiety?

Hmm_Messiah

Had no problem flying to London, was there before i knew it .


just really the though of being confined for .5 hours, and ten having to endure similar possibly on the way BACK.

Just overly conscious of being overweight and the increased risk of consequences from stress - unlikely, but knowing my luck !!!

I think short flight best option to get passed it, and of course maybe being healthier

WexCan

I wouldn't worry about weight - I have "extension belt" passenger every day and they always seem to be the happiest.

Do you get anxious on takeoff/landing at all?

Your idea is a good one, definitely. Before I became crew I actually was a bit of a nervous flyer but now doing 2-4 flights a day on a 6on/3off pattern, being in the sky is like being in my second home. Space can be a bit tight, for example we cook our crew meals in the forward galley and eat them in the aft galley, often all four of us at once in a space that's about the same size as the loos. Experience is a good tool for fighting fear, so I would suggest taking short flights, gradually getting longer. At some point try a domestic flight with Aer Arrann - if you're ok in small aircraft like theirs, you'll be fine in anything else.

Hmm_Messiah

he he when i flew o london i was thinking "ok if we do crash the injurings won't be significant, not enough room for coup and contre coup injurings ( when you are thrown from side to side - medical knowledge is a dangours thing !!) - seems the air stewardess even had to walk sideways down the ailse!!

Promised I'd go to latvia in December - I wanna fly THIS yr !! as in not allow this disappointment re-inforce anxiety

Keep wondering is it orth doing the xanax-aided flight - just to have flown !

Strange , you'd think a Wiccity Witch would take naturally to flying

Darren

serotonin_sam wrote:

Sounds like my 24 hour Vientiane -> Hanoi trip.Those experiences should be savoured and not dulled down by a dosage of benzo's! lol

Especially if you actually want to keep your bags, wallet etc

BossArky

I sometimes get the feeling that I am going to swallow my tongue on a plane, for some unknown reason. It happens if I start thinking about swallowing my salvia. It goes away after a minute or two when I distract myself.

Other times I get the feeling that my seat is going to free fall through the floor with me on it. Have been getting this feeling every so often on planes since donig a sky dive about 2 years ago.

lol@me.com

WexCan

Would have thought a sky-dvie would make flying a breeze for you?

Santa Claus

I've been uneasy with flying since a plane I was in crashed on the runway in russia about 4 years ago (we were taking off and the wheels on the left hand side broke.....good old aeroflot).

My doc prescribed me valium....I don't take them but keep 2 tabs in my wallet whenever I'm flying. Normally just the knowledge that they are there just in case is enough to get rid of any panic.

WexCan

Santa, did you have to evacuate? Our evacuation drills are stressful enough, I'm sure the real thing is quite traumatic. Good that you're still flying though

BossArky

just a bit more terrifiying. I fly lots with work... my mind is playing tricks on me constantly.

WexCan

Yeah I know the falling feeling - you get so used to the push the aircraft give you on takeoff and climb that when you're in cruise/descent it feels like your seat is falling from beneath you.