help fear of flying!!

[agathi]

I have developed a fear of flying, I have flown numerous times before with no fear at all!!! Apart from mild nerbousness during turbulence, actually love flying. But last time I flew, due to depression I have 3 oanic attacks on a 30 minute flight. My heart was racing like crazy and everytime I looked out of the window I felt dizzy. I was sooo relieved when the plane landed!!

So due to this bad experience I am terrified of flying and am already nervous about it. I want to take start taking something the day before I fly and then the whole day for the journey which will be 7 hrs.

I have tried xanax 0.5 mg at home just to see how I will feel. It didn't do anything for me, just felt a bit relaxed.

Can someone please suggest what I should ask the doc to give me. I want to take something that will stop me from panicking before boarding and last till we land.

Help!!!

[agathi]

Thanks so much for the reply.

I already tried xanax 1 mg it has no effect on me. Possibly because I was given xanax a month ago for 2 weeks just to help my anxiety temporarily.

What about ativan??? It has knocked me out previously, and I am flying with someone so it's okay if I knock out totally - I don't want to be awake basically.

I'll try klonopin...

[mjbrown]

As you said, the newfound fear of anxiety can be attributed to the fact that you had panic attacks during your last flight. It is similar, in a way, to agoraphobia. For your next flight, you can ask you doctor if you can take 1mg of Xanax to see if that helps. However, Xanax is relatively short-acting (effects last about 5 hours). Klonopin is probably a better option. It is very similar to Xanax, but it lasts a lot long (10-12 hours). However, you will not get the rapid onset (10-15mins) with Xanax. Klonopin typically takes about (30 - 45 mins) to kick in. Klonopin has the same potency as Xanax (.5mg of one = .5mg of the other), so you might need to take a larger dose. But you will get much better "coverage." Speak to your doctor about this. Ideally, you would overcome this fear of flying in therapy, but it sounds like you have a flight coming up shortly. Just be sure not to rely on these meds to take care of the symptoms without also addressing the underlying cause.

All the best..