Pre-flying stress--does No-Jet-Lag help??

No Jet Lag did nothing for me. I am sorry I wasted my money.

I understand what you mean,, I love to go places, but getting on the airplane is just a nessesary evil to me.
Honestly, go to your doc, there are things that will help, and you will not get addicted as the doc. will only give you a few ,, so you can at least make it through the travel.
I have also had good luck with Melatonin, which is not a prescrition drug, but is available here almost anywhere( Safeways and Walmarts) or at a health food store. It makes you sleepy.

I would suggest getting a seat in the middle of the plane, since most transatlantic flights are 2-5-2 or 2-3-2 or similar so that you can't look out the window. That allows you to not think about it as much. Frankly, flights over the Atlantic are generally quite turbulence free and so you should be fine.

If you really need meds for this, get something like Dramamine to help you with motion sickness or use Benadryl to help sleep during the flight.

David, what a great idea. Benadryl might be exactly what I need. Going transatlantic in a week and was wishing that I could sleep on the jet on the way over. Never have been able to sleep more than a few seconds at a time. It can take two days for me to come around to function on European time. Thanks for the tip!

How do you guys in the mountain and pacific time zones cope with the added stress of more time to process in the jet lag equation. Going from east to west is not too bad but traveling west to east for me is a killer.

Margaret - I have to agree with Pat - the meds (i.e. Xanax) that the doctor will prescribe can be of real help. You can try it out ahead of time to see if it makes you feel "weird". It only makes me feel relaxed, not at all like I am "high" or out of control. I used to ask my doctor to prescribe exactly 2 pills - one for each flight to and from Europe. Eventually I stopped feeling so sick before I flew and I flew this year to Europe with the meds in my purse but didn't use them.

If you just want to sleep then Benadryl & Dramamine are good choices (my kids use these). But for a real true fear of flying do yourself a favor and talk to your doctor.

I used Jet-Lag but can't say whether it worked or not. Might function well as a placebo, tho (if you think it is helpful, it will be). I live on the west coast with 8-9 hours time difference with times in Europe. I'm able to sleep some on the plane; when it is bedtime in my first hotel in Europe, I take prescription sleeping medication and sleep well for 6-8 hours. I don't have much jet-lag going W to E, but have a problem after I am back home. It takes me a week to feel normal. I try to keep my days simple and organized before trips; last minute rushing around is anxiety-producing for me. Sometimes I make a list of things that need to be done. Then I can relax, maybe spend the night at an airport hotel before my flight, then leisurely catch my plane.

I adjust by forcing myself to stay up until at least 10 PM or so the day I arrive and not drinking too much coffee or eating oily foods. This year, for example, I arrived in Rome at 7:30 AM, which is 10:30 PM the previous night in Portland. I stayed up until 10 PM that day and slept 12 hours. When I woke up the next morning I felt about 95% of the way time-shifted.

In addition, whenever I go anywhere that requires a time change, I change my watch before I leave my departure city so that when I look at it I am adjusting my brain to thinking about what time it is where I arrive. Works very well for W to E flights in the US, for example.

Margaret, I have had travel anxiety all my life. The day before departure I, too, fall apart. The thing that works for me is - I clean the house. It keeps me busy, and putting all that nervous energy to good use gives me an extra bonus - a clean house when I get back home. Arriving back home to a spotless house also helps me to combat post-travel depression, I physically feel better just because the showers are gleaming and the sheets are crisp. On the plane, I take two Advil PM, and I also take them for the first couple of nights in a new place, to get me to sleep through the night.

I've also tried No Jet-Lag, but I'm not sure if it works or not? I'm heading abroad shortly, so I'll give it another test.

Although I usually try to sleep for at least part of the flight, I'm often not successful. There's always someone to talk to, the food or beverage carts are coming back and forth, and at least one of the movies is always interesting.

I usually try to choose a flight that lands in the morning. By the time I get to the Hotel and get organized, it's about mid afternoon. I try to follow Rick's advice to stay awake until at least 22:00 and then get a good night's sleep. However, it still seems to take a day or two to get used to the new time zone.

I've been a shift worker most of my life, and thought I'd be able to handle jet lag. However, I still have trouble adjusting.

Back to the original point, if you're really worried you could use a mild sleeping pill or sedative. I usually distract myself by talking or whatever, which keeps my mind off the situation.

It all depends on the person. Either it will or won't work, and there's no way to tell unless you try it.

Something that helps me is to think physiologically. From my understanding, melanoma is released in your system when it's time to change whether you're asleep or awake. I think it's like a switch (asleep or awake). So I trick my body into flipping the switch after about a day or two in Europe.

I wait until an afternoon where I am so tired that I can hardly stay awake. Then I take a 15-45 minute nap where I actually fall asleep (not just rest). When I wake up my body sees daylight and thinks that it's morning. But it's still sleep deprived so I'm able to fall asleep that night. I wake up the next morning not even realizing I had jet lag.

This trick works for me, but it may not work for everyone. Jet lag is like a hangover. The sure-fire way to get rid of it is to give it time.

I live on the west coast and travel for business to the east coast on a frequent basis. Although I'm not anxious about flying, I do need to deal with jet lag on a regular basis, and it's even worse when I go to Europe. I take two benadryl (total dose 50 mg.), which helps me sleep but does not make me so sleepy I can't function if I need to, which would easily be the case if I took a prescription sleeping pill.

I just tried NO JET LAG twice this summer on the way over and back on an RS_Scaninavia tour, and on a swiss alps tour. While I too am not sure if it worked - I think it helped on the way over both times. I also take the "Aireborne" tabs just incase. Perhaps all the excitement (and the late nite beers with the groups and/or locals) always help me get to sleep ok over there (going ot bed at 12 and getting up at 6am probably help!) all the running around too. But i try them anyways - and if they help great - maybe a placebo effect. Another anti-anxiety tip is ginger-tea or ginger-cookies. Long been used for motion sickness with no side effects of drowseyness like dramamine... try that too - from your better health or even drug stores. All these may help with anxiety and stress...

Also - be as prepared well in adavnce - as much as you can. Pack a week before, get ready the day before. And get to airport very early. Easier to sit with tea/coffee 1-2 hours early at gate than in line! ciao

I was reluctant to get the "calm down" meds as well but finally broke down and got some last year and it was the best thing I have ever done to make my trips enjoyable. I take one pill about twenty minutes before boarding the plane and it not only helps calm me down but also helps me get some sleep on long flights.

Margaret, I think if you look back through previous posts you will find this topic has been raised before, and often. Maybe read through them and see if anything there is helpful to you.
As an Incharge Flight Attendant, I would suggest you call your Carrier and speak to Special Services. They can flag your file and provide you with additional services like pre-boarding and special pre-flight briefings. Speak to the Incharge Flight Attendant. Or at leat the F/A whose Jumpseat is closest to yours. Maybe even try to request a seat directly across from the F/A. Flight Crew are skilled at dealing with nervous flyers. Pre-boarding, checking out the Aircrafts' safety equiptment/special safety briefings can help. Or even just chatting with us can help take your mind of the critical phase of flight.

I personally ADORE flying, love it, but that doesn't make me unsympathetic to those who do not. Fears are very real. Put snakes on a plane, like that movie, then I'd HATE it! LOL!

Margaret,
Check out "Fear of Flying posted in the transportation. Posted by Matti on or about 08-11.

These morning flights across the "pond" are designed for businessmen that want a full nights sleep in a hotel before the next business day in London. Problem with taking a morning flight is that you loose an entire day of sightseeing vs. taking the flight the evening before. Also you probably won't be able to catch any connecting flights to your next destination (if any) until the next morning. This may not be a big deal if you are on a 30 day trek through Europe, but if your only going for 7-10 days that's a big loss of time. I also don't sleep well on overnight transatlantic flights, after a lot of trail and error I've found Rick's advice to be the best: do as much sightseeing as you can after you arrive, go to bed around 10 pm and your body clock will adapt very quickly.

Margaret - Flight Attendant gives some great advice. One of the easiest flights I took (pre-meds) was sitting next to a pilot. We had maitenance delays on the flight so I was getting pretty nervous. He explained everything to me and of course he was so calm that it made me feel much better. If you want to do this without anti-anxiety meds then the pre-boarding assistance might be of real help. Of course I'm making the assumption that your posting is truly about "fear of flying" and not about problems with "jet lag".

Just a warning. While I "hear" that No Jet Lag is "all natural" I had a HORRID reaction to the stuff. It made my blood sugar crash and I was in bad shape for an hour or so. So try before you go. (I threw mine away LOL!)

Good point Carol, "all natural " does not mean safe or no side affects. It is known that many herbal or natural remedies can interact strangly with other meds,or cause reactions in people. St Johns Wort is all natural herbal stuff, but it is known to cause problems if taken pre surgery.

Remember folks, marijuana can be " all natural" but it does not mean safe with no side effects. LOL

also, what you want is Melatonin (available at health-food-type stores)--not melanoma, which is a potentially deadly cancer!