Not being too keen on flying the Doc gave me diazepam.
So pre flight the symptoms would come on, yawning ,sweaty palms etc. Pop a tablet and 15 minutes later the world’s alright again.
Had a repeat prescription of the same strength tablets.On my last flight started feeling iffy so popped a tablet. No effect, popped another one , still no effect.
I fly no more than 3 times a year.
Surely I can’t have got immune to the tablets already or do the drugs companies sometimes make a duff batch?

Maybe the doc just gave you a placebo

Not that many doctors actually would ever actually prescribe a placebo.

Very rare.

Can’t imagine you’d develop a tolerance in that time frame. I’m the same, except the spoilsport Doc only gives me like 2mg or something, just incase I actually enjoy it. So I have to augment it by adding a heinous amount of booze. If they’d give you enough in the first place one could arrive at one’s destination hangover free.

Counterfeit drugs bought by the NHS? Maybe you ate some chalk.

I was given 2 mg and the first batch worked a treat. They were amazing you could just feel your tummy muscles loosening and you’d suddenly be in a really good mood.
I think the good mood came from relief that you don’t feel crap rather than any far out man properties.

Well, yeah.

Although, 80mg and an icecream is an experience.

*allegedly

You won’t have built up a tolerance, if i had to hazard a guess i’d say the first time you took diazepam it was a shock as to how effective they were and that memory you retained led you to believe that no matter how you felt on the last flight you’d merely take a little pill and all would be well with the world, you’d be in a state of mind that expected “little fluffy clouds” (orb reference) and a blissful flight.

However this time you decided you’d start the flight experience by getting to the airport 2 hrs beforehand, go through the stress of checking in whilst anticipation builds throughout your body, releasing stress hormones such as cortisol and norepinephrine, this starts a chain reaction (much like bringing a large supertanker up to full speed on the open sea then throwing it in reverse – it still takes 15 miles to slow down) as your endocrine system goes into fight or flight response, stress hormones flood your bloodstream, your muscles start to be fuelled from your energy reserves, this leads to your blood pressure rising along with your heart rate, your diaphragm is constricted due to muscle tension which leads to shallow breathing so making the stress worse, As well as the above your digestion has begun to shut down as it not necessary and if you continue in such a state the immune system will also shut down (part of our primitive primal ancestry response) – nervous people may wring their hands and constantly touch the forehead, face, rub their nose all subconsciously and without thought leading to a greater risk of post flight illness.

You should have started to take the pills 12 to 18hrs beforehand and they would have been more effective at controlling the stress hormones, as per my super tanker analogy above once these chemicals are released into the body you have practically no chance of playing catch up with the addition of over the counter pharmaceuticals….unless you are Hunter S Thompson and travel with your Attorney and a suitcase of drugs wherever you go. 😀

At the moment i’m currently on 20 mg of diazepam and 200 mg of tramadol a day for my back/spinal issues – i prob know more about how they affect the body and side affects than the majority of docs that prescribe them having been on “pharms” of one kind or another for 20+ years (spinal injury when young and foolish).

Good shout Somafunk. But 20mg a day is a BIG hit. I’m surprised benzo’s are still prescribed at this dose. You obviously suffer serious muscle spasms. I hope you can reduce or stop this regimen soonest.

I wouldn’t read any of SF’s post as it sounds like “so follow me and I’ll explain how you get really stressed” 🙂

(No disrespect SF, and BTW, thats a lot of benzo.)

Anyway ZK- 2mgs of Diazepam is a low dose, I think you just need a bit more, and to time it better. Go back and see the GP, I’d be shooting for at least 5mgs straight off. And maybe some beta-blockers too.

Jellies are rubbish, see street corner urchin for something effective 😉

2mg was fine in May can’t see why 4mg doesn’t work now.
Would the original batch be made in a different place to the second batch?
If my wife gets her thyroxine from Boots rather than our local chemists she reckons that they don’t work anywhere near as good.
I will add that all the packaging for both batches of my drugs are the same just from different chemists.

nae worries derek_starship,codybrennan, i understand where you’re coming from 100% and agree wi you about the dose, it’s not always like this but i’ve been working 7 days a week in two jobs at the moment and this time of year is always hectic – on the wages i get paid i can’t afford to take time off and my back/spine/neck always plays up at this time of year, especially as i’m not getting any younger (41).

Broke my spine in 2 places (destroyed T6 & T9 vertebrae) and just about everything else in there in a car crash back in 91. spent 40+ hours in operating theatre over a 6 month period thanks to Tom Russell and his neurosurgical team at Edingburgh western general putting me together again – end result : remains of two vertebrae removed along wi some ribs, quite a lot of the other vertebrae fused together along with a lot of titanium hardware and pins as scaffolding, left wi a 90 dg bend in upper spine, got the usual nerve and medical complications that arise from a T6 & T9 removal/displacement but i walked out of the hospital despite spending the first few months paralysed from the chest down. I don’t always take drugs and usually shun them like the plague but at the moment they help, i also do TM morning/night which is great as i can alter my own perception of what i’m feeling but at work i need the hit that Pharms give, as soon as i get home i get on the inversion table and hang upside down for 45 mins to streach my spine out which is bliss :D.

Malt whisky also helps 😉

Ten years ago I had the prospect of a flight to Australia – alone. I wasn’t scared, just excited, so I knew I wouldn’t sleep. So I headed to my GP and feigned a fear of flying. Not to worry, she says, it’s really common! And away I come with 3 little 2mg diazepam. I went straight home and swapped them for my mum’s 10mg tablets and the flight went by – literally – like a dream.

I would love to sleep on flights especially long haul but there is no way! I am totally wired and everyone is a potential terrorist, someone has to keep an eye open.

Not any help but when we were kids I could do 150mg diazepam and 300 – 600mg of temazepam of an evening before hitting the pubs and clubs for a night on the booze and Es.. 😳

plenty of nervous disorders now as an adult like

just thought I’d throw that out there

Stupid thing is I only feel bad when flying home!