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Another note about flying


avais1

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Greetings to all! I firstly want to thank all of you who have shared your information and personal experiences about flying on this site. I just finished reading all of the posts about flying, and thank you so much to all of you brave souls!

I used to fly quite often, but have not flown since my POTS relapse from last year. I have been trying to get my courage up to give it a try again. I do have two questions that I have not seen addressed on the previous posts, and I am wondering if any of you can help.

Since POTS hit me again a year and half ago, I have become very sensitive to motion. During take off and landing, did any of you have issues with motion causing dizziness, nausea, etc.?

My last question: Have any of you had a full blown POTS (especially the tachycardia) or anxiety attack while on the plane? If so, how did you reslove the issue?

Thank you all very much. All of your posts brighten my darkest days !

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I know what you mean about motion--and being sensitive during takeoff and landing. I find it helps to shut the window blind (and no fair looking across the plane and out the window on the other side :) ) and then to look straight ahead or just keep my eyes closed. I also practice some kind of breathing and/or meditation during those transitions (takeoff/landing) ... repeating something like "Breathe in calm, breathe out fear" during inhalation and exhalation. Sometimes I focus on singing a little song in my head...anything to focus my attention and keep me centered. These are also things I do during flight if I start to get a little panicky and my hr increases... close my eyes, breathe, focus my mind on something else--picture a beautiful scene maybe or even just picture a number, tracing it over and over in my mind. I also bring light reading on the plane--a funny novel (I'm just finishing Crossing California, which is set in my neighborhood in Chicago, and it's a blast) or a magazine... portable cd player with favorite tunes also helps keep me calm when I get the jitters. But it's best to stave off these episodes than to battle one once it arrives!

I just flew to and from California over the holiday weekend and actually did great on the plane. Much better than usual, and so much better than expected.

Happy trails!

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I am very sensitive to motion also. The worst part of air travel for me is take off/landing and turns. when the plane makes a sharp turn I get extremely dizzy. I put my head back against the seat and do controlled breathing also. It passes after the the plane gets level and straight again ( back to my normal dizzy - lol).

Good Luck

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I absolutely have had many, many episodesw of tachy on a plane. I used to fly every 8 weeks for work...sometimes more. Most of the time I was seated. I tried to drink plenty of water. It wasn't the flying that set off the episodes--it was usually the long days, the screwed up eating and sleep schedules and standing to wait and/or trying to rush through the airport to make connections. I have episodes of tachy every day, flying or no flying, so I just did what I always do and push through it. I know that some folks, unfortunately, cannot just plug along; however, I rarely do a full out faint, so I can.

Nina

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