First Long Haul Flight- Success!

[persephone]

Hello everyone. I never gave you a proper update on my first long haul flight, from the UK to the US.

Well, I followed the tips very kindly given here- rehydration sachets, supplemental oxygen, and drinking like there was no tomorrow.

I was absolutely fine. I had *one* spell of SVT that lasted about 30 seconds, and kicked in about 5 hours into the journey. But it went away on its own.

I had to go to the bathroom about every 20 minutes, but this was good because it kept me moving and didn't let my bp drop.

I landed in Boston and I was absolutel fine- I couldn't believe it!

The flight back was harder- it was an overnight. This was my first experience of jet lag, and it lasted for about 6 days. My sleep pattern was all wrong, and I felt slightly flat, down and anxious. My Dad did too though, and he's normal so I think it must just be jet lag in general! I have a very good friend at University who is from Texas and every term when she flies back to the UK she feels the same, so it must be really common.

For those of you who need to recline, like me- Virgin premium economy seats recline by 8 inches, whereas the equivalent with British Airways is only 3". Virgin were quite disorganised though, and I'm not sure I would fly with them again- they made boarding a lot more stressful than it needed to be.

Overall: great success, no POTS relapse triggered by flying. I made sure I took it easy the day after landing, and I was fine. Dad and I went on a wonderful tour of Boston, and I psyched myself up for my conference which began two days into our stay.

We loved the US- it was our first visit, and everyone we met was so kind. All the Harvard folk were lovely, my paper went very well, and I'm so glad I braved a transatlantic flight to make the most of this opportunity. It's madaeme a lot more confident about international travel now- I can go beyond Europe without ill effects...though I'm not brave enough for Australia just yet

Thanks everybody for helping my flights go well- you gave me the courage I needed, and the advice!

I appreciate it so much!

[sue1234]

That's great that something so important to/for you was able to be done and you went through it well. That ought to give you a good confidence boost to know you should be able to handle similar experiences in the future.

[ramakentesh]

Im glad it worked for you. Yeah the jetlag feels an awful lot like POTS in many ways I reckon. Id take it easy on exercise for a little while now your back - ease into things.

[futurehope]

Persephone,

I'm so happy for you. As one fellow traveler to another (I went to the UK this past summer), I found the overnight to the UK much worse than the return. For one thing, I lost 5 hours, for another, I didn't sleep well on the plane. But coming back to the US was easy in comparison. I gained 5 hours.

It's amazing what it does for your outlook on everything when you push the boundaries. You feel less of a victim, and more of a fighter.

Congratulations!