flying - heeeelp

[holly1986]

hiya
im due to go on holiday soon and im nervous about the flight
on my last flight i had loadsa palpitations and it worried me. now and again i get chest pains they come and go, i also get palpitations now and again which worry me a lot.
ive became convinced i have some sort of heart problem ie angina or an arrhythmia. and now im very worried that i end up having a heart attack on the plane - what would cause that to happen?

im very worried id love some help and reassurance please?

[sandy40]

Hi,i know how you feel,im having heart worries too,are you on betablockers? if not maybe see your gp for some to calm you down,just for the flight.

[holly1986]

hiya yeah ive been reading your thread but felt contradictive posting anything considering ive been worried about my heart too

I take fluoxetine and have been told i can take diazepam if i need it/1

would a heart problem make me have a heart attack on a flight?

[sandy40]

I have no idea sorry,but take the diazepam before the flight it will relax you.

[ronski]

Holly Palpitations never lead to a heart attack, they are just aberrant stimuli from the vagus nerve. Your palpitations are anxiety induced and your chest pain is probably due to breathing to quickly and using the upper chest instead of the diaphragm.
Why do you choose to fly if it causes you so much anxiety, there are other holidays where you could go by train or ship.
If you must fly see your GP and he may prescribe you a small amount of propanolol to help control the symptoms caused by excess adrenaline.

[holly1986]

i have to fly because its a family vacation, if i was booking myself id have booked differently.

thank you very much for the advice.

Im just so nervous and im so afraid to let these thoughts go in case im missing something, im worried i have angina even though im only 24 and a non smoker (i am obese however - i do not eat red meat though so my cholesterol should be normal)

ARGHGHGH!!!!!!!!!!!

[Girl_Interrupted]

Hi there, U should feel excited ur going away on holiday, where are u going and who are u flying with? palpitations are brought on mainly by anxiety, do u have a fear of flying? All airline crew are trained to deal with nervous or anxious passengers (I used to be one) not anymore though I love flying :) its unlikely u have a heart problem at 24, have u spoken to ur doctor about this at all? If u felt better u could always have ur BP taken and ur gp would listen to ur heart, other than that there is no reason u should suffer a heart attack while flying.

[ronski]

Holly you are 24, do not concern yourself with heart issues. The flying I feel is a phobia that affects people of every age group, I think it's a natural fear as it's usually associated with a fear of heights or a fear of death. I have only ever flown twice on one holiday to Italy and one in a Wessex helicopter from Salisbury plain to the deck of HMS Hermes. I really enjoyed both flights but the Italian flight I had a sleepless few nights sleep before the holiday. To this day I don't know what my real fear was but until I got on the plane I was very anxious, I have a fear of heights so I expect it has something to do with that.
Try a Paul McKenna session which you can download from the Internet at a small cost.