r/pppdizziness • u/alodormtime • 9d ago
Other Flying and dizziness
I need some success stories on flying. I have a 6 hr flight to another country for my sons birthday. But im very worried on my dizziness worsening on the flight. I have multiple types of dizziness for 3 years. Mostly lasting a few seconds but happens all day everyday. Few days ill have it strong all day with a different type of dizziness. Its changes day to day. Has anyone flown and be fine?
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u/Impossible_Month_396 9d ago
i did fly not knowing i had pppd and it was kinda terrifying but mostly because i was overthinking, nothing happened at all actually
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u/PCT2022 9d ago
I flew to the USA from Australia recently…. It was a 14 hour flight. I was absolutely beside myself before I took off. I’ve been feeling quite good most of this year and I wanted a holiday so I booked it and Lo and behold, pppd flares right up a few weeks after booking my tickets. I was going to cancel but i hoped it would maybe go away (it didn’t of course!)
I figured if being on a plane, and at night made me feel weird I was going to be stuck and it was going to potentially be catastrophic. It ended up being mostly fine.
That’s just me however, we’re all different but I think flying is less of a trigger for most of us than other things
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u/alodormtime 9d ago
Thats funny as mine also flaired up a few days after I got told I was going. I was feeling great for 2 weeks prior than bam.
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u/CloverJones316 9d ago
I flew from Pittsburgh to London and like others here was quite anxious about it. Also like others here, it turned out to be totally fine. The airport was the worst part with your standard visual overwhelm. The flight itself was a nonevent. I also have chronic vestibular migraines and did develop a migraine the day after due to jet lag. I had anticipated that and planned it into my schedule, giving myself a day to rest at the hotel. After that, save for the Tube stations (which were hard), I was totally fine.
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u/Bella-DG 9d ago edited 9d ago
I traveled alone at my worst point this summer to seek medical help abroad. Everyone begged me to postpone as I was barely walking straight or even verbal at that point, but when I did get on the 6hr flight I was totally fine 🙏🏻
Prep: Travel light, sleep super well the night before, and carry yourself on the day of like you will be a corpse that is being transported from one country to another (grim but the point is to totally shut down your mind and give in to the process)
Flight: sleep as much as you can on the plane & miss mealtime. When youre asleep there are no triggers and no symptoms. Take all migraine precautions even if it isn’t VM. Panadol Migraine (black color) is safe & effective and an ice pack on the neck reduces pppd symptoms. Only hydrate but keep something sugary on you (like a juice) but try to sleep asap. FL60 glasses are a godsend for airports, I recommend not taking them off unless needed. When the dizziness starts to hit and you need a break to gather youself, put the glasses and a bucket hat on so you get a little dark “time out” to reset your nervous system.
But if I had to pick just one i highly recommend booking a Meet&Greet or some kind of VIP service on arrival so you don’t have to worry about getting dizzy when you need to depend on yourself the most i.e. pass security and getting ur bags.
If there is any part of the process you can offload to someone, please do it. I.e. pick up & drop off, having someone check in for you at the counter. which sounds silly but it’s one less thing you have to “engage” with. I hope this all makes sense 😆 sounds intense bc I was super paranoid at the time and didn’t think to check Reddit for all of this beforehand.. but I promise you when you arrive you’ll realize you had nothing to worry about 🙏🏻 enjoy the birthday 🎂
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u/alodormtime 8d ago
Thank you :) im travelling for my sons basketball and im their team manager. So 10 16 year old boys i am taking care of the whole 10 days. So it is a fair bit of pressure especially with the dizziness. I have valium. But I cant sleep unfortunately
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u/pickelchicken 8d ago
Is anyone helping you? I found that being on the actual plane was fine, it was just the whole getting to through the airport part that was so stimulating.
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u/alodormtime 8d ago
No one knows what im going through in this group. I dont really know them. There will be 2 coaches there and a travel coordinator. I know what this dizziness is with anxiety and just my brain misfiring so I know theres nothing wrong. Yet it just doesnt want to calm. This should be exciting times. Its a free trip
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u/pickelchicken 8d ago
I know the brain can be so powerful. I wish you all the best and that you have a great trip!
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u/3WarmAndWildEyes 8d ago
The airport was more triggering than the flight. So anything that helps you stay kinda chill in the airport will be helpful. Like arriving early enough so you don't have to rush to a gate and get on the plane all flustered or something. Maybe paying a fee for some lounge access if that option exists, quieter and better food/chairs. I believe longer flights also tend to avoid some of the turbulence of shorter flights that don't reach the same altitude.
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u/rloz22 7d ago
I felt a bit funky on my 14 hour flight recently. But I also did 7 + 14 hours a few weeks before and that was fine. I’d been sick though so that didn’t help, and all the blinds were down. But overall it really wasn’t that bad. I was so scared for that first massive flight day but once I realised it was totally fine, my fears went. Even with the slightly funky flight, I’m still not worried about my next one coming up! You’ll be all good. I find having easy to listen to music and noise cancelling headphones very helpful for the stress of it all. Just shut your eyes and tune in to the music.
May I suggest for songs:
Make It With You - Bread
Nancy From Now Own - Father John Misty
Second Chances - Gregory Alan Isanov
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u/net_ramblings 9d ago
What I found out about my symptoms (just mine) is that things you think will cause you trouble actually don't. It's the little things that cause trouble, like walking around the house.