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So a strange thing happens to me when I fly. It doesn't happen EVERY flight I take, but it does happen MOST flights I take. And the way it happens is oddly specific.
I get sick. And I throw up.
Here's how it has happened EVERY TIME it has happened:
It only happens during the landing. As we begin to descend, I can tell immediately if it's actually going to happen. I start to feel my temperature rise. I start to get really hot, really fast. I start to feel beads of sweat on my forehead, and they start to run down my face. I try to close my eyes, slow my breathing, put the air vent on my face but I know when I get to this point, it is too late.
After we actually land and are taxiing to the gate...I throw up. Usually more than once. It's so embarrassing to be stuck in my seat, just repeatedly throwing up. One particular flight we had to wait AN HOUR for our gate to be open and I just sat and threw up for most of that time.
Usually by the time I get off the plane, I feel ok. Not good, not great, but manageable. It takes a few hours before the whole feeling passes and I feel somewhat normal again.
One particularly bad time, I was sick for a good amount of time even after exiting the plane. It was during a layover and I spent practically the whole time in the bathroom. It felt like my insides were liquified and it was terrible. And then I had to board another plane
Does any one deal with this? OR have any suggestions on how to prevent it? Or knows WHY it even happens in the first place? I've tried dramomine but it has inconsistently helped so I don't even know if it really helped.
I'm going to visit a friend in March and it will be the first time I've ever flown completely by myself. I'm really nervous this will happen and I don't want to deal with it.
From your description of the length of time that you are vomiting, you must be totally throwing up the contents of your stomach and then continuing to "dry heave." It sounds like a long and painful ordeal. You need to talk to a doctor, not a C-D forum.
Have you considered Imodium? It is an anti-diarrheal med, but I believe it works by calming the spasming of the gastrointestinal tract.
I agree, though, this is worth a trip to a doctor.
Surely it has something to do with the rapid change in air pressure. Maybe it worse sometimes than others depending on the altitude of the plan/rate of descent.
I've kind of made a connection between the "severity" of the landing and when I actually get sick/how bad it is. The one terrible time I mentioned when I was sick for hours after...my friend was on that flight with me and she said she NEVER gets sick on planes and that landing even made her a little queasy. I remember that landing being very drastic in that we were dropping altitude in large increments in a short period of time rather than gradually. On the flights that seem to ease more gradually down, it seems I'm not as affected.
This is all just an idea of course. I don't fly a lot, but I've flown enough in the past few years to make that weak connection.
You must report to a doctor immediately and have them provide you with a prescription that you may be qualified for.
I guess I didn't think...are there prescriptions available that can help with this kind of thing? Do I just go to my regular family physician or do i need to seek some kind of specialist do you think?
My mom suggested that it might be anxiety related, but honestly, flying itself doesn't scare me or anything. I'm fine on take-off, I'm fine during flying, but as soon as we start to drop to land, my stomach goes all crazy and I can feel the motions really irritating me.
I used to get car sick a lot as a child, I don't know if that's related at all.
My husband suffers from this. The first trip we took together was awful. He kept dry heaving in his seat. He was miserable and embarrassed. When we finally got to our hotel he was so exhausted that he needed to lay down for a few hours before we could do anything. He gets motion sickness very easily. I had him visit his Dr. and he was prescribed a Transform Scop patch. It is a small patch that you stick behind your ear. You apply it the day before your trip and it lasts 72 hours if you leave it in place. Then re-apply a new one for the trip home. Generally my husband gets about 4 or 5 depending on how long our vacation is.
On our last trip we rode the subway in NYC, my husband got sick so he ended up wearing a patch the whole time. The patch has changed everything for my husband in regards to flying. He has suffered from motion sickness his whole life. He used to get car sick often as a child. Not so much anymore as the best way to curb motion sickness is to sit in the front seat and look forward. I hope this helps! My husband said it has changed everything for him.
It has happened to me many a time in the past when flying.
I'm ok during the flight, but it's that period of time during the landing phase when it hit me. And it's not like the plane is doing crazy landing maneuvers, just a straight line descent.
Happened a few times when I was a kid, went away for a bit when I was in my 20's, and started up again when I was in my 30's.
I think some of it may have been due to anxiety. I fear getting sick, so it became a self fulfilling prophecy during landing as my mind starts playing tricks on me. The nervousness, then one thing leads to another and my heart starts beating fast.
The past several years though I've been fine during landing (all international flights). I've flown business class so that might have helped as I don't have as much anxiety as being in cattle class. I used to take scopace, a pill form of scopaline. That stuff is very strong and didn't like the side effects so stopped. Now I take bonine which you can find in any store or online. Two chewable tablets and I'm good to go for 24 hours.
But you never know, I just might have one of those days where the old feelings of anxiety happen during landing, and goes from there.
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