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Preparations and remedies will vary depending on the person. There have been several notes in this thread about airplane interiors being "too cold"; I find the exact opposite, even in the winter. The resulting advice would be to dress lightly. Try to pack your suit-jacked into a duffle-bag, so that it would not be necessary to wear it while seated.
One person's "it's too cold" is another person's "it's too hot"... also true of restaurants and office buildings.
If the OP has a tablet, pre-load it with e-books to read as one can borrow free e-books from local libraries in the USA. As for pre-loading movies that might not be necessary depending on what type of tablet the OP has (android or Apple) and what airline & aircraft the OP is flying (as some airlines/aircraft allow android users use the tablets for free over the wifi system to watch available movies).
Always bring a sweater that can be removed if the temperature gets too hot and wear comfortable/clean socks or have booties socks to wear instead shoes to be more comfortable.
An empty bottle is always good to have as some airports have good water fountains. Also you can open a purchased canned drink and transfer whatever one is drinking immediately to an empty water bottle instead of carrying around an open can.
It is always good to carry some snacks. Although international flights give meals (and one can pre-order kosher, vegetarian, gluten-free, sodium-free versions) it is good to have something one likes for sure because one will be very hungry if they don't like the food served and snacks are a good backup.
I'd ask your doctor about whether you need a blood thinner. I always take a shot of lovenox before I fly due to a previous DVT. Empty water bottle is also a must. Other than that I pack snacks, books, gum, tablet and extra drinks. I sometimes take a muscle relaxer to sleep as it works better for me than ambien. If you can upgrade your seat to the economy preferred it may be worth it just for a little extra leg room.
Came back last night from Mombassa-Nairobi-Amsterdam-Atlanta-Greenville flight with 1 hr, 9.25 hour, 8 hour and 30 minute flight segments and a 10 hour layover in Nairobi and 3 hours each in Amsterdam and Atlanta.
My advice
Use foreign airlines like KLM or Emirates. They treat you better than US carriers. Their food is better.
Have a minimum of at least 2 hour layover while coming to US. They screen you and your hand luggage at the intermediary stops ( Amsterdam for me) and again you go through additional screenings and checks before you get on the airline bound for US. One hour is not enough.
If you can get Global Entry it might make the reentry into USA easier.
I like aisle seats. Easier to get up and walk and use restrooms. And on many flights the windows are kept shut most of the time to prevent light hitting the entertainment screens.
Hydrate well ( I drink at the US airport water fountain with no problems) and don't consume too much booze on the flights.
Neck pillows and noise cancelling earphones are nice.
Noise canceling headphones that fit over your ear. I've done the third longest nonstop flight in the world (Houston to Dubai) as well as several other ultra-long-hauls.....on this most recent one to Egypt, I took some noise canceling headphones I got on Amazon, put the music from the entertainment system on low, and slept better than ever on an airplane. We also stayed up pretty much all night before boarding in the morning to come home, and that really helped me sleep better and fight off jetlag upon returning to my regular schedule.
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