Long international flight

[Andrewbanker]

Hi everyone,

I am heading off overseas and have a direct 22 hour flight. I have never been able to sleep on flights, and so I get a bit tense as lack of sleep is my main trigger.

When I do have seizures, they are usually grand mal.

I am wondering whether sleeping tablets might help, and whether this is a good idea. I currently take Keppra and Lactimal.

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

Andrew

 

[lindsayschu2]

There are a number of sleep meds my neuro has no issues with, but I would give a call to your neuro and make sure he or she is OK with it for you specifically.

 

[Garbo]

I second the above post. When I went over seas (only a nine hour flight over; twelve hour flight back) I was given a prescription plus told certain over the counter drugs do help. I don't want to tell you what you should/shouldn't take since I think talking to your neurologist is best, as mentioned above.

Also, telling a flight attendant may be a good idea. If you have to take medication and need water or you're concerned about having a seizure, I've never had an issue with them. In my own personal experience, they're always super friendly. When I was in Germany, they were overly friendly about the matter and brought me ice cream (bonus points!).

 

[epileric]

If your neurologist sees no problem with sleep medicines make sure that you don't have problems the next day.

I rarely use sleep aids but I did find it much harder than normal to wake up the next day & wasn't really able to wake up mentally for a good part of the day.

I know when I'm travelling out of the country I don't want to be too tired or appear like I might be stoned.

Personally I'd say focus on reducing your stress, be it by physical activity/exercise, meditation or other ways

 

[masterjen]

What about something like tylenol PM? I was given that when I was in the hospital for a video EEG and could not sleep. They didn't seem to think it would cause an issue with the medications I was on, and it did help. I would still recommend asking your neurologist before taking anything, but this is a specific one you could ask about to get an opinion on.

 

[katzy]

I went to India a couple of years ago and I took some Dramamine(Dimenhydrinate) for motion sickness and it helped me fall asleep on the plane. Killed 2 birds with 1 stone I was on Lamictal at the time too

 

[Andrewbanker]

Thanks everyone. I've had a few flight of up to 10 hours since I started having seizures. This is the longest one, so I am pretty apprehensive.

 

[Kgartner]

Please let us know how it goes! My daughter is scheduled to fly to Thailand in a few weeks, and will be on a direct flight to Hong Kong that lasts 15 hours. We thought we were in the clear because her doctor retracted her epilepsy diagnosis and took her off medication, but after being off meds for 7 weeks she had a seizure last week . Now she's back on medication (Trileptal instead of Kepppra), but I'm still concerned about the long flight.

Best of luck! I hope all goes smoothly for you.

 

[epileric]

I'm still concerned about the long flight.

Please don't get too stressed. I've flown numerous places & I've rarely had any seizures. I think the excitement of going somewhere has more effect on my seizures than the flying itself.