Airplane flights - minimizing pain and sitting

[Griff522]

Thanks for all the flying tips. My extended family lives in TX and I'm in MI so we are flying home for Christmas and I'm already dreading it. My husband likes to travel too so I've been on a number a flights since this condition started last year. We have two teenagers so my husband books us three across and he takes the aisle seat across from that. I sit in the aisle seat and would love to stretch my legs out across my kids but like I said they are teenagers and don't really want my legs across their laps. I mights have to bribe them on this Christmas trip though

Pianogal, are you by any chance Armenian? My Armenian mom is from LA and I know there is a large population of them out there. She definitely looks middle eastern (cause she is) but she won't fly. Shes got a real phobia about it. I look more like my dad and his heritage was English so I never really thought about what it might be like to look middle eastern and feel like people are suspicious of you.

[pianogal]

Hi Griff,
wow, you're a good guesser. Yes, I am Armenian! Tell your mom, that if I can fly all these times while doing things that look suspicious, and I haven't gotten in trouble, she can definitely fly. Although sometimes Armenians just get funny as they get older. Like my Grandma won't drive freeways.

Griff, if I were you, I'd only sit during the fasten seatbelt sign part, and ask your family take turns two at a time standing, you can stand some too...musical chairs. I know they are teenagers but maybe bribes? threats? jk... offer that they can sit as long as they want if they sit on a wooden spike with nails on it? lol just kiddin. Seriously, they need to know how much you hurt and be willing to have the compassion to sacrifice for their mom right now. This month I had to fly on 6 flights ranging from 3 1/2 hours to 90 minutes and believe me, I only sat during the fasten seatbelt time... so 30 minutes at start, 30 minutes at end. When I got a row to myself, it was even shorter sitting. I only sat when they walked past me... and as soon as the plane was in the air, I lay even w/fasten seatbelt sign on... just w/myseatbelt on! Also, on one flight w/a more understanding crew, I stood in front of my seat, or kneeled on it... until absolutely necessary. There is NO need to be sitting for that first part anyways.... waiting for the plane to move. sheesh.

Also, another tip... upon returning from the sky to land...as soon as they flash 'fasten seatbelt'... make a quick dash to the bathroom. They won't say... no you can't use it... cause they figure you just realized you need to use it before staying seated for a long time... this can buy you 5-10 minutes.

I bring my tweezers on my flight... and hog a bathroom for a good 30 minutes mid flight just tweezing my eyebrows. (you know, armenians have a lot of eyebrows to tweeze.... lol)

bring an ipod and listen to music while you stand... or get to know your cabin crew... offer jokingly to help pass out drinks!

I know a lot of people are law abiding, attention avoiding people.... I guess I'm lucky I'm a person who's used to being on stage and I've always been comfortable being different than the norm.... but this condition makes you learn... you just gotta do what you gota do, and who really gives a care what anyone else thinks about how you look during the flight.... if you gotta stand, stand. if you gotta lay, lay. if you've gotta hog a bathroom, hog a bathroom. you are enduring a pain like no other, and no one could understand but if they did, they would excuse everything you do.

[pianogal]

air new zealand offers cuddle class!
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/busin ... ss.html?dr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ynlDB4Z ... r_embedded

ryanair offers standing up travel!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/artic ... ets-4.html

[JeanieC]

Well, this does put a whole new slant on people who hog the bathroom on flights!

Seriously though Pianogal I am glad to have the warning about the chemical cold packs as I was seriously considering investigating those for a flight next month. I really rely on cold packs a lot and the kind I use have gel in them which you place in the freezer. They are from Walgreens and are about the size of a very large maxipad. I like to take them with me when I travel any where and I worry about the "liquids, gels and aerosols" rule. When I went to Houston for diagnosis and surgery this year we did not want to pay extra for checked lugggage so I packed them in my carry on, fully expecting them to be confiscated, however they went through the security scanner with no questions asked.

If you have to fly on a 50 seater airplane, I discovered that on a short, slightly over an hour and a quarter flight, they keep the seatbelt signs on all the time and they only have one bathroom. So the only way to stand is to pretend you need to go to the bathroom and walk to the back of the plane. And if you do need to, you'd better hope that no-one is in there plucking their eyebrows!

lHope your doctor visit goes well tomorrow.

[Amanda]

Airline security differs in deffering regions, in Europe a tweezers is not permitted in your handluggage....so I will have to keep the bushy eyebrows until I land!!! Ive brought the kind of ice packs that have a bubble that you burst to activate them on many airlines...i always take letter from my doctors pleading that i can stand until the last moment and mostly it works for me....especially if you have female hostesses they seem to understand where the pain really is !!!
The biggest secret I have is to use Lidocaine patches, take some tylex and then board the plane last....then I have less time to sit. i also try to limit my flights to not more than an hour!
Travelling in a car gives me much more pain.....tomorrow im embarking on a long drive and im dreading it....I will use ice as much as I can and other methods....but it will bring on a long flare up of pain!!!!
Michael O'Leary of Ryanair has suggested a standing up seat on planes...thats great, but Ive checked up ont hese and they wont be available to disabled passengers....so not much good to me!!!!

[Griff522]

Tell your mom, that if I can fly all these times while doing things that look suspicious, and I haven't gotten in trouble, she can definitely fly. Although sometimes Armenians just get funny as they get older. Like my Grandma won't drive freeways.

My mom is too nervous to fly. She's way too much of a control freak and she can't tell the pilot to "slow down" or "be careful" so she prefers to take the train. Oh and my Armenia grandma never drove. Say what you will about LA - they do have great a mass transit system. She took the bus everywhere!

I know they are teenagers but maybe bribes? threats? jk... offer that they can sit as long as they want if they sit on a wooden spike with nails on it? lol just kiddin. Seriously, they need to know how much you hurt and be willing to have the compassion to sacrifice for their mom right now.

I had my daughter read your post last night and hopefully hearing it from someone else will help her understand mom's pain, and she can discuss it with her brother. She laughed at the part about plucking eyebrows cause she as well as I got the Aremenian brows

I have a TENS unit and when we've flown I've always put it on once we get to the gate. It does help but I still have to minimize sitting.

[pianogal]

glad to be of assistance through the humor that is my life.

wish I knew how to make a tens unit work for me. will have to try it again.

good luck w/your trip! I'll keep you in my prayers...

[Cora]

OMG, I just read this. really, if you ever do stand-up PN humor, this is your closer.

Great story and thanks for the advice.
Cora

[Cora]

still laughing....

[nyt]

If you have a dr.'s note to fly with ice packs you can fly with the chemical ice packs or ones that go in a cooler, I have flown with both. I find that ice in a ziplock just leaks all over and they run out of ice on the longer flights for such purposes. I did purchase one of the ice bags like one would use for a headache and that works much better than the ziplock but still the longer flights couldn't give me enough ice to do any good.

I bring a dr.'s note for everything I need and get a pat down as my TENS unit sets off the security alarm. Getting pat down is no fun because my legs are soooo sensitive to touch.

For my surgery with Dr. Hibner 8 weeks ago I did purchase 2 seats for myself and called the airline to select my seats and arrange a wheelchair. I wish I had done that the first time I went to see Dr. Hibner as I was miserable when I got home. If you can afford 2 seats that is the only way to go.

I also have ethnic looking issues and am very careful what I wear. I am of mixed origin and have been asked if I am Middle Eastern in decent or Spanish or Native American. Has been this way all my life but since 9/11 most people think I am Middle Eastern versus Spanish, of which I am neither.