London here I come...........

[momrek06]

:D Ok everyone: I finally did it. I booked my flight to London from Boston for Christmas week. I am flying on AA and it is a Boeing 777. Please tell me anything GOOD you can about this plane. Like it is big and roomy and quiet and there will be absolutely no reason for me to panic. It is a night flight. It is roughly 6 hours long. I am going to take the Fear of Flying course online.

My son is studying overseas and has been gone since June. It will be 7 months before I will see him and he has asked me to please deal with my anxiety and get over to London to see him. I have decided I have to do this for him as well as ME. Hey, after-all, I maybe fine in the long run.

p.s. I also posted this on Capt Ray for his opinion as well.

THANKS!

[JamieAllison]

Hi,

That's so exciting! I've done the Boston to London trip a number of times, in fact, I'll be doing my 7th trip there in October. I love the 777. It is a great plane with a great safety record. Quite a few of my trips have been on the 777 and it is my favorite. It has a very powerful takeoff, which I really like. I also love the seatback video screens.

No reason to panic. The night flight is fine and the 6 hours usually goes by surprisingly quickly.

Jamie

[momrek06]

OMG..I love you guys :grouphug: thank you so much for being so HONEST. I am feeling soooo much better just in reading your responses. Do you know what an idiot I am I spent until 1am last night looking at the BOEING 777 website and saw the cockpit and they had pictures of the seating area as well and it does look huge and with those tv sets in all the seats.:D

I am really going to keep with all the positive discussion daily in my life as far as this trip goes. My older son just said..."mom, do you believe you are going to Europe?"...I am doing this first and foremost for my younger son and then of course for me. :thumbsup:

I just know I can do it:nod: . The bottomline is I HATE being this way. I do not want to take med's because that stuff does not agree with me. I will use my sea bands or explorer relief band for motion issues and probably take benedryl to sleep.

:bigplane: HERE I AM, off to London!!!!

[Jeff California]

The only time I have been on a 777 was a trip to Hawaii a few years ago. The plane is huge! Sean gave you some awesome information there.

[momrek06]

Here I am again...trying to stay positive! I just thought of something, I am flying out on December 23rd. Do you think I will have turbulence because of the time of year, being winter and all.:sigh:

Thanks.

[momrek06]

OMG..Sean...again, thanks for all your input. Please bear with me as I create all this dilemma in my life. It is what I do best. My hubby and 2 sons(24&20) think it is all in my head and I tend to agree with them. The three have been everywhere. Hubby has taken both of them to Europe and never me because I refused to go, I was just fine staying home with my feet planted firmly on the ground. :tongue:

But... hey, this may open new doors for me. I have flown distances in the USA like to Colorado and Vegas (from Boston) ALL WITH LAYOVERS. I always have to stop after a few hours (2 max) and regroup and then re-board and continue on with my travels. BUT the London trip will be almost 7 hours straight...ugh...! At least it is an evening flight and I will sleep for a portion of it, making the time hopefully pass quickly.:tongue:

MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN TO ME RAMBLE ON!!!:sunshine:

[JPenny]

I flew JFK to London in July--was so proud that I did great! It was overnight as well. I'd recommend getting some Ativan from the DR. I used it for the first time on this trip and it helped tremendously--I was even able to SLEEP on the flight (dozing, not out cold). I vaguely remember that we bounced around some on that flight at one point, but it wasn't enough to alarm me. I kind of thought, hmm, we're bouncing around a bit . . . and then I drifted back to sleep. You'll love the experience of being in London, and it will gear you up to do it again . . . and again . . .

Cheerio!

Jean

[momrek06]

Ahh, thanks, Jean!!!:D
Now tell me about the ativan...what dosage did you get and were you groggy the next day? We arrive at 7am London time and plan to proceed like usual and maybe a quick little nap mid-day-ish and then out for the night until 10-ish to try to lose any jet-lag.

Jean..LOVE THE PIC. I am so hoping to post a pic like yours when I return.

And OT would you PM me with your hot London tips for sightseeing???:sunshine:

Thank you!!!:thumbsup:

[JPenny]

I can't remember the exact dosage--I'll try to remember to check next time I go upstairs (see how lazy I am??!). They are tiny white pills that are easy to break in half, so you can even just take half of one. I took just one, but the DR said I could take two if I needed to. He said they lasted 8 hours.

I didn't notice feeling different while I was on Ativan. I was definitely more relaxed. Even if an anxious thought crossed my mind, my body didn't go into panic mode--racing heart, shaking, etc. I remember feeling fear on take-offs, but it was a milder, detached anxiety--like I knew it was discomfort that would be over soon, rather than the "I'm about to die!" feeling.

I did get drowsy on the long flights, which was why I was able to sleep. I think I was probably more "out of it" than I thought I was, but no one said "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT LADY?!" and I didn't drool or anything.

On arrival, I was able to function normally and feel normal (just jet-lagged!) I did notice that when I went to bed on the nights after I had taken Ativan, I was OUT! It was all positive for me, and I wish I had sought help like this sooner in my FOF history. I don't plan to always use Ativan, but it does make flying more of a normal every-day thing to me, rather than a horrible something to avoid.

About sightseeing in London: all I saw of London was Heathrow, Gatwick, and the bus station. We whisked ourselves straight to Oxford and stayed there the whole time. Oxford is a little more than an hour's bus (coach!) ride from London, and is full of old colleges, and quaint shops and pubs. Here are two more pictures. You'll LOVE it!!!

Jean