rnpaulie
02-24-2007, 01:25 PM
I am new to this forum and in the past week have found all the information quite helpful. I have flown three times since my honeymoon in 2002. The first time was a bit scary but we flew out the same night as our wedding and I was plain exhausted at that point so I didn't care much lol-- the second time was with our kids in Feb 05 to Disney and the flight down I was more concerned with making sure the kids had a wonderful time on their first flight. Pushed my fear aside for them, so to speak. On the flight back we had no access to a computer so we ended up in "C" (we flew Southwest) Visions of being separated from my family started the panic. As we were sitting there waiting in C, one of the Southwest employees comes over the intercom and explains that the plane is en route from Manchester NH and the weather is less than perfect. He then goes on to explain that the seatbelt light will be on for the majority of our flight (ok, not helping my increasing panic) and that we should respect the seatbelt sign because they do not want anyone to bump their heads on the ceiling of the cabin!!!!!!! At this point I am telling hubby I am renting a car and will meet them in NH the next day LOL. I ended up getting on the plane and it was a very bumpy ride. If I had found this forum before then I don't think the turbulence would have been as terrifying as it was. The landing was not fun-- every time we attempted to descend it felt like we were being pulled up on a bungee cord and the kids were yelling WHEEE!! like they were on a ride. I was not amused, I went on Tower of Terror and HATED it, so bungee rides are not for me :) That sense of dread followed me to the next flight in October, where I asked my MD for something to help me relax. A heart rate of 150 is not comfortable for any length of time:( This time we flew JetBlue and the combo of the Ativan and watching their TV's helped quite a bit. I didn't like the feeling of a fuzzy head though and wished I didn't feel the need to take it. I had experienced dizziness and cold sweats just trying to pick the SEATS for the flight!! We are seven weeks away from going to Orlando again- Southwest and for the first time I am feeling very confident about flying. It's all due to the wonderful information from this forum. Thanks to everyone for their input and for Captain Stark for his explanations of the scary unknown bumps and noises.... I don't think I am going to need anything to get through this-- am actually looking forward to confronting my fears and enjoying the flights!!