Drugs!

I'm doing a long flight soon - to London. I never sleep on planes - well, never more than the odd hour or so. I've a really hectic schedule when I get to London and need as much sleep as I can get - preferably I want to be knocked out for 7 or 8 hours.

Any suggestions or recommendations for drugs I can get from a pharmacy here to knock me out for this amount of time but that won't have me feeling woozy afterwards?

I don't really fancy miming the whole scenario in a pharmacy...!

Do antihistamines work for you? Most medicines for allergies contain antihistamines, and ones that are not marked "No Drowsiness" should cause most people to feel plenty sleepy. I am not sure that they will KO you in the way you describe, though. Some people react a lot more to antihistamines than others. And some others report a big of hangover afterwards. Everyone is different, though....

If you just want to fall asleep, melatonin works (for me). But it won't keep you comatose - it will merely help you enough to fall asleep.

I hate flying but zanex does the trick for me. I only use it for long flights. I fall asleep and before you know it I am at my destination.

Ambien.

There are lots of medications used for insomnia but I suspect that all require prescriptions in Japan and some may not be available in Japan.

Xanax or alprazolam is an antianxiety drug which works for some people but its half life is only 2-4 hours so you might wake up and need another dosage. A better choice might be an intermediate lasting benzodiazepine such as lorazepam or Ativan which last 6-8 hours. Again neither of these are hypnotics but rather sedatives.

Ambien (generic zolpidem), Lunesta (eszopicione), Sonata (zalepion) and some others (Dalmane, Restoral, ProSom) are all hypnotics but I suspect that all require a prescription as in the US they are all controlled substances as they are habit forming with a potential for abuse.

You might want to read about melatonin and using that to try to reset your sleep cycle. You start before you leave.

Ruth

Jo, second what Ruth says. Melatonin (5 mg) works real well washed down with chamomille tea or a shot of Dutch courage. Not sold in Japan but many people seem to have it. I'm not a big fan of pharmaceuticals but melatonin is different. Say "harroo" to everyone in London Town and tell them I'll be over at X-Mas hopefully.

In Japan, Drewell is easy to get (OTC). It's an antihistamine. Just about everything else people have mentioned above is either by prescription only or simply not available in Japan. Ambien, by the way, is called Myslee in Japan (by prescription only).

Zanex (sp?) will work for more than eight hours if you increase the dosage. I usually take 2-3 milligrams. My wife who is a nurse administers the dosage so I may have the dosage wrong. Ativan was also helpful. In any event after taking both, I didn't care any longer about how much the plane shook.

Increasing the dosage of Xanax does NOT always increase the length of time it works. The half life of the drug is 2-4 hours. Increasing the dosage does not change the half life. Also it is not a hypnotic and is only a sedative. If being calmer enables you to fall asleep then it might appear to make it work for more than 2-4 hours.

Ruth

Thanks all! Finally I think I'll go down the antihistamine road, which is what I've done in the past: I was wondering if there was anything better though, but sounds like most things you're talking about are to calm you down - I'll be calm, just bored, or they won't be available here.

Be careful if you take the antihistamine and plan to drink alcoholic beverages. The combination could make you very sleepy or conversely you could have a paradoxical affect and it might make you agitated.

Ruth

thanks.

to be honest, i'll never have more than one drink or two max when flying as i get super-dehydrated. even without alcohol i tend to drink a LOT of water on planes.

Bear in mind that over-the-counter cold medication in Japan is typically half as powerful as the over-the-counter drug with the same name in the U.S., so you have to take twice as much.

Richard, that'a a really good point!

Ruth has very good advice here.

Though just a word of warning from my experience: it just happens that I am one of those people who don't get knocked from Ambien, and I ended up with amnesia... it is rather scary because I found myself sitting in a convoluted way, it makes you wonder what you may have done in the 4 hours or so that you have just lost!!

Xanax is indeed short-acting. Clonazepam (Klonopin) has the exact same effects (both are benzodiazepines, and so is Valium btw) but it is longer-lasting and has more of a hypnotic (sleepy) effect. Valium (Diazepam) also works but it is very long-lasting.

Neither anti-histamines nor melatonin have done anything for my insomnia. Anti-histamines can also make many people rather stupid...

In any case, alcohol is a big no-no with any of those.

Tylenol or Excedrin PM is perfect. I use them for long flights every time.