Long haul to Oz.

[ETHEL103]

Afternoon lovely peeps. My daughter desperately wants me and hubby to fly to Melbourne in August 2022 for her 40th.Im in presistant a fib but due a CV in hopefully 3 months. Also due an Ablation but not sure if it will happen by then. I do realise that both these procedures are not a cure all. My question is has anyone in a fib flown long haul. 26 hrs. I'm really scared about it.

[Paulbounce]

From what I understand Ethel flying is fine - even long haul. This is what I have been told by my cardio and doctor. Melbourne will be great - can you hide me in your luggage and sneak me in

Enjoy and don't worry.

Paul

[ETHEL103 in reply to Paulbounce]

Cheers Paul. Hopefully I can ask at cv day lol.

[Paulbounce in reply to ETHEL103]

I'm in Ethel. I'm a bit big for hand luggage so just put me the hold I'll pay the cost of the extra case heh.

Have a lovely weekend.

Paul

[Paulbounce]

On a serious note Ethel this is worth a read - just common sense.

mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...

I like the last bit.

"With some planning, you can enjoy your travels and live an active life with atrial fibrillation"

Perfect. You go and enjoy.

Paul

[ETHEL103 in reply to Paulbounce]

Thank you duly read. Still a bit worried tho.

[Paulbounce in reply to ETHEL103]

You'll be fine Ethel - I know you will. You'll beat afib - it won't beat you. Conquer that fear and see how good you feel afterwards. Don't conquer it and you'll live with regrets.

Go for it sweetheart. You will nail it. I may have said this before on the forum but I'll say it again - without fear, there’s no challenge. Without challenge, there’s no growth. Without growth, there’s no life.

Loads of best,

Paul

[BobD Volunteer]

Just make sure that you stay well hydrated and avoid alcohol on the trip. Gve yourself plenty of time at the airports as well to avoid stress.

[ETHEL103 in reply to BobD]

Will do. Thanks.

[Thecyclist]

Don't suffer from Afib but do have arrhythmia's, terrible constant PVC's and also Tachycardia's, I flew to Oz in December 2019, just before the pandemic, I too was really concerned as it was such a long flight, my consultant gave me the all clear but said avoid alcohol and stay hydrated as Bob says, so that's sound advice. She also said make sure your insurance is up to date, as if they have to divert they may send a bill if it is diverted for my sake! As I am not a great flyer despite flying a lot for my work, I managed to get some Diazepam for the flight from my GP. They were a God send and took the edge off where a few beers and wines would have been consumed before.

Anyhow the flight was fine and went way quicker than I expected, both there and back, it was over before I knew it, I slept for a good few hours on the way back, not so much the way over as I was also excited to see my daughter. But it was fine, so I wouldn't be too concerned. I probably could have done it without any anti anxiety meds to be honest and only ended up taking a couple so I am not necessarily recommending but it helped me. Melbourne is a great city, I really liked it there, similar climate to the continental Europe so will be chilly in August, their winter.

I flew Qatar, they were amazing, seats were huge and comfy in Economy, I'd avoid Qantas/BA. Emirates, Singapore, Malaysian are also great, but I think Qatar are probably the best, hopefully the 380's will be back in the air again as well, as they do make a difference as they are huge.

[ETHEL103 in reply to Thecyclist]

Oh thank you so much. Great advice.

[Glemham in reply to ETHEL103]

The good thing is both Australia and New Zealand have reciprocal health care arrangements with the UK, so ,heaven forbid it’s needed, but it is there for us. I’m going over to see my daughter in Sydney hopefully in February and I found that reassuring to know. Love Melbourne. Have a great visit.

[Hidden]

G'day Ethel103,I have done Heathrow to Sydney or Melbourne quite a lot over the years. My experience is to fly Cathay Pacific and break my journey at Hong Kong. If you ain't done the haul before it's a bit challenging. I've also done Malaysian and stopped over in Kuala Lumpur - just fine. But I've also done straight through, just changing aircraft that's all. Much more demanding. Avoid Qantas and BA like the plague.

No booze in flight, keep well hydrated with water, move around the cabin in flight as much as you can, when seated do as much static ankle exercises as you can, including stretching your feet and ankles, and relax. Get some in flight(compression) socks, Amazon!

Sydney is my home town, Melbourne is my town I adore and rural Victoria in general. Envy you 😃

Take out travel insurance, speak to travel insurers and 'fess up to AF. See wot they say. Speak to GP or Pharmacist and get a letter stating your medication and what it's for in case any government authority challenges you.

Then sit back and enjoy the flight, AND if you get out to the Dandenongs, my love to Puffing Billy 😂😂

John

[ETHEL103]

Ah thanks for your tips

[Hidden in reply to ETHEL103]

Oh yes a couple more thoughts.

1) Make sure you have enough medication for the full blown round trip - if you are away for a month take enough medication for the month plus a bit extra in the event of delays en route.

2) If you are on Warfarin ( can't comment on the NOAC's) and you self test for INR with a handheld device like Coaguchek then take it with you and self test regardless as to whether you are due for an INR check or not while you are away. I have found over nearly 12 years that my INR always trends upwards when I am away. Of course have a plan whereby you can communicae with your surgery back home if you are on Warfarin to report unusual things, or rely on your daughter to get you seen by her surgery in Melbourne if need be, but be prepared to pay !

3) As a security thing, seperate your medication, put small amounts in your carry on cabin baggage enough for the flight plus some and the rest that you will need while away in your baggage which will go into the aircraft hold and which you won't be able to get to until you get to Melbourne.

3) Also do not try and chase the clock and match the time you take medication in Britain to the time zones you fly through around the world. My advice is keep your watch on London time and take all your medication at the normal London time you are used to, even when in flight. When you get to Melbourne reset your watch to local time and just carry on with your medication doses. Remember as you travel eastwards to Oz local times will be changing all the time and its enough to drive you bonkers trying to match medication with dose times. Most likely even if you fly direct you won't be in flight for much more than 24 hours and any medication you are on can easily withstand a one off change in the time when you take it, even Warfarin.

Then when you are in Melbourne, so if you arrive in Melbourne at 08.30 am just forget your morning doses that you would normally take in Britain, reset your watch and start medicating again in the Aussie evening with your evening doses as you would if you were home in Britain. Then just carry on as usual. Do the exact reverse coming home.

4) CoVid ....... the Aussies have been very slack assed when it comes to vaccines and as a result there have been ongoing outbreaks all around Oz particularly in Sydney and Melbourne and in rural areas too. So check with your travel agent or Australia House in London what their requirements are. Make sure you are holding up to date certification from the NHS here as to what your vaccination has been and whether you have had booster. In Oz they'd be really surprised about boosters - they are still way behind with initial vaccinations to date - compared to us anyway.

Hope all this mumbo jumbo helps but it is important. Finally, if in doubt about the timing as to when you take your medication you could always ask your GP or maybe even better still have a Pharmacists Consultation and discuss it with him/her.

Enjoy your holiday. What part of Melbourne will you be staying ?? Don't forget to tell us how it all went for you.

👍John

[Japaholic]

I’ve flown 24 hours plus many times, I set a timer on my phone so my medicine doesn’t get out of sync while changing zones, it’s very easy to forget where you are with your drugs

[Staffsgirl]

I’ve flown long haul a few times since diagnosis…not had a problem at all. Took all the advice, and certainly won’t hesitate to do it again. (Two of my children live long haul overseas: the benefits of seeing them in person are tremendous!)

[Singwell]

I agree with John it won't be the flight but the jet lag afterwards that might trigger problems. Make sure you've got some 'no excitement time' on arrival. It'll be hard but worth it. Take magnesium if it suits you - huge help with jet lag. Absolutely fess up to the insurance and get a different insurer if needed. Sorry. But it will cost more! The other top advice I'd give IF you can get a good deal - premium economy or business - makes the world of difference to be able to lie down flat and sleep. If it's a special family trip and you can afford it, pay the extra. We asked Trailfinders to source us a flight because we were doing three centres on a business trip. They were great.

[Billiam54]

Hi Ethel,

I have flown to Brisbane since being diagnosed with AF, I had been cardioverted and declared that I had on my insurance.

I have not read all of the replies to you so I apologise if this has already been stated. You will need a letter from your GP declaring the medication that you are carrying/taking and the reason.

We will be going back as soon as things open back up.

Enjoy you trip,

Bill

[Leeson]

I flew around the world , for four months away, 16 stops, I had a bit of an episode in Singapore with heart racing on our way home, took extra tablet which calmed it down, but had a terrific time, don't be scared, since then have been on around Australia trip for twelve months, and holidays to Japan, Asia, and back to the UK and Ireland, grab the bull by the horns.

[Puzzler46]

Hi Ethel, I was diagnosed with AF in New Zealand three years ago about 3 weeks before I was due to fly back to UK. I had to delay flying back for a month but then flew with no problems. I’ve done two return trips to NZ since with no ill effects. I’m 74 years old and hope to do a few more trips once C19 is less of an issue. Travel safely!

[Maggimunro]

Hi EthelI flew to Oz just 5 weeks after my second ablation. No problems at all but. I did wear good compression stockings , drank loads of water and walked up and down the plane frequently. Absolutely no alcohol though.

[KipperJohn]

We’ve been to stunning Melbourne about 8 times since our youngest married and emigrated there in 2004 . We have 3 Aussie granddaughters. I’ve flown with PAF, prostate cancer and an inguinal hernia and still had a great time. We were booked to go again in March 2020 but obviously that was cancelled due to the pandemic. Plenty of good advice in the replies above. It’s a long way, not cheap as we now fly business class to make things easier. Personally it’s all the other ageing mobility issues as much as PAF that are the drawbacks but at 74 and 70 with various health issues we still plan to go again ASAP. We’re lucky that we can stay with the family and have done many of the ‘sights’ including the Reef, Sydney Harbour, Victoria and the Great Ocean Road.

I’ve used the ‘reciprocal health arrangements’ once and they were brilliant.

It’s only natural to be anxious and I’m no different but take all the sensible precautions and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

[Morzine]

Hi Ethel, I did it in autumne2019. I flew first to Singapore got pre booked taxi to hotel stayed two night, thrn flew to cairns, did the same coming home but ine night. Singapore airport was a bit of a hsssle as they do fingerprints and mine wouldn’t work. So I’d advise still splitting the journey but maybe Dubai or alba dhabi . Splitting it makes it easier.I was nervous but it went well. Yes agree with others get everywhere in plenty time.

I couldn’t afford business class but I pre paid and booked my seats all with extra legroom buy the bulkhead or doors....it was great, I bought a blow up foot stool and was able to put my feet up cos I had extra space,. It wasn’t that dear booking the extra legroom seats, I’d deffo go for thst.

I can’t wait to go to Australia again as I afore it there, but I’d not do Singapore as a stop purely because the fingerprint saga was stressful ....I had no idea as you get older your fingerprints fade, they gave lots of old folk arriving and it nit working.....I was 65 thrn.

Sue

[Hidden]

You are possibly worrying about the wrong bit of Afib ETHEL103. The most important thing is what happens with regard to blood clots. And the answer is that if you are regularly taking a 'blood thinner' (anticoagulant), or are deemed not to be at high risk as revealed by your CHADS score, and not taking one, then flying won't cause an extra risk. If you regularly have symptoms from your AF then they could possibly feel a little more uncomfortable during the flight, but nothing more deadly than that. Make sure you have your medication with you and an adequate supply for your trip and you'll be fine. Flying is not contra-indicated with Afib.

[ETHEL103]

Wow what a fab lot you all are thank you so much I feel heaps better now and yes I will update September 2022.Thankyou all again. X

[Deacon-L]

Hi Ethel,

I have PAF and have flown many long-haul flights including UK to New Zealand-Australia and back and sometimes had AF episodes during the flights.

I found that the 3 main manageable triggers to avoid are -

1-no alcohol:

2- regular hydration (water rather than coffee) and most importantly ....

3-managing a calm mind.

I now don't touch alcohol on or pre-flight and as I have PAF, I've had no episodes when flying since dropping the glasses of wine on board and drinking lots of water.

Managing the environment of your mind keeping in a calm zone is really helpful. For that I download what I call 'dozy/sleep music'.

Consider the long-haul flight as 'treat'- a rare bit of peace (me time) away from the constantly pinging phone interruptions and demands etc we have normal in our daily life.

Download some good books to read, movies, - Fun cheery ones.... - I once started watching the movie 'Dunkirk' and ended up putting it off by the disturbing scenes (I was the Emoji with the big eyes!)

By contrast, watching the 1st 'The Hangover' movie had tears of laughter rolling down my cheeks!

If you practice meditation, it's also good at creating a relaxed and calm mind, helps keep AF under control and really aids your sleeps on board.

I hope that helps...

😊

[gateman]

I flew to Australia and back a few years ago. I am and was in perm. afib, on apixaban and bisop. I felt fine with no problems at all.

[Barlick43]

78 year old in perm af since about 2016 and have flown to Tasmania to my family every year till the last one.... all ok with me.

[foxglove1]

Hello I can only say I have visited Sydney 4 times in the last 6 years visiting family. Travelled on my own and no problem. I am PAF have been since 2008 and on Apixoban and 73. If you are travelling with your husband I would not give it a second thought. Melbourne is beautiful. Enjoy!

[MissTia123]

I live in OZ and have flown to the USA. It was very hard but what I did was set my watch to USA time when I left and woke/slept/ate/medication on that time zone in the plane and stop over and did not drink alcohol/coffee at all and ate sparingly. I was okay and managed. When I arrived I was already in the time zone that way and it was okay. I made sure I had all the medication I needed and letters from Dr’s and I choose “assistance” for flights as the airports are big and I didnt want to have to walk between transfers at LAX. Im young so people look surprised when I got ferried about but I wanted it to go smoothly. Meditation and relaxation exercises helped as I was anxious and fearful but determined to go! It was great!!

[Pdotg]

I've done the trip to Oz many times, sometimes by very long routes (36 hours the longest). It's been fine. Take your meds at the right time, that's all. When you arrive you can slowly adjust the timing.

[lovetogarden]

Oh, do make the trip and enjoy!! The last time we did this long haul from the US to NZ/Australia (just before Covid) I worked with a terrific travel expert who was able to book flights that allowed for an overnight stop each way. I’m in the US, so routing was different, but still the longest segment was only 11 hours. I knew that w tachycardia/afib and rheumatoid arthritis, I’d be a puddle of goo if we didn’t break it up. Our flights allowed for up to a 24 hour (I think..) layover, so careful scheduling bought me some overnight, hotel downtime. It did eat up extra travel days, but was worth it.

Hydrate, wear pressure socks, get up and walk a lot, upgrade to comfier seats if possible, talk to dr about meds to help you relax. Get solid prexexisting condition insurance. I also bought a special evacuation policy for the last trip. Take more meds with you than you’ll need and take all your meds with you as carry on, or at least most of them.

And with all the fretting out of the way, then you can have a wonderful time! ❤️

[01maxdog]

My partners daughter lives in Melbourne, I’ve been going every year with a fib , whether I’m in normal rhythm after an ablation or persistent a fib when it’s failed . As I’ve just had my third and last one I was allowed to fly after 7 days . That was to Spain . Agree with everything that’s been said , keep hydrated , lose the stress and walk round the aircraft . I find breathing exercises help. Get some good headphones and download your favourite music / shows . Chill out . Enjoy

[Hampden]

Lovely to hear all the positive stories as I hope to visit the UK again soon. If you can manage it I would advise stopping over and breaking the flight. I usually fly Singapore airlines and stop over for a night at the airport hotel for a night. Managed business class last time which was a huge help. Very little jet lag when I arrived in London but bad in Sydney. It goes though.

[Ren912]

About 4 years ago while in intermittent A fib, I flew from Canada to China, about 16 hrs non stop. I had no problem at all. No AFib during 3 week trip.

[Cat04]

I had an ablation Oct 2018 & flew to Australia in the following January, with my consultants blessing but I was nervous about going into afib again. All was fine, no alcohol, lots of water and sleep during the flight. You'll love it!

[Astridnova]

I've done that trip many times and it is a very long haul. Unless you are in business or first class, you are packed in like sardines. You cannot stretch your legs out and there is known increased risk of DVT. I think you are right to be worried. Wait until after those procedures and tell your daughter that it is too risky (or get your doctor to write something, if she is hard to convince. However, if you are going first class that's another story.