Feeling Sick After Practice?

[Guest rrruuunnn]

I have 5 hours in my log book. A couple hours after every flight training, I feel tired, dizzy, and sick for the next 12 to 24 hours. I feel it mostly in my head towards the neck area. My doctor said that he believes my high blood pressure is causing this.

 

Does anyone think helicopter training will be different?

 

 

[Guest rrruuunnn]

Maybe, this sickness is from unstable air pressure.

 

If so, pressurized cabin won't be cheap.

 

 

[Guest airsick]

Does anyone think helicopter training will be different?

I am no doctor but I would imagine the extra workload of flying a chopper wouldn't do your blood pressure any favours. When you first start they are a whole lot harder to get a handle on.

 

 

[facthunter]

Investigation.

 

I would get a thorough medical assessment. The fact that the symptoms persist for so long afterwards is interesting. The approach would be (after medical assessment) to improve your level of fitness. Flying stress (concentration/ workload) can cause very high heart rates, that can cause problems. Have it all checked out. Use a non-DAME doctor initially, but don't put it off Nev..

 

 

[Guest airsick]

Use a non-DAME doctor initially

Asides from costs there is no benefit to using a non-DAME doctor. If some sort of medical problem is found that prevents you from flying then you are grounded regardless of whether it was your local GP or a DAME that found it.

 

(Not suggesting that this was the motive behind Nevs comments by the way!)

 

 

[Guest brentc]

What have you been doing in your lessons? Have they included steep turns and the like or just straight and level? What altitudes are you getting to, 3,000 ft? I'm not surprised if you feel unwell if you've been doing steep turns and lots of climbing and descending, however if it's been pretty benign then you should consult your GP. Do you get a similar sensation when travelling in an airliner? They are pressurised to 8,500 ft or thereabouts, so if you have symptoms there, then that makes a little more sense to me.

 

What type of aircraft are you training in? Are you comfortable in in or is your neck hurting because you're ducking under the wing root to see outside perhaps?

 

Perhaps you need to try and relax, not stress, take it all in and enjoy!

 

 

[Guest pelorus32]

I have 5 hours in my log book. A couple hours after every flight training, I feel tired, dizzy, and sick for the next 12 to 24 hours. I feel it mostly in my head towards the neck area. My doctor said that he believes my high blood pressure is causing this.Does anyone think helicopter training will be different?

Learning to fly, is for most people, stressful. It becomes less stressful as you become more in command of the aircraft and your skills grow to enable you to cope with the demands of piloting. My brief experiences at the controls of light helicopters - "here fly this whilst I roll a smoke" - would lead me to suggest that it is more complex than flying a phixed wing as the rotary wing jockeys call them.

 

I think many of us can recall feeling wiped out after a lesson - hardly able to put one foot in front of another!

 

I'm very much in line with Nev on this, get it checked out thoroughly by a doctor. It may be that your doctor suggests using a Holter monitor to give you a 24 hour picture of your BP so that he/she can build a picture of what's happening when and after you fly.

 

The other thing to do is to run through the "I'M SAFE" checklist and think about doing what you need to do to ensure that you are in a fit condition to fly - and do it a day or two before you fly as well so that you prepare yourself.

 

I've met students who reduce their food and/or fluid intakes before a lesson because they want to restrict their need for a comfort stop or they are concerned about air sickness. Neither of these things is good to do. In addition if you are tense, anxious or excited about your lessons you may not sleep well before a lesson - that will only add to the issues.

 

Finally exercise is always good and some targeted relaxation techniques may also help. A relaxed but alert pilot is always better than one who is tense.

 

Let us know how you go.

 

Kind regards

 

Mike

 

 

[Deskpilot]

RRRUUUNNN!!! Maybe you should do just that, but only under Doctors advice. Quadruples and all that are not fun.

 

Seriously though, I had similar problems at first and I told my instructor that I was tense all the time and not feeling 'as one' with the aircraft. He took me up to 5000ft+ and said, do what you like, I'll take over if you over do it. For half an hour I did uncoordinated turns, climbs, dives, tight turns around scattered clouds etc etc. My stress was gone and I felt a lot more relaxed on a few landings that followed. Now that might not be your problem but next time you fly, be aware of how tightly you're holding the stick/yoke. If you're wringing it's neck, there's your answer.

 

Another thought, and this applies to every one. When I worked, as a Metrologist, I used to come home knackered, and with head aches and tight neck muscles. Can't remember the history line but I eventually went to see a Chiropractic and started a program of Subluxation. Basically this is the correction of spinal posture which removes pressure on all the nerves that radiate from the spinal colum. I found that not only did my head hang too far forward, but it was also laterally displaced by about an inch.I also had a sides ways 's' bend in my back. After a years treatment, I stood taller and straighter than I ever had before. From birth to death, there is pressure on ones spine and, although not cheap, the straightening of spine effects every part of the body. Now I'm not talking about shopping mall bones crackers here. Seek professional help only. BTW, the head aches and tight neck dissappeared within a few weeks.

 

 

[facthunter]

Response.

 

Airsick, I am aware of that, thanks. The reason is that you need to ascertain what the problem is, (if there is one), and that may need several steps of a process to take place. The initial priority is to get yourself right. The flying thing comes as a secondary consideration. No pilot should fly when unfit, and I strongly espouse that view, however I would recommend that you don't provide a situation where personal speculation (unrelated to fact) ends up on your medical file. Nev...

 

 

[Phildo]

Man, I am buggered after an hour in a drifter. Sometimes, I feel a little sick for a while afterwards. But I have always felt crook in bouncing around in boats and stuff.

 

I mean, who doesnt feel sick on a show ride. Doing circuits in a drifter is up, down bounce around yawing sideways .... good lord, no wonder we newbs get ill.

 

The stress is real, and I feel that with time the sickness will get less as I become a proficient, confident pilot (of which I am definately not!!)

 

Hang in there man, go get a check up - put your runners on and get busy flying.

 

It will soon pass. I few yesterday and yes I was a bit ill again, so what.

 

Could it be that you got to much U.V from the sun??? Did you keep your fluid up??

 

Phil.

 

 

[Barefootpilot]

A cheep way of seeing if its the flying would be to find someone just to take you for a fly for an hour. No circuits just a bit of a cruise around the local area and see how you feel when you get back. If your alrights its not the flying it must be the stress. That will go away after you become more confident in your skills and then you'll be able to sit back and enjoy!

 

Adam

 

 

[Bob1957]

I have 5 hours in my log book. A couple hours after every flight training, I feel tired, dizzy, and sick for the next 12 to 24 hours. I feel it mostly in my head towards the neck area. My doctor said that he believes my high blood pressure is causing this.Does anyone think helicopter training will be different?

this could be caused by stress and or adrenalin rush, I know a pilot that flew spitfires and he "thru up" untill his 1st solo and went on to fly as per normal.

learning is like putting a jigsaw together and when you complete it then you can see the whole picture.

 

good luck, power on.:thumb_up:

 

 

[Thx1137]

Actually, I was getting headaches, feeling a bit sick and got pretty drowsy until just before I soloed. It would start about an hour after the flight, NEVER when I was at the airfield. Originally I thought it was the Kwells I was taking for airsickness but I didn't need those after about 5 hours so that wasn't it.

 

I would get home, have some water then go to bed for a few hours. That helped but I didn't feel normal until the next morning.

 

My own normal blood pressure is normal to a fraction low. As I haven't had it for awhile now so I thought it just took a long time for my body to settle in.

 

One thing. Make sure you have plenty of water, I find I need 1 to 1.5 liters starting about 2 hours before the flight when the weather is warm. I was getting a dehydrated and that certainly didn't help. Yeah, I sweat like a pig in the big bubble SportStar canopy :-)

 

Steven.