Jetlag

[flapsforty]

Skol what you do is between you, your company drugs testing programme and your conscience. Not for us to comment on.

For everybody else:
Halcion is in the benzodiazepine/valium family.
It's a so-called hypnotic agent, and taking it is generally not considered compatible with working as a pilot or flight attendant.

[skol]

Well that's very authoritarian. I am well aware of what they are.
They are used with the approval of my company and prescribed by the doctor who issues my licence.
If being the only one who can stay awake on the flight deck from time to time is such a bad thing then no doubt you'll have all the answers, so let's hear them

[TightSlot]

you'll have all the answers, so let's hear them

Nobody pretends to have all the answers - each solution is right for that person. Your solution is a chemical one: If it works for you, and is approved and acceptable in your country, then good for you. That same solution may not be approved in other countries, or by other airlines or doctors, and even if it is, may not be appropriate for other people to use. There is an opinion held by some that says that any prescription medicine type solution to jet-lag is incorrect for aviation professionals.

There's no "authoritarian" position being taken - simply a degree of slight surprise that an aviation professional should recommend a prescription drug that is a member of the benzodiazepine/valium family to one and all: Further I'm slightly surprised that you are able, categorically and finally, to state that your ability to stay awake on the flight deck when others can't is caused by the drug mentioned. Believing it to be so is one thing, proving it is another.

Nobody is looking for a fight here skol - just suggesting that a greater degree of thought should be applied before posting your opinions in this way.

[skol]

Censorship is alive and well on Pprune.
I've been using them for decades as mentioned and on departure from the UK on several occasions I can stay awake when others can't because I'm assured of a decent sleep beforehand.
I don't know if you are long haul but consider the scenario of where you start at midnight for a 14 hr flight after being unable to get a decent sleep prior. When it comes to your turn for crew rest you run into continuous mod. turbulence, happens all the time. You don't sleep then either, subsequently you arrive at the other end feeling as if you couldn't ride a bicycle let alone fly an aircraft.
Can I venture to suggest that responsible use is far preferable and more responsible than arriving at the other end in a fatigued state? It's only required occasionally not every flight.

I don't suffer any side effects and wake up feeling I'm ready for work.
Halcion is approved for use but not within a few hours of flying. I could look it up but I can't be bothered because you don't approve anyway.
Despite dire warnings of things that are going to happen to me from time to time I'm as fit as anyone my age when many have fallen by the wayside and either retired, switched to short-haul or lost their licence after inability to endure duties that can induce severe fatigue if not well rested.
Crew are responsible individuals and probably don't require a lecture, especially in view of the fact that you've never tried them.
Experts pontificate all the time about fatigue, drugs, fatigue reports, fatigue mitigation etc but it's often those without much experience of it. Which reminds of an incident that took place many years ago when our cabin crew complained of excessive fatigue on some long haul sectors.
The company doctor was assigned to fly these sectors and report back. After travelling half way around the world and back in first class he reported that he was feeling OK and there didn't appears to be a problem.
But as you say, each to his own.

[TightSlot]

Originally Posted by skol

Censorship is alive and well on Pprune.

No, it isn't. None of your posts have been deleted or amended in any way. There had been no attempt, not one, by anybody to censor your posts or restrict your access to post. You may choose to view yourself as some sort of sad martyr to the cause of free speech - the facts prove otherwise.

Your post is further made tedious by an inability to read and absorb the two previous posts by moderators. I don't propose to re-state them here: I have checked and they were both written in plain easily understandable English and should be comprehensible to anybody licensed to fly an aircraft. One (amongst many) sources of information about Halcion may be found at the Wiki entry: It is a fact that there is more than one school of opinion about this drug, although skol would have you believe otherwise. Sadly, most of us do not have the luxury of ignoring facts simply because they are inconvenient to our argument.

The specific subject of Halcion, and the differences of opinion have now been suitably covered: Shall we move on to other aspects of this subject please.

[eliptic]

By which I mean, Lie in bed with the pillow where your feet were and your head where your feet were !! Works evertime !!

will not work,,stinky feet`s hmm, gas mask