Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Hi, everyone,
I'm new here. I've been dealing with symptoms over the past year (well, really 10 years, but they've gotten much worse due to stress this past year) that can best be explained as IBS. What brought me to find this board was an emergency - I'm supposed to fly across the country Sunday, and I'm TERRIFIED to get on that plane! I'm flying with someone else, and he booked us on a direct flight that's 6 hours long. I haven't been on a flight that long in many years, and I'm terrified that the anxiety is going to trigger an attack. They're so severe that I just CAN'T have that happen.

So I desperately need advice, and fast, as to how to deal with this fear of flying. I'm thinking I'm going to plunk down the $300 extra to change my flight to stop partway, so the longest leg would be only 4 hours instead of 6. That might be less scary for me. But in terms of how to manage the flight - should I fast all day beforehand, just in case? Should I take peppermint oil capsules or something preemptively to try to ward off an attack? Do you guys think it's a good idea to pay extra for shorter flights? How have other people dealt with this?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

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