How to improve my wife's "service ceiling"

Rykymus

Rykymus

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Rykymus
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After a number of flights, we have concluded that any altitude over 7,000 ft gives her a pressure headache that takes until the next day to clear. It can take only 15 minutes at altitudes above that for this to occur. Now, I've been milking that as an excuse to purchase a pressurized aircraft, but she doesn't seem to be taking the bait just yet.

Anybody have any ideas how to increase her service ceiling?
 
Rykymus said:
After a number of flights, we have concluded that any altitude over 7,000 ft gives her a pressure headache that takes until the next day to clear. It can take only 15 minutes at altitudes above that for this to occur. Now, I've been milking that as an excuse to purchase a pressurized aircraft, but she doesn't seem to be taking the bait just yet.

Anybody have any ideas how to increase her service ceiling?
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Yes but must send picture.
 
Have you experimented with o2 yet? 7000 is about the altitude my wife begins to feel "off" as well, despite her o2 sat reading 96 or better. Did an hour at 9500 the other day and she was having trouble with math; I'm curious if o2 will help her even at these altitudes. Planning some longer trips where I'd like to get up high so I've been reading all the DIY oxygen threads.
 
jwyatt said:
Have you experimented with o2 yet? 7000 is about the altitude my wife begins to feel "off" as well, despite her o2 sat reading 96 or better. Did an hour at 9500 the other day and she was having trouble with math; I'm curious if o2 will help her even at these altitudes. Planning some longer trips where I'd like to get up high so I've been reading all the DIY oxygen threads.
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Does she have trouble with math at sea level?
 
1. Reduce your climb rate. Don't climb more than 500fpm. That should help her ears adjust.

2. Use oxygen.. above say 6,000 feet put the oxygen mask on her. You don' need to use it all the time but it will help her feel better at the higher altitudes. I would recommend using it every half hour for 10 minutes or so below the required passenger altitudes for oxygen.

3. descend slowly. No more than 500 FPM. If you can do slower descents than that do.
 
Clark1961 said:
Does she have trouble with math at sea level?
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Hah, I knew that would be lurking here somewhere! :nono: Nooo, she is way smarter than I on such things, and somehow teaches teenagers to do it daily. I'm the one who needs a calendar to decide how old I am.
 
Z06_Mir said:
1. Reduce your climb rate. Don't climb more than 500fpm. That should help her ears adjust.

2. Use oxygen.. above say 6,000 feet put the oxygen mask on her. You don' need to use it all the time but it will help her feel better at the higher altitudes. I would recommend using it every half hour for 10 minutes or so below the required passenger altitudes for oxygen.

3. descend slowly. No more than 500 FPM. If you can do slower descents than that do.
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.O2 all the time above 5000 ft. If she's used to sea level, then use the O2 all the time. Go for the cannula, not a mask, will be easier and not as drastic - it's a psychological thing. The mask reminds people of a medical emergency or surgery while the cannula is just this silly thing around your neck.
 
jwyatt said:
Hah, I knew that would be lurking here somewhere! :nono: Nooo, she is way smarter than I on such things, and somehow teaches teenagers to do it daily. I'm the one who needs a calendar to decide how old I am.
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I assure you that my problems with math far exceed your wife's....whether at altitude or not.
 
How does she do in airliners? Do you guys go to the mountains much and if so how does she handle higher elevations?
 
SkyDog58 said:
How does she do in airliners? Do you guys go to the mountains much and if so how does she handle higher elevations?
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This. Keep in mind that the airlines pressurize to ~8000 feet, so if this is really altitude related she should have the same problem flying commercial.
 
After we felt really exhausted and had severe headaches after longer cross countries we started using O2 for XC and altitudes above 8k'. No issues since then... If your wife doesn't bite to buy a pressurized plane, I would start using O2. :)
 
jwyatt said:
Hah, I knew that would be lurking here somewhere! :nono: Nooo, she is way smarter than I on such things, and somehow teaches teenagers to do it daily. I'm the one who needs a calendar to decide how old I am.
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In my 20's my girlfriend and I went to Las Vegas and she was having trouble adding her cards in BlackJack. (she's a non-drinker) Lady next to her says "what kind of work can you get if you can't add?" GF replies, "I teach high school Calculus." I'm laughing my ass off and the dealer is giving me the "Seriously?" look.

[True story]
 
I have same issue and find taking Naproxen 220-440mg before flying prevents the cephalgia.
 
When I have trouble doing math, I stop doing math.


I have nothing to back this up but I'd try oxygen as well.
 
Ravioli said:
In my 20's my girlfriend and I went to Las Vegas and she was having trouble adding her cards in BlackJack. (she's a non-drinker) Lady next to her says "what kind of work can you get if you can't add?" GF replies, "I teach high school Calculus." I'm laughing my ass off and the dealer is giving me the "Seriously?" look.

[True story]
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I wouldn't think that the 2200' of LAS would impact anyone to that degree even if you lived your life at sea level.
 
azure said:
This. Keep in mind that the airlines pressurize to ~8000 feet, so if this is really altitude related she should have the same problem flying commercial.
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That's why i asked the question.
 
Get an oximeter to check her O2 levels and if it's a sinus headache, try slower climb and have her chew gum during altitude changes.
 
azure said:
I know. My "keep in mind" was directed toward the OP, and the audience.
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We have an audience? Oh damn. I don't do well with an audience. I usually start to stttuttt....ttttt.....ttter. Oh crap!

:(
 
Is this a pressure issue (sinus/ear) or a lack of O2 issue (euphoria/dizziness)? As said above, might be a CO leak. Dehydration? I would think a healthy individual wouldn't have a problem at 7,000 ft.
 
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I've become convinced over the years both from personal experience and that of my patients that intracranial vasoactive sensitivity varies widely from individual to individual. Migraine sufferers are quite sensitive to altitude/pressure changes. Some people are highly sensitive to the vasoconstrictive effects of caffeine.
I've found that premedicating with Naproxen and drinking caffeinated water enroute have all but eliminated the frequent headaches I encountered above 7-8K feet.
 
I live at 6500 feet. Well, the airport is at 6500, my house is at approximately 6725. When I first came here I had trouble sleeping at night. Sort of like a reverse sleep apnea, I would wake up breathing really hard as if I had been running.

Walking took care of that. And as a bonus walking knocked off about 20 pounds.


My problem is when I go down to sea level. I forget to breathe......
 
Kimchee! It does a fabulous job of clearing out the sinuses (and other parts). I know that if my sinuses or ears are plugged I can get uncomfortable when I ride along in the Baron.

Why not try vap-o-rub or breathe-rite strips one flight? I know how stupid that sounds, but if it's her sinuses it may help... and may also nix the pressurized plane. Before you get a pressurized airplane, you might want to adopt a mechanic though.
 
ironnerd said:
Kimchee! It does a fabulous job of clearing out the sinuses (and other parts). I know that if my sinuses or ears are plugged I can get uncomfortable when I ride along in the Baron.

Why not try vap-o-rub or breathe-rite strips one flight? I know how stupid that sounds, but if it's her sinuses it may help... and may also nix the pressurized plane. Before you get a pressurized airplane, you might want to adopt a mechanic though.
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Two good ideas. I never thought about Kimchee, except as pre-chewed food....

But why the need for adoption if he gets a pressurized plane.?
 
First, they are going to be seeing a lot of each other, so they may as well live together.
Second, pressurized planes can have some high maint costs, and who could ever charge "Dad" full price?

It's not really THAT bad, but added complexity normally relates to additional maintenance costs.
 
ironnerd said:
First, they are going to be seeing a lot of each other, so they may as well live together.
Second, pressurized planes can have some high maint costs, and who could ever charge "Dad" full price?

It's not really THAT bad, but added complexity normally relates to additional maintenance costs.
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Yeah, the maintenance is higher than a C-172, but nothing unusual for a twin Cessna.

I haven't had any problems with pressurization nor has it added any cost to the usual maintenance. The only problem I can remember is the out flow valve was sticking once. A little mouse milk and a tap from a rubber hammer and problem solved. I am pretty sure it was changed out at the next 100 hour.

Same as the turbochargers. Everything was on a progressive and was changed out when the time was up. Only time we had real problems was with new hires, their ham fisted power changes would crack a cylinder of two until they got the hang of it.
 
It's not an O2/CO2 problem. And it's not a rate of climb/descent issue. (Already ruled those out by experimentation.) Same thing happens to her on commercial flights as well. We will try the Naprosyn idea next. If that doesn't work then I'm going to get started on my MEL. :)
 
Sounds like she just has some gunk in her sinuses and ears making it hard for her head to equalize. A good decongestant or expectorant may do the trick.
Still the whole "I'm getting my MEL for you, Hon," is a ploy I had not considered. You may be a genius.

Stick to the POH, and maintenance will be greatly reduced. We had an Aztec pilot at the FBO who bragged about his plane's performance. We replaced all twelve cylinders, a case, and patched two cowls and exhaust pipes because he was over-boosting the turbos. Not all at once, of course. One or two at a time every time he flew it...
 
Make sure her headset fits well. One of my girls always complained about a headache on longer flights (that were often higher as well). It turned out her headset was pressing against her glasses too hard.
 
flyingfrog said:
Make sure her headset fits well. One of my girls always complained about a headache on longer flights (that were often higher as well). It turned out her headset was pressing against her glasses too hard.
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Exactly! My headaches went away when I bought Halos to replace the Clamp-o- Matic headset.
 
She wears Halo's, and she's only 5'6", so she's got plenty of headroom. She also reclines slightly. During the cruise portion, she often removes her headset and takes a nap.

She's decided she's game to try another flight taking naprosyn before hand.
 
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