Health - Amphetamine and Plane Travel?

[MissPoppy485]

My friend's second cousin's girlfriend has a 5 hour flight tomorrow from the UK to Portugal and is quite a heavy user of amphetamine base. She is concerned that changes in air pressure etc may increase health risks, e.g. high blood pressure. Is it any safer to fly after the main effects have diminished than when the substance is still active? Has anyone been on a plane on speed, and is there anything she should be worried about, or anything that would minimise risks?
Lots of love xx

[Dexyfiend]

SWIM thinks it shouldnt be a problem but SWIM is no doctor...

Swim thinks SWIYs friend should be more worried about the effects of amphetamine in general

[GForce]

I think the effects of the changes in air pressure would be marginal and not significant. The cabin is pressurized to simulate ground level pressure as closely as possible (don't know if its adjusted by region, like less pressure in Colorado and more pressure in South Florida) so pressure really isn't that big of an issue. Of course it fluctuates and isn't always perfect which is why you can get ear pain or a loss in hearing, but those are just from differences in air pressure between the plane and open body cavities. The biggest caution I hear about flying and medical implications is flying with sinus problems, which makes sense because its your sinus cavities that have the different air pressures. I don't know anything about amphetamine that would make it change in anyway in effects or safety due to a difference in pressure between your sinus cavity and the airplane. I am prescribed 70mg of Adderall a day and have taken it on a plane before without any noticeable differences. I've also flown multiple times after exams I was up all night studying for on my medication and I had no adverse effects there either. I have a prescription to clonazepam as well, and I have taken that and had a few drinks on a particular flight because I was having a lot of flight anxiety and that messed me up a lot more than normal. This confirms what many people say about alcohol at high altitudes. I don't know the reasoning for it off the top of my head, but I don't think it is something so profound that amphetamines might have an equally profound reason to act differently at high altitudes.

[MissPoppy485]

Thank you GForce, and she was indeed fine on the flight and made sure her dose was low, so she did not experience any of the unpleasant anxiety related symptoms associated with higher doses.

And Dexyfiend, my friend does not feel in the least bit patronised by your comment and is not already painfully aware of the risks of her drug use and terrified by her inability to get clean. I'm sure she will find your advice infinitely useful.