PTSD

[Petro6golf]

I have been diagnosed with ptsd per the va. Heres my advise:

Time heals all. just cause you feel like this today does not mean it will be like this forever. I saw major serious combat in 2006, could not sleep, deal with non grunts, stop pacing around in circles, drank too much, angry, nightmares, eating issues the works. I was a lot better within two years (just in time for my next deployment).

talk it out with your buddies.

you have to accept that you have a problem. if you say that its everyone elses issue your wrong.

go to the va. theres an abundance of programs that are free that you can partake in.

no alcohol or drugs and take one day at a time. It will get better.

[NYsteveZ]

I was diagnosed-As other posters here said-Your buddies, a pet and the VA all help. Hobbies, perhaps in helping in the community really helps. My pets have a sense when Im having one of my "days", and I truly believe they try to help me. Giving back by helping animals really heals the heart.
No drinking, drugs, and even be wary of the meds the VA may give you. Some of them are powerfull-just keep your doc informed of anything.
Finally-Have you filed a claim yet? If you havent, its a nightmareand a long time BUT its worth it. Im at 70%. Mine took long because Im in San Diego (A LOT of claims). If you are still in, GET IT DOCUMENTED-most important thing you can do! PM me with any questions, and I can also help with your claim. Good luck

[chris]

getting a dog can help with your stress and anxiety.- i saw that on animal planet. just my .02 cents.

yes it does. i have a 100lb lab that really helps. dogs are the best medicine no side effects from drugs no addictions other than maybe throwing a tennis ball all the time. other than that very healthy for you and the dog.

[masameet]

Besides your need to avoid people, even family members, lack of consistent sleep, and feeling of edginess, what else do you hate about your PTSD, tango78?

How much have you read up on PTSD to help you understand what you're going through and what things might work to help you live with it?

If not much, this site is probably the best site regarding PTSD. It initially began as a Cornell University site on PTSD.

Have you gone to any PTSD support groups and shared your experiences or is Calguns your first share?

[NYsteveZ]

A few things that you and others mentioned-PTSD is usually tied with other symptoms, so not only would someone have depression, but also anxiety, sleeping disorders, eating disorders, hypervigilance, and maybe even substance abuse. It isnt a battle one can face on his/her own and win. If you experience this stuff, seek help. The VA has done a good job in recent years turning themselves around and offerering numerous programs.
If you need to, call this number- 1800-273-8255 then press 1. I have on a couple occasions. They are there 24/7, and you can even remain annonymous. There is no reason to face this alone.

[chris]

yes don't face this alone we had another member here who wuit the forum and we tried to tell him to get help. nobody knows what happened to him.

get help it's out there.

[ihorn]

Why dont we set up a group of us that are Vets from the site so that we can all help each other? I know that I have such a mild case that it doesnt affect me like others, but I got lucky. I think that having friends from the site with common shared interests could help everyone. What do you guys think?

[Dark Sky Solutions]

Any of you been diagnosed with it?
I have more than a few concerns from experiences I would like real life ways to deal with it. My sleep is screwed up, I avoid most people and would rather walk through back doors going to work than walk through areas that contain large groups of people. I always seem to be on edge and have distanced myself from co-workers and family. I hate feeling like I do.

Tango78,

Many good answers on here from some people who seem to have gone thru it. I will tell you from my experiences and from a medical background, You need to seek help.

Being a Medical guy, I self diagnosed myself after my last one with Post Deployment Adjustment Disorder. I found my relationships with loved ones strained and I didn't like who I was becoming. When taking different routes to work and being concerned with someone following me I started to be late to work because i would take 3 left turns to make a right(laugh now about it but yep, I am that guy, I did it) to make sure no one was following me. After being so vigil and on edge for so long it was affected me. I sought help and it has been a road to recovery/management. It is not easy and it is not the easy choice. The easy choice is not always the right one though.

Through counseling, drug therapy(if prescribed by your Doc) and time it seems to be getting better and it will for you. Keep the faith brother and you know how to get ahold of me if you need to talk. If you lost my number e-mail me and I will send it again.

Thanks for all you do my brother in arms.

[steelrain82]

believe it or not facebook saved me. found out after 8 years all my buddies were on it and we all talk about our problems which really helps. and they are always there when one needs them. we also have a group call ptsd group support.

[masameet]

[EOD Master]

Re: PTSD

I would definitely seek some professional help! When I first got back, I requested to be seen by Mental Health on base. I saw/ did a lot of bad **** on my tour and wanted to make sure I didn't end up down the road with serious issues. Also, I have an unbelievably AWESOME wife and I wanted to make sure that nothing I was part of in Afghanistan came between us or affected her in any way! Initially, I was worried this might affect my career, but ultimately I wanted to be sure I didn't get screwed out of proper help like the guys who served in Vietnam! However, the counselor I was assigned was an idiot and told me after 6 visits that I only had "reintegration syndrome" and it would heal itself in time and I didn't need to come back. Things were "fine" for a little while, until my wife grew tired of my grumpiness and being a complete ******* all the time. I reluctanly went back to Mental Health and this time got an AWESOME counselor and psychiatrist!!! I was having serious anger outbursts, nightmares, and was on edge all the time. I was also suffering horrible pain from a shoulder and upper back injury and that only compounded my anger and anxiety! I became suicidal and homicidal, thinking of ways to go after the people not helping me or causing me grief and ways to take myself out. After a couple of weeks of counseling and some meds, I was getting better and better. I still have undiagnosed cause of chronic pain in my upper back/ neck area, but I am no longer suicidal (still feel like going postal on some occasions, LOL) but I am happy again and feel productive!

Give you local VA center a call and tell them you need to be seen by a counselor because your having some issues, call and/or get together with your buddies who also served, and also check out Military One Source (http://www.militaryonesource.mil/MOS/f?p=MOS:HOME:0::::), as well as the Freedom Cares Program (http://freedomcare.com/). I believe you can get some assistance from the Wounded Warrior Project too (http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/). Each service has their own program of Wounded Warrior, so check into that as well.

I hope you find some of this useful and that you get some help as soon as possible!!!! Seeking help is NOT a sign of weekness! Once you get some help and things get better (and they will), you will be happy you did! If you don't have a good connection with your initial counselor, ask for another one. They will understand and they are there to help.

[DanB]

I'm a tad late to the party but heres my .02
Lots of good advice here Tango, a couple of things not mentioned is that your PTSD will never go completly away. You will just learn how you can best deal with the symptoms and control it. If it is related to combat, seek out other combat vets and dont be ashamed to discuss it with them. You'll be suprised how many feel the same as you. Vet centers seem to work for most.
I would advise that you not tell the VA that you have thoughts of killing/hurting yourself or others. That info has a way of getting out.
Good luck to you, and I wish you the best.

[45DAVID1]

A bit of an update.

I have been having the most trouble trying to get my TAMP. I drove to my base to get updated in DEERS. I then called Tricare/TriWest and they transfered me to DEERS. DEERS said to goto my local ID card center to get updated (which I was calling from). TriWest said to enroll in their online system but it says I am not eligible. That whole military medical insurance is a nightmare. So, I'm waiting for my regular work insurance to go into effect.

I went to the VA hospital but without my current DD214 I can't get an ID card. I drove to my base again for the DD214 but it wasn't completed because the person in charge of them was on vacation (really, no one else can do it?). The VA says I can still be seen since they can't turn vets away. I'm going down there early Friday to see how my lack of insurance might affect me with payments if I would even have any. Due to my income level I do have co-pays but that I don't care about co-pays.

Anyway, now about everything in general. My foot, back, and hand still bothers me. More so in the morning when I first wake up. I did go to military mental health before I got home. The Psychologist basically said I shouldn't avoid the things that are bothering me or else everything could get worse to the point I stop doing anything. Some of the things that bothered me were military related and cant be duplicated civilian side (carrying the flag draped caskets of fallen heros on/off planes and icing/de-icing bodies). I was given advice to not try and forget things. I found trying to forget certain things had a negative effect on my life. I would be reminded of events just by reading articles or seeing certain images on TV. I don't know if I went to extremes but I tattooed this large image of my experience on my arm. That seems to have helped me for now although I still don't really talk much about it to anyone. People have who have never served really won't truly understand and I don't want people feeling sorry for me. Family life is slowly getting better. We have our ups and downs mainly because I have a very bad temper now. I find myself snapping over very small miniscule things that really shouldn't matter. That is something I know I need to work on now.

Work is so-so. Sometimes I just stare off and see myself standing at attention on a flight line in a mixture of rain/snow staring into the back of a C-17 with flag draped caskets trying to find reasons as to why we are all there. As I type this I find myself losing interest in my job. I guess I'm not a very productive worker today. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day.

[Scuba Steve33]

What was your MOS? Depending on it you have friends for life. Especially if you were infantry and saw combat you have best friends who will never stop being your friends. Talk to them, it helps. Believe me. Try and get together with them if possible, set something up. My best friend who was my platoon's FO is almost out and moving out here and we are going to get a place. I am very lucky and cannot wait. We're already talking about doing a trip with our other closest friends. Your friends who served with you are your biggest support group.

[laabstract]

I had a hard time when I first got out, there was a 6 month wait to see mental health when I got out, so I never really got any professional help. When I first came back I found myself constantly armed and on edge, I slept very little and when I did it was a very light sleep, and I also drank more than I should. It also took me several years to actually start shooting and getting into weapons as a hobby again (hence why I have a join date of 2006 with a little over 200 posts.

What really helped me was getting friends who are also veterans with combat experience, who know what I was going thru. I also got into motorcycle riding and found that a great deal of people in the sport bike community are also veterans. Mostly working on bike and riding really helped me get my mind off my things and really helped me decompress. Just keep your chin up take it day by day things do get better with time. Also feel free to PM if you ever need someone to talk to.