PTSD

[chris]

is there a time frame to get evaluated and maybe file a claim for PTSD. there have been situations recently that have mad me go back to when i was in Iraq. that was in late 05 and late 06.

my girlfriend and my dad are concerned.

[Scuba Steve33]

is there a time frame to get evaluated and maybe file a claim for PTSD. there have been situations recently that have mad me go back to when i was in Iraq. that was in late 05 and late 06.

my girlfriend and my dad are concerned.

No dude you can file for PTSD or any other conditions ANY time after you're out. My Dad's buddy from Vietnam just filed for PTSD and was approved.

I was going to claim it but I am going to be seeking a job with a government agency soon and supposedly (according to my Dad and others who are in) they don't like accepting guys with PTSD. If it's still bad after I plan to but I have to think long term now. I talk to my best friends from the Army literally every day whether it is a call or text. Makes the world of a difference.

[todd2968]

One of my good friends was diagnosed because his wife found him in the middle of the night (while asleep) clearing rooms.
You need to seek help contact the base if your still in, and the VA if you are out.
This antisocial behavior is seen alot in the homeless, you could be a shopping cart away from living under a bridge.
There are so many organizations out there that will help, DAV, VFW,VETERAN Village PLEASE GET HELP

[mcisniper]

Its a ***** but remember you are not alone. Seek help! Talk to someone, preferably a Vet; we tend to understand. No booze or drugs; just makes it worse. The VA is a great help. Good Luck and Semper Fi!

Michael

[chris]

No dude you can file for PTSD or any other conditions ANY time after you're out. My Dad's buddy from Vietnam just filed for PTSD and was approved.

I was going to claim it but I am going to be seeking a job with a government agency soon and supposedly (according to my Dad and others who are in) they don't like accepting guys with PTSD. If it's still bad after I plan to but I have to think long term now. I talk to my best friends from the Army literally every day whether it is a call or text. Makes the world of a difference.

great. i was wondering if there was a time frame for it. i'm still in on the Reserve side. i was deployed as Reservist. i work with my Army buddies all day some i have known over 20 years. i'm a dual status technician so i'm an Army civilian and Army Reservist. my civilian job is tied to being the Army Reserves.

as of right now i cannot even think as to where i may have gotten PTSD if there is a way to get it. if that makes sense. i don't know if i had it prior to deployment or during or after. really don't know. my girlfriend says it is but personaly i have no frickin idea.

thanks for the info and kuddos for your dad getting approved.

[Scuba Steve33]

great. i was wondering if there was a time frame for it. i'm still in on the Reserve side. i was deployed as Reservist. i work with my Army buddies all day some i have known over 20 years. i'm a dual status technician so i'm an Army civilian and Army Reservist. my civilian job is tied to being the Army Reserves.

as of right now i cannot even think as to where i may have gotten PTSD if there is a way to get it. if that makes sense. i don't know if i had it prior to deployment or during or after. really don't know. my girlfriend says it is but personaly i have no frickin idea.

thanks for the info and kuddos for your dad getting approved.

No problem, hope you get what you need. The cause of PTSD doesn't matter it's getting the proper help and percentage to try and make up for it. If I had not claimed other things I would have done it but it's almost a sure fire way to not get accepted with government positions and I have to think of the future. Did you get attached to an SF team? My platoon lived with a team from ODA 7311 in a tiny COP in the middle of nowhere up north. Most missions we did was with them but they still went off on their own doing what they do best. It was awesome getting to live with these guys and after they accepted us AKA us proving ourselves under fire they really took us in and taught us a lot of cool stuff.

[woods]

As a civilian trained to deal with ptsd patients I say: DON'T USE CIVILIAN CARE

I know enough to know you need to get through it with people who understand what combat ptsd is. Combat ptsd is months of events that would individually cause ptsd themselves and its even deeper than that.

The constant on self preservation mode in the brain that can't shut off when it should, survivors guilt, insomnia that makes your whole body ache and your mind fuzzy and dozens of other symptoms don't have a quick fix. Call the VA!

Just know that we care about you and you can get better. There will be better days.

[chris]

No problem, hope you get what you need. The cause of PTSD doesn't matter it's getting the proper help and percentage to try and make up for it. If I had not claimed other things I would have done it but it's almost a sure fire way to not get accepted with government positions and I have to think of the future. Did you get attached to an SF team? My platoon lived with a team from ODA 7311 in a tiny COP in the middle of nowhere up north. Most missions we did was with them but they still went off on their own doing what they do best. It was awesome getting to live with these guys and after they accepted us AKA us proving ourselves under fire they really took us in and taught us a lot of cool stuff.

i went out them many times and i gunned on their truck. i had lots of fun with them. some of the training they gave me has had a lasting impression on me since then. i cannot thank them enough for their professionalism and treatment they gave me and my team i was with. i was on at THT intel stuff. so they came over one day and asked if we had targets for them. and then another day the team Sgt came over and asked if anyone was available to gun for them. and of course with a little arm twisting from them i went. after a while we gave them target info and they took us along with them to see the "fruits" of his work. so it was the best part of my deployment.

how they think and act i have carried on since then and it gets me into to trouble sometimes with "big Army" morons we all have seen. when anyone asks me even former SF that has approached me i have told them the same story i told you and they say "that sounds right". i do say it was and always will be an honor and a privalege to serve with them. i worked with 19th group.


i was the gunner on my THT team and we were "sluts" we went out with almost anyone. we that was our job anyways was to provide intel to the "trigger pullers" and go out with them.

the LT. Col. who briefed us when we all go cross leveled to the inel det. he said when you see a raid on TV that is what we do we provide the intel for that to happen. i learned alot of stuff from that deployment when it comes to how raids and missions are put together and all the hard work and risk Iraqis took to give the information.

i will never get a deployment like that again.

[Scuba Steve33]

i went out them many times and i gunned on their truck. i had lots of fun with them. some of the training they gave me has had a lasting impression on me since then. i cannot thank them enough for their professionalism and treatment they gave me and my team i was with. i was on at THT intel stuff. so they came over one day and asked if we had targets for them. and then another day the team Sgt came over and asked if anyone was available to gun for them. and of course with a little arm twisting from them i went. after a while we gave them target info and they took us along with them to see the "fruits" of his work. so it was the best part of my deployment.

how they think and act i have carried on since then and it gets me into to trouble sometimes with "big Army" morons we all have seen. when anyone asks me even former SF that has approached me i have told them the same story i told you and they say "that sounds right". i do say it was and always will be an honor and a privalege to serve with them. i worked with 19th group.


i was the gunner on my THT team and we were "sluts" we went out with almost anyone. we that was our job anyways was to provide intel to the "trigger pullers" and go out with them.

the LT. Col. who briefed us when we all go cross leveled to the inel det. he said when you see a raid on TV that is what we do we provide the intel for that to happen. i learned alot of stuff from that deployment when it comes to how raids and missions are put together and all the hard work and risk Iraqis took to give the information.

i will never get a deployment like that again.

That's some interesting stuff. The team we were with always had top notch intel and picked up ICOM chatter from the Taliban daily. Even DURING some firefights they would relay ICOM chatter to us of the very same guys we were getting shot at by. The most memorable instance was during a company wide mission clearing a Taliban controlled valley. It lasted 16 days and the last few days we had the remaining Taliban almost entirely surrounded. Their commander called his commander and was telling him the Blacksheep have us surrounded and they can fight and die or surrender. I was in Blacksheep company and at this point they knew exactly who we were. It was pretty crazy hearing stuff like that especially during the operation.

BTW they didn't surrender.

Another case of their intel which I'm sure came from guys like you was in finding a local commander who hired a Pakistani death squad to come and take my platoon out. We had been pushing their **** in for months now and were reaching out to areas they normally had free reign in. They hit us hard and used AP RPGs. As a result of that ambush two of my buddies lost both their arms. A week later we were gearing up to get this guy. ODA bought two Afghan cars and clothing. They were fully dressed with their kits under an outer man robe that could easily be ripped off to access their **** if things went hot but covered to blend in. They got in the cars and drove ahead of our four truck convoy to the dude's house. When they got to his house we set up in a blocking position. Almost immediately after they entered there was a lot of shooting. They killed him, his brother and his older son. I don't know if they got shot at or just took them out. They never told us and we never asked.

I still have the wanted poster with the dead guy's face and reward of 100k US dollars that were passed out before the raid.

That mission was some Hollywood and video game stuff. Like you I have all the respect in the world and am so thankful I was even able to be in the presence of them. No one I have ever met is more professional and flat out perfect at their job. It really takes a special person to be on a team.

[The Banana]

Some quick comments...

1) the VA tends to be on the very cutting edge of PTSD research and treatment. They are doing pioneering work with EFT, EMDR and several drug based (like 3 treatments of drugs) treatments.

2) Grab a book called On Killing. He specifically talks about the need for decompressing with people who have been with you through these experiences. It made several people dear to me feel not so odd for having PTSD.

3) PTSD untreated gets worse not better over time. You can find ways to self-treat it but if you just ignore it will get the upper hand.

4) The Linden Method is also a possibility for self help, its how they treat PTSD in the UK. I like EFT, EMDR and other things better but I know a ton that were helped by him as well. If you need a copy of the e-book I have it somewhere.

5) Dogs always good. My husband and I just gave one of our "pups" to someone who came back from deployment with severe PTSD. The military will help you with the training for a PTSD service dog. The pup didn't solve the issues but I know he seriously helped.

Good luck. PTSD is not fun.

[Scuba Steve33]

2) Grab a book called On Killing. He specifically talks about the need for decompressing with people who have been with you through these experiences. It made several people dear to me feel not so odd for having PTSD.

I read that when I got back from deployment. My only gripe is it was written by a guy who has never taken a life. Kind of hypocritical but he still relays the info well.

Anyone else getting pissed off at these ****ers lighting off firecrackers late at night?

[rero360]

I read that when I got back from deployment. My only gripe is it was written by a guy who has never taken a life. Kind of hypocritical but he still relays the info well.

Anyone else getting pissed off at these ****ers lighting off firecrackers late at night?

I hear you man, the crap is getting old, was over at the girlfriend's having a cookout with some friends when they started lighting them off, thought for sure it was some drug cartel death squad going to town down the street, probably would have dove for cover in that first second but the fractured ankle slowed me down enough for the mind to catch up to what was going on.

[Scuba Steve33]

I hear you man, the crap is getting old, was over at the girlfriend's having a cookout with some friends when they started lighting them off, thought for sure it was some drug cartel death squad going to town down the street, probably would have dove for cover in that first second but the fractured ankle slowed me down enough for the mind to catch up to what was going on.

**** is no joke. Before I got out we were at my buddy's house grilling and drinking. He thought it would be funny to throw those small poppers at us. Scared us at first but nothing to run for cover you know. Then he thought it would be better (we were drunk) to throw a firecracker at our feet. We learned after the first one that it had definitely been overboard and it never happened again.

[MustangSteveGT]

If you're active duty still, go to medical and get help/get the symptoms documented at least.
If you're seperated already, go to the VA and/or local VA Vet Center and start getting help/getting it documented.

It won't just 'go away' with time. You should get help and if you think you don't need to pursure help at this time, at least go in and get it documented for the day when you will decide to get help for it/VA compensation.

PTSD typically doesnt pay out any lower than 30% disability compensation is you are working and pays 50% or more if you are not working. You're leaving a lot of money on the table by not getting the signs and symptoms documented, getting help from VA/military hospital and eventually starting a compensation and pension claim.

[EOD Master]

I definitely recommend you get it documented so you can get compensated for it!!! Don't think of it as taking a handout, you EARNED that by your service and sacrifices! Not to mention, once you get the diagnosis, you can get help and start healing!!!!! It does get better, but only if you seek help and are proactive in your exercises. You owe it to your friends and family... they want to see you healthy and active again, and I am sure you would want the same thing. There will always be bad days, but who doesn't have those? Just keep your chin up and do what ever it takes to get healthy again.

I see an accupuncturist every 2-4 weeks for soem treatments. She does some needle patches inside the upper ear lobe that help with PTSD and stress. Look for other ways to find relaxation too; massage, workout, walk around the block, fishing, etc... Staying active is the best advice I can give you. Hope this helps!!