Post traumatic stress disorder?

Question

My boyfriend was in the Navy for 5 years. He think he's going through post traumatic stress disorder and has to see the VA. Have you ever had it if so what did you do to combat it ? And what should I expect from someone who has it ?

Answer 1

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety problem. It can develop after your life is threatened, or after you experience or see a traumatic event. Usually, the event makes you feel very afraid or helpless. Some examples of traumatic events are a natural disaster, rape, severe car crash or fighting in a war.


What are the symptoms of PTSD?
You can have symptoms right after the trauma or they can develop months, or even years, later. Symptoms of PTSD fall into 3 groups: reliving the trauma, trying to stop thinking about the trauma and anything related to it, and feeling "on edge." Your symptoms may include:

Having flashbacks, nightmares, bad memories or hallucinations
Trying not to think about the trauma or staying away from people who remind you of it
Not being able to recall parts of the event
Feeling emotionally numb or detached from others
Having trouble sleeping
Being irritable, angry or jumpy
People with PTSD are often depressed. Sometimes they try to feel better by using alcohol or drugs. This can cause abuse or addiction problems.


How is PTSD treated?
There are many treatments available. Medicines for depression or anxiety may be helpful. Talking to a mental health professional and your friends and family about the event and your feelings can also help. PTSD can cause depression and substance abuse. These problems should be treated before or during PTSD treatment.

What can I do to help myself recover?
Check your local phone directory for support groups in your area.
Contact the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Alliance.
Learn more about PTSD, and work with your doctor or therapist to get better.

Answer 2

I have had PTSD for a year now, after going through a life-threatening situation with my husband. I have (seriously) overwhelming anxiety and major depression. I tried Zoloft for a month, it helped the depression some but did nothing for the anxiety (which would trigger horrific flashbacks). My doctor switched me to Effexor, which has dramatically decreased both the depression and anxiety to manageable levels (no more flashbacks!). This is the drug from hell, however--side effects can be severe (I had some bad ones for about three weeks); I took it for about 7 weeks last year then quit cold turkey (thinking I was okay). The withdrawal was unbelieveable! There is no way to describe how awful it was. This time, when my doctor says it is time, I will definitely wean off the proper way (which I understand is still bad). Even with the negatives, Effexor pulled me back from the brink of suicide. My advice: do a lot of research on PSTD and alternative drugs & treatments, talk to your therapist and/or psychiatrist about everything, and above all, don't give up! I may not have overcome PTSD yet, but I am determined to do so. I think that is a major part of the battle. Good luck to you!

Answer 3

This answer will probably be a bit different from the others, because I think PTSD may be eased by changing one's diet.

According to the reading I have done regarding hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), the brain, when it senses that blood sugar is low, will do sometimes strange things to get the blood sugar (glucose) out of storage and into the blood stream. Adrenaline is one sure way to do this. His body probably got used to relying on the adrenaline in the Navy, and now that he is out, he doesn't have the same triggers, and low blood sugar is probably the result.

I think he should ask/demand a fasting insulin blood test and ask for a copy of the results. 10 or higher is abnormal for an adult.


Suggestion for you? Feed him a diet that stresses protein (poultry and fish are best, unless you are vegetarians and then soy is very good), low glycemic carbohydrates (look up a glycemic index on the web) and good fat (olive oil for cooking, almonds or peanuts for snacking). Be sure to give him in-between meal snacks, especially a pre-bedtime snack, that includes these items.

Chronic low blood sugar may be the cause of sleep walking, nasty nightmares, night sweats, increased anxiety and startle, and also self-esteem problems, anger management problems and a whole bunch of other physical and mental nasties. You may want to check out the symptoms link on www.hufa.org, and see how he checks out.

Answer 4

pts............is formed from something terriable that u have had to go thru over and over again. wether from child abuse to abusive patner to men having to be in the war a living thru things we can not imagine/ your brain can only handle so much and in healing this..pts .is something that can stay with a person for a life time or may be around for a short period, it is good to get medical help

Answer 5

hello...... i had it for a huge time in my life. I sat and talked to shrinks and other people who just acted like i was crazy! it was rough i was moody hated life relived horrible thing i had seen or done or felt! i hardly slept i would have the worse nightmares and they felt so real! id wake up freaking out i just learned not to sleep for weeks at a time! its rough! trust me!!! Honestly its going to be hard for him but just hang in there and keep letting him know how you feel about him! i wish i had someone who would have done that with me instead of saying mean and hurtful things!!

Theres a newer treatment out i actually did and when i heard of it i was like yeah right!!! but it worked. Basically its called Emdr. this dr was really stressed and went for a walk and she noticed that while she was thinking her eyes were moving more than usual after the walk she felt better about the situation so after yrs of research they tried it on a patient who was in the vietnam war. and after yrs of him being told he was crazy and being locked away he was fine..... How it was with me is you sit in the room with the doctor and look at this little screen like thing! a green light moves around and your told to follow it with your eyes and think about whatever it is thats going on for me it was sexual abuse... so i would think about specific things that still bugged me and after a few mins thinking about it the dr would stop and say what was the last thing you though... id say it and shed be like ok agian..... after my first session and loads of tears i felt better already i did it a few more times but ive been able to sleep great and now when i think about it i dont freak out like i use to! so it works!! i liked this method better than being medicated and told how crazy i am! it doesnt sound like it would help im sure but trust me it does!!! You can look it up on line and get more info i had a article about it my doc gave me but who knows what i did with that!!! hope this helps some!!

Answer 6

he must learn how to relax and it may be good if he finds a counsellor to find the source(s) of his stress and rectify it in the right way.

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