PTSD and Me

[Furyan66]

Greetings all,  

Well gonna tell you all a bit more about myself and what has brought me back to the world of IOP's

In 2012 my psychologist diagnosed me with PTSD. I was shocked to learn this as I thought at the time this was only something that I had heard about affecting soldiers that had been to war. Well I'm here to tell you it can happen to anybody so I'll go back to the beginning.

It really started back in 2000 to 2001. I went through two nasty divorces back to back the second ended worse than the first and took from 2003 to 2009 to resolve in court. After a LOT of hate and stress, I finally ended up in the hospital for 10 days with uncontrollable seizures and very very little memory of even being in the hospital. I ended up hospitalized 2 more times after the initial attack and was off work six months. My memory was affected and I just remember bits and pieces of what happened and I have to rely on Friend's and family to fill me in on the gaps in my memory.

My neurologist told me I had suffered a "neurological event" saying that I either experienced a mild stroke or a nervous breakdown but he could not be sure and that it was a product of all the stress I was under. Ever since I have had to learn to control my anxiety by meditation, focusing on breathing and certain medication. I cannot let it get the best of me as I go right back to having seizures and not remembering anything. After more office visits than I can count my psychologist diagnosed me with PTSD and it's been a major struggle ever since.

PTSD sucks and is no joke...

Don't let the all the BS in the world get the best of you. It's just not worth it.....

Peace All.....

[Charon]

Many of us take this very seriously. Traumatic events, divorce being deemed one of them, and so many issues often lead to PTSD.

This I understand.

I am glad you feel ok to open up with us more.

[Furyan66]

Many of us take this very seriously.  Traumatic events, divorce being deemed one of them, and so many issues often lead to PTSD.

This I understand.

I am glad you feel ok to open up with us more.

Thanks Charon,

One thing I have learned is no matter how much you want to crawl into a corner and die you gotta keep on fighting. Prior to this I thought myself immune to this kind of problem. I know know i was just very naive bout a great many things when I was younger like a lot of people I imagine. Anyway part of my "personal" therapy is to open up about this stuff no matter how hard.

Peace

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Thanks for sharing F66, Hope and pray that time and medical supervision will get you through it.Just my opinion but I don't think now is the time to self diagnose? Stick with the Doc's for now.Just MY opinion. Best Wishes FF

Thanks FF for the advice.. I spent a LOT of cash on doctors and it took my psychologist 2 years to diagnose me with PTSD after the initial event. I just got tired of paying for an office visit every month for a refill on my medication so just kinda following the course he set. I stil do see my Neurologist for regular checkups.

Peace Everyone

[cmdline]

well dont know much about ptsd ,but now its not anymore related to soldiers,when people suffer emotional trauma accidents loss and so on in some cases it goes to be ptsd.
anyway seizures are no joke,in your case id double check with doctors that you wouldnt have some late of set off epilepsy,since by the sounds 10 days in hospital is quite some time to spend and it happened few times.That said everyone's different in chemistry and huge stress,lack of sleep and tool on your mental health daily could been the case.Hope your getting needed meds and help.

[Denman66]

A friend of mine went thru a horrible event, several actually that lead to the same diagnosis.
First her friend and step-son (a mutual friend of ours) was found dead in his kitchen of an apparent heart attack. She was devastated at this point, and sadly 2 days later she went to his home to visit his wife/ widow and found her dead in the bathroom. Also a heart attack.
She called my sister and was freaking out, not making any sense, then went silent. My sis called 911 and the police and ambulance arrived to find her unconscious due to a seizure. She continued having seizures for most of the day, and had no memory of it. Less than 24 hours after being released from hospital she had another one, this one stopped her heart. Thankfully she was revived by the ambulance teams medical response.
Doctors diagnosed it as stress-induced seizures, and eventually was diagnosed with PTSD and is currently on medication and dr visits. The brain handles things in many ways, and it seems sometimes just shutting down is one of them.
It's very scary, and I wish you the best of health. Please stick with your meds and continue treatment.
All the best,
Den

[Batgirl]

I suffered PTSD as a teen after a traumatic attack. It manifested in all sorts of physical and psychological ways, but was less understood then. I certainly hope you find the care and support you need.

[Furyan66]

A friend of mine went thru a horrible event, several actually that lead to the same diagnosis.
First her friend and step-son (a mutual friend of ours) was found dead in his kitchen of an apparent heart attack. She was devastated at this point, and sadly 2 days later she went to his home to visit his wife/ widow and found her dead in the bathroom. Also a heart attack.
She called my sister and was freaking out, not making any sense, then went silent. My sis called 911 and the police and ambulance arrived to find her unconscious due to a seizure. She continued having seizures for most of the day, and had no memory of it. Less than 24 hours after being released from hospital she had another one, this one stopped her heart. Thankfully she was revived by the ambulance teams medical response.
Doctors diagnosed it as stress-induced seizures, and eventually was diagnosed with PTSD and is currently on medication and dr visits. The brain handles things in many ways, and it seems sometimes just shutting down is one of them.
It's very scary, and I wish you the best of health. Please stick with your meds and continue treatment.
All the best,
Den

Thanks Den, cmdline and batgirl. It is as scary as hell to have to go through something like this and I have deep sympathy for anyone who deals with it as I know how hard it is. Between the medication I take (mostly for anxiety) I have found that certain meditation and just learning how to control your breathing and emotions best you can is the BEST medicine. It's always in the back of my mind that I have got to try and control this. Thats the part that really sux knowing you probably have to deal with this for the rest of my days.. Uggg..

Peace All...

[nickolyko]

Furyan66 PTSD is so nasty. I understand . I suffered twice in my life not so serious as yours . But the worst was after my car accident 12 years ago . I still have nightmares about it and I never talk about it but I did now after reading your story . You need a lot of care for sure and it is a struggle with PTSD over the years . Medication can be of help but time seems for me to be the best doctor.

[Furyan66]

Furyan66 PTSD is so nasty. I understand . I suffered twice in my life not so serious as yours . But the worst was after my car accident 12 years ago . I still have nightmares about it and I never talk about it but I did now after reading your story . You need a lot of care for sure and it is a struggle with PTSD over the years . Medication can be of help but time seems for me to be the best doctor.

Hey nickolyko... I did not talk about it for a long time as I really believed I was immune to illness like this.. My physiologist and this great oriental doctor (very wise man) who taught me meditation both convinced me that anyone can suffer from this and to admit it and speak out about it. This in itself has been a great source of strength...Talking about it helps A LOT!!!!

Peace Everyone

[Furyan66]

Now this is the best medicine for Anxiety and Stress. Up early, watch a beautiful sunrise over the lake and take a nice long walk around the lake and falls to center body and mind.

Peace All