Should I be offended?

[The Revelation]

hey man I just wanted to say thank you for your service.

I hope whatever things that you find are troubling you now come to pass. you sacrificed a lot for your country and it doesn't go unappreciated, or unacknowledged.

[benchmstr]

So the VA in my region is crap the really don't listen to you and want to just throw drugs at everything. For example when I first returned from deployment I had to see a therapist and anti-depressants and anti-anxiety pills. Well I also had about 10 other meds being thrown at me for pain, headaches, sleep etc.

Well I get really good bene's from my new employer so I've started seeing a local doctor. One of the things I liked about him is that he is a lifter and to be honest looks like he's done his share of AAS. Well, he asked about my past surgeries and asked about my mental health. I told him that I took anti depressants and have anti anxiety pills on hand and take them "as needed" ( I have this closed space with large crowds thing). I also told him I was cleared of having any PTSD.

I went in the other day to get a Rx filled and he went to get his Rx pad he forgot and left my chart open. He wrote down possible PTSD and underlined it twice with exclamation points.

Should I feel like he is judging me or diagnosing me though he isn't qualified to do so? Should I ask him why he wrote that I have PTSD?

Im a little offended for some reason. Am I wrong to be offended?

also, dont be noticably offended to him...had a buddy that did that..

took him over a year of doctor and lawyer visits to get his paperwork straight for the LEO world....just go talk to the bastard a few times to calm his nerves about you

bench

[Thespritz0]

i had problems with crowded places after my first 2 deployments..but that stopped..all in time brother

my dad was a career frogman though so i had a good person to talk to....this shit isnt suppossed to be bottled up like other problems

bench

^^
AGREED 100%, but as you said talking to another service member is the only way, "civies" just can't relate!  TRUTH.

[SamoanIrishman]

Just gotta say it again. No better feeling than to wake up and check the GB boards and see all my service brothers chiming in. Totally impressed on just how many are here.

Semper Fi

[headhuntersix]

thank you for your service! but you ever wonder that perhaps the military psychologists try not to diagnose cases mild ptsd due to the cost involved in treatment for all service members. I don't know, you may not have it, you may a mild case (that was intentionally let go or not). Either way, best wishes to feeling your best

They don't really do that. The VA might be different but the army docs do a pretty good job. Some things are automatic so if you got blown up and they did the baseline CT scan prior to deployment, they can where or if its affecting you. They're pretty quick to throw pills at you and with some of the combinations, its not a good thing. Military medicine is weird...its the best in the world at heavy trauma, but stuff like this its hit or miss. Your better off loosing a leg then heaving mental issues.

[CalvinH]

I've had a phobia about being in crowed places all my life. I don't have PTSD. If your doctor believes the only cause of anxiety and/or agoraphobia is PTSD, then he isn't very knowledgeable.

Did you serve?

[headhuntersix]

You don't suddenly develop that phobia....especially hyper vigilance thats associated with it. If a guy gets blown up....the list of behaivors that suddenly change is amazing. Being stressed for days on end with little sleep and downtime screws with you. On my last trip to Iraq, we got the shit mortared out of us one day. I was headed home on leave. I went from that...to a 48hr blur of travel....to sitting on a boat on a lake on the 4th with a beer in my hand. The shit fucks with your mind.

[benchmstr]

Just gotta say it again. No better feeling than to wake up and check the GB boards and see all my service brothers chiming in. Totally impressed on just how many are here.

Semper Fi

Talking to my dad this morning about this very subject...he told me "you realize you got over crowded places when they started making you carry off duty"

That's true! That weapon becomes a part of you..I go places without it now all the time..but I guess looking back on it I was unknowingly using as a sort of crutch

Bench

[Primemuscle]

^^
AGREED 100%, but as you said talking to another service member is the only way, "civies" just can't relate!  TRUTH.

You may be right about us civilians not being able to relate, but we still care. My son-in-law has some issues with PTSD after four deployments. He also suffers migraine headaches following being exposed to an IED explosion. He was also fortunate to be sleeping when the mess tent in Iraq was blown up, otherwise he could have died. Instead he helped with the clean up after the explosion. These are things that stay in your mind forever. Imagine seeing your buddies' body parts spewed all over the place inside that tent. Not a memory anyone wants to have nor one that is easy to forget.

[Marty Champions]

primemuscle is a legend in veitnam he got his dick blown off then sowed it back on and had ptsd for only 3 weeks now hes bi-sexual he claims and enjoying life

[Primemuscle]

Did you serve?

Nope. Thank goodness. I would not have survived the Vietnam war. I still feel a lot of gratitude for all those folks who did and do serve though.

I have no idea how this phobia started with me. The first I knew I had it was when I was at a Ray Charles performance in L.A. When it was intermission and hoards of people rushed to the toilets, I blacked out. My girlfriend got me to a table somehow. The other couple at the table bought me a drink (my girlfriend and I were underage for alcohol). The drink calmed me down and I made it through the rest of the performance. After this experience, I have avoided being in extremely crowded places as much as possible. I also suffer from claustrophobia.

[Primemuscle]

primemuscle is a legend in veitnam he got his dick blown off then sowed it back on and had ptsd for only 3 weeks now hes bi-sexual he claims and enjoying life

Funny story. Is that why my dick is so short? 

[benchmstr]

Nope. Thank goodness. I would not have survived the Vietnam war. I still feel a lot of gratitude for all those folks who did and do serve though.

I have no idea how this phobia started with me. The first I knew I had it was when I was at a Ray Charles performance in L.A. When it was intermission and hoards of people rushed to the toilets, I blacked out. My girlfriend got me to a table somehow. The other couple at the table bought me a drink (my girlfriend and I were underage for alcohol). The drink calmed me down and I made it through the rest of the performance. After this experience, I have avoided being in extremely crowded places as much as possible. I also suffer from claustrophobia.

see, i was never afraid to be in crowded places when i got back...just super hyper vigilant..i was scanning everything. taking mental notes...same shit i would do on protection detail...and if it were dark like in a bar or something? it was way worse..

bench

[Primemuscle]

see, i was never afraid to be in crowded places when i got back...just super hyper vigilant..i was scanning everything. taking mental notes...same shit i would do on protection detail...and if it were dark like in a bar or something? it was way worse..

bench

Clearly something triggers these phobias. The connection to yours in obvious. Some other folks, have no idea how they originated. My mom had issues with claustrophobia and anxiety which were much more extreme than mine. Is it possible phobias, like other mental issues are genetic.

[The Abdominal Snoman]

I was cleared my a military psychiatrist. He is only a general practice. My dreams may make me jump but I don't wake up sweating or keep a knife under my pillow and shit. Not like you see in the movies. I had 2 concussions before deployment playing rugby so its not like physical injuries automatically dictate I have mental health issues.

Sure there is evidence to suggest that REPEATED head injuries over time MAY lead to mental health issues but again, I was cleared after 3 months of intense sessions. I think he just refuses to believe that not every soldier that comes back has issues.

if anything maybe I'm sociopathic since I'm pretty cold to the fact of what I had to do as part of my duty. I don't feel shit but recoil when killing one of those mother fuckers shooting at me and my brothers.  

Since you're already integrated into the Hierarchy's military system, the more shit they think you are, the better. Could lead to some more dough in your pocket down the road...

[benchmstr]

Clearly something triggers these phobias. The connection to yours in obvious. Some other folks, have no idea how they originated. My mom had issues with claustrophobia and anxiety which were much more extreme than mine. Is it possible phobias, like other mental issues are genetic.

mine are gone now..i can go on a 6 month tour, come home and go out on the same night...shit doesnt phase me....but ive made a lot of trips

bench

[thebrink]

see, i was never afraid to be in crowded places when i got back...just super hyper vigilant..i was scanning everything. taking mental notes...same shit i would do on protection detail...and if it were dark like in a bar or something? it was way worse..

bench

I know of a former instructor from one of the big 3 companies who was a bad apple to begin with, but is now basically a renegade with no regard for other people or empathy for others, involved in all sorts of shady shit with org crime and drugs arms deals overseas ect. Very dangerous person who the police in his home town really don't like to deal with.. My point being is do certain people just not recover from these incidents in war? And is it dependant on personality?

[O.Z.]

in any case Corporate America is grateful for your service.

[benchmstr]

I know of a former instructor from one of the big 3 companies who was a bad apple to begin with, but is now basically a renegade with no regard for other people or empathy for others, involved in all sorts of shady shit with org crime and drugs arms deals overseas ect. Very dangerous person who the police in his home town really don't like to deal with.. My point being is do certain people just not recover from these incidents in war? And is it dependant on personality?

i know the kind your talking about. people like that are trash from the begining. the experience gives them an ego, and an excuse..there is nothing wrong with those types. just a defective human being from the start who gives the rest of us a bad name..

bench

[Primemuscle]

mine are gone now..i can go on a 6 month tour, come home and go out on the same night...shit doesnt phase me....but ive made a lot of trips

bench

Well that's good to read. You are luckier than some folks.

Are you saying that for some people the more the exposure, the more insulated or numbed you become to it? There are a few mental health care professionals who would agree with this and a bunch of others who wouldn't.

I am no professional, but I think we do develop coping mechanisms the more we are exposed to stressors.

[benchmstr]

Well that's good to read. You are luckier than some folks.

Are you saying that for some people the more the exposure, the more insulated or numbed you become to it? There are a few mental health care professionals who would agree with this and a bunch of others who wouldn't.

I am no professional, but I think we do develop coping mechanisms the more we are exposed to stressors.

no, not really. I never really had a problem to begin with. I just had trouble taking that combat edge off when i got home.

It just depends on the person. My dad had a career of combat before he left the service and he never had any problems either, and his father too..could be genetic, or what i think? somewhere along the family line we figured out a coping mechanism. when i got home i never had a shortage of people who could relate.

bench

[Primemuscle]

no, not really. I never really had a problem to begin with. I just had trouble taking that combat edge off when i got home.

It just depends on the person. My dad had a career of combat before he left the service and he never had any problems either, and his father too..could be genetic, or what i think? somewhere along the family line we figured out a coping mechanism. when i got home i never had a shortage of people who could relate.

bench

I suspect you hit on it with your last sentence. It is so important to have people in your life who listen to you and who you feel care about and understand you. I try to be that person for my son-in-law. His father has intimated many times that he doesn't support his decision to become a combat soldier. BTW, my son-in-law's MOS is forward observer. Fortunately, He's also a computer wiz and has had to do extensive real time forward observing as it was done in wars past. The life expectancy for a forward observer in battle is pretty much nil, as you likely know.

[Thespritz0]

You may be right about us civilians not being able to relate, but we still care. My son-in-law has some issues with PTSD after four deployments. He also suffers migraine headaches following being exposed to an IED explosion. He was also fortunate to be sleeping when the mess tent in Iraq was blown up, otherwise he could have died. Instead he helped with the clean up after the explosion. These are things that stay in your mind forever. Imagine seeing your buddies' body parts spewed all over the place inside that tent. Not a memory anyone wants to have nor one that is easy to forget.

^^
Caring is definitely out there, it's just hard to get someone to relate to the experience when we're trying to describe something specific like getting mortared, living for weeks in the field doing night ambushes, etc... usually the smallest stuff!!
Tell your son-in-law I had a friend who had the same migraines- he was in an L.A.V. (Armored Personnel Carrier/Stryker) when it ran over a mine, he wasn't injured but kept getting migraines... EVERY year they get less and less, and now he hasn't had any in past 4 years!

[Primemuscle]

^^
Caring is definitely out there, it's just hard to get someone to relate to the experience when we're trying to describe something specific like getting mortared, living for weeks in the field doing night ambushes, etc... usually the smallest stuff!!
Tell your son-in-law I had a friend who had the same migraines- he was in an L.A.V. (Armored Personnel Carrier/Stryker) when it ran over a mine, he wasn't injured but kept getting migraines... EVERY year they get less and less, and now he hasn't had any in past 4 years!

That's good news which I will share with him. As a result of the migraines and some other medical issues he is no longer combat ready and will not be deployed again. The military doctors wanted to do spinal surgery on his neck with a risk, if they failed, that he would be paralyzed from the neck down. He declined and has been going through the process of being medically boarded out for most of the past year. He has been in the armed forces for almost 15 years. At this point he is ready to move on with his life as is our daughter and their son.

[The Abdominal Snoman]

in any case Corporate America is grateful for your service.

Nicely played