are there any other women out there dealing with ptsd? i'm looking for other women who are dealing with gender harassement issues.

i'm not looking to hear from guys who say it's a man's military, or we need to just suck it up, etc. honest discussions, complaints, or even stories about some of the crap we put up with. and for some reason just can't let go of, some days.

part of mine is, i stopped a suicide, and my command made my life hell, afterwards. even threatened me with charges of jumping chain of command, when the squadron refused to help, so we called civilan, like i was told. a good 10 years ago, and i can't seem to let go. so i try to not think about it.

Although is is an older posting,we must remember that PTSD has no gender or age limitations.

This is a serious matter and one which should be taken literally by both individuals and the command structure as well. Silence is not an option with PTSD.

Hi pita

There are several women in the PTSD boards here. I am one. You might look for posts a couple others who've been around longer, sally and realfancy. There are some other newer posters who are females as well. I'd rec going to Open Discussion and Living with PTSD as those are the ones I pop into most often and find most active, although we seem to be in a bit of a downturn on activity right now.

I had some fo the same question about posting in what seemed to be men-heavy areas when I first got on the boards, but the guys are for the most part not like you've said you want to stay away from. Don't get me wrong, there are sometimes disagreements, and I've been mad as fire a couple times, but these guys pretty much have the sense to realize the experience is somewhat different, there are things that don't completely carry over, and it doesn't make a particle of difference to the fact that we can support each other. I've gotten a bit of a talking to from a couple of them when I needed it, and also a great deal of understanding, support, and even kudos!

My PTSD stems from one physical non-sexual attack and an extended period of gender-based harassment. I still hide my identity because I am frankly nervous about my old superior officer finding out who I am, should he be cruising around the site. paranoia? Not at all!

Welcome.

"i'm not paranoid, i know everyone is out to get me"
yep, know you mean about keeping id private.

if you wish, contact me at

<< Mod Note - Email removed - used profile to contact via email >>
i'd like to talk

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dave_M,

Pita, Welcome to this forum family. I hang out on Living with PTSD thread and I do check on others. I was in the Army( 1971-1974). I was raped and my daughter Mary Ellen is the result. The guys on this forum are not your male ( jerk). Sometime they post things and I post back. I have developed friends here that have helped me. I have been here since 2003. I just recently public with my story but did not give my last name. You are not alone. Sally

Ahha! got back in...again Mods, help!

Yesterday i could not log in at all...today it took two tries...something is wrong with the site. I noticed Sally posted also having problems...


Another concern...I have asked (three times) for someone to look into why I cannot use any form of site email. I know some of the regulars here longer than myself send each other email thru the site, but I can't get access to anything, any way I have tried. I finally stopped asking, because no one seemed to be responding. It's no good trying to respond via site email, btw, Mods, because I can't read it! no access really means NO access...I can't even check to see if anyone emailed me after my buddy finder entry.

The reason I am making such a point of it right now is that there is no way whatsoever for me to chat with someone like pita if I want to...neither of us can post our outside email here, and since I can neither send nor read site based email either...no way to communicate whatsoever. Could one of you please have a look after the New Year holiday and figure out what's up with this ongoing inability for my account to access any form of email?

Well, pita, there's Sally, and you have some other places to go to read and write from our posts... back to work for me...hey btw I went in to the VA today, found out what's wrong with my new pair of glasses and got a "quick fix" until they can send me the right pair, so things are looking up a bit Also had a nice chat with the optics people, all about the job market in the VA. I;d never considered seriously any possibility of working there...turns out there is some demand for people with the degree I am working toward. Who knew? It's almost scary...can you see me working at a VA facility Sally? lol!

Mods. I had a problem getting on military.com again. Hi everyone, until we can come up with a way to send each other our private emails it looks like this becomes our way to talk. We had our family Christmas dinner and presents on Sat.Jan. 3. Talking about glasses my glasses are broken!! I lost one lens !! Just because you have PTSD does not mean that you can not work. I worked as a RN before my complete breakdown in Aug. 2003. It was a bunch of negative things and my plate was on overload. I went into the Seattle VA mental health Dr. and I got admitted 5 days later. Those five days I was on the streets of Seattle. Sally

Looks like every thing is working now! Thanks for hanging in there.

Yeah,... I'm dealing with it. Unfortunately, I've been seeking help for the past 8 months from VA. I finally broke down and decided to seek help. I've been pasted from one Doc to another and have yet to be helped. I'm pretty tired of the run around. I've done the "see the clinic head", "see the section head", see your "patient rep". And I haven't gotten results, except been sent yet to another clinic. I feel like they DON'T want to do their jobs. I'm to the point of taking a chance and writing a letter to my congressman. For whatever good that will do. After 20 years, you'd thing it might count for something. I've even gotten a bill from 911 for an ambulance call. I had a reaction from the medication I was given, but still. Not a single one of the Doctors is listening to what I have to say. Hell,... I even got turned down by the Vet Center. Bosnia doesn't count. They turned my away without giving me any options. So, I sit with my bottle of Jack in front of the computer.

Booze ain't gonna help. It's good to come here...think about it...there are lots of people who would like to help if you are interested....

So, yeah. I came off as whiny,..but,..

What the hell else am I to do? VA check (not helping, getting passed around from doctor to doctor with none of them taking a serious look at my medication problems), went to my Patient Rep about it and got no positive results (still got passed off to yet another Doc), Vet Center check (threw me out, not literaly but you know what I mean). What else is there? I have yet to come across a book that offers any serious guidence, except more of the same "get over it, its all in your head". The internet,..well it gets me here. So, yeah. I'm very open to some positive suggestions, however, the only positive I've gotten is a positive "no". Even the PTSD Forum just gets me more, well not depressed, but doesn't give me any hope for a solution. I'm to the point I'd try wearing a triangle on my head and start chanting. But, I'm pretty sure that isn't gonna help either.

So, there. I'm back to whining.

R2345--

Maybe if we knew a bit more about you, we could help to give some direction to go for resources...

How long were you in the service? When did you get out? Have you applied for VA benefits? Are you currently working?

Based on your circumstances and history, you may be qualified for benefits or resources that you haven't tried yet...

You know that drinking only compounds the pain and the problems when it is all said and done.

Let us hear from you soon.

Lynda

the vet center wouldn't help? what the ???
tell me more about this. i've been going to one for years.

come here. warn us when you're in a whinny *****y mood (everyone gets them) or type everything, then delete it (done that) but i've had ptsd for years, thought about the bottle of jack (i'm more of a wino) done different meds, etc only thing i haven't done is the inpatient.
talk to us. we've been there, or at least have more of a clue, than someone who never served.

Vet Centers are a Primary Care Facility. Make sure that you recognize those who can help you.

Thanks for your contribution.

I just retired 3 1/2 years ago, after 20. I'm rated at 70%, not for ptsd, but I am eligible for help through VA. However, before I sought help from VA for ptsd (or whatever the hell was going on in my head), I went the a Vet Center in town. They told my my service in Bosnia didn't count because of a "timeline" of eligibility. It didn't matter what I saw, or experienced. Because I didn't fit within their "timeline", they wouldn't help me. But, I am showing "symptoms" of ptsd. Further, all they said was to try again with VA and there were no other options for help. I've been trying with VA for the past 8 months. Like I said, Doctor to Doctor, and for the past 2 months I've been through two meds that both sent me to the VA ER several times. Each Doctor prescribing me something different with the ER Doctor wanting to try something else (a third medication), all for ptsd "symptoms". With none of these guys monitoring the effects of this medication. I'd tell the Docs that the new state of mind the medication put me in isn't normal, and that my physical reactions aren't normal either, they still say its me. After 10 days off the medications at two seperate times, I'm go back to normal. But, they still insist on giving me yet something else to counter act the results of the poor choices in medications they gave me in the first place (for which, I'm not having anymore reactions because I'm no longer on the original meds.) I've already sought help from the patient rep, and I still got sent to yet another Doctor. I go see him/her, tomorrow. Guys, I can function in the world when I'm not on the medication. I just have "issues" getting out into the world. I'm just not able to get out of the house/socialize with people/stop doing security checks at 2am/3am/4am/or sleep through the night/dealing with anger. The Trazadone helps with sleep, but I'm at my wits end. I have looked really hard at what I've been through with VA and understand why people "snap". VA has put me in a feeling of hopelessness and fustration. If there is somewhere else I could go, I'd love to hear about it. And no, I'm not working. It takes me 45 minutes to leave my house and if my routine get interupted, I start checking again. I've lost the ability to leave my house and get anywhere in a timely manner. So, tomorrow, I get to see another Doctor at a different facility all together. In the meantime, I'm checking out internet sites for triangles just to see if they have something in my size.

Hi R2345--

The only thing that I use VA for is my meds -- I use Tri-Care to see a therapist. I live in Austin, and here all the groups, etc, are for the guys... so I enrolled in Tri-Care and found a therapist (who accepts Tri-Care) who specializes in trauma, and is helping me with my symptoms. I also go to a trauma support group on Tuesday nights. I wish I didn't have to pay for it, but I want to get better and I am tired of waiting for appointments with VA. I'm rated at 70%/30%IU. If the vet center wouldn't see you, it sounds like they clearly misunderstood your status. As a retired soldier, I don't think that there is any time window or timeline that you should have to meet. Apparently, their screening process totally sucks.

I also take Trazedone to sleep, but it has taken awhile to get all my meds mixed just right. In the meantime, having some one to talk to could really make a difference and give you the energy you need to deal with the folks at VA. I use Tri-Care for most things because I can get in to see a doctor so much sooner. I also have a primary care doctor at VA, but I only see him once a year... I hope that using Tri-Care is doable for you. Since you are retired, you are eligible.

Take care, and let us know how you are doing and how your appointment works out tomorrow.

Lynda

quote:

talk to us. we've been there, or at least have more of a clue, than someone who never served.

Please refrain from insinuating that someone that has never served cannot have ptsd or know what others here have been through. Post TRAUMATIC Stress Disoder is just that, as a result of a TRAUMA. Like being kidnapped in the neighbor's garage and having unspeakable acts done to you at seven yrs old, or being drugged and raped at fifteen, or living in neighborhoods that are "war zones", or being beat by your mother so bad that your jaw has been broken and never reset, or having a drunk for a husband and getting beat on a weekly basis. THere are thousands of traumas that don't just include military service. The symptoms and effects are the same, trust me.
Thank you.

Frankly, with medications, it's a guinea pig game anyway. No one reacts to any med the same so they throw one at you to see if it works, and if that one doesn't, they throw another one. And some of them it can take two to three or sometimes four weeks to get the total effect of a drug, so it would benefit you to give them some time, unless they are dramatic life threatening effects. Also, they have state clinics that are based on your income, which are usually residents but are supervised but you also get to switch out every six months or so when their residency is up. I like that because different docs communicate different and have different knowledge of the meds.
As far as sleeping, exercise will help you sleep too. So will cutting out all stimulants, such as caffeine.

Also, check the laws in your state about state insurance, here the age is 19, but you might be able to get on your state's insurance and see someone through them. Do you Have to use the VA when you're military? I have SSI and state insurance and my therapist comes to my house once a week and has experience in trauma. I have a doc for my meds too, but it's hard to find a good doc for your meds, you have to be able to communicate well with them.
I take trazadone to help me sleep too but I hate that I eat dinner, get the kids to bed and then by the time I wind down enough to take my meds and go to bed I have to eat again because the traz makes me sick on an empty stomach.

There are a lot of reasons for PTSD. I did not know that I had it until after 911. I went through a welfare program for medical when I got out of the Army and 8 months PG with my daughter. I finally went to the Seattle VA hospital for help with my PTSD after 911. I have done groups, inpatient, and continue one on one therapy. Meds help but there is no cure for PTSD! It comes to the fact that you are the only one that can help yourself. Sally