patriotgurrl, may i ask a question
did you ever serve in the military? i honestly thought this site was only for women who had served. am i mistaken?

r2345. retired? i think it's $25 with tricare to be seen by a shrink. i did it, to get a ptsd rating from a source outside the military. the problem was, they were only civies, and i really wanted someone who had served. much easier to talk to. went i talked about long watches, going on deployments, etc they understood. i didn't feel like i had to translate everything i said, so someone would understand.

my childhood? like alot of folks in the military, it sucked. i went thru the beatings, my step mother threatening to send me off because "i was such a rotten kid", etc. couldn't wait to leave. yep, i had the crappy childhood. been there, done that, got the marks to prove it. i just don't dwell on it.

I spent 20 years in the military, and once I was diagnosed with PTSD, it was pretty clear that the local VA clinic only had time and room for male combat veterans, so I used Tri-Care to find a therapist. Trauma is trauma is trauma. The trauma therapist has helped me immensely to begin to handle my symptoms. I, at first, was reticent about joining a "non" military trauma group, but it has been pretty good. I am the only veteran, but the other group members listen intently to what I have to say, and I get great support from them. If they don't understand a term that I use, they ask for an explanation because they are interested and they want to understand and they really care.

In the group is a woman who was beaten by her husband on a regular basis for 15 years. Another one was rescued from a cult after eleven years. One watched her parents get murdered. What brings us all together are the symptoms that we share, the defenses that we have put up to cope, and that we are trying to work through all the emotional crap so we all can begin to feel a little more normal. Once you get into the meat of the emotions, it doesn't matter if those emotions were initiated in the military or not.

This experience has been a real eye-opener to me. Not only have I focused on my rape, but I've also done work on my childhood and my terrible marriage that ended in divorce.

Don't dismiss getting help because the therapist or other group members "never served". A good therapist is one that you can connect with, regardless of past experiences, and the pain caused by PTSD are universal; military service is not a prerequisite.

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

for ME, it was kinda important. i just liked the vet center, the way i was treated when i walked in the dorr, etc. it felt better, than the other shrinks office.
sounds crazy for me, but i'm not sure i'd like any other place, than where i am. it's safe.

How helpful has it been for you? Did they allow you to address all of your childhood stuff, because that is part of your PTSD. Are you still in treatment? I'm curious, since I couldn't take that route. I needed help immediately and had to look elsewhere for relief.

I screwed up on the date of my appt with the new Doc at the new facility. But, since I was there, I was able to find out that the only reason I'm seeing the new Doc at was to address my medication issues. But, I still made to the appt with the last of my old Docs, today. And she is still trying to convince me to drop her, too. And get the shrinks at the new facility to see me. But, my argument is that the new facility Docs are only addressing my medication issues, not my "therapist" issues. I just can't see why its so difficult for people to do their jobs. If "I" drop her, I'll have to get the New Doc to create a consult for another "therapist". This is such,... BS.
So,..thus,.. I wait until next Wednesday for the new medication Doc. By the way, a pyramid hat will only cost me $78, not including shipping.

Hi everyone! I just switched primary Dr and clinic. The new VA outpatient clinc has a PTSD, Lab, Xray and primary Drs. I am keeping my PTSD Dr. at the Seattle VA mental health clininc because he knows his stuff and I trust him. It is important to get a mental health provider that is trained in PTSD . I have been in treatment since 9/11. Take Care, Sally

R2345--

That' the trouble that I ran into with the VA. There were no counselors available to see me. I could be set up for meds, because that's a 15-minute appointment once every 3 to 6 months for them. It sounds like you are looking for therapy, and that you need it. Please consider going the Tri-Care route for that. Getting your meds through the VA will be free of cost, then you only need to worry about the co-pays for a therapist through Tri-Care. Although not ideal, and certainly not the promised care by the VA - seeing a therapist through Tri-Care is more than you've got now. And you can see one weekly, rather than monthly or quarterly which is possibly the best you could hope for from the VA. Please keep us posted on your situation.

Take care,
Lynda

Things are looking up. But, also down. I got a call from the Vet Center (that turned me down some months back). They called to inform me that Bosnia, now counts. I've been to my first appt with a Vet Center counselor with a follow-up in a few weeks. The counselor is TOTALLY different from the VA therapist. She has a plan of progression for each of my future appts, essentially what will be discussed and how to approach some of the causes to my PTSD with the hope of some positive approaches. I got more out of my first appt with the Vet Center than the past 8 months with VA. But, I still get pulled down by VA. My appt with the new VA Psych Medication Doc is just that. His view on what I should take next with no therapist follow-up from his office. I'm only there for Medication and not therapy. He prescribed something I can't pronounce and set a follow-up for a month from now. I'm suppose to continue to see someone that is in another clinic that is 5 miles down the road for Therapy. That means my Medication Doc will never see my Therapist in an office environment, just e-mail. My therapist won't even know what medication I'm on unless I tell her. She's to lazy to read my chart. The more I think about this,...its back to the same ol VA crap. A Medication Doc seperate from a Therapist with neither one talking to the other. I'm back to self monitoring. My only hope left is the Vet Center. Because the VA system just seems too hard to use. I get really tired of fighting for help. REALLY, REALLY tired. I can try Tricare again, but the last time I dealt with them, they told me that anything that is being treated by VA, they won't treat. I'm tired of fighting.

Risperidone, that's the new experiment for me (ptsd/ocd/anxiety). The side effects alone have got me scared. That and an unconcerned Psych Medication Doc.

R2345 --

I'm so glad to hear that you got back to the Vet center and feel good about what they can do for you. It's been my experience that the therapists and psychiatrists rarely talk to each other, so it is up to you to keep both sides informed of what the other is doing. Respiridone has been used to treat schizophrenia, so I'm surprised to hear that they are considering its use for PTSD... Anyway, you sound like you are in a better place than you have been, so I hope that over time you begin to get good results. Whoever at TriCare told you that they would not treat whatever the VA is treating is just plain bull. I see a VA psychiatrist for drugs, a VA primary physician, a VA OB-GYN, AND I have a primary care doctor through Tri-Care, a psycotherapist AND a trauma therapist through TriCare. If you pay your premiums they can't refuse you care...

Glad to hear that you finally got some good news! Please let us know how it goes for you.

Lynda

quote:

I'm suppose to continue to see someone that is in another clinic that is 5 miles down the road for Therapy. That means my Medication Doc will never see my Therapist in an office environment, just e-mail. My therapist won't even know what medication I'm on unless I tell her.

Well, don't worry that's normal. A med doc and a therapist are two different doctorates. They will always be separate, it's illegal otherwise. A med doc is a psychiatrist, a therapist is a psychologist, there is also just a therapist that has a certification but not a doctorate. And they cant legally communicate unless you sign a waiver.
As for my right to be here look at how long i have been here, that has already been established. i have ptsd like the rest it doesn't matter how my trauma occurred.
hope you feel better soon. if y

Also about the risperadone, it's also used to treat bipolar disorder. Which my therapist who has been treating ptsd many years, has seen ptsd so severe that it looks like bipolar disorder. They diagnosed me with both ptsd and bipolar disorder but I truly believe it's what my therapist said.

Hi everyone, The biggest thing is get someone trained in PTSD . I have a male PTSD Dr that I trust and he has seen me at my complete worse. He works on positive steps. MY comp& pen exam put in my VA records that I have mild to severe PTSD. I still have panic attacks when I go shopping and waiting in lines. I am taking water pouring off me and shaking( my own private earthquake). Sally

ok,... So, how did you use tricare to get a therapist. See your PCM first? Or, did you just look for one and ask if they took tricare?

If you already have TriCare, go on line and search for a provider under Psychiatry or Psychology... but that may not tell you if they are trauma specialists. You could also do some research and find a few trauma specialists, and then go on line and see if they are on the provider list for TriCare... or you can call and ask. I'm glad that you are looking for ways to help yourself and feel better...

Lynda

That's the problem with active duty women getting help for being raped. The unit coordinators they get help from are soldiers. The difference between victims and survivors is a function of support and time.

Victims become compliant with and honor the injunctions of their perpetrators(commanders, institutions, etc) to dismiss the abuses importance or impact.

Survivors, in contrast, move to a place where they reject the demand to remain politely silent.Survivors speak up,speak out, tell their stories and share when and only when they are ready with help.

Shame and self-hatred are the result of what the perp did to us. Through transforming from victim to survivor and speaking out we honor and value and appreciate ourselves and reject the lie.

Fear of further humiliation and increased retaliation must be weighed given the emotional, physical, and financial costs of speaking out in the military and can cause silence.

Seems it is still not really safe. Too bad. I would go the civilian route if it were me and document document document. Just like I did in 1975 and 76. We haven't come far ladies.

Fancy

Fancy, do you think it works the same way for PTSD itself? I have a professor here who --honest to goodness-- became quite upset and said some horrific stuff to me along the lines that I shouldn't have said anything to anyone about my disability, that disabled people who never say anything about it are entirely and immediately "taken care of" by everyone else in the class, and that he is very observant and had seen everyone in the class "instantly and happily" help me with whatever I needed at all times. One small reality check on that one...the class included long hours in a crowded room with me asking to sit next to the door without having my back to the door, and everyone staring at me like I was speaking a foreign language but not allowing me to sit where I needed to at all. (The prof refused to allow me to stand outside the door in the hall either.) I was in fact never allowed to explain what was going on to my classmates, and I think that was the problem --how could anyone expect them to understand the problems of an invisible disability they didn't even know one of us had? I've asked for five minutes at the beginning of other classes and had very good responses from almost all people in them afterwards.

I realize it's dangerous to let people know we have PTSD. I had the fact brought home to me when another prof told the police he was afraid for his safety, although I had not spoken to nor seen nor contacted him in months and had never so much as raised my voice around him, when Disability here contacted him to find out why he had not given me a grade three months after the class ended and all work was turned in. The officer was entirely professional, but it gave me quite a surprise to be asked about owning firearms or having concealed weapons permits and so on. How do you protect your rights when all anyone has to do to subvert them is claim to feel intimidated because you have PTSD?

But it feels so much like lying down and just allowing them (whoever is involved in it) to walk all over me, if I just shut up and take it and lie low and get scared of being accused of more things and getting into more difficult situations and let them get away with deliberate discrimination or harassment-intimidation. And what about the next PTSD disabled vet (or nonvet) who comes through the system? Won't he or she just have it worse then, because i lay down and said, figuratively, "Walk all over me all you want"?

Are there PTSD victims and PTSD survivors too?

BTW...please don't take my previous post as saying every one of us MUST speak out every time. I absolutely do not mean to imply that. I KNOW how it is in the military, I never spoke to anyone about any of it other than one of the chaplains, and not all of it even to him...and he warned me not to speak to the head chaplain!

As for outside the military...you can't speak up yet if you just can't speak up yet. Or at all. Looks funny written like that! I mean it has to be something each of us decides for ourselves, or it becomes just another way of being victimized.

For me, the no-grade prof already impugned (sp??) my character. There's no longer any question about keeping silent or speaking out.

Hi everyone! I consider myself a person who was raped in the military. Rape and or sexual harasement is an act of control over an other person. I had no clue that I had PTSD/MST until after Sept. 11,2001. It has been a fight to get proper care and claims approved. The people that took away Mary Ellen's rights decided that we should not be together based on madeup lies. The judge in open court made a comment " you can tell by your actions that you are not able to be Mary Ellen's care giver because of PTSD". I was just standing there! I replied" PTSD is a mental disorder not a mental illness". I have healed enough to speak out publicly last year. That was the first time in 30 plus years. Mary Ellen's guardianship case is now with a lawyer group that deals with helping people with disabilities . I also take time to take care of myself. There is no magic cure to get rid of PTSD/MST. Take Care. Sally