M14 Forum

howardhughes

After a year and a half working for the VA here in NC...and as a 16 year vet myself I can assure you in SOME CASES PTSD is real, is a major cause of death in Post operation COMBAT VETS... let me be clear.... Most of the *hit bags I see are Drug/ETOH abusers, were NOT in combat, and due to their decisions made in life have no job, have a lack of Edu skills, lack of motavation. Over 50% of my INPT's are these *hit bags. NOW...the ONLY REASON I stay at the VA is to help the FEW young kids who were involved in direct combat. I can tell you a ton of stories of young men watching buds die...shooting a m2 into a car full of women and kids because in the back of the car was a gutless *UCK Iraqie who held a AK on them.....the list goes on. PTSD is Real. I spent a lot of time in School, gained additional training to become a ER/Acute Psych RN. As far a legal things go If you are held INVOLTARY COMMITMENT by a MD ( not wife/friend etc...MD ONLY) you can be denied a weapon. If you stay more then 30 days INPT at a psych facility is another reason. Without question the system has changed to the PC...there are still some good folks who give 100% daily unlike the scumbags leading the country at this time ...that includes the Republicans.

Vermin

My Doc looked at My records, and realised I had been on prozac for 13 Years!!! Took Me off of it. I'm on Cymbalta, and Topamax. Talk about a new lease on life !! I feel so much better, and no bad dreams. Part of it is due to My job, I believe. While there are alot of things about My job I cannot stand.
My passengers have drawn Me out of My Shell, and actually helped Me enjoy My days again. I'm a City bus Driver. It is very stressful at times, but 99% of My passengers are really good People. The make Me laugh, We talk, I just dont feel as angry anymore. I havent had a nightmare or anxiety attack in about a year !!
I still dont go to the VA. The closest VA is a bad place, so I wont go. My Personal care Physician, and His PA are ex-Military. They know what PTSD is.

heyjowee

I have been assured by Doctors who HAVE had to report people that if you're not a danger to yourself or others, you won't lose your guns.

MesaRifle

I'd like to say that if our wonderful politicians actually tried to pull anything like that, we'd all get on our computers and e-mail 'em to death!

johnnykck

My brother in law was a navy seal sniper, he got out last year after 7 tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. He was discharged with severe PTSD. He, as well as many of you I'm sure, saw and went through some terrible things, he has shared some of his experiences with me. He is on meds and is seeing a psychiatrist. He lives here in california and has no problem buying guns (he owns a very nice M1A that he fixed up with a different stock, scope a.s.o. to resemble as closely as possible the M14 he used during service). He has a hunting license and didn't have a problem getting that either.

CPTKILLER

I went into denial about PTSD until fairly recently. It went a long ways toward screwing me up in my career & life. I went to the VA since I no longer have health insurance. Along with PTSD treatment & Agent Oramge issues (diabetes, tremors, & some Parkininsons), life isn't dull.

The VA treatment for PTSD is better than nothing but not much.

Michael

I agree with a lot of what Daimyo said.
I did two tours in the bush 68-70.
Got a couple small wounds, one big one. Still have a bullet in one lung.

I went thru the rap group stuff in the 70s.
Not a bad thing.
In the 80s the pretty much began throwing a 30% rating at anybody with combat time.
Really went overboard for a while.

Anyways, presently restrictions involve inarceration or incometency.
Any one who chooses to accept compensation for reasons of mental health should not be surprised at consequences.

There and Back Again

The State of California cannot take away your personal firearms without first identifying you as a danger to yourself and/or others.

Folks can be on psychotropic medications here and still possess firearms. It's the suicidal folks, and those identified as being criminally insane, that are precluded from owning/purchasing firearms within California.

willriskit

As a member of several veterans organizations, I am acquainted with many who are suffering from PTSD on a long term basis. The diagnosis itself, is usually treatable and with the right combination of medication and therapy, most of those I know lead normal, productive lives. Others are effected differently and have a much more difficult time. I urge all who suspect they have the condition to seek medical help because if left untreated, other major health problems develop due to the PTSD and statistically those affected lead dramatically shortened lives. Of course the cause of death is listed as coronary artery disease or something similar, but the onset of the fatal condition is due to PTSD and so the true culprit remains hidden. Hope this helps.

dprice3844444

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Study: Fast morphine treatment may prevent PTSD
By LINDA A. JOHNSON
,
AP
posted: 1 DAY 6 HOURS AGO
comments: 0With HP wireless printers, you could have printed this from any room in the house. Live wirelessly. Print wirelessly.

PRINT|E-MAILMORE
Text SizeAAA-Quickly giving morphine to wounded troops cuts in half the chance they will develop post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a provocative study that suggests a new strategy for preventing the psychological fallout of war.
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Health Research Center led the study of about 700 troops injured in Iraq from 2004 through 2006.
"It was surprising how strong the effect of the morphine was," said study leader Troy Lisa Holbrook, an epidemiologist at the naval center. The findings were published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
Whether the Pentagon will adopt the practice on the battlefield remains to be seen. Dr. Jack Smith, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for clinical and program policy, said in an e-mail that the "very interesting findings" are "likely to stimulate further research."
About 53,000 troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have been treated for PTSD, a disorder in which someone who has endured a traumatic event keeps re-experiencing it and the fear it caused. Patients often have trouble with work, relationships, substance abuse and physical ailments.
Researchers have been testing ways to treat it, and the new study looked at whether fast and strong pain relief can help prevent it.
It was unclear whether it was the fast pain treatment or something specific to morphine that made the difference.
But researchers theorize that simply easing pain might reduce the severity of the psychological trauma, or that prompt relief might alter the way the brain remembers the attack or injury — in essence, causing the mind to file away the episode as less traumatic.
Troops in the study initially were treated at military medical facilities in Iraq, mainly for wounds caused by roadside bombs, bullets, grenades or mortar fire. A few dozen had burns or were hurt in crashes or falls. The decision on whether to give morphine was up to the individual doctor, based on the patient's condition.
Of the 696 troops in the study, 493 — about 70 percent — were given morphine, most within an hour of injury. Two years later, 147 of them had developed PTSD. Of the 203 not given morphine early on, 96 developed PTSD.
That worked out to a 53 percent lower risk of developing PTSD for those treated early with morphine. No other factor, such as the nature or severity of injuries, had much effect on the chances of developing PTSD, Holbrook said.
"These are provocative and thought-provoking findings that should lead scientists to investigate the underlying mechanisms" in future studies, said JoAnn Difede, a PTSD researcher at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Difede and Barbara Rothbaum, who heads the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program at Emory University School of Medicine, said that until more research backs up the findings, the study probably won't lead to many more patients in civilian emergency rooms getting morphine.
"At this point, I don't see it having a huge impact" for civilians, Rothbaum said.
A second study in the journal found that Army wives were more likely to develop depression or sleep problems the longer, or the more times, their spouses were sent to Iraq or Afghanistan.
That study, by researchers at the University of North Carolina and elsewhere, examined medical records for outpatient care of about 250,000 wives of active-duty soldiers from 2003 through 2006.
Compared with wives whose husbands stayed home, those whose husbands were deployed for up to 11 months were 18 percent more likely to be diagnosed with depression and at least 20 percent more likely to be diagnosed with sleep disorders, anxiety and acute stress.
For wives whose husbands were deployed for more than 11 months, problems were even more common: They were at least 24 percent more likely to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety, and about 40 percent more likely to be diagnosed with acute stress or sleep problems.
The researchers didn't have data showing whether husbands were deployed or at home when the wives were being treated for mental health problems.
That meant the scientists couldn't conclude whether those problems were caused by worries about the spouse's safety and the difficulties of being a single parent, or by stress caused by the returning spouse's psychological problems or other behavior changes.
"I suspect that if you look at the Reserve and National Guard wives, the toll might be even worse," because they have less social support than families living in a military community, Rothbaum said.
She said the effects of deployment on children also need to be studied so the military can figure out how to provide more help to families.
—
On the Net: http://www.nejm.org
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
2010-01-13 17:03:53
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.

CAVman

Edit:

Study: Fast morphine treatment may prevent PTSD
By LINDA A. JOHNSON
Quickly giving morphine to wounded troops cuts in half the chance they will develop post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a provocative study that suggests a new strategy for preventing the psychological fallout of war.
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Health Research Center led the study of about 700 troops injured in Iraq from 2004 through 2006.
"It was surprising how strong the effect of the morphine was," said study leader Troy Lisa Holbrook, an epidemiologist at the naval center. The findings were published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
Whether the Pentagon will adopt the practice on the battlefield remains to be seen. Dr. Jack Smith, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for clinical and program policy, said in an e-mail that the "very interesting findings" are "likely to stimulate further research."
About 53,000 troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have been treated for PTSD, a disorder in which someone who has endured a traumatic event keeps re-experiencing it and the fear it caused. Patients often have trouble with work, relationships, substance abuse and physical ailments.
Researchers have been testing ways to treat it, and the new study looked at whether fast and strong pain relief can help prevent it.
It was unclear whether it was the fast pain treatment or something specific to morphine that made the difference.
But researchers theorize that simply easing pain might reduce the severity of the psychological trauma, or that prompt relief might alter the way the brain remembers the attack or injury — in essence, causing the mind to file away the episode as less traumatic.
Troops in the study initially were treated at military medical facilities in Iraq, mainly for wounds caused by roadside bombs, bullets, grenades or mortar fire. A few dozen had burns or were hurt in crashes or falls. The decision on whether to give morphine was up to the individual doctor, based on the patient's condition.
Of the 696 troops in the study, 493 — about 70 percent — were given morphine, most within an hour of injury. Two years later, 147 of them had developed PTSD. Of the 203 not given morphine early on, 96 developed PTSD.
That worked out to a 53 percent lower risk of developing PTSD for those treated early with morphine. No other factor, such as the nature or severity of injuries, had much effect on the chances of developing PTSD, Holbrook said.
"These are provocative and thought-provoking findings that should lead scientists to investigate the underlying mechanisms" in future studies, said JoAnn Difede, a PTSD researcher at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Difede and Barbara Rothbaum, who heads the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program at Emory University School of Medicine, said that until more research backs up the findings, the study probably won't lead to many more patients in civilian emergency rooms getting morphine.
"At this point, I don't see it having a huge impact" for civilians, Rothbaum said.
A second study in the journal found that Army wives were more likely to develop depression or sleep problems the longer, or the more times, their spouses were sent to Iraq or Afghanistan.
That study, by researchers at the University of North Carolina and elsewhere, examined medical records for outpatient care of about 250,000 wives of active-duty soldiers from 2003 through 2006.
Compared with wives whose husbands stayed home, those whose husbands were deployed for up to 11 months were 18 percent more likely to be diagnosed with depression and at least 20 percent more likely to be diagnosed with sleep disorders, anxiety and acute stress.
For wives whose husbands were deployed for more than 11 months, problems were even more common: They were at least 24 percent more likely to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety, and about 40 percent more likely to be diagnosed with acute stress or sleep problems.
The researchers didn't have data showing whether husbands were deployed or at home when the wives were being treated for mental health problems.
That meant the scientists couldn't conclude whether those problems were caused by worries about the spouse's safety and the difficulties of being a single parent, or by stress caused by the returning spouse's psychological problems or other behavior changes.
"I suspect that if you look at the Reserve and National Guard wives, the toll might be even worse," because they have less social support than families living in a military community, Rothbaum said.
She said the effects of deployment on children also need to be studied so the military can figure out how to provide more help to families.



CAVman in WYoming

carpshooter

I have too , but may need to get my name in the system as I age !

CAVman

I did too!

I served in 1966-1969 and was never officially in the V.A. System until Last Year!
As I approached age 65, my older brother, a Veteran who worked Security at the V.A. Hospital in Sheridan, Wyoming...pushed me to get signed up...
So I did, and the first and really only thing I had addressed with the V.A. was my Hearing Issues...
Two, really Three Exams later...the V.A. provided me with State-of-the-Art $6,000 Hearing Aids! They have really helped me.

Ok, so now I am a little more 'outgoing' because now I can actually hear entire conversations...
Just last weekend, I had two conversations with two other old 'Nammers', one at the local gunshow, and one at a store...
Both of them had Hearing Issues!
I could hear fine, but leaned in so they could hear me better...
We started talking about our service, and our heaing aids...
I showed them my Aids, with Bluetooth so that cell phone calls go directly to my Aids(you don't hold the phone up to your ear!)...
The both said they were NOT going to the V.A. because of past bad experiences!
The guy in the store said he would not go back into the V.A. system until it was headed by a Veteran instead of a Politician!
I Said...Actually, It Now IS !

Anyway, Bottom Line...It should come as no surprise to any of us Veterans that too often we find reasons, valid or not-so-valid, to NOT get the help we need!
If Served In Vietnam...You Definitely Should Be In The V.A. Medical System...You Owe It To Yourself, Your Wife, Your Family...

Garry Owen!

CAVman in WYoming

D308FAM

Post Partrum Depression is a real condition. Women do not get penalized for it. More people on antidepressants than anyone could possibly guess. Handed out like candy. Whatever the effect is on society it is a small one as compared to the number of prescriptions and there is almost no real association between them and violence levels.
.....
PTSD is real. The human mind is just one more part of the human organism...give it enough stress and it will react to it. Those with PTSD that end up being a danger to themselves or others are a tiny, tiny number of those with the actual PTSD symptoms. It is stupid to try to act as if it can be regulated away by laws and then cause people to avoid treatment for this treatable condition due to legitimate fear of hoplophobes using it as yet another reason to deny weapons ownership to people.
....
By the time lawmakers outlaw ever possible source of violence there will be no way to breathe without breaking some law and the entire US society will collapse due to knee jerk reactions to effects that common sense can handle. Commit the people that ACTUALLY need commitment and leave the rest of society to deal with things as they personally see fit.
....
I'm a lot more worried about international gangs, drug cartels, and such than I am about someone with PTSD.

dprice3844444

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/yahoo-s...22&Submit.y=20


http://search.aol.com/aol/search?s_i...q=tapping+ptsd