PTSD and how to keep it in check

12/28/2013 9:43:30 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
chfdfirefighter Garland, TX 29, joined Mar. 2011	I would love to hear people's stories on this subject I see to many brothers out there that need help but don't get it I too refused to share but it does help and on behalf of a grateful nation thanks to all vets old and new and for the ones in the front watch your six!!! Come home safe Meet singles at DateHookup.dating, we're 100% free! Join now!
12/28/2013 7:30:27 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
digitaldog Grove, OK 68, joined Dec. 2010	I have found that the best way to keep my PTSD in check.. Is a glass of red wine and a couple of Prozac.. Heck.. you can get hit by a bus and STILL have a darn nice day... I luvs this group and am ever sooooo thankful there is not a group for the mentally deranged....- Otherwise I'd be confined there searching for my best bet for a date.. Just cause " alligator people in human disguise " are after me.. don't mean " they " have to be real..!! -XoXoXoX- And ALL my friends....
12/28/2013 9:24:55 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
toughluck78 Mineral Wells, TX 39, joined Dec. 2012	Dude, it's very hard to take you seriously. My BS meter is pegging so far PMEL has to recalibrate. Chances you're actually a vet: Almost zero.
12/29/2013 7:28:13 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
chfdfirefighter Garland, TX 29, joined Mar. 2011	Well then go back and reread it till you get the point not hard to figure out bro I wanna learn people's stories like what happened to them while on deployment that kinda stuff is all that's what It's for to help each other out with PTSD sorry if you didn't understand
12/29/2013 7:29:51 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
chfdfirefighter Garland, TX 29, joined Mar. 2011	Quote from toughluck78: Dude, it's very hard to take you seriously. My BS meter is pegging so far PMEL has to recalibrate. Chances you're actually a vet: Almost zero. I'm sorry who are you? You don't know anything so who are to say that if you don't wanna talk then go somewhere else that easy guy.
12/29/2013 9:37:25 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
jrbogie1949 Ventura, CA 68, joined Mar. 2009	PTSD made me the man I am today.
12/29/2013 10:33:49 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
1irving Ruskin, FL 56, joined Mar. 2013	12 pack after work.
12/29/2013 10:36:05 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
stompp_rawwr Norfolk, VA 22, joined Sep. 2012	Solitude kills .-.
12/29/2013 10:59:47 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
chfdfirefighter Garland, TX 29, joined Mar. 2011	I wish I could drink a 12 pack lol but I stopped drinking a lot idk why but I can't drink much anymore I only so like two or three beers and then I'm done lol tobacco helps a lot tho
12/29/2013 11:02:22 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
whiskeyrichard1 Burlington, KY 70, joined Sep. 2013	When I got home I had some symptoms that today would be called PTSD. Didnt really care for people, some depression, drank heavy and smoked a lot of weed.Took me a while to get through it but I did. I think its to be expected that it takes a while to rejoin civilian life and function.
12/29/2013 11:02:54 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
chfdfirefighter Garland, TX 29, joined Mar. 2011	Quote from stompp_rawwr: Solitude kills .-. Yeah that's true that's why I made this post to try to bring more light to this situation hopefully be able to help each other with issues.
12/29/2013 2:01:16 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
cupocheer Assumption, IL 68, joined May. 2010	PTSD can't be kept 'in check' ... but it can be controlled with the proper medication.
12/29/2013 2:30:45 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
digitaldog Grove, OK 68, joined Dec. 2010	Quote from jrbogie1949: PTSD made me the man I am today. Hey jrbogie1949 ole pal.... Soooo the darn " cherry " wants to know just what PTSD can do to a guy..... Well.............. I too once was a young man with ambition... a soldier with a " desire to serve ".. But low and behold, struck down in my prime... And now PTSD has made me the ~~man~~ DOG that I is today..!! Enough of this PTSD c r a p..... ..!! me and my pals are outta here.. -XoXoXoX- And ALL my friends....
12/29/2013 5:21:38 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
stompp_rawwr Norfolk, VA 22, joined Sep. 2012	I remember they said my comrades will become my family & it's true but.. It's not the same thing You still feel a little emptiness every time you're alone
12/30/2013 9:47:57 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
whiskeyrichard1 Burlington, KY 70, joined Sep. 2013	First off I believe that PTSD is a serious condition. I was a medic in Vietnam. I saw guys fall apart under the strain of combat.But there's also some BS about it. I also think the media is feeding a story that provides cover for some who return and don't do wha'ts necessary to readjust-and its not easy to re-adjust-but its on each of us to do it.I have a few acquaintances who 45 years later still go around wearing jungle fatigue jackets and silly a** pins and patches and are stuck in Vietnam. Most of them were REMFs and they are still complaining about "how they were treated". Well screw that! When I came home I ran wild for a while. I drank hard and drugged too. I had to get it out of my system. But most of the guys I know and served with did- we didn't wallow in it. We moved on. We got educated, some married and we took jobs and moved on-like our fathers and their fathers did. Im all for treatment and compensation for those deserving and truly needy.But if you want to sit on the "pity pot" and cry to me you need to go to the next barstool! If you" bit it off-ya gotta chew it"! Suck it up! D*ckie 1/501/101st
12/30/2013 12:09:32 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
1irving Ruskin, FL 56, joined Mar. 2013	Meds are the answer for lazy VA psyco-anal-ists who are willing to spend 5 minutes every other month with their patients. Meds are the answer if you don't shed a tear for your dead best friend when they lower him into the ground. Meds are the answer, if you don't know or don't care about the answer.
12/30/2013 1:14:35 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
digitaldog Grove, OK 68, joined Dec. 2010	Quote from whiskeyrichard1: First off I believe that PTSD is a serious condition. I was a medic in Vietnam. I saw guys fall apart under the strain of combat.But there's also some BS about it. I also think the media is feeding a story that provides cover for some who return and don't do wha'ts necessary to readjust-and its not easy to re-adjust-but its on each of us to do it.I have a few acquaintances who 45 years later still go around wearing jungle fatigue jackets and silly a pins and patches and are stuck in Vietnam. Most of them were REMFs and they are still complaining about "how they were treated". Well screw that! When I came home I ran wild for a while. I drank hard and drugged too. I had to get it out of my system. But most of the guys I know and served with did- we didn't wallow in it. We moved on. We got educated, some married and we took jobs and moved on-like our fathers and their fathers did.** Im all for treatment and compensation for those deserving and truly needy.But if you want to sit on the "pity pot" and cry to me you need to go to the next barstool! If you" bit it off-ya gotta chew it"! Suck it up! Dckie 1/501/101st - Hey whiskeyrichard1, As usual I tend to agree 100% with you on this issue and PTSD " problems ".... But there IS one thing that I want to warn the gals about.. And that is ...... should they ever come across one of us Viet Nam Veteran " tickin-time-bombs "... --->>> RUN* like H E L L ..!!! But then again...what would I know.?? I'm just a dog... That's it for now.. ..!! me and my pals are outta here.. -XoXoXoX- And ALL my friends....
12/30/2013 2:50:20 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
fosplicer Dallas, GA 56, joined May. 2009	like The dog and whiskey said, you learn to cope and move forward in your life. My inability to learn how to cope, and my self medicating cost me my marriage. But counseling, does help, learning the skills to cope helped me. The medications didn't, they made me feel disconnected from every thing. Focusing on life, my kids, community, helps me alot.
12/30/2013 4:43:39 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
1irving Ruskin, FL 56, joined Mar. 2013	counseling and group=my staying self reliant and not in jail or the looney bin.
12/31/2013 9:42:33 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
whiskeyrichard1 Burlington, KY 70, joined Sep. 2013	I guess most of us pretty much are of the same opinion here on the condition.It exists, it always has .Back in my dad's war they talked about guys being "shell shocked.During Vietnam we called it the "1000 yard stare"....war absolutely leaves a scar.My problem is theres a lot of people going for treatment and seeking compensation who never saw combat, but claim to have all these symptoms from "war". In Vietnam some guys never went to the field or even saw the VC or NVA.They never fired a weapon and aside from perhaps running into a bunker when Charlie threw a few rockets or mortars into the perimeter were never in danger.Its the same ever since.About 3 out of 10 troops, actually deployed in-country in Iraq or Afghanistan or wherever we fight next will engage the enemy.Those men and women will endure emotional, psychological and too often physical pain.They will make huge sacrifices.But riding around on a ship in the Mediterranean or the Gulf shouldn't be so traumatic that you require counseling and medication. Sitting on your behind at a huge safe airbase, sleeping in a clean rack, eating hot meals and taking a shower every day isn't my idea of combat conditions either, but theres plenty of these Joes also filing claims and looking for compensation! To them I say "PTSD"???? Really? You are just weak and you were weak before you enlisted.! Now if that pisses anybody off Im sorry! [Edited 12/31/2013 9:43:51 AM ]
12/31/2013 10:34:09 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
1irving Ruskin, FL 56, joined Mar. 2013	Well spoken. Most of our military forces are "support" troops. These are the people who say "No" when the real soldiers need something from the rear. I was lucky to have Real leadership who believed "Spare nothing for our warriors"
12/31/2013 1:39:15 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
1irving Ruskin, FL 56, joined Mar. 2013	REMF, Pogue deusch bags are still with us today. Just stop by your local VFW, and listen to them cry about their 10% the VA gave them for tripping over an unbloused shoe lace.
12/31/2013 2:14:05 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
whiskeyrichard1 Burlington, KY 70, joined Sep. 2013	1irving.As you probably know Im very involved in my Post and you hit the nail on the head! Its really easy to sort out the crybabies.We also get a lot of guys who come in and never join- they start telling their tales and get ran off.Because we have a liquor license we are open to the public so they wander in.But those chumps don't stay long! I think the ones who piss me off the most are the ones who have health insurance or can afford health care but use the VA rather than pay a small deductible. Ive never used it.I want it there for the real deserving!Im totally in support of the guys with service connected wounds and injuries, conditions and health problems.But I also know several who just clog it up, fail constant claims and take resources away from those who are struggling to get help in a situation with a dwindling budget and growing need.They piss me off!
12/31/2013 3:13:44 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
jrbogie1949 Ventura, CA 68, joined Mar. 2009	Whiskey if somebody is using the va and has health insurance that hasn't been reported to the va they've commuted a felony. Turn the bastards in. The va should be coordinating benefits accordingly.
12/31/2013 5:25:46 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
1irving Ruskin, FL 56, joined Mar. 2013	Most the time spent at my VA are for the few WWII, Korea and Vietnam boys left here. I bring a book, spend as little time as I can with my DR, she's pretty cool, and try to maintain my health with as little help as possible from the VA. There are limited resources, my family gives me hell about my loss of ambulatory movement. I think there are more deserving and more hurt people than me.
12/31/2013 10:01:05 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
cupocheer Assumption, IL 68, joined May. 2010	Dang! Flashbacks!
12/31/2013 10:01:29 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
cupocheer Assumption, IL 68, joined May. 2010	Happy New Year
1/1/2014 10:07:05 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
chfdfirefighter Garland, TX 29, joined Mar. 2011	Happy New Years everyone and thanks for the post
1/2/2014 2:24:22 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
newlady2 Goldsboro, NC 78, joined Apr. 2008	While at work, our guys have different looks and actions when they really have it - some are just kids tho and nervous.. They soon (?) get help or get over it.. Theres only so much meds that will help- then its like anyone else-- heal thyself..
1/7/2014 1:25:17 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
1irving Ruskin, FL 56, joined Mar. 2013	Pills suck Hazel.
1/7/2014 2:09:06 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
whiskeyrichard1 Burlington, KY 70, joined Sep. 2013	Im with you irving! Pills are a temporary measure. Take them away and you still gotta deal with your demons....I self medicated after Vietnam, lots of alcohol and other stuff.Im sure it didn't help, but I didn't know any better way to get through it and eventually I did.If I could give another vet some advice it would be to join the VFW or the Legion in your area and stay close to guys who understand you and don't be reluctant to talk about what bothers you with them and just know that time will be on your side.
1/7/2014 3:28:26 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
pandeist Traverse City, MI 68, joined Nov. 2013	As Andy from Shawshank Redemption said; "Get busy living or get busy dying". You're born and you die. In between, "no quitting is allowed". As Forrest would say; "sometimes there just aren't enough rocks". Both Hero's of mine. PTSD is just that, quitting. I give no quarter or sympathy for quitting.
1/8/2014 7:58:42 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
jrbogie1949 Ventura, CA 68, joined Mar. 2009	my thinking as well. i think people are more prone to ptsd than others. i saw many types in the nam go through some real hell who never experienced severe after affects and others who never left the base, helicopter mechanics and such, who really cracked up because of a mortar attack or two. we all handle crisis differently. i'm not saying that ptsd isn't real but more like some folks are stronger than others. pardon the cliche but, 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going.'
1/8/2014 9:49:42 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
whiskeyrichard1 Burlington, KY 70, joined Sep. 2013	Im pretty much in line with you guys.I think the separation /anxiety of returning is a factor, but its just an adjustment that everybody has to make.Its nothing new.One day you are a leader with others depending on you, next day you are sitting on mommas couch..its a big change, but its part of the deal.Suck it up. adapt/persevere/overcome.. [Edited 1/8/2014 9:50:11 AM ]
1/21/2014 1:56:17 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
addictive_85 Greensboro, NC 32, joined Jan. 2014	My ex has PTSD how can I help her?
1/22/2014 7:30:50 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
whiskeyrichard1 Burlington, KY 70, joined Sep. 2013	addictive- start leaving her phone number on the shithouse wall of your methadone clinic...that will keep her busy!
1/22/2014 9:47:14 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
1irving Ruskin, FL 56, joined Mar. 2013	Quote from addictive_85: My ex has PTSD how can I help her? Eat more p*ssy? No that only helps for a minute or two, right? Check out your local Vet Center.
1/22/2014 10:04:13 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
cowboy4672 Lillian, AL 69, joined Dec. 2012	Quote from pandeist: As Andy from Shawshank Redemption said; "Get busy living or get busy dying". You're born and you die. In between, "no quitting is allowed". As Forrest would say; "sometimes there just aren't enough rocks". Both Hero's of mine. PTSD is just that, quitting. I give no quarter or sympathy for quitting. My absolute favorite movie quote, meaning of life.............. GET BUSY living, Or get busy DYING. In Either case, If your "Busy" life ain't so bad!!
1/22/2014 12:21:32 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
artist820 Tehachapi, CA 60, joined Jan. 2013	Quote from digitaldog: I have found that the best way to keep my PTSD in check.. Is a glass of red wine and a couple of Prozac.. Heck.. you can get hit by a bus and STILL have a darn nice day... I luvs this group and am ever sooooo thankful there is not a group for the mentally deranged....- Otherwise I'd be confined there searching for my best bet for a date.. Just cause " alligator people in human disguise " are after me.. don't mean " they " have to be real..!! -XoXoXoX- And ALL my friends.... tell them to log onto www.myhealth.va.gov
1/23/2014 6:49:03 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
gdaddy47 Columbia, TN 69, joined Sep. 2009	Hell I didn't know about PTSD when I came back from the Nam in 68. I know I was pissed as hell at the whole world. I know I loved my wife of 1 year and 2 weeks. I know I loved my baby boy of 4 months. Us brothers had to drive fast, be loud, drink to excess, dope a little, etc... . Wasn't until a fifteen years later I heard of PTSD. Not taking away anything from the soldiers today but most of them get disability for it. I have talked to many of them here at Ft. Campbell. Hell most never heard a shot fired in anger. At the same time they went on numerous tours. (deployments) Some damn person tells you that you have PTSD and damn,,,, "Let me get into my damn pity-party." Yeah back then we saw big battles and saw many die but we just stepped over and said, "Don't mean nuttin" "Lines in a Shakespeare play spoken by English King Henry V before the battle of Agincourt in1415. ‘We few, we happy few, we band of brothers, for he who sheds his blood with me, shall be my brother.’ That’s what we all are – brothers and sisters.”
1/23/2014 8:36:55 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
abninf Euless, TX 49, joined Oct. 2010	How to deal with "PTSD"? Toughen yourself up.
1/23/2014 10:03:21 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
realandoldtimer Toledo, WA 66, joined Apr. 2013	Everyone deals with ptsd in thier own way. You have to find the path you are going to take. Are you going to let ptsd run your life on one path or are you going defind your life with ptsd. Your choice.
1/24/2014 10:55:07 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
whiskeyrichard1 Burlington, KY 70, joined Sep. 2013	gdaddy
1/24/2014 4:35:49 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
1irving Ruskin, FL 56, joined Mar. 2013	Quote from abninf: How to deal with "PTSD"? Toughen yourself up. also known as "suck it up". This is OK as long as you have other soldiers to hang with.
1/25/2014 11:47:59 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
whiskeyrichard1 Burlington, KY 70, joined Sep. 2013	When I was in Vietnam we had a mix of draftees and enlisted guys, but once we went to the bush you couldnt tell them apart.Some of the ones who really looked strong and squared away fell apart, and some of the little scrawny guys really stood up. I think the big question that the DOD isnt looking at is mental toughness.I definethat as the ability to handle any situation, to be capable of overcoming adversity and prevailing and never looking back! Some of this crap about "women in combat" is political correctness run amok.It makes no sense.Performing a certain number of pull ups, or sit-ups in training is one thing-but enduring the hell of living on the ground for weeks, even months and facing the enemy is something different.Anybody who wants to argue that women arent more emotional, less physical and wont bring down efficeiency just doesnt know shit about the infantry....so--now we can have PMS AND PTSD! What are they thinking? I think the real problem of PTSD should be addressed BEFORE troops are put in harms way.ASVAB is a test of the education/ aptitude/learning level of recruits, but a lot a weak minded and really inferior kids get by simply because troop levels require it. Weed out the weaklings.Do it with better pay, and a effort to make military service more attractive, so that its not the last stop before becoming the voice you here going through drive-thru at McDonalds. JMHO
1/25/2014 12:09:29 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
bier95 Clara City, MN 66, joined May. 2011	I have seen to many kids [around here] that DO NOT have the mentality to be infantry, Mama and Daddy are still holding their hand and do everything for them. A lot have not even had a job even being out of school for 2 or 3 years.They live off Mom and Dad do nothing around the house. The Military should be doing a mental evaluation on the new recruits to see if they even can stand some of the stress that military people go thru. I am out here
1/25/2014 2:27:22 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
newlady2 Goldsboro, NC 78, joined Apr. 2008	Last year there was a kid wandereing around here as I went out the front door, he was looking at my old car with base sticker-- Then started talking--when he finished I told him, " Hey I dont think the military is for you"...... The boy was thinking of the military with stars in his eyes and not thinking of what he could do-but what he could get.....Lotsa money he said .. LOL .. It takes all kinds,sad thing is in a few years he might have been a good man for a uniform... He wasnt ready at 17.. . I know some are tho!!
1/26/2014 7:52:17 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
whiskeyrichard1 Burlington, KY 70, joined Sep. 2013	Back a few years ago I went to see my nephew (sisters boy) play in a soccer game championship.They got creamed.Half of these boys cried after the loss.Then every kid got a trophy. When I played high school football we lost a couple games.Come Monday our coaches ran us until we couldnt run any more. They took our jerseys and told us we had to "earn" them before the next game.They were hard as nails. By the time I got to Ft. Knox and basic when I graduated it was easy as pie.Sure it was something new, but I never felt like anything I was expected to do was more than I could handle.I had asked for it. At Ft. Benning when I went to jump school the PT and constant pressure from the "black hats" was something I knew I had to get through.So I just did it.I hate to think how many times I was put in the "dying c*ckroach"... Vietnam was a different story.I saw and did things I never anticipated, but I did it.I was able to do those things because people took an interest in me and taught me that life isnt always easy and they pushed me. I see these kids now at the mall or a restaurant and watch "mommmy and daddy" get ran over by these spoiled brats and I can understand why so many cant cut it after they finally stare life's reality in the face.
1/27/2014 7:34:20 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
1irving Ruskin, FL 56, joined Mar. 2013	"Everybody is a winner!"
1/28/2014 10:05:15 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
snglman4u Milford, OH 34, joined Aug. 2013	I hear a lot about how people have PTSD. You deal with it in your own way. I don't talk about it and my family resents me for it. I deal with it by not sleeping. I get minimal sleep so that I don't have to bear the dreams that comes with it. Medication doesn't solve anything. Its just one more thing your body becomes dependant to. My advice to the newly home soldiers out there is to do something constructive that keeps your mind away from the bad. Good luck to all of you, leave no one behind!
1/29/2014 7:40:27 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
1irving Ruskin, FL 56, joined Mar. 2013	Check out your local Vet Center. A VA affiliation that actually gets something done.
1/30/2014 6:43:01 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
mistalee400 Yuma, AZ 32, joined Apr. 2013	Curbin ptsd was easy, lettin people close has been the tricky part
2/5/2014 8:05:30 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
eurogal1973 Macungie, PA 43, joined Dec. 2013	Having a good support system in friends & family is the main thing. Also b open to share what u r going through. Have you thought about getting a therapy dog?? Pets for Patriots supposedly help vets getting pets to help overcome PTSD. Journaling helps as well. My ex wasn't open to options, unfortunately. I was there for him, supporting him to my best ability. So sad, he didn't appreciate it.
2/5/2014 10:14:29 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
gdaddy47 Columbia, TN 69, joined Sep. 2009	euro, some dudes just want the pity. Holding a pity party. Sickening isn't it? Did he ever hear a shot fired in anger? Did he ever see boocoos of his buddies dead and carried away in a big azz net? Aw crap here I go posting with a bunch of beer in me.
2/6/2014 8:29:18 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
whiskeyrichard1 Burlington, KY 70, joined Sep. 2013	gdaddy.No apology needed. Sometimes the truth doesn't come out until you have a belly full of beer...have one on me brother!
2/23/2014 9:57:50 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
lulubell1969 Titusville, FL 47, joined Dec. 2013	Lots of meds
2/24/2014 6:53:58 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
pandeist Traverse City, MI 68, joined Nov. 2013	Quote from bier95: I have seen to many kids [around here] that DO NOT have the mentality to be infantry, Mama and Daddy are still holding their hand and do everything for them. A lot have not even had a job even being out of school for 2 or 3 years.They live off Mom and Dad do nothing around the house. The Military should be doing a mental evaluation on the new recruits to see if they even can stand some of the stress that military people go thru. I am out here I don't even want to comment on these disgusting weaklings that think they're entitled to a check every month for fear of getting too pissed off. I've developed high blood pressure and suffered cardiac arrest three times with my 2012 heart attack. Only one of four in my immediate family to have survived one. Some piss ant veteran thought I should apply to the VA for agent orange benefits. i almost through his a** off the balcony. Friggen frauds. Enough said. I think I'll crack open a beer and calm done just a bit now. Where's my damned check?
2/24/2014 7:12:59 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
jrbogie1949 Ventura, CA 68, joined Mar. 2009	hard to count the number of times i've been advised to apply for a service connected disability due to agent orange and ptsd. one idiot spent his whole time in the nam at macv in saigon. looking at the backlog that vets face today and thinking about the vast numbers of wounded in vietnam compared with the relatively much smaller number since 9/11, a period of about a dozen years in both cases, i have to think that something stinks.
2/24/2014 8:31:50 AM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
whiskeyrichard1 Burlington, KY 70, joined Sep. 2013	When I think about Agent Orange and the claims its birthed I know some are legitimate and deserving .We had the shit dumped everywhere in I Corp when I was there and triple canopy would die practically overnight and look like the moon in a couple days! Nasty shit.It was in the air and water table and nobody is sure how long the chemical life of it is....I know a lot of vets got compensation, but we all drank the water, bathed in it (infrequently usually) and breathed it.The unlucky ones suffered. Others (like me) seemed to have dodged that bullet. What amazes me is its still there, laying in the ground and water table and the Vietnamese have had their share of birth defects, miscarriages , cancers etc...and probably will for generations yet to come and they haven't asked for restitution or compensation, but guys who spent their entire tour in Cam Rahn Bay are still clogging up the VA looking for a check.....
2/24/2014 9:58:29 PM	PTSD and how to keep it in check
eastfoot Bossier City, LA 61, joined Jul. 2012	I remember driving out of town with the boys to a favorite spot where we liked to set off fireworks, it was the 4th of July. There was a great moon with stars filling the night sky when all of sudden there was a large thud under the van. Like a trigger the stress started building and I repeatedly kept saying that I ran over a bloody leg! It lasted only a couple of minutes while I was assured that it was only a thick branch. Weeks later, there was another attack --and more severe. I was at home. I had just finished washing the supper dishes, retiring to my room for the night. I just sat down on the edge of the bed. I wasn't thinking about anything. I could feel the stress starting to build, making me want to jump out of my skin. I called 911, and two emergency techs arrived almost immediately from the firehouse nearby. My B/P indicated a possible heart attack until I was plugged into the monitor. Those guys were angels! They gently reassured me through the adrenaline spike, helping me to breathe, literally hands on, bringing me back into focus. This is how I learned about 'PTSD' (and my employer paid for their visit). Praise God, there hasn't been another episode since ...learning about the nature of stress, about my limitations and my triggers, and the most important is having a buddy system. Five years in hospice nursing was finally taking its toll on me. It was like a battle field caring for one terminal patient after another, personally helping each one with a label from A to Z plus complications on complications brought about by a lifetime's exposure to mainstream medicine. I was an employee of the largest hospice organization, based in the U.S. and Africa. At least eighty percent of the patients came onto hospice care dying from some form of cancer –and a large percentage of those had received cancer treatments that made it difficult to give them pain free care which further complicated their ability to let go, or being able to die. The other ten to twenty percent were from diseases like Aids, surgical operations gone bad (some due to sepsis), the infection of severe burns, gangrene ignored with its creeping blackness, or gaping cavities rotting from cancer not treated. The most difficult to witness were those drowning slowly by feeding tube and the wasting away to the bone by ulcerating flesh caused by lack of bed care. >My prayers were never-ending in how they helped to strengthen me in caring for each and every one, so human suffering would not be prolonged.

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