ptsd Ptsd Or Alzheimer's

[jessie0054]

OK, I have written several times in the last year about different member's of my family i am trying to help. Now it is my husband, He's doing some really out of charater things for him. Usually he is more in control, But lately i am seeing things in him that are starting to worry me.

First i'll tell you he is 30% service connected for PTSD. He ususally fuctions pretty well and these things have been coming on over the last 10-12 months and the lid blew off the pot so to speak today.

I collect coins as a hobby and in the last 4 months he has brought home a roll of the Washington quarters 4 times. I didn't have the heart to tell him i already have them so i just took them and put them away.

I keep his PM medications in the bathroom so he will not forget to take them as he go's through his bedtime routine. I have caught him twice in the last week taking them in the morning!!

A few times even though i have watched him take them he gets up 30 mins later " Oh i forgot to take my pills" So i have to remind him he's already taken them.

Twice in the last month or two he wakes me up out of a very peacefull sleep and ask me if i can't go take a sleeping pill so i can go to sleep. Duh!! I'm already sleeping!!

Somedays he will call me or our son half a dozen times a day and gets upset because we don't answer our cell phone saying ' I'm going to throw that SOB cell phone out the door because you won't answer it" Well i check it to see if i have missed any calls because sometime if i'm in another room and the TV is on i can't hear it ring and ususally no i haven't any missed calls from him.

Last Saturday he got up at 5:30 Am and got dressed and ready to head off to work. I woke up and ask him what he was doing, You don't work on Saturadys.!!

This morning he called me from work very upset, Said he had hid some money in the gargage and some of it was missing and accused me of taking it. [And no, I didn't know he was hidding money and no i didn't take his money!!]

He got even more upset when i ask why he was hidding money and could he maybe have put some of it in a different area and forgot where he hid it?? Boy that was the wrong thing to say!! I'm sure i haven't heard the end of it yet!!

Like i said he usually is in pretty good control and i'm hoping that in the next few hours before he gets off work that he may take sometime and think about the things he said. So maybe he will have cooled off before he gets home. I have never had a reason to fear him, But!!! He loves his money and if he really believes i took any from him i don't know what he might do.

So could be his PTSD getting worse or is he getting Alzhemer's disease??

Jessie

[Wings]

Thanks Wings:

Lucky for us our next door neighbor is a Dr and a very good friend and we do have insurance other than the VA so if the Q&Q of the testing at the VA isn't getting anywhere i can ask him to do his own testing, He will get to the end of the problem. I have been sorta held back from saying anything to him because he is our neighbor and sometime you just don't want your neighbors to know everything about what is going on in your house, You know what i mean?

Jessie

The neighbors LOL! Mine can't see me for the trees, but they can sure enough hear me lol!

I would think Berta's 'up to snuff' on current VA practice re: Psychometric testing.

I would ask for a simple battery (meaning, several types of tests) to establish a BASELINE of current cognative annd psychological functioning - - and then repeat testing periodically.

At the very least, keep your journal and log your observations. You have been married a LONG TIME to your veteran and prolly know him better than he knows himself sometimes lol! Your insight into the problems are sound. We're really concerned if you are . . . Good luck and God Bless you both. Keep us posted.

The neighbor sounds like a good resource.

Don't be afraid to seek wise counsel ;-)

~Wings

Edited August 23, 2007 by Wings

[Jay Johnson]

Jesse - As far as benefits are concerned - if you do a BVA search with the terms PTSD and dementia - there are LOTS of increased ratings from this. Some are termed as "PTSD with dementia," some discuss how the effects of the demetia can't be separated from the effects of PTSD - so the benefit of the doubt has to go to the SC condition causing the problems.

Again, I hope you find help - and something to treat your husband. But you are also going to have to be his advocate in this and make sure they don't sell you out on the possible connection with dementia (if it IS dementia) - whether the demetia was CAUSED by the PTSD - or just merges with it -- make sure the doctors know the interplay of the TWO things.

The BVA has granted increased ratings for the combination in quite a few cases.

Free

Finally, a VA screw up that seems to benefit veterans:-)

(BTW, I'm refering to the fact that the VA lumps all "mental" conditions together)

[free_spirit_etc]

I think a lot of people lump them together...which probably works against the vets as much as for the Vets. Kind of like in Jospehine's case where they tried to say - since the doctor said __ is causing your problems then they can't be caused by ___.

How in the world could they know that? So sometimes they get lumped together to the vets benefits (as we can't tell which one is causing the problem - we have to attribute it to the SC condition) - and sometimes it works against the vet (since we can't tell for sure which one is causing the problem - it must be the NON SC one).

It does seem to work to the vets favor if they are already SC for something and filing for an increase - than trying to get the INITIAL SC granted. Because the SC problem was granted before the confounding condition appeared.

Plus - it really shouldn't be any different than other SC conditions. Vets have aging related changes that affect their SC conditions all the time - but when the SC condition increases in level of disability with the age related change - the rating can be increased.

That is why it is probably important that a log of symptoms is kept and / or any PTSD type symptoms are reported to doctors AND documented. Because if the vet is showing an increase in symptoms that are related to the PTSD - then they can get an increase in rating - even a unrelated cognitive impairment is bringing on the increase. The PTSD symptoms are worse = increase. but if the doctor is just reporting symptoms that are related to the cognitive impairment that are NOT also symptoms of PTSD - the increase won't be as likely to be granted...as the two conditions CAN be separated.

Free

Finally, a VA screw up that seems to benefit veterans:-)

(BTW, I'm refering to the fact that the VA lumps all "mental" conditions together)

[Wings]

I think a lot of people lump them together...which probably works against the vets as much as for the Vets. Kind of like in Jospehine's case where they tried to say - since the doctor said __ is causing your problems then they can't be caused by ___.

How in the world could they know that? So sometimes they get lumped together to the vets benefits (as we can't tell which one is causing the problem - we have to attribute it to the SC condition) - and sometimes it works against the vet (since we can't tell for sure which one is causing the problem - it must be the NON SC one).

It does seem to work to the vets favor if they are already SC for something and filing for an increase - than trying to get the INITIAL SC granted. Because the SC problem was granted before the confounding condition appeared.

Plus - it really shouldn't be any different than other SC conditions. Vets have aging related changes that affect their SC conditions all the time - but when the SC condition increases in level of disability with the age related change - the rating can be increased.

That is why it is probably important that a log of symptoms is kept and / or any PTSD type symptoms are reported to doctors AND documented. Because if the vet is showing an increase in symptoms that are related to the PTSD - then they can get an increase in rating - even a unrelated cognitive impairment is bringing on the increase. The PTSD symptoms are worse = increase. but if the doctor is just reporting symptoms that are related to the cognitive impairment that are NOT also symptoms of PTSD - the increase won't be as likely to be granted...as the two conditions CAN be separated.

Free

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Well said Free! You explained that very well ;-) ~Wings