ptsd Ptsd?

[cooter]

I was injured during a parachute landing 34 years ago in the service and it wasn't in a combat zone. My question is since I have alot of the symptoms of PTSD including, anxiety and panic atacks, depresion, hypertention, angry spells, and nightmares of falling and falling. the dreams aren't falling from a parachute but stupid things like off of a building, over a cliff, over a bridge, ect. Could this be part of PTSD?

[Hoppy]

Correct me if I am wrong. I have not heard anything about verification of the stressor. Even with the relaxed PTSD rules in a non combat stressor would they not need to confirm the stressor in a case of delayed onset PTSD?

If there were treatment records showing treatment for a jump related injury that would be pretty good evidence of a stressor specific to the nightmares.

I know a VA staff psychologist who says it is impossible to diagnose a personality disorder without psychometric testing. The psychologist will also say that it is impossible to diagnose personality disorder based on a persons reaction to a single event.

If that clinician wrote in your records anything about a personality disorder I would report this clinician to anybody who will listen. Get that comment taken out of your records.

[Hoppy]

Are any of the symptoms of hyperventilation, anxiety depression in your service medical records or one year after discharge? I just got a veteran service connected for panic disorder who was diagnosed in the mid seventies by military clinicians with hyperventilation episodes.

[cooter]

Correct me if I am wrong. I have not heard anything about verification of the stressor. Even with the relaxed PTSD rules in a non combat stressor would they not need to confirm the stressor in a case of delayed onset PTSD?

If there were treatment records showing treatment for a jump related injury that would be pretty good evidence of a stressor specific to the nightmares.

I know a VA staff psychologist who says it is impossible to diagnose a personality disorder without psychometric testing. The psychologist will also say that it is impossible to diagnose personality disorder based on a persons reaction to a single event.

If that clinician wrote in your records anything about a personality disorder I would report this clinician to anybody who will listen. Get that comment taken out of your records.

Your correct Hoppy. There is no verification of a stresser except in my thoughts. That's the reason I need help such as your's for me to figure all this out. Let me start

this out with the circumstances that surround all of this. I entered the army in 1971 and was attending airbourne training in June 1976. During training I had a tragic landing when my chute partialy collapsed (and I'm guessing) about 30 feet from ground. I landed like an accordian, straight down. Because of my injuries I was medivac to the base hospital at Ft. Benning,Ga. I was in and out of it during my stay there, and all I know is I left wearing a full legged cask on my right leg, which I wore

for 4 weeks. After I finished the training which was in august, I unexspectedly had to leave the army on a hardship discharge because of family problems. Therefore, I wasn't around long enough to tell if there was any other injuries from that fall that could of showed up. On my exit exam I told the examiner I had a couple of anxiety episodes (the same week before exam). He checked the psychiatric box adnormal and then changed his mind ad marked it normal and he said it was most likely

seperation anxiety and left it at that. I been having all these symptoms (mentioned earlier) till this day. I have all the neccessary civ med records to back me up except

being diagnosed by a specialist.

In all respect, what is your thinking of this? !!!BROKEN ARROW!!!

[JamesBreckenridge]

Your correct Hoppy. There is no verification of a stresser except in my thoughts. That's the reason I need help such as your's for me to figure all this out. Let me start

this out with the circumstances that surround all of this. I entered the army in 1971 and was attending airbourne training in June 1976. During training I had a tragic landing when my chute partialy collapsed (and I'm guessing) about 30 feet from ground. I landed like an accordian, straight down. Because of my injuries I was medivac to the base hospital at Ft. Benning,Ga. I was in and out of it during my stay there, and all I know is I left wearing a full legged cask on my right leg, which I wore

for 4 weeks. After I finished the training which was in august, I unexspectedly had to leave the army on a hardship discharge because of family problems. Therefore, I wasn't around long enough to tell if there was any other injuries from that fall that could of showed up. On my exit exam I told the examiner I had a couple of anxiety episodes (the same week before exam). He checked the psychiatric box adnormal and then changed his mind ad marked it normal and he said it was most likely

seperation anxiety and left it at that. I been having all these symptoms (mentioned earlier) till this day. I have all the neccessary civ med records to back me up except

being diagnosed by a specialist.

In all respect, what is your thinking of this? !!!BROKEN ARROW!!!

Wow. That's a helluva story.

The evidentiary standards are relaxed when it comes to combat stressors. Noncombat stressors need to be confirmed. However, surely your service medical records show that you had a parachute problem. That's a near death experience, and certainly qualifies as a stressor, and I would consider it to be a "confirmed stressor."

But that's only part of the puzzle. To get service connected for PTSD, you have to have a confirmed stressor (let's say your chute failure qualifies), a diagnosis of PTSD that satisfies the DSM-IV, and an opinion by the examiner that states that there is a nexus between the diagnosis of PTSD and the in-service stressor.

[cooter]

Wow. That's a helluva story.

The evidentiary standards are relaxed when it comes to combat stressors. Noncombat stressors need to be confirmed. However, surely your service medical records show that you had a parachute problem. That's a near death experience, and certainly qualifies as a stressor, and I would consider it to be a "confirmed stressor."

But that's only part of the puzzle. To get service connected for PTSD, you have to have a confirmed stressor (let's say your chute failure qualifies), a diagnosis of PTSD that satisfies the DSM-IV, and an opinion by the examiner that states that there is a nexus between the diagnosis of PTSD and the in-service stressor.

But here's the kicker. As I mentioned in another post my SMR's didn't have my hospital record of the injury in it! BUT!!! I was awarded 30% and an increase to 60%

for my knee injury. Had to have a TKR done in 2008. So when I go to get copies of my c:file I'll see what records they have that I don't! Cause I'll need that to prove my case. Otherwise I'm SOL. Also had my wrist fractured in the service and no copy of that either! It's really frustrating not knowing what's up with that! !!!BROKEN ARROW!!!

[Hoppy]

You need to get the discharge exam and see exactly what it says about anxiety. Separation anxiety usually refers to being away from significant persons in your life. It is a common diagnosis during the first year of military service. If there is any mention of symptoms of hyperventilation, or physical discomfort the exact etiology given by the examiner may not be that important.

Do the civilian treatment records go back to within one year of discharge? If not how much time went by before the post service symptoms are noted by clinicians?

This type of information is not required for PTSD. However, there is a possibility that you had symptoms during the military or within the one year presumptive period that can be linked to a current Axis I diagnosis.

The veteran I recently had service connected for panic disorder filed a claim for PTSD. However, the only post service diagnosis the guy had was for panic attacks and panic disorder. It never occurred to the guy's service officers to read the SMR and see if there was a more direct way of determining an anxiety disorder in the military. The SMR had seventeen pages covering a year and a half from 1975 to 1977 of chronic symptoms of panic disorder. The service organizations and the VA raters ran the veteran around for five years. Before I got involved his claim was denied four times without a C&P exam. I guess nobody told the SO's and raters that DSM II diagnoses were obsolete and that when there is significant details of symptoms that meet the DSM IV criteria for an Axis I diagnosis that a new diagnosis can be assigned based on a review of the old records.

Most people with panic disorder can relate it to stressful events. Panic disorder did not exist in the DSM prior to 1980. So it is important to see what symptoms were noted in association with whatever diagnosis they gave you.

Right now I would say it is very plausible that you could have either a PTSD claim or an anxiety disorder claim. Keep me posted.

Edited August 15, 2010 by Hoppy