ptsd A Few Questions - TRIGGERS !

[marine26]

A little backround........ I am an e4 in irr, my wife left me and i never leave home unless need be. i have no friends and dont trust many people. i joined the usmc and was an 0311 deployed to fallujah, iraq in 07. While deployed i seen a lot of mortars and small arms fire but on 5/18/07 my best friend was shot in the chest and my kevlare was grazed during a frire fight where i recieved my C.A.R. I also had to take out the enemy and bag em up. After returning home and over sevaral months after that I as well as my family started noticing my behavior which was directly related to the symptoms of ptsd. i hid it from my command in the fear of the possible repucussions. I seperated from the marines honorably in 04/10. During a job interview on 5/17/10( a day before the anniversary of 5/18/07) i was on the floor of the call center. There was so many things going on to include noise and people walking around me. And all of those feelings of 5/18 came to me and I had a panic attack. After that i became more or less totally alienated from the outside world. I have tried a few side jobs but the always seemed to make symptoms worse. I went to the va in 7/10 and was diagnosed with ptsd and was given a GAF score of 45. since then I have lost 7 more buddies that were in my unit. And everytime I think of them i am reminded of my experiences which seem to intensify my nightmares, flashbacks, and panic attacks. I was put on trazodone, prazosin, and buspar for nightmares, depression, anxiety, and to help me get to sleep at night. Finally a year and a half after i first filed for ptsd to the VA i was given my C&P exam last week. I was extremely nervous and didnt get any real sleep the few nights before. When he called me into his office and asked me how i was doing I didnt say anything. he asked again and i reluctently said well i'm hear. He asked me about 20-30 questions and told me he noted that by my eyes it looked like i havent slept in days, i gave little eye contact, and the fact that my leg was shaking near continuously through the interview. The exam took 20-30 min and when it was done he said if i recieved 50% or less to come back to see him and as i was walking out he said "just remember, i've been doing thid 15 years". What is that supose to mean? I was angry because i felt like he barely scratched the surface as to what i was dealing with in his questions. While waiting at the va pharmacy i was really uncomfortable with all the people around me, had a long time to wait to be seen, and was still kind of angry with the doc. I figured a simple way to solve all of those problems was to leave the pharmacy, go talk again to the doc, and by the time i was done my prescription would be filled and i could leave. I went up and sat in the empty waiting room until he came out in which i told him i wanted to talk to him. i told him i was bothered with the fact that the exam was so short and he asked me if there were anything in particular i wanted to talk about and i told him about my wifes family convincing her that if she stayed with me id end up hurting or killing her. ( i have anger problems but i take it out on walls and dishes, i have never hit my wife.) I also told him how i had thoughts and visions and emotions that came over me almost constantly and it made me feel out of control, which i hate. he told me it wasnt he didnt handle therapy he just decided whether or not he would hire me. which made me more angry so i just told him okay and i would like to leave now. he told me he would do his best and said again to just remember he had been doing this for 15 years which i still dont understand his intentions behind saying that. I just handled everything naturally as it came to me. The exam was friday and the doc had his report in monday. Is that good or bad?

My questions are what does some one here think about everything to include, what should my rating be? Did i do something wrong or act innappropriate that day? I still feel as if there are things that i experience daily that were not addressed so how do i get that information out there to them? Am I crazy? When should i apply fo tdiu? Please, any insigt would be helpful. This whole thing has been driving me crazy and i'd like some insight so i can move on with my miserable everyday life.

Edited September 14, 2011 by marine26

[carlie]

I have a question for anyone who is listening. As i stated in this topic, I have been involved in my claim for PTSD since April of 2010. On 9/9/2011 I recieved my C&P exam, and still waiting for the report to come in the mail. I called the VA today to check on its status and they told me my file returned from my C&P on 9/15 an it was rated on 9/17 and now is in the review stage waiting on the final signature. It baffles me that I've been waiting so long and not even 2 weeks after my exam it has already been rated.

Does anyone think working with my congressman is the cause of it going so fast now? Is it a GOOD thing or a BAD thing that it was rated so quickly?

Claims ALWAYS just sit somewhere for extended periods of time without

things being actively done to moved them along, then some action starts

and the claim continues to advance or get put into another holding pattern.

This is very normal - this is not at all different than what usually happens.

Being that some advancement has been made is neither a good sign or a bad sign,

it just means that some additional action has been taken and hopefully you

won't be waiting any longer than a month or two at this point to find out some positive answers.

IMO - I do not feel "working" with (as you put it) with your congressman has much impact

other than for the congress persons office to send a canned - computerized contact

letter to the VA.

JMHO

[marine26]

My original diagnosis of PTSD was in July 2010 with a score of 60/85 on the PCL and my original GAF score was 45. Since I got out of the military in 4/2010 I have been unable to obtain unemployment due to the severity of my symptoms and they have since, gotten worse. I am currently on Trazodone for Depression, Panic Disorder, and to help get me asleep; Prazosin for nightmares; and BusPar for Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

C&P Exam

*Section 1

1. Diagnostic Summary

Does the veteran have a diagnosis of PTSD that conforms to DSM-IV criteria based on todays evaluation? YES

2.Current Diagnosis

Axis I: 309.81 PTSD (Chronic)

Comments: The veteran was exposed to a wide range of traumatic stressors. He struggled with social/occupational deficits since exposure, and he has sought treatment for such. The examiner is able to opine the veteran suffers from PTSD that is most likely (more than 50/50 probability) caused by or a result of military service.

Axis II: 799.9 diagnosis deferred

Axis IV: Psychosocial and environmental problems to include: Social, Familial, Employment, Financial.

Axis V: GAF 43

3.Occupational and social impairment

Total occupational and social impairment Yes

*Section 2: Clinical findings

1. File review: Yes

2. History:

a. Revelant Social/ Marital/ Family history: Married in 2008, but currently estranged relationship with wife.

b. Revelant Occupational and Educational History: last employed 2010(USMC). Ateempted to obtain employment at call center, but was unable to tolerate level of activity around him.

c. Revelant Medical history: prescribed psychtrophic medication by primary care provider. Attempted to access treatment, but his efforts have been largely unsuccessful or largely impeded. primary care provider recently managed referral to a counselor for individual therapy.

3. Stressors: (3)

Do these stressors meet criterion A: Yes

4. PTSD diagnostic criteria:

Criterion a: Both

Criterion b: 5 of 5

Criterion c: 5 of 7

Criterion d: 5 of 5

Criterion e: Symptoms lasted more then a month (Yes)

Criterion f: symptoms decribed cause clinically signifigant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning (Yes)

5. Symptoms

a. depressed mood

b. anxiety

c. suspiciousness

d. chronic sleep impairment

e. flattened effect

f. disturbances of motivation and mood

g. difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships

h. difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances, including work or work like setting

i. impaired impulse control, such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence

6. Competency

Veteran is capable of handling own financial affairs.

7. Remarks

Veterans face was haggard and careworn. He presented as intense, somewhat paranoid, and wracked with anxiety consistent with formidable PTSD.

This is the report I recieved from my C&P exam, and would like to know what people think of the results? What percentage do you think I will recieve based on my results?

[carlie]

My WAG is SC with a 50 percent evaluation.

JMHO

I am editing to add - I see you started a different topic with this same question.

Please don't post the same question in multiple Forums and/or Topics.

Thanks

[marine26]

Well I want to say thanks to everyone whom gave me advice. I havent recieved mt rating letter in the mail yet, but I checked ebenefits' letter generator and it states I am at 100%. From my understanding, that is updated as soon as a rating is released so things look good. Thanks again to all!

[Berta]

THAT IS GREAT!!!!

Hopefully the letter and the comp $ will come soon.

[cooter]

Good News marine!!!