ptsd Ptsd

[bigjim]

In fed 1997 i was denied service connection for ptsd.

the last statement in the letter says: VA examiners diagnosis of the veterans

condition in bipolar effective disorder. what in the world does this mean?jim

[Guest fla_viking]

Dear Veteran

That means they feel you have mood swings of high and low. They have medicatons for that. If you can prove you had that in service, you can get service connecton for it.

Terry Higgins

[LarryJ]

They apparently diagnosed you as having Bi-polar Disorder.

Bi-Polar Disorder is what used to be called "Manic-Depressive".

"Manic-depression distorts moods and thoughts, incites dreadful behaviors, destroys the basis of rational thought, and too often erodes the desire and will to live. It is an illness that is biological in its origins, yet one that feels psychological in the experience of it; an illness that is unique in conferring advantage and pleasure, yet one that brings in its wake almost unendurable suffering and, not infrequently, suicide."

Signs and symptoms of mania (or a manic episode) include:

Increased energy, activity, and restlessness

Excessively "high," overly good, euphoric mood

Extreme irritability

Racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another

Distractibility, can't concentrate well

Little sleep needed

Unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers

Poor judgment

Spending sprees

A lasting period of behavior that is different from usual

Increased sexual drive

Abuse of drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications

Provocative, intrusive, or aggressive behavior

Denial that anything is wrong

A manic episode is diagnosed if elevated mood occurs with three or more of the other symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for 1 week or longer. If the mood is irritable, four additional symptoms must be present.

Signs and symptoms of depression (or a depressive episode) include:

Lasting sad, anxious, or empty mood

Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism

Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness

Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, including sex

Decreased energy, a feeling of fatigue or of being "slowed down"

Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions

Restlessness or irritability

Sleeping too much, or can't sleep

Change in appetite and/or unintended weight loss or gain

Chronic pain or other persistent bodily symptoms that are not caused by physical illness or injury

Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts

A depressive episode is diagnosed if five or more of these symptoms last most of the day, nearly every day, for a period of 2 weeks or longer.

Do Other Illnesses Co-occur with Bipolar Disorder?

Alcohol and drug abuse are very common among people with bipolar disorder. Research findings suggest that many factors may contribute to these substance abuse problems, including self-medication of symptoms, mood symptoms either brought on or perpetuated by substance abuse, and risk factors that may influence the occurrence of both bipolar disorder and substance use disorders.23 Treatment for co-occurring substance abuse, when present, is an important part of the overall treatment plan.

Anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, also may be common in people with bipolar disorder.24,25 Co-occurring anxiety disorders may respond to the treatments used for bipolar disorder, or they may require separate treatment. For more information on anxiety disorders, contact NIMH (see below).

All the above information is taken directly from the NIMH ( National Institute for Mental Health ) website and is all the connection ( nexus ) that you should need to cause the VA to reconsider your claim.

You need to file for the re-opening of your claim based on new and material evidence.

You need to go back and tackle this again.

BTW, I have been suffering from Bi-polar Disorder for 40 years, and it's a bitch, and I don't care how much I've been told that such-and-such a drug will do WONDERS, it always seems that the person telling me about the WONDERFUL drugs............doesn't happen to have Bi-polar Disorder. Funny that.

[Wings]

You can have both PTSD and Bipolar! ~Wings

Bipolar Disorder/Comobidity

http://www.brainexplorer.org/bipolar_disor...morbidity.shtml

-snip-

The Stanley Foundation Bipolar Network reports a high percentage of concomitant psychiatric conditions [occuring with, at the same time] with bipolar disorder. One of the most common comorbid conditions is anxiety disorder, including panic disorder and social phobia. Symptoms of anxiety and panic followed by hypomaina may complicate the course of bipolar disorder (Suppes et al, 2000).

Other psychiatric conditions that can occur with bipolar disorder include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and impulse control disorders (e.g. pathologic gambling, kleptomania) (NIMH, 2000; Suppes et al, 2000). The NIMH recently reported a high incidence of PTSD and OCD in patients with bipolar disorder, with 43% of patients exhibiting symptoms for PTSD. However, only 2% had the symptoms of PTSD listed on their charts, suggesting that improved diagnosis of this concomitant condition may lead to better treatment of bipolar disorder (NIMH, 2000). This may be especially relevant in the case of OCD as the course of the OCD and mood disorders often alter in line with each other.

1: Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2006 Jun;21(6):582-7.

Psychiatric comorbidity in older adults with bipolar disorder.

Sajatovic M, Blow FC, Ignacio RV.

Department of Psychiatry Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. martha.sajatovic@uhhs.com

INTRODUCTION: Comorbidity patterns and correlates among older adults with bipolar disorder (BPD) are not well understood. The aim of this analysis was to examine the prevalence of comorbid PTSD and other anxiety disorders, substance abuse and dementia in a population of 16,330 geriatric patients with BPD in a Veterans Health Administration administrative database.

METHODS: Patients were identified from case registry files during Federal Fiscal Year 2001 (FY01). Comorbidity groups were compared on selected clinical characteristics, inpatient and outpatient health resource use, and costs of care.

RESULTS: Four thousand six hundred and sixty-eight geriatric veterans with BPD were comorbid for either substance abuse, PTSD and other anxiety disorder, or dementia (28.6% of all veterans with BPD age 60 or older). Mean age of all veterans in the four comorbidity groups was 70.0 years (+/-SD 7.2 years). Substance abuse was seen in 1,460 (8.9%) of elderly veterans with BPD, while PTSD was seen in 875 (5.4%), other anxiety disorders in 1592 (9.7%), and dementia in 741 (4.5%) of elderly veterans. Individuals with substance abuse in this elderly bipolar population are more likely to be younger, minority, unmarried and homeless compared to elderly bipolar populations with anxiety disorders or dementia. Inpatient use was greatest among geriatric veterans with BPD and dementia compared to veterans with BPD and other comorbid conditions.

CONCLUSION: Clinical characteristics, health resource use and healthcare costs differ among geriatric patients with BPD and comorbid anxiety, substance abuse or dementia. Additional research is needed to better understand presentation of illness and modifiable factors that may influence outcomes.

PMID: 16783798 [PubMed - in process]

[BoonDoc]

There are also different types of Bipolar if you will, Bipolar I, and Bipolar II Disorder.

They are learning more and more about Bipolar Disorder everyday, but that doesn't help those of us who are having great difficulty in the here and now!

I have SSDI for Bipolar Disorder, along with Fibromyalgia, but have yet to prove the nexus in-service...had the symptoms, but what the vets says means zero to the VA.

I have the PTSD diagnosis now, and have something more to work with combining the PTSD & Bipolar, as well as chronic vascular headaches.

I would continue to research how PTSD and Bipolar are connected and work on the NOD...watch the time limits for the appeal process.

Are you getting SSD now? If not the Bipolar Disorder diagnosis, along with any other disabilities can get you SSD while you are working on SC VA for PTSD, etc.

Keep on working on your claim, don't let this get you down, and quit like I did in the past...you have the same information that the VA has in 38 CFR, M2-1, and any other VA decisions/memos, etc., just figure out how to use it to prove your claim.

Your post was a blessing for me, since everyone offered bits of info. to help you, they helped all of us who have PTSD, and Bipolar, etc. and are working on present claims.

Boondoc

[Berta]

I helped a manic bi polar vet. We had a heck of a time. When he was in the Navy decades ago no one really understood bi -polar at all.

We were able to get his SMRs and more importantly his personnel file which showed periods of unusual behavior and one episode which was very bizarre.Yet ,most of the time he did his Navy job very well and had no unusual symptoms at all.

After twelve long years of fighting the VA he was awarded 100% for Manic Bi Polar-service connected.His unusual behaviors were highly consistent with manic bi polar and when he thought he was an Admiral one day and started given orders to everyone on the ship- this was all documented (he was thrown into the brig) it also proved decades later that he had bipolar of a manic type while in service.

Fortunately (the vet agrees with this) his disorder would have caused him to spend well over over $140,000 in retro in a week but the VA declared him incompetent and the wife handles the money.

Not all bi polar vets are found incompetent and this really means little at all-but this vet was glad VA declared him incompetent because another symptom he has is erratic spending sprees.

If you have a nexus to your service that shows bi polar episodes more than anything that would support PTSD, the bi polar should be claimed as service connected.

[john999]

Shrinks say that if you have co-morbidity of having more than one emotional disorder you are less likely to get better and more likely to get worse. Drug and alcohol abuse are very common for those with bipolar, PTSD, panic and all axiety disorders as well as schizophrenia. People who feel anxious and depressed tend to self medicate. The military of old tended to wink at drinking problems as long as the soldier could do their jobs. Drug abuse they treated as a criminal problem even if the soldier was crazy or PTSD typed. Even today if you tell the VA that you do any illegal drugs you are dead meat. You tell the shrink that and you will probably be labeled a personality disorder.