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Heard of C-PTSD?

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NakedAnxiety

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Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

It fits my own particular situation a little bit better than the "single event" type of PTSD. My traumatic experiences started at birth, with my first major fracture of a femur (thigh bone) at 8-months-old. My last major fracture was a compound fracture of my right arm 4 years ago. Traumatic events included having to drag myself with a broken leg several blocks home to get help... Having both of my legs broken and rodded by doctors in several places in an attempt to straighten them to get me to walk again. Then having the doctors make me start walking on the broken legs 3 days after surgery to get them to heal correctly.

(Do I hear Barbra Striesand's "Memories" in the background?)

My triggers can be any similar surface that looks wet or slick, seeing a person injured in real life or on TV, and sometimes simply looking down at one of my scars that was a result of a major surgery repairing a broken bone.

Sometimes just thinking of family members can cause flashbacks because so many of them were right there next to me when I had an accident or was in the hospital. I've always been very close to my (first) family and then about 3 years ago, I couldn't see them anymore and only this year have begun to try to get them back into my life.
 
Yes NA, I am aware of it. I don't specify types of PTSD here, because the classification does nothing in the scheme of things for healing. PTSD is PTSD once formed, being regardless whether you have acute, complex or severe, the symptoms are the same, the chemical imbalance is the same, the pain is the same. The classifications are really only more to do with labelling particular types so that the amount of past trauma is reflected by the categorization. It means nothing though at the end of the day for healing purposes.

The DSM V which I believe is due to be released in 08, is splitting PTSD apart into more categories again, being "Acute PTSD" "Combat PTSD" is to be included, etc etc. The criteria is still the same basically, it is more about a label that only describes the method in which PTSD was obtained, so clinicians have an immediate idea the moment the label is stated, to the extent of the trauma inflicted.

PTSD is PTSD at the end of the day. If you want to poke labels at yourself, then feel free, because this is all the labels that fall under PTSD: [DLMURL]http://www.ptsdforum.org/thread1097.html[/DLMURL]
 
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I totally agree that the pain, symptoms and most other things are similar... my only concern is about the treatment... A headache might be a bump of the head or too many drinks or a brain tumor... each will feel the same but each need to be treated differently.
 
A brain tumor is much more than a headache NA... being the symptoms for a brain tumor generally are more reflective to also include dizzyness and often legs will collapse from under the person, if not collapse completely for no unexpected reason. A brain tumor is around a 0.0001% possibility from a headache, and rare as rocking horse shit in the scheme of things.
 
NA when you get more comfortable here you will see that no matter the source, how many seperate traumas contributed, and the natures of those traumas it is all healed/managed the same way by following certain steps. The pain and other aspects like loss of safety really cover those with PTSD. The changes are made in the brain to give you PTSD and those changes and our symptoms are pretty much the same across the board. No matter what someone who does not have PTSD types up as the latest criteria.

I would fall under the C lable as would Anthony (but he would fight you tooth and nail having it stuck on him for good reason), because at the end of the day PTSD is PTSD and you do heal if you look at your fear and trauma in the face. Start pulling the emotions inside out and examining them. We all have to do that and it is one's willingness to do it that judges their recovery and recovery period.

I have seen those here who suffer just as intensely or more so from one unexpected life event as I do who has a laundry list of life events(traumas)... And the list is my life basically until about 5 years ago. With a couple brief breathers as an adult.

I think the only difference I would see if I was grasping is once someone was able to work through their single trauma then they have to just tie up other emotional loose ends and be closer to managing if they had a perfect life before hand and they have worked through any secondary wounding (like caused by a cop at the scene who is cold or a pecker head, or the judicial system as a whole, and even family, and it seems there is always someone/thing there that adds to the trauma this way). Where as if you have been exposed to a lot your treatment may be longer. Now I say I am grasping there as I have seen myself and other multipule trauma cases move through healing more effeceintly than some singles.

So at the end of the day PTSD is the same in how you feel, causes for the symptoms are the same. Once you have the joys of PTSD I don't think it can get any worse with more trauma. PTSD is at the end of the rope, there is no getting worse than PTSD. Treatment is over all a standard guideline that gets a little tweeking to individuial needs. I know this to be true as I make my way through it and watch others do the same.
 
Well I guess I have 'simple' PTSD rather than complex because I had a really nice life, nice family, etc, and just a single incident that lasted about 3 minutes which caused my PTSD. However, my PTSD shows up on a brain scan and my psychiatrist says I have one of the worst cases he's ever seen. Not saying that for pity or anything... just I agree with anthony and veiled, I don't think it matters how you got it, how many traumas, etc. I don't think there's a difference in symptoms, or how you're treated, either. Just my opinion.
 
Guess I'd fall under complex *shrugs*

Don't think it lessons anyones trauma though.

Each of us were hurt in some way, each of us were pushed past the point of coping. Whether it was in a single event like witnessing or being part of a violent car accident, or like me with over ten years of combined sexual abuse and then abusive relationships, we all need to heal.
THe path to healing however is the same basically, no matter which form.
The amount of trauma, of emotional shit that we have to go through doesn't hurt any less, it doesn't make the path to heal any easier.
All it is is a label saying that your trauma didn't stem from one event rather from many.

Not sure how much sense this makes, really not sure if I give a badgerrats ass.
 
Evie, your trauma would not fall under acute, but instead severe, which is pretty much where I was diagnosed also. I was told immediately, without thought, I would never work again and I was the worst seen, being extreme on every symptom... after much denial from me though for them to extract it all... so you are severe.
 
i think it's better if you don't know any more than ptsd, it's only upsetting if you find someones opinion of where to catatgorize seems worse than you thought. what's important is that here, you can find others that know what you're talking about, and can guide you through ways to heal.
cathy
 
I wonder if the different "models" will look the same on brain scans... I guess you could look at it sort of like different kinds of torture... one might be instantly painful and get you to talk or one might be the slow dripping of Chinese water torture... takes a little longer to get you there, but you WILL talk.

Batgirl, your point clearly demonstrates that many things over many years may be the same or actually less traumatic on the brain than what can be experienced in a matter of a few minutes.
 
Wow Anthony, just finished your post linked above. I get your point completely.

I guess I was mostly interested because in talking to doctors in the past, there were so many questions they asked about "a traumatic even" or "the traumatic event" that I was always saying, "which one?" In terms of the actual symptoms, they are identical. I think when something like this is affecting your life, you tend to jump at anything that looks like new information (to you anyway) and hope it means there is something somehow different now and more hope.

One thing I haven't mentioned about my own condition is that I am just now 40 and with my condition, it is extreme as a child and then puberty results in stronger bones which, not as strong as normal bones, tend not to break as much. But then at age 35 the bones start becoming brittle again with age, ending in being back to the same problems I had in childhood. One thing that will be different of course is my maturity and not wanting to "play like the other kids." Regardless, I will have to deal with more trauma as I get older which causes problems getting ahead of all this. At age 35, I shattered my kneecap into several places by slipping on water outside my front door and a year and a half later I broke my arm severely... that was actually when I did research on my problem and found out for the first time that fractures become more frequent after 35.
 
Evie, your trauma would not fall under acute, but instead severe, which is pretty much where I was diagnosed also. I was told immediately, without thought, I would never work again and I was the worst seen, being extreme on every symptom... after much denial from me though for them to extract it all... so you are severe.

Oh okay thanks Anthony.... I know the psychiatrist said I was severe, but are you saying "severe" is an actual diagnosis? I'm getting all confused by these terms, acute, severe, chronic, complex... blah.

NakedAnxiety said:
I wonder if the different "models" will look the same on brain scans...

Well since my MRI, I have tried to do a little bit of research on reduced hippocampal volume and PTSD. A lot of the sites containing the studies are by subscription only though so it's kind of annoying. What I did read was that in one study, Vietnam veterans had 8% reduced hippocampal volume on the right side, then another study of combat veterans showed some of them having bilateral reduced hippocampal volume, with the larger % still being on the right side. Then 2 studies of abuse survivors showed them both having reduced volume on the left side. It kind of seems like the combat PTSD is on right side and abuse on the left. Then there's me, I have 18% reduction in hippocampal volume on the right side. But I'm not a combat veteran. Nor am I an abuse survivor. So whatever. It's confusing.

I think there's an article somewhere on the forum about it as well, but I can't recall where.
 
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