Do I have PTSD?

[Pezzy]

Having never had anxiety in my life, the traumatic birth of my daughter triggered an immediate state of crippling anxiety which has been plaguing my life for the last 3 years.

I have been on antidepressants which are helping massively, but since I've never been diagnosed by any doctor, could this be PTSD or just general anxiety disorder? What are people's views?

I don't fee like my symptoms quite fit GAD, and also not quite PTSD, but somewhere in between.

 

[blackemerald1]

Hey @Pezzy - welcome to the forums. :)

It's impossible for an internet forum to diagnose anyone for anything.

Perhaps the person who is prescribing the medications might be better placed to either refer you to a therapist or a psychdoc to determine what is going on with your mental health.

the traumatic birth of my daughter triggered an immediate state of crippling anxiety

What other ways aside from medications have you tried or are you using to help manage your anxiety?

 

[Pezzy]

Hey @Pezzy - welcome to the forums. :)

It's impossible for an internet forum to diagnose anyone for anything.

Perhaps the person who is prescribing the medications might be better placed to either refer you to a therapist or a psychdoc to determine what is going on with your mental health.

What other ways aside from medications have you tried or are you using to help manage your anxiety?

Thanks. I have asked my GP on numerous occasions if he could refer me to a psychiatrist so I can understand what's happening to me, but so far he has refused. I'm not sure why, perhaps he doesn't think it's serious enough to warrant a referral.

I've desperately wanted to see a private psychiatrist, but the costs are prohibitive and not covered under my current health plan. I have done a video consultation with a psychiatrist, but apart from him suggesting different medication and doses he wasn't any help.

I've done a course of CBT which I'm not sure has helped. Probably didn't hurt either. At the moment though I'm feeling absolutely fine on the meds. I know it probably won't last forever though. I was just curious whether I could possibly have developed PTSD from this one traumatic event as I can't see it being general anxiety disorder.

 

[Gs172003]

Thanks. I have asked my GP on numerous occasions if he could refer me to a psychiatrist so I can understand what's happening to me, but so far he has refused. I'm not sure why, perhaps he doesn't think it's serious enough to warrant a referral.

I've desperately wanted to see a private psychiatrist, but the costs are prohibitive and not covered under my current health plan. I have done a video consultation with a psychiatrist, but apart from him suggesting different medication and doses he wasn't any help.

I've done a course of CBT which I'm not sure has helped. Probably didn't hurt either. At the moment though I'm feeling absolutely fine on the meds. I know it probably won't last forever though. I was just curious whether I could possibly have developed PTSD from this one traumatic event as I can't see it being general anxiety disorder.

I think I'd be switching doctors if the one I'm seeing won't send you somewhere else for help.

 

[Friday]

. I was just curious whether I could possibly have developed PTSD from this one traumatic event as I can't see it being general anxiety disorder.

GAD is a big bad mother of a disorder... in many ways far more pervasive and damaging than PTSD, as it rolls over like a tide, whilst PTSD is far more localized. These disorders aren’t on a scale/spectrum, like if it’s this bad it’s GAD but if it’s this bad it’s PTSD. Thwyre 2 different disorders that both have their own spectrums (mild, moderate, severe) wholly independent of each other.

PTSD & GAD both share a lot of symptoms, as well as Panic Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and a handful of others. Check out the Differential Diagnosis section of this article Ptsd diagnosis to get an idea of the scope of the number of disorders that can result from -or be exacerbated by- traumatic events / stressors, all of which overlap/share symptoms with PTSD.

The only way to know for sure what you’re dealing with? Is to work with a diagnostician. That said, you don’t need a diagnosis to start working with someone. Whilst it’s easier to find someone who specializes in what you’re dealing with if you already know, everyone has to start somewhere.

In the States, diagnosis is not limited to psychiatrists but also LCSWs & Psychologists who’ve attained a high enough accreditation.

Spoiler: More on that, if you’re in the US. EU/AU/UK/CA/NZ/DEU/etc. have different systems.

Diagnostic appointments run about $700 out of pocket (although insurance will often cover DDXs even when they don’t cover therapy, it’s under a different billing structure as medical outpatient, rather than psych services, for many if not most insurance companies. In no small part this is because schools are required to pay for DDX’ing students applying for an IEP / 504, so the govt. contracts with insurance companies directly, & in part because the billing code is the same for doctors or qualified psychologists/social workers), not including the medical screening (because a HUGE number of medical conditions mimic or worsen psych conditions, a psych physical is nearly always part of a psych DDX), and usually* span 3-4 sessions (an interview, a series of written tests each about 500 questions long... not the dopey little internet quizzes, another interview session to go over flagged test questions to make sure they’re representative of the facts -like someone who has been through medical trauma and a doctor might both rate very high on health related anxiety. The med trauma for good reason, the doc because of their profession is aware not anxious. So the doctor’s would be lowered, whilst someone going through medical trauma would remain the same- and then sometimes a later session to discuss finding a specialist for treatment, resources, etc.).

* Whilst certain types of qualified social workers & psychologists primarily do diagnostic sessions spread across a handful of appointments, many prefer to work with a client for 3-6mo before making an official diagnosis.

 

[PreciousChild]

I'm not an expert, but I wanted to insert that van der Kolk believes that a number of diagnoses like GAD is an outgrowth of a deeper ptsd.