PTSD/Law Enforcement Disqual/Re-evaluation

[rangerhead]

Good afternoon to you all. I apologize for the long-winded post... but I need help with this.

I was diagnosed with moderate PTSD in March 2009, after seeking treatment at the behest of my family. I am glad I sought this treatment, as my quality of life has greatly improved.
I was officially evaluated by the VA during the late Spring of 09. I received a 30% disability rating as a result.
By August 2009 I was "cured" more or less, and stopped going to counseling.

I applied for a Federal Law Enforcement position (will not say which agency), and was flying through the process... UNTIL... my prior PTSD counseling and current disability rating came up. I provided the paperwork where my counselor said that I was better. The agency asked me to provide my complete history, and asked my counselor to respond to some very specific questions. My counselor basically passed me, with flying colors, for the position.

However, I was still disqualified for service. I was never really able to talk to anyone about it officially, just received a form letter that said I was a safety hazard basically. As a compensated veteran, my case went to OPM (Office of Personnel Management) for review, according to law. OPM is basically the final arbitor of such decisions, and OPM supported the decision that I was not fit for service (ironic since I could re-join the military and be back in war).

Now, I was looking at my options. I can definitely re-apply... but I would obviously need to get my rating reduced, which would probably happen pretty easily, having spoken with a VA rep.
However, if I go through these steps... am I still going to just get disqualified again, on the basis that I once sought treatment? This would obviously make my efforts to get re-evaluated pointless.
Does anyone have any similar experiences or stories about this that could help me to make my decision?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Deleted member 541]

Welcome to the forum.....

If you are a vet, you may want to post this question by joining the sister site to this one that is strictly for Vets....combat.ptsdforum.org I just think that you will have more luck getting answers on that site, although you are also welcome to be here too.....

 

[Jline]

Just want to say welcome to the forum. It is a difficult and unfair situation you find yourself in. You must feel like you are being punished for seeking help when you needed it. I guess the best thing to do is keep trying if it is something you believe in. Good luck rangerhead, I hope things work out for you! j

 

[anthony]

Hi Ranger... here's the problem. Anyone of a medical background will know PTSD is incurable, treatable, though incurable. Now... here's the kicker. PTSD is often misdiagnosed with simple post traumatic stress, called PTS or the official name is Acute Stress Disorder (ASD). Physicians seem not to diagnose this, instead they just jump straight to PTSD. ASD is temporary, PTSD is permanent.

The only way I could see it is that you find out how to get PTSD scrapped from your history as misdiagnosis, replaced with ASD which is a temporary issue typically after an abnormal traumatic event, ie. war, serious accident, rape, etc... It is normal to have PTS and the symptoms are nearly identical for ASD (PTS) and PTSD.

Quite honestly, I would see you would need PTSD to be officially removed as a misdiagnosis for civilian federal employment, police, etc... compared to military. Military, PTSD is actually an optimal aspect for a soldier within an operational environment. The military quite honestly couldn't get a better soldier than one with PTSD in a war zone. Military training actually trains specific parts of PTSD into you, and if you got that step further with special forces, they train more symptoms of PTSD into you, but they also teach you how to control yourself until breaking, then unleash on the bad guy.

An MRI can tell if PTSD is present, medically vs. just a psychiatrists best guess diagnosis, lazy or correct.

 

[bluekermit]

I've never heard of an MRI being used to diagnose ptsd, what exactly shows up?
It must show 'hardened neuroligical pathways' i assume.

Mine was diagnosed by a specialist, at least now i know exactly what is going on and why rather than wondering why the turd tornado seems to follow me.

 

[anthony]

An MRI can measure specific aspects within the brain which are directly affected by trauma, and are medically measurable.

[DLMURL]http://www.ptsdforum.org/content/283-CSA-PTSD-and-The-Effects-on-The-Hippocampus[/DLMURL]

Whilst there is no 100% method of determining PTSD, an MRI is about the closest you will get, and some new methods are showing even further promise than an MRI, being MEG:[DLMURL]http://www.ptsdforum.org/threads/14143-Biological-Markers-For-Those-With-PTSD[/DLMURL]

The claim MEG is 100%, however; it is also only within clinical testing stages, though possibly could be the 100% outright diagnostic tool for PTSD.

 

[bluekermit]

i've never been in combat or survived a plane crash, capitol T trauma, just emotional and physical abuse from a very very young age but, i was diagnosed by a specialist who asked me a few questions about a few scenarios.

Before i knew it i had a headache, i couldn't see great, and i couldn't think straight i completely dissociated into outer space. but i could suddenly hear the air in the ducts very clearly. strange...

I never met a person who could make me cry so fast, he was good but he retired after i saw him a few times.

To me, as far as i can tell, and the stuff i read, symptom wise, i certainly, and with no ambiguity knew he had hit the nail on the head. and it took a while for me to accept what it really means and how serious it is... 2 years now.

My thought processes are similar to others here with capitol T traumas, some not as pronounced and severe, but any of these thought patterns is not normal and healthy.

... i guess i'm saying that a ptsd specialist should be able to tell fairly quickly, even without an MRI, wether or not you have it and to what degree. a regular DR is not great, and neither is a joe blow therapist, you need to see a ptsd specialist at the very least.

Panic attacks were the staple of the day along with agoraphobia.

The only thing that helped even just slightly was an MBSR course that i had to get MD approval for. meditation and breathing exercises. That helped cure the panic attack BS after years of it but ... not the overall gloom, sadness, depression and daily rut needing to feel shitty.

 

[anthony]

A well versed and experienced physician, absolutely...

Problem... that you have less than experienced therapists giving people a diagnosis, which has no clinical or significant value. You have social workers and others who cannot officially diagnose, and dependent upon what country you reside and that countries mental health policies, as they are all different. There are a lot of mis-diagnosed people with PTSD... therapist are telling people they have PTSD because they stub their toe... I shit you not, stupid little things, along with medical doctors who have no idea about PTSD... tell patients they have PTSD and then people take that as a diagnosis.

There is a lot of misdiagnosis and self diagnosis going on... which is all wrong. There are people who have been here, got a PTSD diagnosis and got an MRI, which showed they didn't have PTSD and more PTS... ie. the actual brain changes had not taken place, and the symptoms are the same. Big difference... one goes away with a little work, the other never goes away. It happens... though anyone who visits an experienced trauma physician who can diagnose, they do get more right than wrong at that level. Its everything under that level that is going wrong.

 

[catjudo]

...along with medical doctors who have no idea about PTSD... tell patients they have PTSD and then people take that as a diagnosis...

For example, I was in an automobile accident last December. I was at fault. The driver and passenger in the car that I rear ended are suing me (it's being handled by my insurance company) for an absurd amount of money. The passenger has submitted medical records showing, among other things, a diagnosis of PTSD. She received that diagnosis from a medical doctor 8 days after the accident. PTSD diagnosed 8 days after a minor traffic accident. I think not!!!

 

[Deleted member 5760]

Exactly - for a start that length of time isn't enough to warrant PTSD. That's laughable!

The sad part is - not only is it unhealthy to misdiagnose PTSD for the patient, but it also takes away valuable resources for genuine cases.

And to add to Anthony's suggestion that PTSD could be 'used' for something like special ops - It's because your brain is literally running in survival mode with heightened senses I think? It did make me think of something I did when I flew into Bangkok. It was 4am. I'd just got off a long flight and I check into the hotel. I'm ~not~ a nervous ninny type. I've spent plenty of nights sleeping alone in a house. I even now sometimes leave my doors unlocked. But I arrived at this hotel, walked into the room, and completely scoped it out. I walked around for a good 5 minutes scoping everything about the room. Taking it in. The shower curtain was drawn and I walked up to in like 'fight stance' and threw the curtain back ready to just go at anything that may be behind it. I didn't even do it out of fear? This was before I was diagnosed. And when I was done 'scoping the room' I sat on the bed and thought 'what on earth did I do that for?'. It was like an instinct I wasnt even aware of. I just sat there and thought 'That is not like me. Why did I feel the need to do a recon on the room?'

And I suppose you could say it's normal to walk around scoping something after you've just arrived in a foreign country. And maybe it is - but I guess the point is - it wasn't normal for ME. To walk into a room like I was holding a gun completely analysing the environment around me and checking for any possible sources of harm.... in 'ninja' stance at that.

 

[bluekermit]

For example, I was in an automobile accident last December. I was at fault. The driver and passenger in the car that I rear ended are suing me (it's being handled by my insurance company) for an absurd amount of money. The passenger has submitted medical records showing, among other things, a diagnosis of PTSD. She received that diagnosis from a medical doctor 8 days after the accident. PTSD diagnosed 8 days after a minor traffic accident. I think not!!!

Incredibly laughable, and easily dissmissable in any court of law, but more than likely to promote ptsd in the accused than the accusor. Freakin lawyers...

 

[rangerhead]

Thank you for your replies...
I didn't realize that getting a diagnosis reversed would mean actually getting it scrapped from the initial diagnosis!
Yikes.
Not looking good for the home team here.

As far as hypervigilance... yes, it can be helpful, but I was just that... HYPER vigilant. Didn't really help in peacetime! The other symptoms, however, surely were not helpful in my interpersonal and work life.
I am glad I got the treatment, because my quality of life is better... just my career options are blasted to bits.

May just go back into the military.