News SGB PTSD Treatment Article

[katt]

Also I can answer any other questions of the procedure!

 

[Powder]

I also wonder about secondary symptoms and illness. For example, as I continue to live with PTSD, I have developed esophageal spasms, which adds much pain to my life. I notice that the physical symptoms of the E.S.'s then often start up and lead to me being psychologically triggered afterward.

This thread deals with the "cat and mouse" of biological and psychological aspects of PTSD. My inquiry is that if we remove some of the biological, can it improve the psychological by calming the biological aspects down.

I think people already have voted "YES!" so far. I just wonder if anyone had developed secondary illnesses from PTSD and found that the SGB either didn't help with those, or if it did.

This leads me to think that if I had been able to have the SGB prior to developing the E.S.'s, I might not have had to suffer from this as well, which is as harmful to my qualify of life as the PTSD. It is very depressing to know you have something that hurts regularly, to the point of disability, and there is absolutely nothing that can be done for you medically. The drugs are usually ineffective. So is the surgery.

Thank you.

 

[katt]

I think the SGB could potentially help. I find that when I am triggered the my throat tightens. I believe this is a common sympton of PTSD. It could definately that these two set of symptons could self-feeding and very interlinked. The SGB could help uncouple and potentially improve your disability.
I just know Dr. Lipovs procedures has had amazing results for me.

 

[Powder]

Thanks Katt, I hope so. So far, I haven't been able to get a call back from the office in town. I may have to call or stop by again, and I may have to go out of town.

 

[Powder]

I think you all said it is important to taper off all psych meds (other than SSRI's?) completely and to get through withdrawal before attempting the SGB, to rule out med issues.

What about BP meds that function as anti-anxiety drugs, like Catapress/Clonidine? I don't want to quit taking it, as it helps (I think) with the nightmares, BP, and the heart-related tachychardia and cold spells I get. I don't want to stop taking it, and would perhaps switch to a related drug, but not give up on the benefit from this one.

In summary, I want to get the SGB, but I don't want to suffer with no meds for a long time prior to getting it. I don't take SSRI's as they increase my anxiety and make me very symptomatic on the third day of use.

 

[katt]

I am sorry to confuse you, but I would not get off the meds before hand! What I think is important is to have therapy support. With the meds this need to be a very gradual process even if the SGB works. I would check with the doctor's office for Clonidine if you should not take the day of the procedure.

The office is very busy. You can mention to Dr. Lipov that you know Katt from the NY area, we know each other fairly well now. I would keep calling, say you want to make an appointment. They are very busy you need to be persistant. I was put off by this initially but I now realize, it is just the amount of patients they are dealing with for multiple conditions including PTSD. However with that said, PTSD is Dr.Lipov's passion. I could not get insurance to cover, so had to self-pay, $1000. I have required 2 shots so far.

Dr.Lipov says 1-3 shots have been required depending on the patient. Good luck

 

[Powder]

Thanks Katt, I appreciate your help. I am trying to get into my local pain clinic's office first, so I don't have to travel. I am on the West Coast. I want off the one med anyway, so I am tapering now just to get off of it. I don't see it as a long-term solution for my lifestyle. My therapist doesn't either.

 

[katt]

I had difficulty getting a local pain office to perform the procedure, but I agree with the travel can be very stressful. Good luck! Also I would love to hear your results.

 

[Daisygirl]

Hi katt,

I have been following this thread for a while. I was wondering if the stuffiness/cold symptoms went away? Were you able to tell if it was a side effect of the SGB or just a virus/strep?

I look forward to hearing back from you. Your results are very exciting!

 

[katt]

Yes, the stuffiness and cold went away. I concluded that I caught a virus with the plane trip to Chicago for the SGB. I did recently have a second shot, quite a few triggers happened at one time and as my therapist said I was just anixous about the amazing results from the first SGB going away. The results have been truly amazing, but as I emphasized before the therapy support as you go through the process is critical. One significant change is before the SGB I was completely dissociated from my body and now I can feel my body and I am comfortable with it. Life overall is so much easier and tranisitioning off anti- depressents slowly.

 

[IchBin]

Katt! I just got back from an extended trip and I am so happy to hear about another success story! Your experience so far sounds a lot like mine. For example, I had quite a few intense dreams immediately after the shot, some of which had to do with my PTSD issues, others that did not. I found it helpful to write some of them down to help process them, and at the time I was seeing a dream therapist, so we went over them together if I thought the content warranted closer inspection.

I also have had two shots so far, and the second one felt a lot more permanent than the first. Things have been excellent since I had them last year and so for now all is well. Another thing I did right after having the shot(s) was writing down what I felt had changed and how my perceptions of the world had shifted. Doing this both helped me process what happened and made it clearer where to go next to complete my transition. I would venture a guess that my brain just took a while to catch up and prune out all those unnecessary sympathetic neurons it had, because it took me a while to readjust and feel like my new baseline was permanent. I did a lot of journal entries and introspection on the issue, and it definitely helped me immensely.

I'm always happy to answer questions for anybody.

IB

 

[katt]

IchBin
Thank you so much for your insight on how you felt after your serious of shots. My experience is very similiar to yours so far. I had the second shot and it definately feels more permanent. I am working through the dreams. As you described many dream are not related to the PTSD issues, but every now and then there are those dreams. What is challenging is how vivid the dreams are.

I am curious whether you were on an anti- depressant and if you phased off the drugs totally. I am on Cymbalta and slowly but surely cutting the dose with the help of my doctor. I was just wondering if you think the vivid dreams might be a side effect of the anti-depressant? Prior to the shots, I had night terrors and now these are completely gone. So I am thinking maybe I just never experienced regular dreams before and the Cymbalta might add to the vivid nature of the dreams.

Did the vivid dreams subside over time? It has been a month and a half since my second shot and still struggling to get a restful sleep just due to the vivid drams. And as I mentioned above, believe me in comparision to the night terrors, this is a definate improvement.

Also would like to know how you are doing with triggers. I had multiple triggers in one week which I think is the reason I needed another shot.

Thanks for the advice on journaling, I need to keep this up. Initially I was writing more, I should continue!

Did you have the shots done by Dr. Lipov?

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I am glad you are doing well!!!!