Symptoms Only Happening Occasionally?

[Caterpillar]

Does anyone else have fairly long periods of time (weeks or months) where their symptoms seem to go dormant, not showing up even when there's stress or triggers? I keep having weeks or even a month where the PTSD is totally quiet and I start to doubt whether I really have it, then it will suddenly hit me with some bizarre symptom (sometimes even without any trigger I can see), then it may bother me for a few days before seeming to go to sleep again.

Does anyone else's PTSD follow weird cycles like this? I tend to consider the symptom-free times a good sign that I may eventually get all the way better, but maybe it's just that I'm really good at hiding from the memories.

 

[Fated Shadow]

I got off my meds with help from my doctor two and a half years ago. I found other ways to control my PTSD and for almost two years I went without an issue until about two weeks ago now I can't sleep, I am almost never hungry, when I do sleep I wake up screaming crying and fighting someone not there. I have had full on panic attacks from memories just coming back and me feeling like I was there again. I can't be in crowded places anymore because I have become a danger to others. Have almost attacked some random lady in stop n shop just because she brushed me as she walked by. Before two weeks ago as I said before I went without any symptoms for two years except a few nightmares here and there.

So there are times when I am free of almost all of it and other times when I am not. I just had a really long period without too many problems. It is kind of scary going back to the way I was just like that and that is actually worse than if I had just kept all the symptoms of PTSD in the first place because I can't cope as well. So to answer your question yeah there are weird cycles of time without and with everything dormant.

 

[open eyes]

Mine works that way too. I'll have a few weeks with no PTSD feelings, or even a full month sometimes- & then I'll have a period where my symptoms completely dominate my life. I can barely function during that time.

I used to have PTSD symptoms every minute of every day, but within the past year as I've been dealing with the trauma, it's reduced down to cycles of it.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

I am in a season of feeling happy and content and peaceful. I have been having nightmares every night that I do not remember. I am hoping that I will stay this way from now on, but am cautious too.

 

[Caterpillar]

Yeah, it's kind of disheartening how I keep hoping it's gone and then it comes back. I'm starting to learn not to ever really believe it's gone, though, so at least I don't feel as discouraged when it comes back.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Yes it's completely normal and it's why I warn people to not think their PTSD is gone because when (not if, but when) they do, it is a heartbreaking crush rather than a realization this is par for the course. That is, when we know that something may possibly occur, it is a LOT easier to handle versus it being a surprise.

 

[arfie]

Another yes. I have come to believe my PTSD memories work exactly the same as the rest of my memory. I can go a very long time without a memory surfacing and then it surfaces and haunts me. E.g. a song I loved during childhood surfacing and getting stuck in my head after I catch myself singing it for no apparent reason. The major difference being that the traumatic memories cause all those nasty PTSD ticks. I am not sure I can eradicate the phenom without destroying my entire memory function. Even that doesn't seem very effective. My substance abusing siblings seem have killed everything BUT the traumatic memories.

Whatever it is for you, catepillar, know you are not alone.

 

[NovemberStar]

I had 12 years with no symptoms. That was BLISS. Really truly thought it was goodbye PTSD forever, as I was more functional in my life than I had EVER been.

But further trauma triggered it all back up.

For the past 3 years I have had the symptoms on and off - sometimes for a few days, sometimes for a couple of weeks. Now they have been there since last July, ALTHOUGH, this past week (touch wood) has been a LOT better - I don't think I've had any flashbacks for a few days? Have a lot of work to do in therapy though, and given I see my T tomorrow, it's bound to trigger up more.

 

[Caterpillar]

Reading other people's answers here has been really helpful. Thank you all for taking the time to answer. It is good to know I'm not alone with this cycle. I guess now I have to stop hoping it's going to go away and stay away and start finding ways to deal better with the symptoms. They took me down HARD this time, probably because I'd fallen back into that dangerous thinking that the PTSD had magically evaporated.