Treatment From Va

[LostOne83]

Has anyone gotten treatment from the VA? My boyfriend has his first appointment on the 28th of May for his work up physical and bloodwork and I want to know what the whole process is. He's been waiting since April 10th for this appointment and want to know if once he gets his full physical and everything will the ball get rolling?

 

[Lucycat]

Has anyone gotten treatment from the VA?

Is that the Victoria & Albert Hospital you are referring to?

 

[LostOne83]

No the department of veteran affairs for the military he has combat PTSD

 

[Lucycat]

Oh. I guess that is an American term then. We don't have Veteran's affairs here. That would mean something quite different.

 

[arfie]

I have. Like the Army before it, I found allot of "hurry up and wait" in the process and heavy penalties for any no-shows. However, once the ball got rolling, it held a steady pace. The counseling and support groups I found there were mostly top notch. Sometimes not so great, but the good ones were worth sifting through the not so greats. May your husband find similar.

edit: Mine experience was initiated in the 70s. I am sure the particulars of first contact have changed allot since then.

 

[LostOne83]

@arfie as you can see yes the hurry up and wait with that he went to the VA in the beginning of April and was told he couldn't get in until the end of May. I am so impatient that it is killing me. Did you have to go through the appointment first for the physical and blood work before they started scheduling you for any type of treatment? He said that he filled out a questionnaire/evaluation when he went last and they said by his answers that it shows he has some sort of PTSD and that's why they scheduled him for the May appointment. He went and spoke to someone but all they really did was give him papers on support groups they have, I guess for him to go to until he could start his process.

I know he also told me when he talked to me that when he was talking to a guy he works who has been through this said once he gets his first appointment that the ball should get rolling. I don't really talk to the guy he works with and my boyfriend really doesn't want to talk about it so it's hard for me to get any info.

 

[arfie]

I will bet he cannot tell you because he doesn't know. Worrying the process will not get you anywhere more productive than internal torture. Yes, it could go quickly after the physical but there are enough ifs, ands and buts to make it wise to keep the expectations loose.

Let go and let God, LostOne. Help him stay calm while he lets it move at the speed of a huge bureaucracy. I would rather try to predict the weather without windows than try to predict bureaucratic speeds. Be patient.

 

[LostOne83]

And that is my biggest flaw, impatience. And I know I need to keep it under control, the separation is just the hardest part. I just want him to get better and get the help that he needs. And I am a little bitter that it is taking this long but I know it is neither in my nor his control and I should have expected nothing more being the military cuz that's pretty much how our whole relationship has been, a waiting game.

 

[Sweetpea76]

@LostOne83

Get comfortable... its going to take awhille.

 

[Barberian]

My experiences are as arfie stated. Hurry up and wait and a few hits, and a lot of misses. If they offer medication(s) approach with caution. They have a habit of throwing lots of meds at the vets, usually the generic older ones (read - cheap). Because everyone is different, mileage may vary. He may get lucky with the first meds he gets, He may be like some others who have yet to find a medication regime that works for them, and has acceptable side affects.

 

[Sweetpea76]

Each VA hospital is going to vary too... some are better than others, and some downright suck.

 

[xena21]

If he is in serious distress the way to get him in sooner is to have him call the crisis line. They will have him talk to a suicide prevention coordinator within the next business day. That person can then set him up immediately with help. They have a lot of pull. I know because I have used it.

Going the regular route is a "hurry up and wait" nightmare, so you definitely need to get used to that. The crisis line for vets is 1-800-273-8255 x1. I wish you the best.