When Does Ptsd Start?

[jka37]

I'm trying to piece together my story, trying to understand how long I've had PTSD, or when it started being PTSD. It's been extremely intense for me the past 3 months, but I've shown symptoms (yet much, much milder) since maybe 7 years ago.

How long after your trauma did PTSD kick in, and is there a way to determine that?

 

[daniel]

Mine started about 4 - 12 months after a traumatic experience. I noticed it as mild agoraphobia in the beginning. Now almost 15 years later I'm having problems leaving the house, social anxiety, developed Gerd etc etc... :(

 

[ronin47]

Knowing when the symptoms started for me is very difficult because my trauma started at a very early age and my PTSD resulted from chronic child abuse. I don't know where your trauma came from, but if it resulted from ongoing trauma that may be part of why you're having a hard time pinpointing when it started. My freshman year of high school is when I can remember the symptoms getting really bad.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

It varies. Symptoms can start immediately, although you can't be Dx for a certain time period after the traumatic event. I was abused at 4, had a childhood of behavioral problems that just got worse around puberty... More proof that this is a chemically/hormonally effected disorder? My official Dx is delayed onset PTSD as I wasn't Dx until 25 years after the event.

 

[TLight]

I too suffered continual horrific abuse from about 3 and total household violence as an infant, then on and on, multiple crap.
I had a complete nervous breakdown at 28, before that I could function, but I did party and do drugs a lot and remembered being very melancholy and I thought about death a lot. But after the breakdown, severe symptoms, hallucinations etc.
It was right after my Father died.

I'm 46 now, but pretty non-functional work wise. Can't seem to do an ounce of stress without symptoms coming back.
Plus I'm DID. Pick up knives and don't remember kind of stuff. Nuts.

 

[VDWngr1355]

I recently left my husband three months ago and I lived with him for 6 years and there was a bunch of traumatic experiences both inside and outside the relationship. I was trapped in a foreign country and had my life threatened at gun point a couple of times, and my husband was very mentally abusive. I had symptoms start two weeks after I left him and they have gotten worse, new symptoms have started, and stayed since then.

 

[jka37]

VD, I am so glad you left him, and so pissed that life does that. Those abusive people isolate you and then abuse you. And you stay strong all that time, just to get smacked in the face by PTSD.

Ronin47, yeah, it was ongoing. Doesn't seem as dramatic as what a lot of PTSD sufferers have experienced, but the position I held in my family was no-good...my brother is a self-diagnosed narcissist who chose me as his little chew-toy to test out how "strong" he was and what he was capable of. He said it was easy to push my buttons. Also, when he went on his huge rages or depression, or whatever it was, my parents focused on him while I was in the other room just trying to deal with it. Once he attacked my boyfriend. When I'd fight back or defend myself against him, the answer was usually to stop "causing a fight" when I was really just stepping up and defending myself against chronic injustice. And then he confided in me all kinds of really scary things, or about his sexual habits, and I just held those secrets for him because I was afraid he'd have no one else to tell. My plan was to tell mom and dad if it got too crazy, but I totally missed the boat. So, a bully brother with an enabling family lead this little people pleaser into an abusive relationship with yet another manipulative narcissist in early college, so now I have all kinds of traumatic memories that I haven't dealt with yet. It comes up with my boyfriend all the time. It isn't fair. He's such a kind, trustworthy, loving person, and my body won't trust him. He can't kiss my hand sometimes without me flipping out. I hate my breasts sometimes, I wish they weren't there. I'd feel a lot safer.

daniel--how is the GERD going? I've had it since 1st grade, but have found ways to manage it without taking pills. I maintain by avoiding large amounts of citrus, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, etc, but what really really helped me was Orange Peel Extract...doctor had me on Prilocek and it was not helping very much and I didn't like just taking pills all the time. Seemed like a bad long-term choice. The orange peel extract worked WONDERS. Look it up, message me if you have any questions about it.

 

[daniel]

Thank you for asking jka37 :), well I've had a very bad episode this past weekend, you are absolutely right, I need to watch what I eat, I feel much better today, I've changed my diet, I've been having gerd since 1995 but this weekend I thought I was gonna die it was so bad, food is not worth it lol :), I'm gonna look up orange peel extract thank you again =) all the best xo

 

[jka37]

I remember those bad episodes. It's this TERRIBLE heart burn and pain that had gotten out of control...sometimes it even hurt my stomach to walk! I bought aloe vera juice, a licorice-flavored supplement that coats your intestines so they don't hurt as much, and I cut coffee, tea, sweets, anything acidic, and went extreme for a few days until it calmed down. After that I was able to slowly incorporate foods I like back in.

Now its stable enough that I can eat whatever I want, it's just about when I eat it and how often, and my body tells me what's okay. You can do this!!

Also, I know this is harder to control, but stress is a huge contributor to stomach acid. Do things that are soothing and see what you can do to take it easy.

 

[Kris1984]

I am not really sure when my symptoms started because I have been diagnosed with so many things that never fit the bill. I feel like this is the first time I have been properly diagnosed. I will say that one of my traumas was about 6 years ago and after I thought I had "dealt" with it by putting it in the back of my memory, it has just started to haunt me again. The things related to my childhood have affected my whole life though, I just never really realized it until now.

I think it is all situational. We all handle things differently and all it takes is one bad situation for a trigger to get you going. I read in school that people with a genetic predisposition to psych disorders can go their entire life without symptoms or most of it based on environment and triggers.