Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and AN surgery

[Captain Deb]

Oh, boy, another thing to talk about! Having a life-threatening illness is indeed stressful and even though many ANs aren't life-threatening, the surgery and post=surgery complications of headaches, fatigue, facial paralysis, and balance problems can indeed be very stressful and can trigger episodes of PTSD.

There are three main categories of PTSD symptoms, and all three must be present for the diagnosis of PTSD:

reexperiencing the trauma: examples include flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive memories and exaggerated emotional and physical reactions to triggers that remind the person of the trauma.

emotional numbing and avoidance: examples are feeling detached, losing interest and avoiding activities or places that remind you of the trauma.

increased arousal: symptoms like difficulty sleeping, irritability, hypervigilance and exaggerated startle response.

I guess I know a little about PTSD as a hurricane survivor/refugee and as the sister of a PTSD-disabled VietNam Vet who has been in and out of the "loony bin" (his words) for 10 years. My own PTSD was triggered about a year after I spent 12 hours in a shower stall in the dark in a Cat 5 hurricane while my house tore apart around me.  I got through that one with counseling and medication and it was triggered again after losing my father, my mother, and my wonderful dog, Sassy within 6 weeks.

Well, I recovered from that bout as well and then along comes major surgery, which would have been OK except for the almost daily migraines that kept me in bed for almost 2 years and interfered greatly with getting my balance function back.

Well, more medication and counseling. Today, I'm pretty healthy mentally, except for the bouts of hilarious insanity I experience aboard the PBW, but that's just a bunch of nonsensical fun that I have with you all and a sure sign that my PTSD is in remission--getting your sense of humor back is a very GOOD thing.

I found a website that has a little quiz you can take to see if you are having symptoms and links for getting help. http://www.ptsd.factsforhealth.org/ Just thought I'd start this thread for anyone who feels like they may be having a problem with PTSD or any one with thoughts about it.

Happy Sailing Everyone!
Captain Deb

[tony]

Id go with all of that - but remember we can all suffer from  "Post Op Depression"
 - basically an after reaction to a larger surgery, body recovering, the drugs they use, or even the changes that are made to hearing/face/nerves etc.
Its considered quite commonplace over here.
After  I had the shunt OP in 2004 they gave out a leaflet explaining the wheres
and the whys of it all
 - interestingly after the 6 OPs in 2005 there was no leaflet
....But then... I suppose I was getting pretty used to it by then.....
Best Regards
Tony

[matti]

The last 10 years have been an emotional and physical roller coaster dealing with not only my own medical issues, but my husband and son's as well and also losing my best friend to colon cancer. One of the best gifts I gave myself was going to a therapist. She literally saved my sanity.

Thank you for the info Capt. Deb.

Cheryl

[Windsong]

If there is any comfort in numbers, I can add myself to the list of those who have ptss...

Far too may stressful happenings in a short time: bro-in-law died, fiance heart attack, dad -in-law died; 3 ambulance rides for myself (trauma injury and other acute things); loss of career; house move; 2 serious cancer ops for my dad plus brain surgery thrown in 2 wks before his first C op; the list goes on. The An for me was the icing. And strangely i handled that the most calmly. I think the reality of that has set in recently however.

It's true that without a great therapist i might not have made it through the first few things.

As for the ptss.... it's only recently that i can be out somewhere, hear sirens of some sort and not have a huge panic attack.

Things do get better.....

Good wishes to all of you.
Windsong

[Larry]

Gee guys,

I thought my headaches were bad enough and had no idea of the post trauma issues that you face.

hats off to ya all, brave is probably an understatement.

Laz

[shoegirl]

Hi,

For those of you who are suffering from PTSD - I highly recommend a therapy called EMDR.  I have done EMDR and the results are amazing.  You can research it on the web under EMDR / Dr. Francis Shapiro.  Just be sure you see a therapist who is trained to provide this form of therapy.

 

[Kathleen_Mc]

I had PTSD purely from the near death experience of the AN, I went to a therapist for a short period and things got much better....over the years the "nightmares" have gone and mostly all of the other symptoms. My most distressing symptom was the nightmares where I would be back in NICU, on life support and awake and aware (which indeed was the situation)....I would wake up screaming and my entire body would hurt just like it did then. As this decreased it became an anniversary issue and now I don't have them.
To anyone going throught PTSD right now....find someone, hopefully a professional, to talk to before it get outta hand.
Kathleen