DSM-IV-TR criteria for PTSD - (National Center for PTSD)

Like all psychiatric diagnoses, there are defined criteria, and most shrinks are excellent at detection of lying and malingering, having perfected this in the typical lazy non-soldier freeloaders.

Here are the DSM-IV-TR criteria for PTSD for you information. Do you think you could convincingly fake enough of these for 3-6 months?


Other testing, neurological, radiological, and tests of learning and memory etc. would be needed to determine explosion/concussion brain damage.

Even if some of these brain injuries can be treated, it is likely that like the punchy ex-boxer, think Mohammad Alli, these injuries will lead to increased early dementia and other progressive degenerative CNS conditions, personality disorders, and other disabilities.

It is clear that the present administration does not want to recognized either of these service connected injuries, as they will be expensive for many years to come. There are some than maintain that we lost more soldiers from suicides after the Vietnam war, than we lost in battle. Have we learned nothing from this?

Maybe some Norquistian bean-counters have learned that an early PTSD suicide saves money in the long run, or would that be too cynical for even this administration? Yeah right!

Being as how I was in the Air Force in Viet Nam, I was not subjected to the same horrors those in the Army and Marines experienced. So I do not in any way, equate the mild form of PTSD that I now realize I have, with theirs. Apples and oranges...

Edited your quoted passage, Rocky, to include those categories with my symptoms... with a short explanation following.


A1a... wounded during a mortar attack where round landed less than six feet from my position... had I been standing instead of bending over to pick up a sand bag, I may not be here today.
A1b... saw woman riding a motor bike fall under the rear wheels of the 2 1/2 Ton truck she was passing... her leg literally exploded...

B... More A1b than A1a... I always see her... always...

C... pretty self explanatory... with this caveat, I am now, older than I thought I would ever be... and to this I thank my wife who helped bring me back from.......

D... also pretty self explanatory... altho, about 1, I used to be able to sleep through literally, a train going by outside, now the slightest out of place sound wakes me up...

E and F... duration? 40 years...

But I don't believe at this point in time, that I will burden the VA with my case as I think there are men with far greater problems than I.

__________________
Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others.
~~Socrates



My UPDATED Pep Talk For Lefties and Lurkers

As I stated previously, some of the PTSD accompanies brain trauma from the typical IED scenario. X-rays and neurological testing will show concussions. Purely emotional PTSD is most likely very difficult to diagnose.

I would assume there is a definition and protocol in the Diagnostic and Statistcal Manual that has been used through out mental health treatment for decades.

There was a true life story I posted at another discussion board about a guy going through PTSD. He was on a long waiting list just to be seen for evaluation. Even though the regular mental health system had recommended hospitalization and medications due to hallucinations, insomnia and depression, he was turned down by the VA. He committed suicide.

__________________
National Debt =

With all the trauma involved in this war they (VA & Govt.) should have excepted this increase. The idea they had was interview troops right after a fire fight to resolve issues. But with all the combat that didn't work. Nor would it in reality. 5 years later they are starting to hire more mental health workers but with e-mails about lowering the rating to some other type of problem how well will that work. From day one the entire Govt. had its head up its own ash. And in the end not much will be resolved because of the $'s needed.
Now if the Bush admin had not allowed waste like the 18 billion to the Iraq govt. and all the other waste, we know off. Plus make Iraq pay something towards their own security and our involvement. Remember the promise the oil would pay for the war. Lies.
The wasted $ would has solved the problems in the financial area to help the vets. Again on eneed to keep in mind the bigger picture to make the points.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

Ok, I ran down a few things. It is a women staffer not in management who made the suggestion, and is Temple, Texas VA facility. So hang her over her desk chair, and then fire her arse, and bar her from "EVER" working in the Psychological field again.



WASHINGTON - Two congressional committee chairmen said Friday they plan to investigate whether there were broader motives behind a Veterans Affairs Department employee's e-mailed suggestion to diagnose veterans with mental disorders that have a lower disability payout.

Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said he has asked the VA's Inspector General to review diagnosis patterns at the facility.

The VA has identified the sender of the e-mail as a post-traumatic stress disorder team leader at the VA medical center in Temple, Texas.

After a copy of the e-mail was distributed Thursday by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a congressional watchdog group, and the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans lobbying group VoteVets.org, VA Secretary James Peake said the action was by a single employee and that the agency was committed to accuracy.


Filner said Friday in an interview at his office that he will likely ask Peake to appear again to answer more questions. Filner said he wants to know what motivated the Texas employee to send the e-mail about saving the VA money.

"Where is she getting it from?" Filner said. "Why is she saying this? Who is giving her the order?"

Although the employee was a team leader, VA spokeswoman Alison Aikele said Friday that the woman was not in management and her e-mail was just a suggestion. "We're not aware of any other instances where this happened," Aikele said.

__________________
One Tin Soldier Walked Away...............


Vote like your life and your families life depends on it - because it does.

Vote like you want peace & prosparity for America - because the right wants more wars, more casualities, more VA hospitals.

Vote like you want a secured border from terrorists, illegal aliens, drugs, and gun runners - because the right offerred you a few miles of wire fence.

Nice find. But it still doesn't address the issues I tried to point out in the post above.

But does clear up the topic. Thanks Shintao.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

The miltary doctors will quickly find that a discharged veteran has a "Personality Disorder", rather than diagnosing them with PTSD. This gets the government off the hook as far as future medical treatment.

We know a few facts;

1. The American people don't care about their veterans once they are used and discarded.

2. The government doesn't care about it's veterans after they have been used for their specific purpose and discarded.

3. The problems within the VA are unsurmountable and will not be solved until a full and honest investigation is conducted - so never.

Sen, Grassey once said about the missing POWs, we know they are there, everybody knows they are there,....... there is just no groundswell from the American people.

When the American people have no one to defend and die for them,..then they will care about their veterans. They have the O'Rielly disease.


Here is a song I wrote years ago that explains the situation..........Its part of the Vietnam Collection at the National Archives and Nimitz Naval Library

"Waiting on the Day" © 1987

Their sitting on the corners in their camouflage fatigues,

Outcasts from a time when they fought for liberty.

In a country that don't love them, or seem to have a place.

These Vietnam veterans are waiting on the day.


(Chorus) Waiting on the day that they'll need them again.

Waiting on the day when they'll need some more killing.

Their waiting on the days like they were in Vietnam.

When every heart in battle sang out for freedom.


A lot of their buddies are pushing around in chairs.

Some of them don't have no limbs but they got back from there.

And some of their buddies are still over there somewhere.

Their waiting on the day that their country cares.


(Chorus from above)

It sure was some welcome they didn't want them back.

The war they fought for freedom their trying to forget.

And their wondering what their buddies will say when their asked.

To go fight another war like it was in Vietnam.


(Chorus to fine)

__________________
One Tin Soldier Walked Away...............


Vote like your life and your families life depends on it - because it does.

Vote like you want peace & prosparity for America - because the right wants more wars, more casualities, more VA hospitals.

Vote like you want a secured border from terrorists, illegal aliens, drugs, and gun runners - because the right offerred you a few miles of wire fence.

I was in the Gulf during the Gulf War and there were enemy missiles flying overhead. Of course, "going to war" is a different experience for the Navy than it is for the Army and Marines.

Maybe you should stop trying to attribute motives and attitudes to people and just stick to reading the words that are written.

__________________
A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

Actually, I'm quite familiar with the DSM-IV and have regular access to it. But I also read the counseling records of a great many people and what so often is missing from the counseling records is evidence that the DSM-IV criteria are objectively met.




And I would insist that such tests be done.

Yes, I agree.

Well, key players in this Administration will be gone as of January 20, 2009.

I wouldn't put it past this Administration to think exactly that way.

__________________
A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."