Posted on Jul 23, 2015
It's not getting better? For most Vietnam veterans with PTSD, symptoms worse over time!
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“An important minority of Vietnam veterans are symptomatic after four decades, with more than twice as many deteriorating as improving,” the study says. That finding raises policy questions about access to mental-health services and attention to the stresses of aging that may amplify symptoms.
It is also key to predicting the future of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, in which troops have been diagnosed with PTSD at similar rates, said Dr. Charles Hoge of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, who wrote a companion editorial for JAMA Psychiatry, a publication of the Journal of the American Medical Association, which published the study Wednesday.
http://www.stripes.com/news/study-for-most-vietnam-veterans-with-ptsd-symptoms-worse-over-time-1.359194
It is also key to predicting the future of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, in which troops have been diagnosed with PTSD at similar rates, said Dr. Charles Hoge of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, who wrote a companion editorial for JAMA Psychiatry, a publication of the Journal of the American Medical Association, which published the study Wednesday.
http://www.stripes.com/news/study-for-most-vietnam-veterans-with-ptsd-symptoms-worse-over-time-1.359194
Posted in these groups: 
PTSD
Vietnam War
PTSD Vietnam War
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 16
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PTSD is (in some ways) like Diabetes. Once you have it you never actually get rid of it.
The most you can hope to do is to weather the occasional crisis and learn how to adjust your life style so that you can live reasonably normally in almost all respects.
Even then you are going to have "bad days".
The trick is to remember that they are only bad DAYS and not bad LIFETIMES.
Fifteen years down the pike and I still have days when I want to hang out the "I am having a REALLY bad day but I'm more than willing to share it with you - if you want me to." sign. I don't expect that to change.
The most you can hope to do is to weather the occasional crisis and learn how to adjust your life style so that you can live reasonably normally in almost all respects.
Even then you are going to have "bad days".
The trick is to remember that they are only bad DAYS and not bad LIFETIMES.
Fifteen years down the pike and I still have days when I want to hang out the "I am having a REALLY bad day but I'm more than willing to share it with you - if you want me to." sign. I don't expect that to change.
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Suspended Profile
There are a lot of psychosocial factors that go into why Vietnam veterans' PTSD symptoms are worse now. These include:
Aging: as we get older, move into retirement, and confront new and ongoing health issues, a lot of grief comes up. This can aggravate PTSD, which many have repressed.
The treatment of Vietnam Veterans was abominable. They now witness how post 9/11 vets are treated, and it's like salt in the wound. This can aggravate things.
With retirement, comes more time on your hands. This almost always leads one to discover what's going on inside.
With the Nehmer decision in 1997, Vietnam vets are now getting benefits they've been fighting for, for decades. With the actions required to pursue these disability benefits, old wounds are often stirred up.
There are many other factors as well; this is hardly conclusive. Nonetheless, our Vietnam vets ARE suffering, and it's incumbent on all of us to ease their pain in whatever way we can...
Aging: as we get older, move into retirement, and confront new and ongoing health issues, a lot of grief comes up. This can aggravate PTSD, which many have repressed.
The treatment of Vietnam Veterans was abominable. They now witness how post 9/11 vets are treated, and it's like salt in the wound. This can aggravate things.
With retirement, comes more time on your hands. This almost always leads one to discover what's going on inside.
With the Nehmer decision in 1997, Vietnam vets are now getting benefits they've been fighting for, for decades. With the actions required to pursue these disability benefits, old wounds are often stirred up.
There are many other factors as well; this is hardly conclusive. Nonetheless, our Vietnam vets ARE suffering, and it's incumbent on all of us to ease their pain in whatever way we can...
SSgt Terry P.
i got lucky in 1999, when i finally went to the VA at the persistence of friends and had a good counselor who helped me understand what was happening and had been a lot of the problems i avoided for years ----my past can't be changed ,but my wish is for the young veterans to receive the help they need and deserve. With men of insight such as yours maybe this can happen,Thank you,Sir
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CPL Pride, thank you for going to that horrid war, and thank you for your kind words...
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I hope he does too. If you or they need help, don't hesitate to reach out...
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No Shit? Where's my freaking M-79 anyways? And just because I put constantina wire and signs around the perimeter of my home doesn't make me more fu--ed up, does it?
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SFC William Farrell
I like the sign David and would love to put the Army version of that sign on my property but we own a B&B in Newport and my wife would shoot me with one of my own guns! And we wouldn't want to scare away the guests. And the M79, I wish I still had my hands on one! All the best.
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Sgt David G Duchesneau
Are you sure, SFC William Farrell, It would be a great conversation piece to you B&B
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