PTSD diagnosis

My flashbacks are similar to the continuous film type, when they start I freeze and can't seem to control my thoughts. At that point I don't seem to be able to stop my film from keep running. Recently my therapist suggested I begin to pull back by just moving my tongue on the roof of my mouth, concentrate on that till I can start moving other parts that will put me back in the moment.(And out of those terrific~flashbacks).
Allyson-Lynn

thanks ...ill have to give that one a try. At the moment i feel that i have not been given the necessary tools to deal with what i am remembering.

Regarding medication....would people here recommend anti depressants - i have not taken any as yet . What are some of your thoughts like regarding this?

If you have ANY pearls of wisdom regarding being able to stay in the here and now please share.

Thanks for all the replies

UK GENT


We cannot tell you what kind of medication to take or what will work for you because we are not professionals.

But there are medications that can help with PTSD.
I have only been on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications which included Zoloft for 8 yrs, Celexa for 6 weeks, Remeron for 8 months, and now currently Effexor for my GAD and Depression.

I've also been on Ativan and Klonopin for a short amount of time for my anxiety.

All meds work for different people, and some will work for one person and wont work for the other.

The best way to figure out what will help you is to discuss this with your doctor.

Again we are not professionals here so we cannot give you medication advice.

Like Sadgurl said, your doctor is the best person to advise you about meds, but I just thought I'd chime in and tell you the ones that have worked for me, so you could discuss them with your doc.

I, too, have taken Klonopin for a long time, and have gotten so I rarely need it now. I also take Wellbutrin. I had been taking Remeron, but it caused a LOT of weight gain. Wellbutrin doesn't have that problem. The other med I take is Topamax.

hi ukgent,

As the others said--your doctor has to make the diagnosis and prescribe medications for you. For PTSD, though, I was prescribed several different kinds until we found one that worked and relieved the some of the symptoms. Be sure to let the doctor know if one of the medicines is not working for you (if that is the case) so that the doctor may adjust it for you.

Finding a therapist that really helps you with this may take awhile. Some therapists are more comfortable to work with than others, so hang in there and keep looking for someone to effectively help you work this thru. You must be able to trust them...this is very important.

There really is "light at the end of the tunnel."

Warmest wishes,
betty

my first 'shrink' put me on, get this, celexa, wellbutron, Clonozapam (sp?) and trazadone at night. I left that fella because when I was on the run from my husband I had to phone him on a saturday for a med refill. He was so mad at me for phoning him on his day off he hollared at me, was really abusive. I only saw him four times for ten minutes, hardly spoke a word to me, but sure had a lot of nasty things to say when I needed him the most.

Anyway, now I am seeing a new shrink who spends more time with me. She gave me the diagnosis of ptsd and is changing my meds. She couldn't figure out why he had me on some of those meds I was taking. For instance I had terrible headaches all of the time, she thinks it was from the Wellbutron. Also I have had terrible nightmares most of my adult life along with insomnia. She told me the trazadone is known for making nightmares worse!

She weaned me off the wellbutron, then off of the celexa and the trazadone. Now I am starting over with Zoloft, Seoquel (she said it has seen to be effective in vets with nightmares) and I have just begun taking prazosin for sleeping.

I want to give them a chance, she is increasing them slowly, however it is scary business for me. I hate to disappoint her be telling her they just aren't working! I had to be so perfect and keep up appearances for my husband, you know. Anyway, I don't know if I am still withdrawing from the old meds, or if the new meds aren't working, or if they just aren't working yet. I sure feel anxious, fidgety, still can't sleep well enough, still have intrusive compulsive thoughts. I am practically a recluse. I went for a long walk yesterday morning, I am living in the city now. I am afraid to be out on a saturday morning! At least the headaches are gone. I JUST WANT SOME GOOD SLEEP, instead of having to fight for it, or worse dread it. I just want some sort of peace. I can't work anyway, I wish I could just be sedated, so I could move easily from waking to sleeping and back to waking and back to sleeping.

Getting the meds right is really hard I think.

Hi Uk,
Like everyone else, it takes different meds to work for different symptoms and different people's body chemistry. PTSD has almost as many unique symptoms as schizophrenia. And all the meds react to us with various side effects. I've been on Effexor for 8 yrs. with Ritlin, Deprekote, Neurontin,Trileptil, and Klonopin. I tried a new drug Abilify for the flashbacks specifically, but it made me too spacey. Now I'm concentrating on them behaviorially mostly with a lot of loving support from my therapist. Hope this helps.

Hey guys I have PTSD myself and I have flashbacks. This was brought on by my classmates and a para bullying me.
I have a question and I am going to open this to everyone Does anyone know anything about Paranormal?????????
If so PLEASE email me.