Welcome to the site Medic.

I am new here too but have found so much value in it already. So much information, advice, caring, support and much more. It feels great to know youre not alone. I have already learnt that you dont need to "remember my place as the new guy". We are equals here. Good luck with the posting and im sure you'll find this site as useful as i do.
Take care

Welcome Medic.
Glad you found the site. There is a lot of help here...many vets/emergency health care workers that suffer from similar horrible memories. Know that you are not alone. I was in the military too and chose to get out due to the madness...went into healthcare.....and here I am. The horror came back to haunt me. I too find it hard to believe that I would ever need medication to deal with things....but it does help.
Take Care

I'm a medic as well and understand, my type of c-ptsd is that of a prisoner of war or concentration camp stuff, I am civilian, satanic cult got a hold on me for many years starting at age 3 and the year 66'.
The bible says, I will send you my armies, this quote has gotten me thru alot of memories, and I do not have guilt for anything I did. It was either me or them, I won.
I hope you find that this site gives such good advice, or just a good ear from experience.
welcome

hi medic, i am new also. I do not have PTSD, but i am a wife of a army sgt. that does. IT is great, and i do mean great! hearing your side. my husband was diagnosed with 'slight' ptsd in sept, but says he don't need no meds, to help him. I do NOT force any meds or suggestions at him, but I do notice the PTSD far more than he does. i commonly joke with him about 'MAN PMS'. I think its my way of 'letting go' of all the little things. Feel free to keep writing. I enjoy hearing your side, although i know everyone is different. Would you mind if i told my hubby about your progress, meds etc..? maybe he would feel better knowing others have this stuff in common. thanks very much

Welcome Medic! Hope you find what you're looking for!

Hey OIF_MEDIC -


First off guy welcome home, I love you, we love, and you are already a hero . . . that's my thoughts.


I'm a Nam vet with 100% PTSD so can relate.


I know you've seen the shit . . . anyone in war up close has. You medics had it worse that anyone in my opinion.


I'm very concerned about you. For one you are a brother. Another is what you are going to do about your PTSD claim. Your two posts indicate your have severe PTSD, and the VA has probably documented this, but you should check.


You deserve and should be able to easily get a good disability grant if you do it now and go about it right. If you depend on the military to help you or anyone in the VA to help you do this I'm almost certain they will not. In my experience you will have to do it yourself and if you have a VFW handy they will help with the paper work. Believe me when I say that even though you are feeling better get that disability rating now. You can still work all you want. You just won't get the portion for being unemployable. The longer you wait the harder it will be to put the pieces together to satisfy the VA claim procedure. Now you have buddies who can attest to the fact that on say 2/2/2004 in Iraq, in such and such city, you and him saw such and such horrible event like friendly fire killed a whole squad of your buddies.


I know vets who the VA and military not only didn't help but they actively prevented documents that they knew would prove a claim from being produced. Their institutions are not your friends no matter what it seems now.


First, make sure you have a copy of a document signed by a VA MD which says you have PTSD. Better yet, get a copy of your whole psychiatric medical history. Now that you are a civilian you have a right to it. When you were still in you didn't have a right to shit.


Second, make a list of friends who you were in fire fights with, or who were in triage with you, or whatever you did, get a list of their names and where to contact them. Better yet, have them write out exactly what you and him/her went through and saw, where and when it was, and sign and date it.


Next, get a letter from your x-wife if you are still talking about how you changed after you saw the shit come down. Have her describe your changes in mood, nightmares, anger, isolation, drinking if you did . . . however you remarkably changed.


That's the main stuff.


Now to show you why, a little story. Sorry this is so long but I am very concerned for you.


On a forum several years ago, a daughter came on who needed help getting her father a disability for PTSD. Believe me he had PTSD. But he could not remember any specifics about the actions he was in because it was 35 years ago. He would always tell his daughter that the VA will give him what he deserves. Well they won't.


His daughter was going nuts. I told her to find a friend of his fathers who had been in Nam with him who could attest to what actions they had been in together. A have to have thing. She got a lucky break. The only friend he knew of was a guy in his squad and he only had an old telephone number. She called and luckily the guy was still there and hell yes he remembered her father. And not only that he had kept a ****ing diary of every action he and her dad were in together. Happy ending of story. But not so happy for some GI's.


It was not so good for a friend who had been in Laos, a place that was classified. It toke him ten years to pry the files that proved his claim out of the government.


They may be playing nice to you now, but just wait.


If you need more specifics on how to file a claim I'd be glad to help. Things like some vets will go into the interview with the VA claims shrink and not say much. Well, don't act but be verbal about all the blood and guts ya saw, dress normal, don't dress up. If you feel testy, be testy. I asked my VA claims interviewer if he'd blackball a claim if he'd been told to cut claims grants by the pencilnecks. lol

Welcome back to the world