Hi!

I'm Bec. Nice to meet you.

I was diagnosed with complex PTSD about two months ago (i'm in my thirties) and to make things worse my 11 year old son has been diagnosed with PTSD also.

I'm a Social Service Worker myself and work in the same field as my therapist!!! (nasty eh?)

I'm in EMDR therapy but they had to suspend it and are going to medicate me in the next week or so. My son has his own therapist.

I feel like a crazy person!!! I'm not happy.

Anyways, that's me.

Bec

Hi bec nice to meet you:) There are a few people here with two in the family so I'm sure you'll find an ear here.

Welcome Bec, I am sure you will find understanding here, we all feel a bit crazy. Why did they chose to suspend the EMDR and opt for meds? I had heard EMDR was successful and promising.

Its very promising for PTSD; however, Complex PTSD isn't that simple. The EMDR caused me to have an Emotional Break with Reality (cry jags, severe depression etc...). They are medicating me to help with this while trying to figure out a strategy..:drugs:

I have Complex PTSD from early childhood right throught to three months ago (so many events that I can't keep track) and I have been diagnosed with this THREE times!! The first time I was 15 and they didn't have a name for it then, the second when I was 23 and I wasn't told anything but a name (they never even suggested I follow up on it!!) and then lastly a few months ago. Mine is what she calls "severe and chronic" as in there is no remission (as of yet, I'm hoping though.)

So, now I'm trying to get educated, build support and manage this frickin thing. (I'm down to umm... three people for support and have become COMPLETELY anti-social. So there are challenges.. well we all hae them don't we???

Bec

Welcome Bec :)

I am hoping they find something that works for you! This site can do nothing but help you on the journey with the ups and downs.

Hi Bec, and welcome to the forum.

Now you have me curious, in that you have PTSD and your 11 year old son. How did you both get PTSD? Is your sons PTSD a direct consequence of your PTSD or is this more to do with a relationship previously?

I see you have had issues with EMDR. I am not surprised to be honest, and I have no idea why the therapist was performing EMDR upon you actually if your at the severe end of the PTSD spectrum. Why? Because from what I know about EMDR from the leading world experts who where part of the creation and implementation of EMDR, is that it is not recommended for severe trauma because of the deep mental issues that significant trauma inflicts upon our brains, thus EMDR could cause exactly what has happened for you, and even worse again, basically turning people into vegetables mentally because too much is released with no real control barriers in place. This is why CBT and other methods are used, especially for military and those who have suffered prolonged trauma, ie. childhood abuse, because the risks of damage far surpass the benefits of EMDR in these circumstances.

Bec, to be honest, before you go and get yourself into a whole nother realm of issues with medication, I would actually look for alternative methods first, as they work without all the severe implications prescription medication inflict with anxiety and depression. I would be looking at naturopathy, homeopathy and acupuncture first before pharmaceutical options are taken. Just read through this forum for an idea of the many implications people are suffering, and the benefits when they remove themselves from the medication. Medication seems to prolong the exact symptom your being medicated, and makes it much harder to get beyond the symptom opposed to just dealing with the symptom head on.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!!

Anthony:

It's very nice to meet you!

As both my son and I were just diagnosed (by seperate therapists in seperate agencies) I'm not really sure. However, being a professional in the field myself, I can give it a good try!

I suspect that Matt (that would be my youngest) was suspectible to PTSD because of me. I've been a single Mom his whole life, with some very unhealthy relationships mixed in. Six years ago I was in a relationship that was very abusive (no suprise there.) Two years into the relationship I figured out he was also beating my son. I left that day. Both my son and I went into counselling for it, although it didn't help Matt much. I've been fighting to figure out what is the matter with him since. So, the preliminary diagnosis is that he has regular PTSD. So I really think it's the combination of the two. To make things even stranger, I think my step-mom may also have PTSD. I've given her this forum site to explore to see if she thinks that this might be her too. Perhaps we are just attracted to each other?

I will read about the alternatives, although at this time the medication is in lou of hospitalization ( I got all suicidal for a bit there.)

Bec

Oh I forgot:

It really isn't the therapists fault. I'm not very "sharing" in what exactly is going on... She realized after three weeks of EMDR that I had chronic PTSD. I never told her the whole story, I still haven't.

I fear this telling. It's been very difficult. My mother has threatened to have me locked up for being crazy, and has almost succeded a few times, since I was fourteen. My reaction is to hide what is going on and I'm VERY good at it. I'm impressed with my therapist really. She can see a lot more than I'm telling. She even is dealing with my family doctor for me, since that's how my Mother attempts to "lock me up."

Screwy eh?

Bec

P.S. I live in a very small town. It's easy for someone like my mother to breach all procedures and actually make life hell, so these are HUGE steps for me.

I think what you need to do, is actually send some legal threats your doctors way, in that your doctor is obviously breaching medical in confidence, which would have their license for that, because your mother is finding things out and conspiring with a doctor to achieve things. Totally against just about every countries laws, to say the least. I don't doubt your mentality or wits, but I am just pointing this out now incase you have missed it because of all your current concerns.

Bec, because you have these concerns already, I want you to really be careful when being handed medication in regard to PTSD and depression, because for the most part, just about every sufferer of PTSD has major issues with medications increasing suicidal thoughts and tendancies, increasing the depression itself, or reacting and increasing anxiety symptoms. Very very rarely do I have someone say they have not suffered an increase in one, if not all, of those areas because of medication. If you react to them then your mother might just get her wish.

I do understand though in regard to the EMDR, although before EMDR is performed, a general scrutiny must be done first, and any good specialist in EMDR will find, shareing or not, whether a person is or is not suitable for it. I won't say anymore about that... just my opinion.

Now this also intrigues me, in that has these therapists told you that matt's PTSD can be cured and yours not? Taking into account the two different therapists! PTSD, regardless, has no cure as of yet. If a therapist has diagnosed your son with PTSD, and says that he is curable, then I suspect they have misdiagnosed him, and possibly he could just be suffering GAD and depression.... which is very curable and fixable. Many therapists throw around PTSD like its a common label, when infact many misuse it, and don't use at other times when it is required, and this is generally because from lack of experience dealing with PTSD itself. Just read through posts here about the amount of people who have been misdiagnosed, and some labelled with PTSD that don't have it at all, because they couldn't even meet the mandatory critieria for assessment.

I hope that matt doesn't have it if this is the case from his therapist feedback. PTSD is very very slim to obtain because of a parent or guardians PTSD itself... very rare indeed, and what makes me more curious, is that you found out matt suffered from an ex's beatings, which you discovered then had immediate counselling and ongoing, because of this. I am hoping from the information you have written here, than he may off just escaped the actual debilitating factor of PTSD itself, and the therapist might off over jumped the mark a little... Fingers crossed.

So then bec... why exactly is your mother trying to do these things to you then? I am assuming your mother has a lot to do with your childhood and ongoing trauma?