Vietnam Vet

The social worker at the VA clinic wont let me drive due to hallucinations. Told I need to be at the VA hospital by 8:00am in the morning for psychiatric evaluations that might last all day.

cwp3420

Alrighty then. WTF?

Vietnam Vet

I think I'm seeing the people we killed, hundreds of them. I want it to stop.

Kissel vonKeister Loc: Georgia

Uh Oh!

cwp3420

Good luck, bro. I sincerely hope everything turns out well for you.

ken hubert Loc: Missouri

Give your weapons to a relative to hold for you.

02Nomad Loc: Catonsville, MD

That social worker (IF she's any good at her job) should be able to arrange transportation for you.

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

What 02Nomad said.
Or get help from a friend, neighbor, or family. Or call a cab to pick you up, allowing plenty of time to make your appointment. Good luck.

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

They can help you but you need to give them time to do that. In the mean time don't drive for your own safety as well as others.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

The suggestion to have friends or relatives hold your weapons is a very good one. Even Abraham Lincoln, when he was in the middle of one of his bouts of depression, would have is friends come and do an "intervention" in which they would take his weapons until he felt better.

Be aware that medications can help, but you have to understand that everybody reacts differently to different meds, so give them a chance, but also be quick to let your providers know after 3-4 weeks if they aren't working for you. If you are having nightmares there is a medication (prazosin) that doesn't generally cause side effects and which often reduces the nightmares. It is usually used as a blood pressure medication.

Marijuana can be very helpful for some patients with PTSD. If you live in a state where you can get certified to use it, that is best. Probably best to use it at bedtime to help your sleep, and just in small quantities, since some people get paranoid or agitated if they use too much. The VA providers will tell you not to use "drugs", but it can be more helpful than the ones they prescribe. Even when a patient is using it rationally and getting relief, they will have added to their problem list at the VA: "Marijuana abuse disorder".

Good luck with this.

Kissel vonKeister Loc: Georgia

The circumstances seem strange. What train of events would end up in a message like that being posted here?

Spectre Loc: Bothell, Washington

Please don't be withdrawn to seek help and comfort from other vets and friends. If you live near Seattle let me know and we can talk. Best wishes from a fellow vet.

02Nomad Loc: Catonsville, MD

I worked the last 4 years before I retired in the Neurology department at the Baltimore VA. One of the services offered was the Pain Clinic; any vet enrolled in that clinic received any necessary pain meds after they signed an agreement to follow the rules/conditions of remaining in the clinic. One of the conditions of enrollment was a urine test just before their pain clinic appointment; if ANY drugs other than those prescribed were found in their urine, they were immediately dropped from the program. That is a real shame, as marijuana really helped some of those vets, either with pain or PTSD! But they were fully aware of the consequences of not adhering to the rules. Medical marijuana is legal in Maryland, but not in the federal system, so even if they were legitimately prescribed the marijuana, it was not acceptable for staying enrolled in the pain clinic.

Vietnam Vet

I meet with two support groups and a licensed clinical social worker each week. She offered an ambulance ride home but my wife and daughter came and brought me home. Psychiatrist was upset I was on an opioid and changed my meds. My wife took the guns to her office at work this morning, and drove me to the hospital. What a way for her to spend an entire day.
It's really eye opening when you hit bottom..or have been living on the bottom for while...and have to rely on others.

A big thanks to everyone who is responding to my posts, you have no idea what it means.

Kissel vonKeister Loc: Georgia

I'm relieved to learn the incident was de-fused. Better days are coming, right?