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Advice Appreciated
#1
Heart 
Greetings,

I am one who usually thinks I can handle my own issues and I guess just to stubborn to ask for advice when needed

I am reaching out to see if anyone can provide some advice or insight on my condition but I will have to give you some background information first.

Right after the turn of the century I had a couple of bad marriages both involving children. I was consistently in and out of court for over 7 years until 2009 when I was found unresponsive and having seizures. This was June 2009. I spent 10 days in the hospital 4 days in ICU. The doctors determined that I had a "neurological event" possibly a nervous breakdown or mild stroke. From June 2009 until about September 2009 I really have no memory of that time. just bits, pieces and flashes that seem like remembering a dream.

Having no real memory of 3 months of my life is really scary but the people that were around me told me
I acted a little distant but was still myself.

There were 2 other times after the main "neurological event" in June 2009 that I had to be taken back to the hospital for seizures but no where near the severity of the first time. The last seizure was March of 2010 thank god. Since then it has been a struggle with good days and bad days.

I was referred to see a psychologist and after hearing my story he diagnosed me with PTSD which surprised me as I thought this condition only affected veterans. Turns out any traumatic event in a persons life can cause this condition. My psychologist said he was unsure if it was the "neurological event" or the fact that I went from being a full time dad to a part time dad with 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer visitation.

Well for the last decade I have been dealing with this and now my kids are all grown up. I do have a good electronic communication relationship with them (society such as it is) but do not get to see them much.

Well I had been able to find a way to make peace with all this until lately thanks to an oriental doctor. In the past 2 1/2 years or so I have had to attend about 7 funerals of relatives and friends. Cancer Sucks!!! These were people close to me and not far from my age so it has really forced me to look at my own mortality. I tried to throw myself into my job but that's just a bandaid.

Just Recently I had an incident where I just felt things were getting to be to much and I placed my head into my hands and started to cry and the next thing I remember I was coming to disoriented and in my car parked in a gas station. Had no idea where I was. I pulled up my GPS on my phone and had driven 256 miles 2 states over with no memory of it at all.

Scary Stuff.

Going to get back in touch with my Oriental doctor and psychologist as they seem to help the best.

Anyone with experiences like these and all opinions welcome

Peace All

Fury
"Another Day In This Carnival Of Souls"
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#2
Maybe read up on dissociative stress disorder and see if it kind of fits. It can be episodic. I had a couple of episodes when I was much younger around some stressful/traumatic times but no recent experience. Sure "sounds" like what you describe.
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#3
Normally I would not give advice to a member with your level of experience but this type of event can be upsetting and unnerving.

I am sorry about your losses but am happy that you have managed to cope in your own way.

My question would be have your meds changed recently? Sleep meds and anti-dep can have this dissociation as a side effect.  I think you already know this.  In my experience a long walk or bike ride or even a long drive if you are otherwise doing ok can just be a way of "getting away" for a while-I have seen this and sometimes as long as you are aware of what you are doing but just have not picked a destination like I said away time and can clear out the cobwebs.  Just driving for the "aimlessness" is fine-if you are (and I am not saying you are) out and then realize this is not what you intended or cannot quite place yourself-you may wish to investigate that further.  Hope all is well and some time to yourself can be helpful.

If it is troubling you you may want to investigate-be well.
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#4
Hello Fury...I'm very sorry for all the trauma you've experienced & it sure sounds to me that it would be PTSD as a result of those traumas you've been through. I wish I had some advice for you but I would stress to your psych doctor just how serious this is for you......

I can only offer my support & an ear to listen should you want to talk or vent. All the best Fury & hang in there.....Rose
This too shall pass. Heart
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#5
I’m not sure how it works in terms of finding a good psychiatrist where you live. In New York City, it’s either it costs a fortune to see a psychiatrist or you are left to the absolute most incompetent psychiatrists because unfortunately in New York City, no good psychiatrist accepts insurance and you end up paying out of pocket. I believe a psychiatrist is needed. Not a psychologist or oriental medicine. Life is prescious and you are in a situation where you need real help. Not some psychologist making a diagnosis and being able to do nothing about it. You need a good psychiatrist who will responsibly prescribe medication so that you can deal with things that have hurt you and eventually you can come off those meds.
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#6
It is interesting how much the advice depends on the location - partly in response to comments about NYC. In the UK my advice would be to see a Clinical Psychologist as they have more training on mental health than psychiatrists (typically - there will be exceptions). A UK clinical psychologist will have a bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees in psychology (approx 8 years study).

To go back to Furyan66's post, it is interesting I was starting to think "PTSD" before he actually mentioned it. So is the psychologist providing a talking therapy? You mentioned that you found them useful.

I wish you all the best as it sounds like you've been through some very stressful experiences.
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#7
Thanks for all the feedback all.

Since I posted this back on 12/1, I have been to 2 more funerals. I had an uncle and a friend of 30 years pass away. Have been dealing with that just wish close friends and family would quit dying around me. I would be in a lot better state of mind. Getting old and CANCER SUCKS!!!!!

Now some additional physical problems have cropped up with constant joint and muscle pain. I work at a desk all day and if I don't stretch on a regular basis my body just seems to tighten up. The longer I don't move the harder it is to get going again. It's takes me a good 30 min to an hour to get moving after I wake up.

Went and saw my doctor about this and she did some blood work and sent me to a few specialists one being a liver specialist as I guess the blood work showed high liver enzymes. More blood work was done by the liver specialist and found the the liver enzymes still elevated and "The auto immune tests are coming back positive" so they are wanting to do a liver biopsy to see if I have auto immune hepatitis.

I spoke with a medical professional I trust as a second opinion and he believes a CT scan with contrast should be done to get a better picture before moving to the biopsy. I mentioned this to my liver doctor and she got all defensive when I was just asking questions trying to explore all options.

Has anyone had any personal experience with this?? I know I'll have to wait for all test results to get proper diagnosis but any feedback would be great.

Peace All

Fury
"Another Day In This Carnival Of Souls"
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#8
(12-21-2019, 10:30 AM)Furyan66 Wrote: Thanks for all the feedback all.

Since I posted this back on 12/1, I have been to 2 more funerals. I had an uncle and a friend of 30 years pass away. Have been dealing with that just wish close friends and family would quit dying around me. I would be in a lot better state of mind. Getting old and CANCER SUCKS!!!!!

Now some additional physical problems have cropped up with constant joint and muscle pain. I work at a desk all day and if I don't stretch on a regular basis my body just seems to tighten up. The longer I don't move the harder it is to get going again. It's takes me a good 30 min to an hour to get moving after I wake up.

Went and saw my doctor about this and she did some blood work and sent me to a few specialists one being a liver specialist as I guess the blood work showed high liver enzymes. More blood work was done by the liver specialist and found the the liver enzymes still elevated and "The auto immune tests are coming back positive" so they are wanting to do a liver biopsy to see if I have auto immune hepatitis.

I spoke with a medical professional I trust as a second opinion and he believes a CT scan with contrast should be done to get a better picture before moving to the biopsy. I mentioned this to my liver doctor and she got all defensive when I was just asking questions trying to explore all options.

Has anyone had any personal experience with this?? I know I'll have to wait for all test results to get proper diagnosis but any feedback would be great.

Peace All

Fury
How high were your liver enzymes? The reason I ask is because outside medication and other factors temporarily elevate them but they go down on their own.
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#9
I don't have my expertise on the problems you are facing. I can definitely agree that PTSD happens as a result of many stressful events, not just combat.

If you've had something that may have been a seizure, or several seizures, it's important to be evaluated by a neurologists. Neurologists, not psychiatrists, are the experts in seizures. Have you been seen by a neurologist? If so, when was the last time you were seen?
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#10
I feel your pain furyan,I also have PTSD with a side of RSD/CRPS that's been eating me up from the inside out.I also have been loosing friends at an alarming rate.It used to be I was sick of going to so many weddings,now I would gladly trade the doom and gloom for some drunken happiness of friends.I second the opinion of Peony,It sounds strange that she got defensive when you wanted a second opinion,I'd look for a new one of those also.A lot of your (side effects) sound very familiar.For the last six months I've tried at least 4 different anti-depressents,trying to take the least amount to help with the nerve pain and make life a little more joyous.I found out the hard way,that each med had its own horrific set of side effects. Blurry vision,confusion,dry mouth,massive muscle spasm's,severe joint pain and swelling,strange metal taste,kidney pain,dark urine,back and neck pain,ultra sensitivity,so bad that my hair folicales hurt. If it seems to not get better, ask your Neurologist for a blood test. Their is a place called Athena Diagnostics,that tests your blood for ALL disease's and syndroms.If you have good insurance and your in the US it really helps and puts your mind at ease.GoodLuck Friend./ P.S,it never hurts to ask your kids for a little time.It might be a LITTLE TIME is all we have LEFT!
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