Idf Program Helps Prevent Ptsd With Treatment On The Battlefield

[Sally]

This concept looks like something our own military can use.

IDF Program Helps Prevent PTSD with Treatment on the Battlefield
By Ahuva Balofsky September 16, 2014 , 10:17 am

An injured Israeli soldier is evacuated by helicopter from near the Israeli border with Gaza Strip on July 28, 2014. (Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A new program developed by the Israel Defense Force’s medical corps and first implemented during Operation Protective Edge aims at preventing post-traumatic stress disorder by treating soldiers right on the battlefield.

The program, known as Magen or Shield in English, was developed by the corps’ Mental Health Department. It offers all combat soldiers special training to recognize and respond to symptoms of acute trauma in their comrades.

The aim of the program is to reduce the overall number of soldiers who suffer from PTSD, as well as increase the sense of competence felt by troops. This represents a significant conceptual change in the approach to treating PTSD.

Until now, shell-shocked soldiers were evacuated alongside other wounded soldiers, but by offering immediate treatment in the field, the IDF is able to prevent potential cases of PTSD.

Continue reading at:

IDF Helps Prevent PTSD with Battlefield Treatment - Israel News

 

[waltky]

... there was a statistical trend toward higher mortality in the ICU for patients with PTSD.

Veterans with PTSD require more sedation when treated at ICU
Oct. 19, 2015 - Researchers suggest that making adjustments to treatment earlier could improve patient care and outcome.

In a review of patient records, researchers found veterans with post traumatic stress disorder treated with mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit had higher requirements for sedatives. Between 10 and 20 percent of veterans who served in the Vietnam War, Gulf War, or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have PTSD in any given year, according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. "More than 10 percent of our VA ICU patients suffer from PTSD," said Dr. Jad Kebbe, a researcher at the University at Buffalo, in a press release. "Their ICU care should incorporate proper awareness of their PTSD, with particular attention to their sedation regimen."

Between 10 and 20 percent of veterans are estimated to have PTSD.

Researchers analyzed data on 1,569 patients at VHA Western New York Healthcare System collected between 2003 and 2013. They focused on 164 patients who were treated with mechanical ventilation in the ICU, 87 of whom had PTSD. There was not a significant difference in the number of days they were on mechanical ventilation, 30-day mortality or other health outcomes. The patients with PTSD, however, required more than half a day of additional sedation with benzodiazepines, three-quarters of a day more treatment with opiates, and a higher mean daily dose of propofol.

The researchers also noted there was a statistical trend toward higher mortality in the ICU for patients with PTSD. "Developing sedation regimens tailored to PTSD patients may indeed reduce their sedative requirements and improve their ICU experience and outcome," researchers wrote in the study, published in the journal CHEST, which is due to be presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Veterans with PTSD require more sedation when treated at ICU​

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[Delta4Embassy]

Instead of preventing or treating PTSD how about instead we quit behavinglike tribal primitives with all the wars?

Until someone steps up and forgoes vengeance for the latest retaliatory act of violence and says 'enough is enough, no more' the cycle of violence followed by proportional violent response followed by the enemy's disproportional response followed by our proportional response again will never end.

Takes two to fight. Wanna win, quit fighting.

 

[waltky]

Veterans with PTSD can contact their senator to appeal a bad discharge...

Senators Want to Help Troops with PTSD Appeal Bad Discharges
Jul 19, 2016 | A bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday sought to revive a proposal to make it easier for veterans to upgrade "bad paper" discharges wrongly handed down for behavior resulting from PTSD or sexual trauma.

The group of eight lawmakers led by Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat and former lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve, urged inclusion of the proposal before the House-Senate conference committee that is struggling to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for the Defense Department's 2017 budget. In a letter to Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Rhode Island's Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the panel, the Senate group said the proposed amendment to the NDAA "is a necessary step forward to ensure that certain veterans suffering from mental traumas such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI) have access to earned benefits. "The need for this liberal consideration standard remains all too clear as the number of returning Post-9/11 veterans continues to increase," the letter said. The letter cited an estimate suggesting that discharges for misconduct are 11 times more likely after a PTSD diagnosis.

The proposed amendment would also apply to former service members who were diagnosed with personality disorders and discharged from the military as a result of trauma from sexual assaults. The Senate had previously passed the proposed amendment, but it was not included in the House version of the bill that is now before the conference committee. In addition to Peters, the senators signing the letter were Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Barbara Boxer of California, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Republicans Steve Daines of Montana, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. The letter said, "A less than honorable discharge, or bad paper discharge, is often given for instances of minor misconduct such as being late to formation and missing appointments -- behavior often seen in those suffering from PTSD, TBI, and other trauma-related conditions."

Many veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury.​

Discharges less than honorable, such as general discharges or bad-conduct discharges, make service members ineligible for benefits such as GI Bill education benefits and Veterans Affairs home loans. The proposed amendment has broad support from veterans service organizations, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and others. In 2014, then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel gave policy guidance to the Military Department Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records (BCM/NR) to give "liberal consideration" in examining petitions for upgrades to evidence that PTSD may have contributed to the misconduct leading to a less than honorable discharge.

In their letter, the senators said they were attempting to put into law the guidance in the Hagel memo. The letter also cited a recent investigation by the National Journal showing that about 318,000, or 13 percent of all Post-9/11 veterans, have separated with a less than honorable discharge.

Senators Want to Help Troops with PTSD Appeal Bad Discharges | Military.com

 

[waltky]

How can a caregiver go about understanding PTSD in veterans?...

Help for Caretakers: Understanding PTSD in Veterans
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is one of the invisible wounds of war often discussed in popular culture. But it's also a very real diagnosis. How can a caregiver go about understanding PTSD in veterans? What are the symptoms, and what can families do about PTSD?

PsychArmor, a non-profit dedicated to bridging the military-civilian divide by providing resources to help community members and others engage veterans, has free video courses on a variety of military-related issues. This section of PsychArmor's Invisible Wounds of War at Home caretaker and family video series focuses on PTSD. In the first video, Heidi Kraft, a clinical psychologist, Navy veteran and PsychArmor's clinical director, helps caregivers and families answer the question "what is PTSD" while also discussing the stigma that still surrounds the problem.

An Army family walks hand-in-hand​

Understanding PTSD in Veterans: What Are the Symptoms?

Next, Kraft looks at the symptoms of PTSD to help family members get a better understanding of PTSD in veterans. Among those symptoms, Kraft says, are avoidance, negative changes in moods, and symptoms of feeling "amped up, aggravated, anxious." Another symptom, she says, is inner conflict that can lead to depression. Kraft talks in detail about how each of the symptoms looks or might be experienced by veterans, complete with real-life examples of the ways she has seen the symptoms in her patients. She also discusses why the circumstances created by these symptoms can cause major life problems that veterans cannot handle without help.

Understanding PTSD in Veterans: What Can Families Do?

In this final installment on PTSD, Kraft talks about what families can do to help their veterans deal with PTSD. First, she says, families should know that any given veteran's symptoms are not the fault of his or her family members, but rather a part of a traumatic event. The PTSD patient is not actually angry at the family or the kids, Kraft says, he is simply displaying the symptoms of the disease. PTSD affects the whole family. But there is hope. In this video, Kraft details what families can do to understand and assist their veterans, starting with patience and understanding. There's nothing easy about taking care of someone with PTSD, she says, but there are resources to help in your journey toward understanding PTSD.

Help for Caretakers: Understanding PTSD in Veterans | Military.com