Military vaccinations a cause of PTSD symptoms?

[whitehall]

If you listen to the (mostly left wing) politicians and the anti-war people you would think a couple of years enlistment in the Military turns people into zombie like maniacs suffering from PTSD in varying degrees. The side effects of some modern common prescription drugs available to counter the effects of arthritis and quitting smoking apparently can cause mood swings serious enough to consider suicide (or murder?) that mimic the alleged effects of PTSD. Any former member of the US Military will tell you that they have to undergo a battery of shots in the U.S. and before going overseas. What if some injection or common drug administered in the Military causes mood swings that mimic the effects of PTSD? Don't count on the CDC to investigate.

 

[B. Kidd]

I don't think it's the immunizations. Could be the mood-alterers the modern military gives to servicemen before they go into battle. My nephew was in a Bradley in the 7th Cav. in Desert Storm that ended up 50 miles outside of Baghdad which they never took, and he wrote me a letter that tranquilizers were handed out before they went into battle. Also, I used to play tennis with a F-16 pilot who flew out of Nellis AFB who mentioned that when he had to fly to Europe, he was given amphetamine to make the trip in his fighter.

 

[JakeStarkey]

whitehall, give us some links to actual studies, please.

 

[whitehall]

whitehall, give us some links to actual studies, please.

It's a freaking conspiracy theory. There are no studies. Listen to the side effects of "ordinary" drugs advertised and prescribed widely in the media. A drug to curb smoking has a side effect of causing suicidal thoughts. Drugs prescribed for everything from skin conditions to arthritis have side effects of "thoughts of suicide" (murder?). I even saw one drug that might cause gambling problems. It's clear that modern drugs have some very strange side effects that we never saw before. "Fatal events have occurred" as they say.

 

[JakeStarkey]

whitehall is going by advertisements but offering no science to his claim.

 

[waltky]

Low-cost antibiotic may help with PTSD...

Scientists Exploring Antibiotic Treatment for PTSD
April 06, 2017 - People suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, may eventually be helped by a low-cost antibiotic. Early studies show the drug, doxycycline, may be beneficial in the treatment of the psychiatric condition.

People who have lived through a traumatic experience like war, natural disaster or rape will sometimes relive the experience in their minds to a disabling degree. They experience hyper-vigilance, flashbacks and nightmares. Psychological therapy is usually the treatment of choice to ease the symptoms. Now, scientists think they may be on to something else that works, an antibiotic called doxycycline. It is an old, extremely cheap drug that is normally used to fight bacterial infections.

Here's how it works: To form memories, studies have shown that our brains need proteins called matrix enzymes. They are found all over the body and when they're overactive they contribute to some immune diseases, even some cancers. Drugs, including doxycycline, block these enzymes. Because of their association with memories, researchers wondered if the antibiotic might also weaken the mechanism that forms negative memories. For a memory to persist, according to Dr. Dominik Bach, it has to be reconsolidated or altered in some way.

A pharmacist holds up a bottle of the antibiotic doxycycline in Sacramento, California​

A clinical psychiatry researcher at University of Zurich and the Institute of Neurology at University College London, Bach has been conducting experiments with doxycycline. He suggested it prevents reconsolidation of memories. “I believe if it works, it could be a treatment that is much simpler and much shorter than a psychotherapy, and I guess it could be very beneficial.” Bach helped conduct a study involving 76 healthy participants, half of whom were given the antibiotic while the other half received a placebo.

They were then exposed to the colors red or blue on a computer screen, each volunteer receiving a mild electric shock when they saw one of the colors and not the other. Each volunteer came to associate pain with a particular color. A week later, the participants were brought back into the lab. But instead of receiving a shock, they heard a loud noise when they saw the color that was previously associated with the shock.

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