thedrifter
09-17-07, 08:23 AM
Diagnosis and intervention
Care for combat stress quicker, more thorough than in past
BY JENNIFER HLAD
September 17, 2007 - 12:56AM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
As a Navy corpsman, Joe “Doc” Roe was used to taking care of Marines.
Jan. 28, 2005, the roles were reversed.
Roe was serving with an explosive ordnance disposal unit doing a post-blast investigation in Iraq, two weeks before the unit was scheduled to return to Camp Lejeune.
“I took three steps away from the Humvee,” he said, and something told him to turn. He heard a high-frequency noise and saw bright white.
“The next thing I knew, I was in the canal,” he said. “I woke up with an incredible ringing in my ears.”
An insurgent had remote-detonated a roadside bomb, Roe later found out. Debris hit his right side, and he had third-degree burns and fragments of metal in his face. He also lost his right index finger.
“I gave Iraq the finger, but it was the wrong one,” he said.
Roe left Iraq with more than just physical wounds. He is one of thousands of service members now dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Nearly 19,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans were seen for PTSD at Veterans Affairs medical centers and Vet Centers from fiscal year 2002 to 2005, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
At Camp Lejeune, the Naval Hospital’s mental health department diagnosed 1,272 patients with PTSD from January 2004 to December 2006, according to the head of the psychiatry department, Lt. Cmdr. Chad Bradford. Those numbers do not include Camp Lejeune patients with milder symptoms who may have been diagnosed at the base’s post-deployment health clinic.
PTSD patients suffer from hyperarousal symptoms, avoidance and intrusive thoughts after a trauma, Bradford said. The symptoms are persistent and may continue to affect the patients several months and even years after the initial trauma or series of traumas, according to the National Center for PTSD.
Roe, who lives in Jacksonville, said the first time he noticed a possible symptom was when he was in the hospital recovering from his injuries. When a cannon went off outside his room as part of the nightly flag ceremony, he immediately jumped under the bed for cover.
When he returned home, he said he was mean and irritable with his family.
“It got to the point where (my wife) didn’t want me here,” he said.
The couple separated, though they are now back together.
Roe’s command noticed the change as well. One day, his commanders took his keys away. He argued with them for a while, then told them he wanted the keys back so he could drive himself to the Naval Hospital.
“I said … I want help,” he said.
Though many Vietnam veterans suffered for years, even decades, before being diagnosed with PTSD, the military now is making strides for earlier diagnosis and more aggressive intervention, military medical officials say.
Service members are screened before, during and after deployments for any physical or mental health problems, said Capt. Mark Olesen, commanding officer of Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital. The hospital also has expanded the number of mental health professionals available, increased internal education about mental health disorders and created a number of programs to help treat PTSD, Olesen said.
For Adrian Quick, the diagnosis came almost immediately after the trauma itself.
Quick was serving with the Army in Balad, Iraq, and was traveling in a vehicle when a roadside bomb went off, killing one of his friends and severely injuring another.
Quick said he still has nightmares about the explosion, and he may get just two or three hours of sleep a night.
“I wake up and I’m drenched in sweat,” he said. “I’m always tired.”
When Quick returned to the United States, “I hated everybody,” he said. “It can be the smallest thing in the world, and (I) would get so angry about it.”
Like Roe, Quick sought help. He now sees a psychotherapist and a psychiatrist, he said, but he also gets help from another source — a peaceful stable.
Being with horses “takes your mind off of the hurtful stuff,” said Quick’s fiancée, Heather Miller.
Quick spends time feeding and grooming the 12 horses at The Stables at Fox Horn Preserve in Richlands, which he said soothes his nerves.
Keeping the mind busy is important, Roe said, as is talking about it.
“If you can just have an outlet,” he said, it helps. “If you don’t seek help, if you don’t find someone to talk about it, it’s going to get worse.”
Camp Lejeune offers a variety of services for patients diagnosed for PTSD, including a two-week intensive out-patient program called Back on Track and medical care through the hospital’s mental health department or the postdeployment health clinic. Next month, the base hopes to start a self-paced computer program for PTSD patients with mild symptoms, Bradford said.
The VA also offers different forms of treatment for veterans suffering from the anxiety disorder.
Though some worry service members may avoid seeking help because they do not want to admit they have a problem or are worried about how they will be perceived, Roe and Quick said it is crucial to find treatment.
If not, they may slip into alcohol or drug abuse, Roe said.
“If it wasn’t for my wife and my family, I’d be lost,” he said. “I’ve been thinking where I’d be if I didn’t get back with her. I think I’d be a miserable drunk.”
Support from loved ones is important, Miller said.
“Try to understand what’s happening,” she said. “Don’t get mad because you don’t know what’s going on. And if they’re not ready to talk, give them time.”
Quick said it’s important to realize that a diagnosis of PTSD does not mean the end of a career.
“I don’t think that just because they find out you have PTSD, that your command will look down on you,” he said. “It doesn’t mean you’re a bad soldier, it doesn’t mean you’re a weak soldier.”
Learning to deal with the disorder and the symptoms is a challenge, the men said.
“I wake up in the middle of the night fighting … the sheets,” Quick said. “The main obstacle is just being able to live with it every day.”
Roe avoids the Triangle area in Jacksonville because the palm trees remind him of his time in Iraq. The first Fourth of July, it took him a half hour to leave the house. This year’s Independence Day was also a challenge, but he faced it, he said, watching the fireworks on base.
“It takes time, it’s not going to be overnight,” he said. “I’ve accepted the fact that I’m not the same guy.”
Contact military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 8449.
Ellie
Care for combat stress quicker, more thorough than in past
BY JENNIFER HLAD
September 17, 2007 - 12:56AM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
As a Navy corpsman, Joe “Doc” Roe was used to taking care of Marines.
Jan. 28, 2005, the roles were reversed.
Roe was serving with an explosive ordnance disposal unit doing a post-blast investigation in Iraq, two weeks before the unit was scheduled to return to Camp Lejeune.
“I took three steps away from the Humvee,” he said, and something told him to turn. He heard a high-frequency noise and saw bright white.
“The next thing I knew, I was in the canal,” he said. “I woke up with an incredible ringing in my ears.”
An insurgent had remote-detonated a roadside bomb, Roe later found out. Debris hit his right side, and he had third-degree burns and fragments of metal in his face. He also lost his right index finger.
“I gave Iraq the finger, but it was the wrong one,” he said.
Roe left Iraq with more than just physical wounds. He is one of thousands of service members now dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Nearly 19,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans were seen for PTSD at Veterans Affairs medical centers and Vet Centers from fiscal year 2002 to 2005, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
At Camp Lejeune, the Naval Hospital’s mental health department diagnosed 1,272 patients with PTSD from January 2004 to December 2006, according to the head of the psychiatry department, Lt. Cmdr. Chad Bradford. Those numbers do not include Camp Lejeune patients with milder symptoms who may have been diagnosed at the base’s post-deployment health clinic.
PTSD patients suffer from hyperarousal symptoms, avoidance and intrusive thoughts after a trauma, Bradford said. The symptoms are persistent and may continue to affect the patients several months and even years after the initial trauma or series of traumas, according to the National Center for PTSD.
Roe, who lives in Jacksonville, said the first time he noticed a possible symptom was when he was in the hospital recovering from his injuries. When a cannon went off outside his room as part of the nightly flag ceremony, he immediately jumped under the bed for cover.
When he returned home, he said he was mean and irritable with his family.
“It got to the point where (my wife) didn’t want me here,” he said.
The couple separated, though they are now back together.
Roe’s command noticed the change as well. One day, his commanders took his keys away. He argued with them for a while, then told them he wanted the keys back so he could drive himself to the Naval Hospital.
“I said … I want help,” he said.
Though many Vietnam veterans suffered for years, even decades, before being diagnosed with PTSD, the military now is making strides for earlier diagnosis and more aggressive intervention, military medical officials say.
Service members are screened before, during and after deployments for any physical or mental health problems, said Capt. Mark Olesen, commanding officer of Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital. The hospital also has expanded the number of mental health professionals available, increased internal education about mental health disorders and created a number of programs to help treat PTSD, Olesen said.
For Adrian Quick, the diagnosis came almost immediately after the trauma itself.
Quick was serving with the Army in Balad, Iraq, and was traveling in a vehicle when a roadside bomb went off, killing one of his friends and severely injuring another.
Quick said he still has nightmares about the explosion, and he may get just two or three hours of sleep a night.
“I wake up and I’m drenched in sweat,” he said. “I’m always tired.”
When Quick returned to the United States, “I hated everybody,” he said. “It can be the smallest thing in the world, and (I) would get so angry about it.”
Like Roe, Quick sought help. He now sees a psychotherapist and a psychiatrist, he said, but he also gets help from another source — a peaceful stable.
Being with horses “takes your mind off of the hurtful stuff,” said Quick’s fiancée, Heather Miller.
Quick spends time feeding and grooming the 12 horses at The Stables at Fox Horn Preserve in Richlands, which he said soothes his nerves.
Keeping the mind busy is important, Roe said, as is talking about it.
“If you can just have an outlet,” he said, it helps. “If you don’t seek help, if you don’t find someone to talk about it, it’s going to get worse.”
Camp Lejeune offers a variety of services for patients diagnosed for PTSD, including a two-week intensive out-patient program called Back on Track and medical care through the hospital’s mental health department or the postdeployment health clinic. Next month, the base hopes to start a self-paced computer program for PTSD patients with mild symptoms, Bradford said.
The VA also offers different forms of treatment for veterans suffering from the anxiety disorder.
Though some worry service members may avoid seeking help because they do not want to admit they have a problem or are worried about how they will be perceived, Roe and Quick said it is crucial to find treatment.
If not, they may slip into alcohol or drug abuse, Roe said.
“If it wasn’t for my wife and my family, I’d be lost,” he said. “I’ve been thinking where I’d be if I didn’t get back with her. I think I’d be a miserable drunk.”
Support from loved ones is important, Miller said.
“Try to understand what’s happening,” she said. “Don’t get mad because you don’t know what’s going on. And if they’re not ready to talk, give them time.”
Quick said it’s important to realize that a diagnosis of PTSD does not mean the end of a career.
“I don’t think that just because they find out you have PTSD, that your command will look down on you,” he said. “It doesn’t mean you’re a bad soldier, it doesn’t mean you’re a weak soldier.”
Learning to deal with the disorder and the symptoms is a challenge, the men said.
“I wake up in the middle of the night fighting … the sheets,” Quick said. “The main obstacle is just being able to live with it every day.”
Roe avoids the Triangle area in Jacksonville because the palm trees remind him of his time in Iraq. The first Fourth of July, it took him a half hour to leave the house. This year’s Independence Day was also a challenge, but he faced it, he said, watching the fireworks on base.
“It takes time, it’s not going to be overnight,” he said. “I’ve accepted the fact that I’m not the same guy.”
Contact military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 8449.
Ellie