group therapy or individual?
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Don Wind mps...@sbcglobal.net
Hi, My name is Don, I just got back (one month ago) from a tour in Iraq in the army, and I've been diagnosed with ptsd, and major depression. I've had a couple of appointments at the local VA hospital mental health clinic, and have been perscribed prazosin, to help out with the nightmares, and citalopram for depression. I have the option for group Therapy or the individual therapy sessions. I was wondering if anyone here can give me some insight as to which type of therapy is more helpful.
The other thing I was wondering (Might be off topic) is if it's common to not be able to perform sex on antidepressants?
Thanks in advance Don
"Lucas, Peter" skys...@everywhere.com.au
Gidday Don, I've only ever had individual, and that helped me. But the key is finding the right 'therapist/psychologist'. Preferably one that doesn't prescribe drugs as soon as you sit down.
http://tinyurl.com/3h9zc and http://tinyurl.com/2woan Unfortunately Don, it looks like you're screwed (no pun intended) as far as nookie goes if you continue with the drugs.
--
Peter Lucas Brisbane Australia Cry ???HAVOC??™ and let slip the dogs of war!
Nancy kipc...@msn.com
Hi Don!
First, welcome home!
Secondly, this is a personal decision. If you want to be with others in recovering, then a moderated group might be fine. If you are ready to talk one-to-one about your trauma, then individual might be fine.
In my case, I started with individual, then to group, then back to individual.
IME, recovering is a process, not an accomplishment. I've heard that this is a common side-effect for males. No personal experience. :/ Smile and there will be something to smile about!
Nancy
"pugi" pugsley_...@hotmail.com
Males on antidepressants like Zoloft sometimes find if difficult to ejaculate.
p
Celt celt.spam...@noserver.gcn.cx
Hi Don :) Sorry, can't help you here. The group form isn't available in my locality. I've never had 'therapy' of any kind with a psychologist, and the counselling I had was individual, but not focused on the trauma, rather the effect it had on my thinking patterns.
My personal view, looking back from here, is that if I were at a stage of painful opening of wounds, then I personally would prefer privacy - your mileage may vary considerably. Working through the flow-on effects of PTSD in a group sounds inviting, though.
I can't actually answer this either, as a med taker, or as the owner of the actual part in question, but I do have a bit of experience on the other side of it.
Alas, yes it can be very difficult to maintain a satisfying sex life, for both men and women. BUT the difficulty isn't lack of interest or inability to perform. The problem (as related to me by my SO, several friends and a couple of professionals) is getting to the finish.
In other words, one might be mad keen and go at it like rabbits all the long day, but without a fruitful outcome, as it were.
They say it gets better the longer you stay on the meds, but it didn't really get properly 'right' until they got off them. Then it picked up back to normal in a couple of days to a week or so.
I wish you all systems' go for a speedy recovery.
Walk tall, Celt.
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"If you can't change your place, you gotta change your attitude." - 'The Kitchen God's Wife', Amy Tan.
Remove .spamoff & noserver. to reply.
"dj" footpri...@theriver.com
"Don Wind" < Hi, Don, and first thing I want to say is thank you and may God continue to bless you for all you've done for our country.
I started with individual treatment...just talked and talked and then talked some more. I've also done the group thing and that's also really nice as one learns that they are not alone in dealing with ptsd and all the other side affects of truama. It can be hard to open up and talk but it's the best medicine there is in fighting ptsd.
Do you have any hobbies? Gardening, walking/hiking anything where you can get off by yourself for a short time and do nothing but think and be one with nature....for me, that worked wonders.
I did meds for awhile but they soon stopped my forward progress as they numbed my brain so I couldn't think.
Try not to be to hard on yourself as that is self defeating. One day at a time and one step at a time. Healing will come.
Donna
"Lucas, Peter" skys...@everywhere.com.au
A reason that I keep saying and keep saying....... PTSD *can* be treated without drugs. They should be used only as a very, *very* short term fix.
[Stenorian Robotic Alarm Voice] "Step away from the drugs"
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Peter Lucas Brisbane Australia Cry ???HAVOC??™ and let slip the dogs of war!
"tinydancer" tinydan...@nowhere.com
I think it all depends upon the individual, the circumstances etc., when it comes to the taking of meds. I went off all meds for over a year and got significantly worse both physically and mentally. I, who'd never had any problems with high blood pressure, had mine get significantly higher while off meds. I'm guessing due to the incredible stress/emotion/anxiety I was living under. My blood pressure had always been quite low, in the 90/60 range. After a bit over a year off meds, when I visited my GP, my blood pressure was something like 145/90 something. Once I started taking my meds again, my blood pressure evened out back in the low range it had always been before.
td
"tinydancer" tinydan...@nowhere.com
My own opinion, individual therapy with someone good at treating PTSD and depression. I had to wade through a few bad therapist's before finding the right one. If you give it a bit of time and don't click with/feel good about your therapist, change 'em. Not all therapist's are equal.
As for the sex, luckily I've never suffered that side effect from my meds.
My sex drive has remained constant as has my ability to achieve orgasm.
Being a woman, I don't know if that makes a particular difference or not, but I have had other women tell me their sex drive was diminished with meds.
But they've also told me they've been able to have their meds 'tweaked' or changed to help in that department. I'd ask who ever is prescribing your meds to try you on a different one, or perhaps add one that helps to increase ones sex drive. I think Wellbutrin has been used for that, but since it's not been an issue with me, I might have mixed up which med it was that helps in the sex dept. Perhaps someone else here remembers if it was Wellbutrin or not?
Thanks for your service Don, and welcome home.
best, td
"Katherine Wolfe" wolfm...@aracnet.com
Hi Don -
Let me first thank you for your courageous service in a very nasty place. I personally appreciate all you've done for me, and for our country.
To answer your last question first, sexual side-effects are a known part of therapy with antidepressants. Some people do better on one AD than another, some can take "holidays" where they don't take the AD for one day a week, some others can try sex in the morning before taking the AD, and still others can take an additional medication that reduces the sexual side effects. Tell your doctor that you're having problems, and ask what can be done to help. Don't just stop taking the AD without talking it over with your doctor - if you're really depressed, it might be worth it to just not have sex for a while (yeah, I know, easy for *me* to say!) until you get a bit better.
As far as whether group or individual therapy is better, that depends on you. It's possible that you want to tell people what happened to you, and talk about it with other people who were there, too. If you feel that way, then group therapy will give you the opportunity to do that. On the other hand, you might not want to talk about it with *anybody*, and the thought of talking in front of a group of people makes your palms sweat. If that's so, you'll probably be more comfortable in individual therapy. You might also see if you can talk to the potential therapists you'd be working with before you choose, or talk to some people who are working with him or her. When you're talking about personal, hurtful things, it's important to work with someone you can trust and get along with. So if one guy is an ***hole, and another isn't, then you might want to pick the therapy with the good therapist.
Of course, if there's anything we can do here to help, feel free to ask.
Some of us have combat PTSD, and know what that's like, others of us have PTSD from other causes. But we all have a lot of things in common, and, with very few exceptions, all of us here want to be helpful to each other.
I'm sorry you have to be here, but welcome.
Katherine ...
Peter wav...@the.fans
Hi, Don!
We're a pretty friendly and supportive bunch here. One or two exceptions, but you'll spot them a mile off.
Here's a song from Australia that might be appropriate. A little early for the regular Friday night sing-song, but it's a special occasion.
Khe Sanh (Don Walker) I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh And my soul was sold with my cigarettes to the black market man I've had the Vietnam cold turkey From the ocean to the Silver City And it's only other vets could understand About the long forgotten dockside guarantees How there were no V-day heroes in 1973 How we sailed into Sydney Harbour Saw an old friend but couldn't kiss her She was lined, and I was home to the lucky land And she was like so many more from that time on Their lives were all so empty, till they found their chosen one And their legs were often open But their minds were always closed And their hearts were held in fast suburban chains And the legal pads were yellow, hours long, pay packet lean And the telex writers clattered where the gunships once had been But the car parks made me jumpy And I never stopped the dreams Or the growing need for speed and novacaine So I worked across the country end to end Tried to find a place to settle down, where my mixed up life could mend Held a job on an oil-rig Flying choppers when I could But the nightlife nearly drove me round the bend And I've travelled round the world from year to year And each one found me aimless, one more year the worse for wear And I've been back to South East Asia But the answer sure ain't there But I'm drifting north, to check things out again You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone Only seven flying hours, and I'll be landing in Hong Kong There ain't nothing like the kisses From a jaded Chinese princess I'm gonna hit some Hong Kong mattress all night long Well the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone Yeah the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone And it's really got me worried I'm goin' nowhere and I'm in a hurry And the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone http://www.coldchisel.com.au/l1_khesahn.html Any resonance?
Bob McConnell rmcco...@NOSPAM.lightlink.com
Hello Don, Welcome back. Thank you for your service.
I am ex-Navy with two shipboard deployments to Vietnam. I did not start therapy until four years ago. I began with individual sessions, and got a lot of help there. But it was only when I started attending group sessions that I was really able to let go of the emotions I had locked in for so long. There were some things that I just couldn't share with someone who hadn't been there.
Both forms are useful, but I believe they work best when used together. I have the same therapist for both, and the VA is paying for all of it.
I do understand they are short of cash for the program this year, partly due to the influx of vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, but also because they are still getting older vets coming into the program after getting the 9/11 wake up call. A letter to your congress persons complaining about it would not be out of order here.
Bob McConnell ex-RM2 USN USS Cochrane DDG-21
"Z55" Zzon...@hotmail.com
Hi Don, I've never done group therapy, don't trust talking with non-professionals who don't have ethics of confidentiality to adhere to. Also, my traumas were from civilian life as well as military service (Viet Nam era, Army, III Corp., Ft. Hood, Tx.
You'll know when you've find the right therapist for yourself. It'll just clic.
Far as the meds & sex go, the mind is willing the body is ualble at times, damn meds!!!!!!!
Z55 ...
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