Question:
Some of the confusion here may be that there is ANOTHER
SIMILAR condition with a similar name - currently called
"POST TRAUMA SYNDROME" - PTS (previously called
post-concussive syndrome - PCS) which has some (few?)
similar symptoms as those defined as characterizing PTSD...
PTSD=Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (labelled as psychiatric 'condition'?)
PTS=Post Trauma Syndrome (after a physical trauma to the head)
The under-educated parts of our medical community sometimes
misuse/confuse these terms, or misunderstand what they hear or read,
confusing the two... what havoc that may wreak, well... ???
Answer:
Interesting, Peg. I was still diagnosed with the Post concussion syndrome
with physical, cognitive, and psychological sequelae. And, then some..
So, I guess, according to your post it could be PTS.. let's see what others
will come up with.
Well, this is an interesting topic...
When I was diagnosed with "Post Concussion Syndrome", I
didn't know what that meant, really. My son had had a
concussion from a football injury. That's the extent of
my knowledge/exposure.
Always observant of human behavior however, I noticed a
slight "something" in the way the Physical Therapist
talked to/at me during an evaluation. It was my back and
neck he was to be dealing with. There was something
there... what? Like, oh, maybe his simple questions
taking on an "aura" akin to as if I would be trying to
explain the difference between an O/S and a GUI to an 80
-year-old who had never had any interface whatsoever with
artificial intelligence. Something. Maybe sorta' like
watching, detached, at someone shouting at a blind person,
assuming that they had difficulty hearing too! It was
something, something not quite right.
By this time, I was beset with fears that I was going
"crazy" anyway. Rich imagination, Sherry. Analyzing,
always curious, gripping on to an issue and wanting to
dissect it, assimilate the experience, UNDERSTAND it. And
I couldn't.
So, I started searching, studying what this PCS meant.
Yipes! The first foray into discovery was that the
reference material stated that PCS was an "old" term for
TBI. What? What's this? Jeez, This is the time of the
new century dawning. The Age of Aquarius upon us. Back
in the days of the series of events leading up to the
demise of marriage #1, I experienced being given a term
for a "female problem" which ended up being a STD and the
Dr. didn't/wouldn't tell me -didn't want to intrude on the
"sanctity of marriage"! Had to go to the medical library
at a nearby college, show them my press card for entrance
(another sanctuary) only to find a mere three books with
reference to the newly discovered crud. The most
informative of which flat-out stated that a doctor's
responsibility in issuing a diagnosis of this particular
shhh subject to a "nervous and excitable WOMAN" was to NOT
TELL HER what it was! It would then lead to more
"nervousness and excitability". Yeah. That's a natural
fact! A female, in the early 60's, would be classified as
"nervous and excitable" if she asked a Dr. to clarify
ANYTHING. And so it seems, this archaic belief and
practice continues...
With TBI, the problems with disclosure are not
discriminatory, it would appear. And "Stepford Patient",
I will not be!
"She is experiencing difficulty coping and adjusting to
her current medical issues... She is clearly frightened by
what has happened to her and is having a difficult time
coping with her loss of control concerning her cognitive
and behavioral/emotional abilities". -excerpts from the
neuropsychological evaluation report for a "nervous and
excitable" Sherry. The last sentence: "...utilizsation of
an appointment book to aid recall is recommended."
So, what's the difference? PSTD, TBI, ABI, BI, PCS?
Medical classification, including the differences between
American and European definitions. Arbitrary.
Experimental. "Subject to peer review".
Your a Sociologist, as I understand it, Yaron. It's
socio-economic. A numbers game. Denial (see previous
post on Dr. Denial url -interesting reading for the
curious), Labels, or lack thereof. Some of my brain cells
are dead. That's the fact. They are NOT missing in
action. Gone.
