Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD, also known as posttraumatic stress disorder, can be a serious, even debilitating, condition. It normally occurs in those who have witnessed or experienced some traumatic event. This might include a natural disaster, war, serious accident, violent attack, terrorist event, rape, sudden death of a loved one, or many other life-threatening situations or events.
The vast majority of those who experience these kinds of events will recover. For people with PTSD, they will continue to feel severely depressed and have feelings of
anxiety for months or perhaps for years after the event.
Treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
The treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder can be highly effective. They can help you get a sense of control back over your life. Those who complete successful post-traumatic stress disorder treatments, will learn coping skills that can lead to you feeling better about yourself.
Medications for PTSD
PTSD medications doctors often recommend include:
- antidepressants such as fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), and paroxetine (Paxil) may be used. Medicines that can help decrease physical symptoms, like clonidine (Catapres), guanfacine (Tenex), and propranolol are also used to treat this disorder. With these types of medicines, information that is taken in is modified. This can help PTSD sufferers reduce the fear they feel. In addition, research has also shown that this class of medicines decreases anxiety, depression, and panic.
- SSRIs also help to reduce impulsivity, aggression, and suicidal thoughts that are sometimes associated with PTSD. Other drugs such as duloxetine (Cymbalta), bupropion (Wellbutrin), or venlafaxine (Effexor) have sometimes been used as treatment options for PTSD, but there is very little evidence that they are as effective when treating this particular illness.
- There are other medications, too, but they are normally less effective in managing PTSD symptoms. They include the mood stabilizers such as lamotrigine (Lamictal), tiagabine (Gabitril), and the mood stabilizers which are known as antipsychotics. These include risperidone (Risperdal), olanzapine (Zyprexa), and quetiapine (Seroquel). It should be noted that antipsychotic medicines seem most effective in PTSD treatment when given to those who may be suffering from paranoia, agitation, increased suspiciousness, dissociation, increased levels of vigilance, or those suffering from brief psychotic reactions.
- Benzodiazepines (which are tranquilizers) like diazepam (valium) or alprazolam (Xanax) have recently been linked to a number of problem areas. Two of the most commonly heard of problems are withdrawal symptoms when the person comes off the medication and the high risk of accidental overdose. Also, these drugs have not been shown to be very effective in treating individuals with PTSD.
The medications that will work best for you will depend on the symptoms you have as well as your situation. Your doctor and you must work to find the drugs that are effective for your symptoms and have the least amount of side effects. This may take some experimenting. In some cases, improvement in both overall mood as well as fewer symptoms can be seen in a few weeks. If you experience any side effects or have trouble taking the medicine, tell your doctor right away. He or she may need to try another medication or dosage.
For those who have PTSD, education is important too. You should talk with your family and friends about your disorder and let them know what you are doing to resolve it. Some patients find that joining support groups is beneficial. Patients can also learn relaxation techniques to help them reduce stress. Some examples are breathing exercises and the use of positive imagery. You should also participate actively in your treatment. You can do this by learning and then implementing positive lifestyle changes. These might include regular exercise, improving eating habits, keeping yourself distracted in healthy ways such as work or hobbies, and helping others in need by volunteering. You must also decrease your exposure to unhealthy activities such as drug or alcohol abuse, isolation, over working, and other activities that being about stress.
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