Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Support Group
Find support with others who have gone through a traumatic experience. Whether you have chronic or acute PTSD, we are here for you.
I had surgery this morning, as a lot of people here know. I'm in post-op, and they allowed me to fire up my laptop even though I'm hooked up to a gillion machines, some very intimately. A nurse I'll call "Jenna" to protect here anonymity came in to take my blood pressure just now. She saw our site that I was typing a reply on, and told me she had PTSD, too. She'd just had to change her schedule this very morning to make time for a session she had with her PTSD therapist.
She said she had a good one, but he retired. This one, she said, isn't looking to be as good. It sucks when you have to change therapists in mid-stream.
But she got some support from us, y'all. Isn't that something? What we do here on DS PTSD is more powerful sometimes than we realize, or at least that goes for me. And, you never know when you might be talking to another one of us survivors. Kind of a good coincidence that she happened to run into me when I was typing a post here on DS PTSD the day she'd gone to her PTSD therapist. Pretty amazing that my surgery here today would turn into my being able to be there to listen to one of us PTSD survivors, huh? Ya just never know, do ya?
As for how I'm doing after surgery, they make you get up and walk right away to avoid possible deadly blood clots. I was warned it could be torture, but that by the end of the day my surgeon wanted to see recorded that I'd done 6 laps around my unit's floor.
Guess what? It didn't hurt that bad, so I burned rubber and did my 6 laps around my unit's floor the very first time I took a walk after surgery today. Yay!
Send thoughts and prayers to nurse "Jenna," won't you? And thanks, y'all for your support that's getting me through this surgery so well so far!!!
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Hey All...I hope that you have a lovely, peaceful beginning of your weekI have a bunch of chores that need doing but may put them off til tomorrow and just hang out with my landlord/roomie todayWhat about you?...Anything special going on?Have a great day and take good care of you!!..Xo
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Once again I've had a fever today. I'm not going to the hospital because that's a huge waste of time but I did schedule a dr appointment for Wednesday afternoon.
Also glad both you and the nurse made it through the surgery okay. Should we be expecting your nurse to be signing in soon?
I succeeded in that by switching doctors (my first kidney doctor ordered dialysis and I refused it). After 5 years of the obesity that kidney disease had put on me so fast in its onset, I turned to focus on weight loss. I did everything, and even ended up in the hospital from trying too hard.
That's when a friend who'd had gastric weight loss surgery suggested it 18 months ago. It took 18 months to get through the nutrition classes, cardio screening, pulmonary screening, psych screening, etc. etc. But I made it, I got insurance approval.
It's good to finally have the surgery. Now for the 6 week recovery. I haven't eaten solid food in a week and won't again for 6 weeks. Already, I'm having PTSD insomnia, as you can see. Being in the hospital bed, I'm tied down 4 ways: a catherer, 2 anti-clotting leggings tethered to a pump, and an IV drip. I was tortured once by troops in South America, so my subconscious keeps me awake guarding me against anything happening to me now since I'm tethered down like this. I doesn't matter that each tether had a medical reason. I told the nurse, and she released my legs for me, but I'm still on guard wide awake at 4am. Oh well.
I'm hoping to convince the Dr. to discharge me a day early today....
I’m so glad surgery went well. I was in the hospital last night & I couldn’t log in on my phone but was able to see all the posts & saw yours & felt happy when I read it.
Yea it’s true what you said when you never know if your talking to another survivors cause one of my nurses at the hospital waited till the other doctors to leave the room & then told me she was a victim of domestic violence as well & she held my hand & we cried together, that’s why I was like wow when I read your post
And yea it’s definitely true that you are a blessing to many. Proud of you mi amigo
Healing hugs <3
My nurse just walked in to unhook my IV for my discharge, so I've gotta go. But thanks for letting me know you got through this yourself and that I can, too.