TBI and PTSD: Navigating the Perfect Storm

I was actually really excited to read this article because it said navigating the perfect storm. I did not learn any tools to get through this. I was hoping for a solution to what happens when my husband gets upset. And his brain goes to fight mode automatic every time.

Good afternoon noon so my question after reading this tell me that it is very hard to put both of these issues in one group and they should be treated as such so how is it that the Veterans Administration is doing this to all veterans

My husband of 39 years had a severe TBI injury back in 1997 while he was in the military. A helicopter landed on him and his buddy while trying to attach a hook for pallets to be deployed out to the field. He sustained frontal lobe damage and spent 1-1/2 years at Walter Reed. Also, he has PTSD due to the Gulf War and Afganistan.
Since retiring from the military, he tried to go back to school for Architecture, the workload was too trying for him so changed his focus to teaching. Unfortunately, he missed passing the Praxus by 5 points and instead of taking it again, he went into a deep depression. During his internship, he was an amazing teacher to underprivileged students, so I was disappointed he didn't want to try the test again.
Then he tried to drive a semi and dump truck, VA took away his license because of his TBI. So he has been continually spiraling down into deeper and deeper depression.
Since then he stays in bed all hours of the day, stays up all night, won't eat with his family, won't spend time with us, has no sexual interest in me, won't talk to me. I can't help him, only try to show compassion and love. But I'm overwhelmed with responsibilities, I'm the sole financial provider, maintaining our household, maid, cook, and keeping our family together.
Recently in 2019/2020 at the age of 55, I battled a severe illness due to infected mesh from a hernia repair. I had 7 surgeries and numerous hospital visits due to the infection. Finally, in November 2020, I had the final surgery and recovered fully.
During the time of my illness, my husband had an emotional affair with a younger woman. It wasn't a physical affair only because his body couldn't. My first reaction was to end the marriage because of hurt. My second reaction was to pray and give it to GOD. I did tell my husband that I love him but I would not live like this anymore. He wanted to work on our marriage one last time.
So, for me, I talked to my primary care physician for personal consulting. Asked my husband, who had always refused to tell his Neurologist and primary care physician about needing help coping with his emotional, sexual, and psychological conditions and depression, to seek help. This week was the first week he saw a therapist.
I know this is going to be a long road to any semblance of recovery and healing. Is there any forums for family members, who are dealing with similar issues.

I'm a Vet. and been dealing with the drug pushing doctors and what they call PTSD while I was hit by a car in 1983 now 36 years later it is an untreated TBI has now become the perfect storm and not only government not listening my congress men can't help.

Dear Reader,

Thank You for the phrase "perfect storm" that is the best description I have heard for my TBI & Complex PTSD. Yes, finding proper help has been a nightmare. Your descriptions are spot on.

Thank You

I have been diagnosed with both my ptsd was cause from tbi this happened 30 years ago when I was struck by a moving vehicle I received little or no treatment no rehab anyway my life is nothing but 1 argument after another my poor wife and kids I’m sure they would be better off without out me I’m currently suspended from my job for arguing with supervisors that everyone hates but I can’t help telling them what I really think and or threaten them most of the time they provoke me cause the know of my problems just to get me disciplined cause they are intimidated because I have way more experience and knowledge about construction ( the only thing I’m good anymore) they do life is always going downhill

I love the article but also disagree with a few points. That being said many of the comparisons are with a mass event tbi...as opposed to an mTBI. For instance, the effects of depression and rates of suicide are vastly different for those with mTBI because they often go undiagnosed for so long. As well both tbi and mtbi lead to other disorders and even cte.

This is the worse summery I have ever read in my life why even right a sentence I have both and this was a waste of time all you have done is put info nation readily available side by side, this will contribute to my ptsd from all you people farming suffering and and pretending you have something to offer

I have what they are refering to now as complex ptsd mixed with that ive had over 20 concussions in my lifetime. I am a civilian and am 32 y/o. No one ever explained to me what a concussion was or what it felt like until i was 29. The perfect storm is correct. The intertwining of these two diagnoses makes it difficult if not impossible to prove whether it is a correlation or causation of the symptoms that i have. And bc of the lack of medical care we dont know what came first the PTSD or the PCS. My most recent concussion has turned my life upside down and rideside up all at the same time. For me my PTSD already had a dissociative aspect as far as we know so the memory loss and forgetting days conversations and names has all mingled. My hypervigilance is so bad i can scream simply by a word i often slap or hit punch 3x when scared and my speech has been effected as well. The other day i screamed at my own hair out of the corner of my eye. I think humor is important and thats what gets me through. The other day i was reading aspartame off a soda bottle to check ingredients guess what part my mind got stuck on and repeated. Some days are drastically better than others and i pray some day there will be more research done. Ive found research itself is easy its funding and bureaucracy that makes it difficult. I wish luck to all those looking to find answers and thank you for your time.

My husband returned from Iraq 10 years ago and was so angry and vulgar that I didn’t quite recognize him. The years passed and his anger was all that I was subjected to. He verbally abused me every chance that he had, and I am not a quiet or meek person. I told him he needed help repeatedly for years, to no avail. As it turns out, he was addicted to porn and was cheating on me for 5 years with multiple women. One in particular for 5 years. After I figured out what he had been doing I was ready to walk. Surprisingly on the same day he wanted to talk and began telling me about his time in Iraq. Everything came out and it has been almost a year. I truly don’t understand how this can be so as he excelled at his job and was always helpful and courteous to everyone around him except for me. No one believes that he could be so verbally abusive. Everything that I read says people don’t function with ptsd, but he did. The other weird thing is that the since the day everything came out, he has felt no anger, pain, or need to even watch porn, and continually tries to make it all up to me. I have read nowhere that someone with ptsd can just come out of it like that. I am trying to figure out my future, but the confusion of it all has me spinning.

I wrote before
I was a special operation soldier
I fought hard to keep my country safe I love my country
Now my mind and body is fighting me I found out my brain is having my body relieve all the injuries in the military
My injuries are
Falling 700 feet with a total parachute failure unconscious for 13 hrs, seeing 17 comrades killed around me , holding the hand of a soldier dying after being cut in half from machine gun fire, a woman having her head blown off from a sniper.
I had over 15 surgeries and 3 months at walter Reed hospital.
People tell me I am lucky to be alive . Now I tell them no I wished I had died. The pain is intense it bends me over , I fall down alot. I scream in silent so my wife can't hear me and this is with my 4 oxycodone a day my zoloft 1 aday. I chose this low dose 10 years ago I only wanted as little I could stand .
A doctor told me to take responsibility for my pain because I chose special operations.
Now the USA has an epidemic on pain meds.
I am tired I keep going but no pain meds i will not.
I love my country why won't my country love me back.

Hi my name is Connie. I am on my second bout of PTSD. And have had multiple concussions. The first @ 18yrs old a car crash where my head was caught between the roll cage and concrete I was drug 50ft before expelled from the vehicle. It scapled me. A year of surgeries I looked normal on the out side. Not one dr then told me I had TBI or PTSD. My whole family was called in to say goodbye. I made it navigating on my own with family to help. I never really remembered the car wreak even years later. 10yrs I suffered. Then in between I had many more concussions. I always was rough on my self. Then my brother shot and killed my dad and tried to kill my mom. I was a thousand miles away. My husband is in the military. I have never felt so helpless my whole life. Now im three years into battling my second round of PTSD. All I feel is empty or like im drowning at the same time. I feel guilty about everything. And Rage but control is what is killing me slowly. I agree with all said above. I am all that and more. My saving grace has come from a stellate ganglion block. I am at war with my self internally at all times. The block helps there need to be more people discussing this block it helps like nothing else. There is hope.

I was diagnosed with Complex-PTSD and had severe closed head injuries due to a motor cycle accident. Is there any specialists in or near Indianapolis, IN

My daughter was beaten to near death by an ex-boyfriend Dec. 30, 2015. This informative article has answered most of the questions I had about TBI & PTSD, she has symptoms of both minus the violence. We had to relocate her due to the constant threat of the abuser, away from her family and support system, because law enforcement would not revoke his probation and put him in jail. Through your website I was able to find a facility that treats both of these and the whole person. Thank you so much.

I really don’t like how this is written. If family and friends of the person who has PTSD keep reading about how it makes the person violent and add in domestic violence they will assume this is the case. When I’m facg most of the research has been done with sufferers of PTSD from violence related to war. So for these sufferers they may be violent if they feel threatened as this is how they protect themselves in war. If the trauma did not come from this type of violence the sufferer may not be violent. I’m tired of seeing this about people with PTSD being violent and the research being mainly from veterans. It leaves family and friends thinking everyone with PTSD is violent. This of course is not true.