Drawing A Line In The Sand: They're Selling Snake Oil - And The Government's Buying

After reading this post on Rod Deaton's Blog, I am deeply disturbed.  I am going to tackle each one of the articles in his post one at a time:

Steroid Injection May Prevent PTSD:
Wow.  All I can say is medically irresponsible.  I can just imagine that the military is using active duty folks to see if this holds any water.  Can you just imagine?  Forget about the devastating potential physical side effects of steroids for a minute.  One of the most pervasive side effects from using steroids is heightened anger response.  And that's not the part of the article that really disturbs me.  The studies are being performed by supposed experts that are asserting that this works.  They never stop to think that giving someone a shot of steroids is more likely analogous to putting a band-aid on a sucking chest wound.  Thousands of people with PTSD didn't have symptoms until years (and in some cases, decades) later.  So unless this study plans on tracking their human guinea pigs for the next 20 years to be sure, their claims hold no merit and their research premise is extremely faulty.

Troops Today Have Better Prospects For PTSD Recovery An Expert Says:
This expert doesn't get it.  He goes on to comment part way through the article that the rate of occurrence of PTSD much higher in veterans and so is the rate of suicide.  Um....DUH!?!?!  I'm not an expert and I can put two and two together on this one.  Active Duty and deployed for the fourth time - trauma is compartmentalized.  Veteran is home and safe - trauma has no reason to stay compartmentalized.  Gee, I wonder what comes next.  I would really love to know where they find these 'experts'.  The one factor they don't take into account:  Current conflict veterans don't want to come forward for treatment because of the stigma attached to it!


[Video] Military Matters: A Search For A PTSD Cure
This is just disturbing.  Our government gave 35 million tax dollars to this joker?  He is a psychiatrist, right?  I am dumbstruck by this.  Anyone who has even the slightest inkling of what a 'disorder' is knows a psychological disorder can not be 'cured'.  The symptoms can be managed to the point where, over time and a lot of hard work, a person is able to control the effects of the disorder and live life mostly symptom free from day to day.  Oh, and General Odierno, I just lost all respect for you as a person and as a leader.  You are a prime example of what is wrong with the military leadership.  I wonder how many of these guys you sent back over after they were 'cured'  will end up being a statistic due to your utter failure to protect them.  How DARE you.


So Now, I Am Drawing A Line In The Sand:

I will not stand by and allow this to happen.  I will not stand idly by while our comrades in arms are subjected to this dangerous trend in 'treatment'.  For those of you out there with PTSD, it's time to take a stand.  35 million of our tax dollars are going to this hack.  This doc in the video is confident he can cure PTSD.  We all know this is a disorder that can be managed, but never cured.  You can't take away the scars that have been left on our souls.  Ask any doctor who has been around the disorder for a few decades and they will tell you the same.  We need to demand better oversight to protect ourselves from this type of dangerous thinking.  It is exactly this kind of propaganda that leads to people like General Barry McCaffrey saying, "PTSD can be cured within a year".  

No more.  The government needs to know we can advocate for ourselves.  I, for one, am willing to stand up and say, "No More!".  Are you?