PTSD in Mind, Body, Spirit and Blood?

Alterations in blood-based miRNA in veterans affected with combat-related PTSD

Eurekalert.org

September 3, 2017

Individuals affected with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) demonstrate changes in microRNA (miRNA) molecules associated with gene regulation. A controlled study, involving military personnel on deployment to a combat zone in Afghanistan, provided evidence for the role of blood-based miRNAs as candidate biomarkers for symptoms of PTSD. This may offer an approach towards screening for symptoms of PTSD, and holds promise for understanding other trauma-related psychiatric disorders. Limitations of the study are that this was a small pilot study, and the findings need to be validated, extended and confirmed. First results will be presented at the ECNP conference in Paris.

PTSD is a psychiatric disorder which can manifest following exposure to a traumatic event, such as combat, assault or natural disaster. Among individuals exposed to traumatic events, only a minority of individuals will develop PTSD, while others will show resiliency. Little is known of the mechanisms behind these different responses. The last few years have seen much attention given to whether the modification and expression of genes - epigenetic modifications - might be involved. But there are several practical and ethical challenges in designing a research study on humans undergoing such experiences, meaning that designing relevant study approaches is difficult.

The research group from the Netherlands, worked with just over 1,000 Dutch soldiers and the Dutch Ministry of Defense to study changes in biology in relation to changes in presentations of symptoms of PTSD in soldiers who were deployed to combat zone in Afghanistan. In a longitudinal study they collected blood samples before deployment, as well as 6 months after deployment. Most of the soldiers had been exposed to trauma, and some of the soldiers had developed symptoms of PTSD.

For this pilot study, from the initial group, subgroups were selected of in total of 24 subjects; 8 of the soldiers had developed symptoms of PTSD; 8 had endorsed traumatic experiences but had not developed symptoms of PTSD; and another 8 had not been in serious traumatic circumstances and served as a control group. Using modern sequencing techniques, several types of miRNAs of which the blood levels differed between the groups were identified.

read more here

Iraq Veteran With PTSD Got Keys to New Home

Iraq War veteran receives keys to new home

KWQC News
Gabriella Rusk
September 3, 2017

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - Sunday at the QC Festival of Praise featured the Christian rock singer Crowder as the headlining act.

But before he took the stage, Sgt. Angel Camacho received a special gift.

"It means a lot to us," Camacho says.

After serving for 13 months in Iraq, Camacho returned home suffering from PTSD and needing the aid of a service dog. His wife quit her job in order to help her husband adjust.

At the concert, the Military Warriors Support Foundation gifted the Camacho family with keys to a new, mortgage free home.

"I can't even describe how wonderful it makes you feel because you see their lives change right in front of your eyes," says Retired Lt. General Leroy Sisco, who works with the Military Warriors Support Foundation.
read more here

Canada Motorcycle Rat Rally Honors Those Who Serve

Rat Rally motorcyclists take part in annual memorial ride

Chronicle Herald News Canada
Tina Comeau
September 3, 2017

One speaker was Bob Grundy, the founder of Rally Point Retreat in Sable River, Shelburne County. The retreat offers veterans and first responders suffering through the collateral damage of traumatic events a quiet, safe and relaxing environment. PTSD, Grundy said, should never be fought alone.

For another year, motorcyclists taking in the Wharf Rat Rally in Digby made the trek to Hebron, Yarmouth County, in a memorial ride that included a ceremony at the Afghanistan monument at Maple Grove Education Centre

As the hymn Amazing Grace was played on the bagpipes, a motorcycle engine rumbled to life.

Both were a soothing sound.

For another year, motorcyclists taking in the Wharf Rat Rally in Digby made the trek to Hebron, Yarmouth County, in a memorial ride that included a ceremony at the Afghanistan monument at Maple Grove Education Centre.

Flags flapped in the wind as members of the Maple Grove and Yarmouth High Memorial Club formed an honour guard along the sides of the school driveway.

Then — and you could hear them before you saw them — a steady stream of motorcycles arrived.

“Sweet in pride, bitter in the knowledge that sometimes it means they’re not going to come back the same, whether they’re soldiers, sailor, aircrew, police, firefighter or EMS. People who put on a uniform to serve others put themselves in harm’s way and often carry a weight that stays with them forever.” Bob Grundy
read more here

Car Accident Reconnects Korean War Buddies

Car accident leads to reunion with Korean War buddy
Military Times
Adele Uphaus-Conner
The Free Lance Star
September 2, 2017

WARRENTON, Va. — If it weren’t for the car accident earlier this summer, Korean War veterans Jim Cunningham and Don McIntyre would never have found each other again.

“God was in it from the get-go,” said Cunningham, 86, a Spotsylvania County resident.

Marine Corps veterans Jim Cunningham, left, and Don McIntyre, talk on Aug. 19, 2017, in Warrenton, Va. Both served together in the Korean War and reunited for the first time in 63 years. (Adele Uphaus-Conner/The Free Lance-Star via AP)

The two met up for coffee last weekend at the Warrenton home of McIntyre’s daughter. It was the first time they’d seen each other in 63 years.

In 1953, Cunningham and McIntyre, who were 23 and 20 at the time, served together with Marine Aircraft Group 12 at airfield K-6 in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. They were in the motor transport pool — Cunningham was a dispatcher and McIntyre was a driver. Their job was to collect downed aircraft from all over the country and take the wreckage to Inchon, where it would be shipped to Japan to be rebuilt.

Virginia State Trooper Greg Finch responded to the accident. It was a hot day and he invited Cunningham to come and sit in his car while he wrote up the citation.

“We got to talking. It took him an hour and 15 minutes to write up the ticket,” Cunningham said.

During the conversation, Cunningham mentioned that he’d served in Korea.

“I told him I had a real good friend in Korea and I was still looking for him,” Cunningham said. “I told him his name was Don McIntyre. He said, ‘I know Don McIntyre!’ ”

Finch told Cunningham that his father lived one mile down the road from a Don McIntyre in Bath, N.Y.

read more here

Vietnam Veterans "A more visible subset of aging warriors" too often overlooked

Vietnam Veterans Do Not Debate Why They Risked Their Lives
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 3, 2017 

"Many who served came home and got on with their lives, whatever the wounds and scars of war. A more visible subset of aging warriors sits astride motorcycles in Veterans Day parades or stands in the median strips of our streets holding cardboard placards. They live their lives as war survivors. They ponder what might have been." James Reston Jr. LA Times September 3, 2017

At least he got close on the years Vietnam claimed the lives and bodies of those sent to Vietnam.

"There are two Vietnam wars, and the second is still going 40 years after the first ended. The United States fought the first one from 1959 to 1975 in the jungles, villages and airspace of Indochina." 

The First and the Last

The first American soldier killed in the Vietnam War was Air Force T-Sgt. Richard B. Fitzgibbon Jr. He is listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having a casualty date of June 8, 1956. His name was added to the Wall on Memorial Day 1999.

It went on claiming lives a lot longer than most think. Oh, no, not just the almost 20 years they were there, but for all these years they've been home.

The obvious deaths tied to Agent Orange are only part of their story. The truth is, they are the largest group of veterans still alive in this country and 65% of veterans over the age of 50 are also the highest for suicides and homelessness. 

Here are the numbers from Florida.

Fast FactsFiscal 2016 data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA reports there are 21.3 million veterans living in the United States.

• There are 1,533,306 veterans in the State of Florida.  There are 1,378,486 male veterans and 154,820 female veterans.

• Note: Florida has the third largest veteran population in the nation, behind California with 1,755,680 veterans and Texas with 1,670,186 veterans.

• There are 1,139,764 wartime veterans in the State of Florida.

• There are 393,541 peacetime veterans in the State of Florida.

• There are 65,941 World War II veterans in the State of Florida.

• There are 144,445 Korean War veterans in the State of Florida.

• There are 496,526 Vietnam-era veterans in the State of Florida.

• There are 190,446 Gulf War veterans in the State of Florida.  (1990 to 9/11/01)

• There are 173,469 Post-9/11 veterans in the State of Florida  (9/12/01 to present)

• There are 773,284 veterans in Florida 65 years of age and over.  (There are 737,698 male veterans 65 years of age and older and 35,586 female veterans 65 years of age and older.)

With Ken Burns documentary on The Vietnam War , the debate over "why" has reheated. The one thing no one should debate is what they risked or what they achieved when they came home to a nation that did not care they came home.

This is why they did it. This is why they risked their lives over there. They did it for each other. This is why they took their own pain, swallowed their pride, or what was left of it, and caused such a commotion in Washington over PTSD, that they had to respond. They funded all the research the civilian world has been benefiting from ever since.

Ever wonder where psychologists came from? Mental Health therapists? Trauma Centers? Crisis Intervention Teams? It all goes back to them and the fact they were not about to stop fighting for those who shared the same suffering surrounded by ambivalence, ignorance and judgement. 

Vietnam Veterans of America clearly stated their purpose despite the way these veterans were treated.  

“NEVER AGAIN WILL ONE GENERATION OF VETERANS ABANDON ANOTHER.”

– VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA MOTTO

We elected three Presidents who made sure they did not have to go when it was their time to serve along side of them. 

President Clinton

The questioning centers on the fall of 1969 when Bill Clinton was headed back to England to complete a Rhodes Scholarship. It seemed unlikely that his draft board would defer him again. He tried and failed to win Navy or Air Force commissions that might have sent him to Vietnam, though not as a grunt soldier. Then he signed up for a Reserve Officer program that kept him out of the draft.A few weeks later, on Oct. 31, his draft board, having learned he had changed his mind about R.O.T.C., reclassified him 1-A, theoretically exposing him to call-up. Only on Dec. 1, when his birth date came up 311 in the brand new draft lottery, was he safe against worry.He may have felt safe even during that exposed November. Draft calls had been reduced and graduate-student deferments were about to be restored. Taken in isolation, the Clinton record could thus be read to show manipulation and delay. But in fairness, his behavior needs to be compared with that of his peers.

President Bush 

Vietnam was clearly a crucible for Bush, as it was for Bill Clinton, Al Gore and most other men who left college in the late 1960s. Bush maintains that he joined the National Guard not to avoid service in Vietnam but because he wanted to be a fighter pilot. Rather than be drafted and serve in the infantry – an assignment Bush has acknowledged he did not want – he agreed to spend almost two years in flight training and another four years in part-time service.

President Trump

But after he graduated from college in the spring of 1968, making him eligible to be drafted and sent to Vietnam, he received a diagnosis that would change his path: bone spurs in his heels.The diagnosis resulted in a coveted 1-Y medical deferment that fall, exempting him from military service as the United States was undertaking huge troop deployments to Southeast Asia, inducting about 300,000 men into the military that year.The deferment was one of five Mr. Trump received during Vietnam. The others were for education.

We built walls to honor their sacrifices and carved their names in stone. We also built a wall separating them awareness of the American people regarding suicides they seem all to ready to give to charities for while those same charities have cut them off from the help they have been waiting longer for.

We built another wall taking their families and disregarding the fact they have been their caregivers for decades yet are not worthy of the Caregivers support Congress seemed so proud of giving to the OEF and OIF generations.
So let the reporters continue to focus on what separates those who were sent to Vietnam to fight a war no one was sure of why they had to go for. We can tell them why they risked everything and still do to this day. THEY DO IT FOR THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS!

Arlington National Cemetery honors service members lost by suicide

In a first, Arlington National Cemetery honors service members lost by suicide

WUSA 9 News

Peggy Fox

September 1, 2017

ARLINGTON, VA (WUSA9) - For the first time, service members who have died by suicide were officially honored at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention requested the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to honor all victims of suicide.

The gesture was enormously fulfilling to several family members of suicide victims watching and taking part in the ceremony.

read more here

Note: Yet again, the wrong number is quoted in a report this important!

“The ceremony not only represented our veterans, which, on average, 22 veterans die a day from suicide, but it’s people coming together. People watching the changing of the guard and realizing this is a daily event,” said Gail Romansky, whose son Shaun, 30, died of suicide in 2010.

Unafraid to Condemn the Unaware Raising Suicide Awareness

Experts Are Necessary to Do More Than Talk
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 3, 2017

"Don't be intimidated by people who seem to be experts. Hear their points of view and get their judgements. But at the end of day, you've got to make a judgement because it's not their life that's going to be affected so much as your future." Robert Dallek

It seems like everyday someone left behind by suicide goes to the press for publicity on what they are doing, then show how little they really know about how to change the outcome for others.

As soon as I read them being quoted with "22 a day" or "20 a day" the hairs on the back of my neck send electrical shocks into my brain! How does talking about a number that is factually untrue do any good for anyone other than the one seeking publicity?

No one can help veterans find their way out of darkness if they do not know how they got lost in the first place. It is all so easy to talk about stuff that did not merit their time to research. While those left behind are experts on the pain they feel, they are nowhere near being able to change the outcome.

The purpose of "Watchfires" is severalfold -- not only to salute our dead of the War but also to acknowledge the living power they still have to touch us in so many ways. Their examples of courage, honor, and sacrifice set a standard for those who survived them; and our memories of them add strength and depth to our lives.

I'll read about their heartbreaking story, know they still feel the pain. Apparently, they really want to make sure that others do not have to go through it like they did. The problem is, apparently they decided it was not worth investing the time and energy to actually be able to make a difference.

While they could make a difference for others in a support group, they decided they knew enough to talk about a report they failed to read. If it was so important to them, wouldn't it be important enough to learn how to help or at least spend time to learn what the truth is?

Here are the facts they did not bother to learn yet decided they would be the ones to change the outcome, without bothering to discover how to do it.

Veteran Suicide "22 a day"
Was taken from a report from the VA in 2012
The report was from 21 states with suicide as cause of death and stating military service. We have 50 states. The report also stated that even from those 21 states, it was limited data.

It did not help that the press was jumping over the slogan instead of reading the report, or actually understanding that current military numbers on suicides are not part of the VA suicide report. Two different categories.

Suicide Rate Among Vets and Active Duty Military Jumps - Now 22 A Day, Forbes

Veteran Suicides "20 a day"
While the CDC does know the number of known suicides (accidental or questionable ones are not included) they do not know military service connection from far too many states. California does not have it on their certificates of death. They have over 2 million veterans. Illinois does not have military service on their certificates of death. They have over 700,000 veterans.

As the "awareness raisers" are counting numbers they do not understand, they are showing the veterans in need of healing cannot count on them to do more than talk about their heartache!

After over a decade of "suicide prevention" and  seven years of "PTSD awareness" the evidence shows that this has done nothing to change the outcome. Considering there is the Crisis Line for veterans and family members to call and over 400,000 new veterans charities across the country claiming to be working to change the outcome, it is actually worse than it was in 1999.

Worse but seems to be the same? Yes, because at the time there were 5 million more veterans in the country.

I spent 2 years researching what experts started to understand a decade before I even heard the term PTSD. As I learned, I shared it with other veterans and families. Then I knew enough to write about it. After 35 years, I've heard it all and read way too much to be able to accept the fact that any of this should be acceptable to anyone!

The only thing I want to hear is, they are worth fighting for.

Are You Ready to Fight For Love?
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 2, 2017

"I'm telling you I'm not going." Words to a song or words we live by? The choice is ours, but if we stay, we better ready for the war that hasn't ended after any war. 

I don't want to hear it is too hard to stay. I did it for 35 years and we're having our 33rd wedding anniversary. I get it. It sucks to be in a position where you're fighting a battle no one trained you to fight. THEN TRAIN YOURSELF! This is a war that was brought to the front door of you heart.

I don't want to hear it is too hard for you to understand. I went to work right out of high school but ended up reading clinical books at the library with a dictionary because I had no clue what the psychiatrists were writing about. I didn't understand Vietnam because when my Vietnam veteran was there, I was only 11 years old. 

You don't even have to get out of your PJs. All you have to do is turn on your computer or power up your tablet or get online with your cell phone to find what you're looking for. The problem is, if you are not looking for the thing that will help change your life and your veteran's life, then you are not going to find it.

The only thing I want to hear is, they are worth fighting for. Mine was and still is. Frankly that is what pisses me off the most. Too many take the easy way out and walk away from them because "rough times are showing" and they find excuses to leave instead of expectations to hope for.

My buddy Gunny just called me an ornery PITA, "pain in the ass" when I told him about being set off with Suicide Awareness Month. We are not even close to getting to the point where we're talking more about marriages like mine than widows visiting graves.

I'm Not Living Without You
And I am telling you I'm not going
Even though the rough times are showing
There's just no way - there's no way

We're part of the same place
We're part of the same time
We both share the same blood
We both have the same mind

These are the things you should be reading and you don't even have to search for them. Here are the links.

National Center for PTSD

• What is PTSD? | ¿Qué es el TEPT?
  Find out about the symptoms of PTSD and how they develop.
• Symptoms of PTSD | Síntomas del TEPT
  Learn about PTSD symptoms and when to get help.
• How Common is PTSD?
  Find out how many people have PTSD and who is most likely to develop PTSD.
• History of PTSD in Veterans: Civil War to DSM-5
  Learn about the history of the diagnosis of PTSD in a timeline that reflects military events and the importance of Veterans.

• Early attempts at a medical diagnosis
  Accounts of psychological symptoms following military trauma date back to ancient times. The American Civil War (1861-1865) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) mark the start of formal medical attempts to address the problems of military Veterans exposed to combat. European descriptions of the psychological impact of railroad accidents also added to early understanding of trauma-related conditions.

• Understanding PTSD and PTSD Treatment
  Find out more in this quick guide to PTSD Basics.

It PTSD isn't new at all!

The Civil War killed and injured over a million Americans, roughly a third of all those who served. This grim tally, however, doesn’t include the conflict’s psychic wounds. Military and medical officials in the 1860s had little grasp of how war can scar minds as well as bodies. Mental ills were also a source of shame, especially for soldiers bred on Victorian notions of manliness and courage. For the most part, the stories of veterans like Hildt have languished in archives and asylum files for over a century, neglected by both historians and descendants.

You may have been waisting your time with nonsense yesterday, but you just ran out of excuses. It is all there if you bother to look for it. The question is, are you ready to fight to stay, or not?

Suicide Prevention: "VA can’t – and should not – do this alone.”

September Marks Suicide Prevention Month
Department of Veterans Affairs
09/01/2017


WASHINGTON – The message from the Department of Veterans Affairs to the friends and families of Veterans during Suicide Prevention Month is simple: Be There.

“We know that in 2014, an average of 20 Veterans a day died in this country from suicide, which is 20 too many,” said VA Secretary David J. Shulkin. “This is a national public health crisis requiring a national public health approach. When it comes to preventing Veteran suicide, VA can’t – and should not – do this alone.”

For Suicide Prevention Month, VA has a number of outreach events planned to raise awareness. Among some of the top events planned:

A number of declaration signings will be held throughout the month within the entire VA health care system, the Department of Defense, Veteran service organizations and with other partners around the country that show a commitment of solidarity to prevent Veteran suicides.

Each VA facility will also be asked to commit to Be There, ensuring Veterans get the mental health support they need through a “no wrong door” philosophy. The VA declaration promises:

To adopt a “no wrong door” philosophy for suicide prevention so every VA employee will assist Veterans in need;
To work with our Community Veteran Engagement Boards or other community partner in suicide prevention efforts;
To establish a “buddy system” so Veterans can reach out to someone when needed;
To continue implementation of Press 7, for our telephone systems, where feasible, to provide immediate access to the Veterans and Military Crisis Line
To establish open access in our facility mental health clinics and same day access in our community based mental health clinics within six months, to ensure prompt attention to the needs of our Veterans;
To work across clinical specialties to ensure Veterans receive integrated speciality pain managaement and sleep services as needed;
To ensure all staff and employees clinical suicide prevention training;
To arrange appointments for Veterans seeking care through Enhanced Enrollment procedures; and
To increase the number of Veterans and providers connecting through our Telemental Health services.

A suicide prevention toolkit is being distributed around the country to stakeholders and community partners.

A number of partnerships will be announced including a national network of volunteer professionals at Give an Hour to expand community-based mental health services for Veteran and military communities.

Outreach efforts will target communities and military units that are experiencing high rates of suicide. We are not waiting until they are in crisis.

VA is continuing its work with the Department of Defense to identify at-risk service members and enroll them for VA care and engage them through community programs before they transition out of the military, with a day planned in which employees of both departments will be encouraged to wear the same color to show commitment to suicide prevention.

Monthlong social media events are planned including a Thunderclap, twitter and blog posts; Instagram takehover; Facebook live and other social media media events targeted at suicide prevention.

Veterans in crisis can call the Veterans Crisis Line for confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year at 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat, or text to 838255. Veterans can also visit Make the Connection, a powerful network of stories of recovery, to learn more: http://maketheconnection.net. For more information and resources, visit and VeteransCrisisLine.net/BeThere VeteransCrisisLine.net/SpreadTheWord.

Reporters covering this issue are strongly encouraged to visit www.ReportingOnSuicide.Org for important guidance on ways to communicate on suicide.

Police Officer Pulled Veteran Over To Thank Him

Police officer pulls over a man because he looks like his dead son; what he sees on the dashboard

Connect Statesboro

Melinda Fox

September 1, 2017

Jazwinski concluded his Facebook post with these words:

"To all the family and friends of soldiers, fighting or done fighting, God bless you. Your peace and your hearts. It's so hard without them, I know. This road is a tremendous one. Love to all."

'I still don't believe it most days he's gone.' By Melinda Fox Sept. 1, 2017

William Jazwinski didn't know why a police officer pulled him over on April 18. He asked the officer if he had been speeding.

The officer responded, "No, not speeding. Just wanted to stop ya and say thank you for your service."

Jazwinski remembered the bumper sticker on his vehicle that identified him as a member of the military and began chatting with the officer about his military service.

Jazwinski had served 15 months as a heavy wheel vehicle operator in Iraq. Now home, he had just completed a post-traumatic stress disorder program and kept the folded U.S. flag he received from the military on the dashboard of his truck.

It was this flag that prompted the officer to open up about the real reason he had pulled Jazwinski over.

The officer told Jazwinski that he had been sent a flag in honor of his son who was in the military as well. He said, "My son went to Iraq. He didn't make it home."

The police officer continued, "You remind me of my son. I pulled you over. I thought you were him. I still don't believe it most days he's gone."

The officer then asked Jazwinski, "Do you mind stepping out and receiving a hug?"

Jazwinski admits that this hug was something that not only the police officer needed, but he needed, too.

"With tears in both our eyes I got out and hugged that man. I'm talking about for a minute or two crying. Down to our knees crying. I needed that."
read more here