FACEBOOK
TWITTER
With LOVE To Vets with PTSD
by Eileen Fleming 
This Valentines Day I send my gratitude [the highest expression of love] to all US vets by way of a commitment; and I am on my way to Tallahassee on a two-pronged mission the day after Valentines Day.
First is to learn from service providers, advocates and concerned citizens from Florida who are out to educate state Senators and Representatives regarding the needs and how to help our homeless neighbors on Homeless Advocacy Day.
Second is by way of seeking Justice for Veterans and I began writing about that here: Vets with PTSD and Compassionate Cannabis Laws
And so, I go to Tallahassee to learn, report and also in my role as a registered nurse to advocate for modern medicine.
A drug’s efficacy is judged through randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled studies and 100 Peer Reviewed Studies were conducted involving Cannabis and Cannabis Extracts which can be read along with MYTHS and FACTS about cannabis here:
http://fldecides.org/MedicalUses.html
I am not a doctor, but I am married to one and so I asked my husband [an Internist/Geriatrician] his opinion of the site and he stated, “I have no issues with any of their statements. But you need to understand that one study will contradict another such as regarding chronic use and cognitive decline. Same goes with smoking-some studies say cannabis will cause the same damage as tobacco and other studies contradict that. But as I have seen way too many OD’s from alcohol and I have never seen an OD from cannabis, my opinion is that cannabis is a hell of a lot better than alcohol, Valium, or any synthetics because it is natural.”
Sixteen states and D.C. have already legalized cannabis for medical use.
The Department of Veterans Affairs will allow patients treated at its hospitals and clinics to use medical cannabis in states where it is legal.
Veterans have Unique Needs
One in five veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are affected by PTSD. Others deal with ongoing chronic pain and inflammation from war injuries.
Cannabis helps in treating insomnia, pain, PTSD, and a whole array of symptoms that wounded vets typically face. Cannabis relieves pain, enables sleep, normalizes gastrointestinal function and restores peristalsis. Fortified by improved digestion and adequate rest, the patient can resist being overwhelmed by triggering stimuli.
Florida claims it wants to be the friendliest state to Veterans. Florida claims it appreciates Veterans military service. One third of Americans are allowed medicinal use of cannabis under state law. Florida veterans should also be given the same rights and opportunity to function at a better level than possible on opiates and other prescribes medications.
Sign and send a letter on behalf of Florida Veterans @ http://takeaction.realreformact.com/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=7007
This week in Tallahassee, advocates for the homeless will be lobbying state legislatures seeking common sense and compassion for the neediest among us.
I also will be advocating for common sense and compassionate cannabis laws with Veterans being on the top of that list.
Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=186182
Posted by Eileen Fleming on Feb 14 2012, With 0 Reads, Filed under Health, PTSD. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
COMMENTS
To post, we ask that you login using Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, or Hotmail in the box below.Don't have a social network account? Register and Login direct with VT and post.
Before you post, read our Comment Policy - Feedback
It is good to see that there are people like Eileen ready to help out the lads with PTSD and service related illnesses. I hope that she gets plenty of help for that from the government – and the biggest help will be assembling former servicemen TOGETHER regularly so that they can overcome the problems with the camaraderie needed to do it.
I for one do not approve of illegal drugs of any description – and that includes cannabis. I suspect that taking this will make the problem worse in the long run. Mind altering drugs are not the answer. Changing the REALITY of life for former servicemen is. Proper protection, free health care for life, high regard from the authorities and government, respect from the public, employment advantages, increased pensions, automatically reduced prison sentences and a list of leg-ups – all these things will help to settle men and women back into civilian life. It will also act as a responsible recruiting sergeant.
These are the type of things that we should lobby government for – and if we can introduce such advantages for minority groups – why not ex-servicemen whose lives have been set back in the service of their nation and people?
Here is something green to lobby the Govt for and Vets should get first priority when it comes to hiring: The 21st Century Civilian Conservation Corps Act that will put our human capitol to work and enable young adults and veterans to train for real Green Jobs creation that will help save our environment and help themselves as the CCC did in the 20th Century.
http://wecantakeit.org/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/315650290291/
http://signon.org/sign/bring-back-the-us-civilian
I can tell you for a fact that the VA wants nothing to do with veterans with PTSD. All they want to do is collect money for staff and research but want little to do with chronic PTSD, like there is any other kind. I remember my last visit with a psychologist a few years back who told me that the VA was doing away with therapy, like the people at the PTSD clinic can really spell the word. For this reason it was going to be my last visit. So far, how does that make you feel. As a combat veteran with 2 purple hearts and a combat infantry badge I was being dismissed to deal with my own problems. The director at the VISN told me directly “Bob” that especially Vietnam veterans were too chronic to help, but would be willing to debate it with the people at large who make the decisions. Now, I figure for most Vietnam veterans it took years before the VA realized that there was a problem with returning veterans. Like it was unexpected news. They have had many past wars for the VA to address the issues and come up with a decent plan to care for those who were affected by the harness of war. Instead the chose to pay themselves bonuses for how well they were doing, which was nothing. Today, the PTSD Clinic at the Frank Tejeda Outpatient clinic no longer exist. They run close ended group which the insult the veterans with PTSD 101. In 12 weeks the cycle is over and everybody is cured. There is still a psychologist, Galan who actually told a Vietnam veteran that he was too smart to have PTSD and another vet that he would be cured if he attended the clinic’s group. My son did two tours in Iraq as a grunt with the 101th 502 and by his own accounts of a group which started with 20 ended up with him and another vet. Needless to say the group or what they though was a group was cancelled for lack of interest. The reason these vets did not return was because when they had issues they were told that this would be discusses at a later date. My son was diagnosed with PTSD by the VA but the clinic sees him for social anxiety. go figure.
I fail to see where the money is being spent when services to veterans are mediocre and watered down. A couple years ago they tried this bull shit about RET rational emotive therapy, or otherwise go over it. This new approach which they were trying to push down veterans was a low budget approach for PTSD. There were some veterans who killed themselves during this new BS.
As a former mental health clinician in a mental health setting, we used a multidisciplinary approach in dealing with MH problems. The real fact behind the VA piss poor success with treating PTSD is that they have no fricking idea what they are doing. They are probably doing more harm than good. The reason that the VA is so ineffective is that they lack a trained staff who can really get down to business. They hire interns who do their internship at some VA clinic and are hired after they get done. Yes, it is pretty pathetic. Money is not going to help the VA do its job. For them it is more money they can spend. As for me I deal with life day by day waiting and waiting for what I will probably never know. I do know for sure the VA will call me only when they cannot find any veterans who want to be treated, or seen to make up the number to justice, padding themselves on their backs. What a bunch of losers. The VA should try curing or treating the apes at the zoos.
The VA doesn’t want to treat PTSD, only bury you. Their mental health providers and patient advocates are full of crap. When I was illegally locked up by the VAH here in Cleveland , Ohio it was done by a non practicing VA phychologist, who never treated me or cared to get the truth from even the Va cops who proved i made no threats against anyone. I am not cryiong about it, I’m sueing them under civil rights laws, they so far won’t even answer any questions about this incident or try to clear it up. They were only trying as a patient advocates says and I have it on tape, just trying to scare and intimidate me. DIDN’T WORK. I just got off the phone with an attorney, also a Vietnam veteran who is walking me through how to file a civivl rights lawsuite. Never give up, thats what they want.
Never give up brother. I believe that such problems are made worse in modern times by TWO additional factors – one being the collapse of the normal extended family unit – something which has been a goal of the marxist zionist enemy for some decades now. It leaves everyone, not just Vets, floundering in a dumbed down sea of sadness and separation. Split asunder we are no longer as supportive, as strong or as cohesive a national unit to organise dissent. The second issue is the fact that modern society no longer puts a returning Veteran on a pedestal of high regard and respect. In fact quite the reverse. Nowadays the crook and the shyster is seen as the ‘wise guy’ and the man that serves his country as a simple fool.
These problems and outlooks emanate from the evil group that now massage and manipulate our public opinion for their own selfish gain. The entire western world is in the grip of this malign zionist agenda of hatred, bankruptcy and destruction. Realising this is a form of strength. It may not help in an immediate practical way – but knowledge is power – and seeing the world in clarity as it really is – is a great tonic for the soul. When you can see the enemy you can work out your next move and plan for a better future – WHATEVER that requires.
Eileen, thanks for pursuing the compassionate cannabis thing. As I have written before, one of the reasons for some of the obstacles to legalized medical cannibis may have to do with what they know about the compassionate mind vs. the ignorant, compliant, brainwashed mind. The military brainwashes us, reinforcing the pimordial cultural survival part of the brain to the detriment of the higher functioning, moral reasoning brain. This higher functioning brain also has more abstracting skills, critical thinking skills, and with training, the ability to have compassionate discriminating awareness. Anyway, what cannabis did for me in Vietnam and only after an airassult and firefight, and only in the rear area, was to start and help open the aboved stated higher functioning of my mind while letting me see that there really was no enemy. The shadow had been defined by authoritarian paranoid cultural leaders. These leaders dominated most intstitutions one grows up with and includes the Catholic Church and other religious organiztions, the schools, the work place, ones peers (especially in the early teens), movies, and other media. So the military just fine tunes these pre-existing factors into a more complete brain-washing. Call it PTSD or whatever. What this disorder really is has to do with the complex battle between these 2 parts of the brain, one being the mature moral reasoning one from above, and the other being the brainwashed, complient, fearful, numbed, peer pressured, reward/punishment based, survivalist self. This battle is fueled by confusion, guilt, fear of surrendering to ones higher powers, and continuing to hang out with the same old part of the society or culture that got us there like some of the Veterans oganizations, and some of the old school zealots in the VA who only know the slogans like “Thank you for your service”. This is a confusing statement at best. Who did I serve, for what, and what did it accomplish in terms of the betterment of mankind and me and my family? Maybe good intentions, like a parade or medals but in the long run there needs to be an acknowledgement to oneself and maybe from the perpetrators in power that they lied, abused, used, and brainwashed many millions of good intentioned people. A soldier can do very little for the betterment of mankind if she/he is not first a spiritual warrior. Well just some things to contemplate for you and whoever. Pot expands the Mind! These leader know damn well what it does and how they may have less control over the soldier/veteran if its legal. By the way the pot alone is not as affective if it has no teacher and teachings to go with it. And drinking alcohol with it negates alot of the potential positive mind expansion and may just keep one in a young humor primitive state. Again I have experienced.
Thank you for sharing and as I have written before, “experience is not just what happens to you-but what you do with it.”- “BEYOND NUCLEAR: Mordechai Vanunu’s FREEDOM of SPEECH Trial and My Life as a Muckraker”
Eileen: keep looking for useful things.
I agree with taos. Some people are so badly destroyed physically and mentally that they give up despite the bravado. These men are teenagers or a little older.
In the 50s I remember talking to a goodly number of legless guys who pushed themselves on their dollies around the streets of Brooklyn- at least they were socializing. The mass media cares nothing for the severely wounded once the latest news story is done. It is a given that some young men will smoke and drink and find other ways to escape the despair they felt from being badly disfigured and mutilated.
Eileen looks for practical solutions; the VFW sends address labels with the American flag on them. I throw them in the garbage.
I have seen some people so badly damaged that they will always feel that life is dark and tormenting. Let them smoke pot if it can help.
In solidarity with all you wrote but must add any one can break at any age as there comes a tipping point and when one lugs heavy baggage for years it will wear and tear at them on all levels- body, mind and spirit.
My report from Tally was published by VT: Days of Awareness and About The Money: Part 1
And I am returning before end of session which is within 3 weeks and TRY to meet with every state senator and rep on these ISSUES of IMPORT:
Preventing and ENDING Homelessness among Vets and Children and Letting the People Choose to legalize cannabis and IF I am elected to US HOUSE I am committed to fight for ALL Veterans Rights to obtain cannabis if they choose to use and I have lots of ideas for green jobs for Vets and also US prisoners.
I am eileen fleming and I approve of this message.
http://www.eileenfleming.org/