My hubby has PTSD, veteran, and rage/aggression issues. I was wondering how many members that have spouses that suffer from PTSD be it veterans, first responders...etc...and also have or have not rage or aggression issues. Interested to see if the PTSD is linked to their behaviours.
amber in my opinion rage and aggression is common with alzheimers or dementias esp FTD. I don't think it has to be service related but part of how the brain is affected by the disease. but if they already have it prior to AD then it may be more intensive. many have said the pre personality of a person goes on steroids after they get the disease sometimes. I am sure others will post if they see these symptoms. my DH has combo vascular/AD and has had aggression issues in the mid stages are well. not service related
Amber, my husband has had aggression issues since before he was dx'd with FTD, which was a 180 degree change in his personality. He was the kindest, most considerate person I knew and certainly those traits are some of the reasons I married him. The aggression, not service related because he was never in the military, started in the early stages of his dementia and continues to this day. Like divvi says, I think it is related to which part of the brain is affected. It makes sense to me that if someone suffers from PTSD then there is probably a strong likelihood that dementia combined with the PTSD could certainly cause aggression issues. Did he demonstrate aggression when he was only dx'd with PTSD?
Divvi, LFL - unfortunately what we have learned is that we don't know how long they have been developing dementia before they were diagnosed. So which came first the aggression due to the PTSD or the dementia....like the chicken or the egg.
I'm just looking for a pattern if there is one. Some thing his psychologist and I was discussing and I thought I would throw it out here to the members.
I went through rage and aggression issues with my DH last year for about 6-7 months. Luckily for us it turned out to be a medication issue, but I would not wish this on anyone. By the end of it, I was sleeping nights locked in the spare room, with the phone on the bed with me. It was a nightmare. Do what you can to help your spouse but above all keep yourself safe.
Amber My DH was ex military, 27 years lots of trouble shouting, and all his aggression and night terrors were about the time spent there. We applied to DVA because his Psychiatrist suspected PTSD but we were turned down. They said that since it had not occurred during his time still in the services that he didn't qualify. I don't think they have to have wartime experiences to have PTSD. I think it may also depend on their jobs.
PTSD can happen to anyone, just not soldiers. I suffered from it due to abuse.
When in danger, it’s natural to feel afraid. This fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to prepare to defend against the danger or to avoid it. This “fight-or-flight” response is a healthy reaction meant to protect a person from harm. But in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this reaction is changed or damaged. People who have PTSD may feel stressed or frightened even when they’re no longer in danger.
PTSD develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. The person who develops PTSD may have been the one who was harmed, the harm may have happened to a loved one, or the person may have witnessed a harmful event that happened to loved ones or strangers.
PTSD was first brought to public attention in relation to war veterans, but it can result from a variety of traumatic incidents, such as mugging, rape, torture, being kidnapped or held captive, child abuse, car accidents, train wrecks, plane crashes, bombings, or natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes.
Brain Areas. Studying parts of the brain involved in dealing with fear and stress also helps researchers to better understand possible causes of PTSD. One such brain structure is the amygdala, known for its role in emotion, learning, and memory. The amygdala appears to be active in fear acquisition, or learning to fear an event (such as touching a hot stove), as well as in the early stages of fear extinction, or learning not to fear.
Storing extinction memories and dampening the original fear response appears to involve the prefrontal cortex (PFC) area of the brain, involved in tasks such as decision-making, problem-solving, and judgment. Certain areas of the PFC play slightly different roles. For example, when it deems a source of stress controllable, the medial PFC suppresses the amygdala an alarm center deep in the brainstem and controls the stress response.5The ventromedial PFC helps sustain long-term extinction of fearful memories, and the size of this brain area may affect its ability to do so.
Individual differences in these genes or brain areas may only set the stage for PTSD without actually causing symptoms. Environmental factors, such as childhood trauma, head injury, or a history of mental illness, may further increase a person's risk by affecting the early growth of the brain. Also, personality and cognitive factors, such as optimism and the tendency to view challenges in a positive or negative way, as well as social factors, such as the availability and use of social support, appear to influence how people adjust to trauma. More research may show what combinations of these or perhaps other factors could be used someday to predict who will develop PTSD following a traumatic event.
The about would tell me that when that area of the brain is affected by the disease, it increases fear which can possibly be causing the aggression so many see. So much is not known yet.
My dh was dx'd about 2007 or 2009 with PTSD, with Va d two years ago, and ad this year. He was at the Chosin Res., in Korean War and a state trooper. The raging started 2004, mostly while traveling, got much worse last year, has been mild in the last couple of months. But I know it could come back any time, it's right under the surface. Don't know if this helps. Bonnie
I guess I wasn't too clear in my first post...I was looking for anyone with PTSD that got it from their life experiences not just military. My bad.
Jazzy - I think the type of PTSD your hubby has is called LOSS later onset stress symptoms...I think that is what it stands for. This is what my hubby suffers from. They don't show symptoms till after they retire because during their lives they are busy raising a family working etc...and then they retire and have time to think and then the symptoms show up. I would go back to VAC and get a hold of the veterans advocate and resubmit and fight them. It is a really good benefit to have hubby and I both have got a pension from them. They also give us funds for yard maintenance and house keeping plus a lot of his medical items....glasses, prescriptions, hearing aids, psychologist and more. If you need the name and number of the veterans advocate I can give you the one I have. I kind of make this my new hobby going after them and getting them to look after hubby properly after all he served this country and this country now needs to look after him.
Also go to your local Legion they will help you out. That's where we went in the beginning and go the ball rolling. Once this goes through not only will he get a pension but you will get a spousal pension which you keep for your life time.
We went to the legion and the service officer told me to call DVA direct, so I did. Now the Legion says they can't intervene because We went to DVA direct. Smart guy, right?? LOSS is only covering those vets who have war experiences. My DH was in the forces during the Korean War but never went there so there is nothing we can do. He is not allowed anything. I have tried it all. I have just covered every angle that others have suggested but nothing is covered. His records show emotional problems in the sixties but they say they are not work related. Governments cover their asses and let the vets down regularly. There are some that have come back from Aphganistan and get no care. Men have died over there and their family were given $250,00.00 and told to move on. I will just have to do the best I can with what I have. Thanks for sharing with me. It means a lot that you care?
That is just wrong! I kind of figured you would check every angle but just in case you didn't.
My next fight with VAC is to get them to cover hubby's LTC costs. If he went into the veterans facility then they cover it but with him going into LTC up here they might not.
Amber That would just be wrong too! The veteran's facility is so far away from you! The least they could do is subsidize the LTC costs so that you are not paying any more than you would if he was at the veteran's center.
My husband has a 100% disability rating for PTSD. He was also diagnosed with FTD back in 1992. Until recently, it never occurred to me that there could be a connection between the two. He does have aggression issues from time to time....not physical but verbal. It took years of appeals to get his disability started. He was also exposed to Agent Orange....he did 3 tours in Vietnam...special forces medic.
He is at home. His Dr says that he most likely will never qualify for nh care. After all this time he can still handle all ADLs. He has trouble with reasoning, executive function, impulse control and judgement....especially judgement. He has been arrested for shoplifting....at the px! Had his dr not gone to bat for him, he would have gone to prison. I know that the shoplifting was not an isolated incident as I have found many items stashed here and there that I know he did not pay for. With all this said, he can still behave pretty normal out in public so most do not realize that he has this disease. I asked his dr about sending him for another evaluation but he says that at his age it would just be a waste of time and money.
ginny - even those with AD will shoplift and have the behavior problems. The brain is so intricate. PTSD can play horrible games with the mind too. I can see why it would be hard to nail down an exact diagnosis. He could just have a combo of different ones.
He is in pretty good health. He had esophageal cancer last year which was caught really early. He was treated at Emory in Atlanta. We were given the option of esophagectomy or a newer, much less invasive technique which uses radio waves to burn away the abnormal cells. We chose the less invasive procedure and he has done well. We go back in March for another follow-up.
Hi gaginny and Jazzy, Just saw that a newly reported study says that theft and other crimes may be an early sign of FTD. It found that criminal behavior is more common in patients with bvFTD and semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia than in those with AD and is more likely to be an early manifestation of the disorder. The reported study found that 37.4% of patients with bvFTD presented with criminal behavior, compared to 7.7% with AD. It appears in JAMA Neurology, Jan. 5, 2015 Jan 5.
myrtle, my husband has bvFTD and before he was dx'd I caught him stealing a plastic beer glass which was on display in a liquor store. He tool it when we were leaving and just put it in the cart. I argued with him to return it but he refused (he' s much bigger and more agile than I am). When I asked him why he stole the glass he said matter of factly "if they didn't want people to take them, why would they put them so close to the door?" I was dumbfounded. No amount of arguing, cajoling, etc. could get him to return the glass. Luckily he wasn't caught; but in hindsight if he had been, maybe we would have had an earlier dx.
I travelled a lot for business at that time...I wonder what else he may have "lifted" while I was traveling?