Do you ever get PTSD?

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Feb 23, 2013
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I don't mean to water down the meaning of PTSD. But even after years of remission, do you ever shake the effects of your disease? For example... I had a fistula opening in my belly button for about two years. It would regularly drain pus and even seep through bandages and ruin my clothes. That was resolved three years ago after I had surgery... But sometimes, when I feel stressed, I swear I feel a wet feeling on my tummy, so I freak out, peel up my shirt and frantically examine myself. I am then confronted by an unbelievably dry belly button. Or, some days, I just find myself reliving the worst and scariest moments of my disease.

How do you shake the emotional effects of your disease after the physical healing has finally begun?
 
In the early years yes. Not anymore...but I do feel weird every time I go to McMaster University (where I was DX). It doesn't matter why I'm there.
 
I'm not sure if this is PTSD exactly, but I think its similar. Sometimes I get symptoms similar to when I had a traumatic flare up or developed an abscess or fistula. It makes me worry that it might be the same thing again. These symptoms are always related to something else, but having gone through those experiences, your mind automatically jumps to the worst case scenario. For instance a simple fever or back pain for me automatically reminds me of when I had an abscess but in reality I just slept at a weird angle on my bed and have a slight cold.
 
I have PTSD. I think I know what you mean about emotional effects of the disease lingering, but it's not like PTSD.
 
In the early years yes. Not anymore...but I do feel weird every time I go to McMaster University (where I was DX). It doesn't matter why I'm there.

One hospital where I had really bad experiences felt awful going back there, but it was paediatrics so haven't been back there for years and never will again. Another hospital I spent many weeks, had a lot of bad (but not terrible) experiences but on another admission I felt quite relieved going back there. I was very ill and been taken to another hospital as it was nearest and an emergency, but they weren't specialised enough and had no intensive care beds free so they transferred me to the one where I'd been before, and I just felt relieved to be back at a place I knew with better care. I think hospital just usually means strong emotions of some kind, so it always feels weird in some way.
 
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