u/Sleepless-Vet-7780

Hi everyone, I’d really appreciate some advice. My dog is a 3.5-year-old male French Bulldog.

He showed symptoms of IVDD two months ago. At the ER, his right paw had a slight delay on the knuckling/proprioception test, but he had no obvious spinal or neck pain and has never had trouble walking.

Last week he completed 6 weeks of strict crate rest. His regular vet examined him last Tuesday and his neurological exam was normal, including paw placement, so we were told to start very short walks.

After only a couple days of walking, I noticed:

- Difficulty settling/getting comfortable

- Very subtle twitching in a hind leg while resting

- One evening he seemed less interested in dinner than usual

We contacted the vet and restarted gabapentin and put him back on strict crate rest.

He’s currently walking completely normally, with no dragging, wobbling, weakness, or delayed paw placement. He is eating normally, acting happy, and has normal peeing/pooping and can squat normally.

Does this sound like a mild IVDD flare from restarting activity too quickly after crate rest, or could something else be causing the restlessness and twitching? Has anyone experienced something similar when transitioning their dog back to activity after crate rest? Feeling discouraged after this setback. Thank you.

Within the last year, I stopped drinking alcohol and started therapy to work on my complex PTSD and childhood emotional neglect. Now that I know what complex PTSD looks like, I’m starting to think that my adult life and personality have been one big trauma response. I also think a part of me doesn’t want to leave this version of me that trauma built.

I’m not happy, but I also don’t have the strength to try to be anything else. It just feels too hard when I don’t know what’s on the other side. Since I only know trauma, the thought of anything else just feels unsafe and so hard. Can anyone relate?

I stopped drinking eight months ago after more than 20 years of numbing and escaping reality. I already knew I had combat PTSD from my time in Iraq and the military. I only recently learned about complex PTSD and emotional neglect. I’ve been working with a therapist who uses Internal Family Systems, and it’s better than any CBT therapy I had in the past. I feel like I’m finally seeing and grieving the deep pain and emptiness I have felt for so long. I definitely have that emptiness from lack of parental love that many with emotional neglect talk about.

At the beginning of my therapy and sobriety, I cried all the time. Now, I just feel nothing.

I’m 47, never married or had a serious relationship, hyper-independent, view people as dangerous and out to get me, and fear I’ll never have a connection with another human being.

I thought life would be so much better now that I’m sober and healing. At times I feel even more alone though. I have no motivation to do anything. Everything that I feel I should do (eat healthy, workout, lose weight, try to socialize or date) just feels too hard, and I don’t even want to try. A part of me feels I’ve already missed out on life, so why even try now. I know drinking isn’t the answer, but, sadly, it was one of the only times I felt alive. I’m craving that numb and escape again.

Can anyone relate? I don’t know who I am or what I even like. I just feel nothing. My spark is gone. I’m dead inside I think. I am taking medication for depression. I hear people say to find what I like and to try everything. I can’t even muster the strength to do that. Thanks for listening.

I understand Elaine Aron says sensitivity is something you’re born with. It’s interesting that many of the sensitivities and overwhelm can look the same as someone who has experienced trauma and has a dysregulated nervous system.

I also understand that a sensitive body is more likely to experience trauma since we process and feel things deeper. I’m doing some healing work now and just realized that I have complex and combat PTSD and experienced emotional neglect as a child. When my nervous system isn’t overwhelmed, the sensitivities feel more manageable. What do you think? Do you think trauma can make someone an HSP or empath, minus the sensory stuff in some cases?

I stopped drinking eight months ago after more than 20 years of numbing and escaping reality. I already knew I had combat PTSD from my time in Iraq and the military. I only recently learned about complex PTSD and emotional neglect. I’ve been working with a therapist who uses Internal Family Systems, and it’s better than any CBT therapy I had in the past. I feel like I’m finally seeing and grieving the deep pain and emptiness I have felt for so long.

While I do feel like I am healing somewhat, I can’t recall a time I ever felt normal to go back to. How do you go back to a version of you that never existed? I’m 47, never married or had a serious relation, hyper-independent, view people as dangerous and out to get me, and fear I’ll never have a connection with another human being.

I thought life would be so much better now that I’m sober and healing. At times I feel even more alone though. I have no motivation to do anything. Everything that I feel I should do (eat healthy, workout, lose weight, try to socialize or date) just feels too hard, and I don’t even want to try. A part of me feels I’ve already missed out on life, so why even try now. I know drinking isn’t the answer, but, sadly, it was one of the only times I felt alive. I’m craving that numb and escape again.

Can anyone relate and how did you “get back to” a version of you and life that never existed and probably never will? I don’t know who I am or what I even like. I just feel nothing. I am taking medication for depression. I hear people say to find what I like and to try everything. I can’t even muster the strength to do that. Thanks for listening.

I stopped drinking eight months ago after more than 20 years of numbing and escaping reality. I already knew I had combat PTSD from my time in Iraq and the military. I only recently learned about complex PTSD and emotional neglect. I’ve been working with a therapist who uses Internal Family Systems, and it’s better than any CBT therapy I had in the past. I feel like I’m finally seeing and grieving the deep pain and emptiness I have felt for so long. I feel a huge hole inside from what should have been a childhood. My childhood was just emotional neglect, shame, abuse, fear, pain, and feeling like I was wrong and a mistake.

While I do feel like I am healing somewhat, I can’t recall a time I ever felt normal to go back to. How do you go back to a version of you that never existed? I’m 47, never married or had a serious relation, hyper-independent, view people as dangerous and out to get me, and fear I’ll never have a connection with another human being.

I thought life would be so much better now that I’m sober and healing. At times I feel even more alone though. I have no motivation to do anything. Everything that I feel I should do (eat healthy, workout, lose weight, try to socialize or date) just feels too hard, and I don’t even want to try. A part of me feels I’ve already missed out on life, so why even try now. I know drinking isn’t the answer, but, sadly, it was one of the only times I felt alive. I’m craving that numb and escape again.

Can anyone relate and how did you “get back to” a version of you and life that never existed and probably never will? I don’t know who I am or what I even like. I just feel nothing. I am taking medication for depression. I hear people say to find what I like and to try everything. I can’t even muster the strength to do that. Thanks for listening.

I think I had a realization earlier today. I suffer from childhood emotional neglect, CPTSD and combat PTSD. I’ve struggled with emotional eating for most of my life. I remember getting my first job at around 17 and being able to buy McDonald’s whenever I wanted. It felt empowering to not need another person to do something for myself.

At 47, I still struggle with what I know now as emotional eating and have for many years. It’s not so much about the crap food though. I think it’s the experience of being able to control having another human being prepare food for me (do something nice for me). When I order takeout of delivery, it gives me part a feeling of self sufficiency and getting a bit of connection by having someone do something for me. It sounds even sadder writing it, but there’s something to knowing how you work inside. Can anyone else relate?

I recently got approved for OSA and denied for a skin condition in the same claim. I think I have a good case to overturn the denial at HLR. Is there any risk to the approved OSA claim if the skin condition is overturned? I guess I'm asking if VA concedes the examiner got something wrong, does that put my other claim that was decided in my favor at risk? The same examiner did exams for both conditions during the same C&P. Hope that makes sense.

Hey folks, I could really use some advice. My claim for dermatitis got denied because the VA said it wasn’t connected to service, even though they said in the decision letter that the rash happened after a medication I was prescribed. My VA medical record says the medication was prescribed for PTSD symptoms. I’m not service connected for PTSD. I’m service connected for unspecified trauma and stressor-related disorder plus major depressive disorder which have a lot of overlapping symptoms with PTSD.

I’m thinking about requesting HLR and explaining the medication was prescribed because of my service-connected symptoms. Do you think this could be a failure of the duty to assist since they didn’t even check that obvious connection, or are there other VA rules I should bring up? I was already service connected when the medication was prescribed. I’d really appreciate your thoughts—do you think I’ve got a solid case for an HLR?

I filed a supplemental claim for OSA through multiple pathways: secondary to service-connected PTSD that caused emotional eating with weight gain as intermediary step; secondary to service-connected rhinitis. I have nexus letters for both and a letter from my therapist supporting the emotional eating due to mental health.

Here’s my question: I don’t want to miss any of the details I want to cover during the mental health/weight gain/OSA questions. I get nervous during the exams. I want to just give the provider a copy of my lay statement that tells my story and how OSA affects me now.

Has anyone done this? Did the provider read it or take a copy? Do you think it helped you during the exam? Do you think it helped your claim decision?

Appreciate any responses.