P.T.S.D. meds, guns, kids and my brother

I realize that a good majority of you gentlemen have been in the service and have gone through some rough times so I come to you for advice.

I went to visit my sister tonight who had just had her baby and the topic of my brother came up. He is just a mess, it is to the point where my sister does not want him around her children. He always has a gun on him and He has a lot of flashbacks where he hears stuff that is not there. I am all for concealed carry permits, but my brother freaks out a lot, we could be at an airshow and the sound of the jets will put him in a trance. He looks like a heroin addict and ever since returning back from Iraq and retiring from the Army on medical he is on more and more meds. He was addicted to meds before his injury and I point that out to him when he trys to argue that it is for the injury/ptsd. I thinK they (Army/V.A.) just want to "shut him up" , He seems to ALWAYS be at the doctors for one thing or another. This has gone to far and before he kills himself I need to interveene.

What steps should I do so he can get the help he needs before he ends up dead?

Thanks,
Dave

How the hell does he have a conceal carry? He is the last person that needs to be carrying a gun. I feel for you and his situation and really think you need to get him somewhere that can help him but first thing first you need to get that gun away from him. It would only take a few moments of detachment/delusion for him to do a lot of damage.

Hire an attorney and try to get him delcared incompetent. Maybe the court can get him the help that the VA is not giving him.

Other than that I am not sure what you could do. You cannot commit a grown competent man so all he can do is go voluntarily. Which means when he's board he can walk out. Judge says go you go, you leave you go to jail.

Just a thought.

I would say to err on the side of safety, but you haven't said that he has put anybody or himself in danger, either. It's kind of hard to say without a lot of context. Are you worried because of the fact that he is carrying a gun or because of something he has done? What kind of injury does he have and what kind of meds are you talking about? He obviously has access to the VA, they could certainly give him advice on who to talk to if he needs to. Have you tried to talk to the VA yourself? They could probably give you the same information that you could share with him.

Maybe you could get him to see a good psychiatrist and or psychologist outside of the VA. The family might have to shell out some bucks to do this, but it might be worth it. The VA doesn't seem to be getting the job done. I've heard there are some very effective treatments for PTSD. He also needs to address the addiction. Maybe a few months in rehab?

Jordan

In thinking about this some more, it might be worthwhile for you and your family to talk to a professional about how to handle the situation. They could help you a lot more than any suggestions you get here. Again, I would go outside of the VA to get clear of any "conflict of interest".

Jordan

Is he at a stage where he's prepared to seek help? I guess it's also important to try to get him to do things willingly, so that you don't isolate him further. I have no experience with P.T.S.D., but have experienced mental problems in someone that meant everything to me.

You need to gather a few of his military buddies and explain the situation to them, then they can pick him up and take him camping, a few dear friends, some booze and a lot of shared tears will do him good. I know it works Ive seen it. The meds are a serious problem, he needs to be weaned from the escape mechanism, as to how, I dont know.

I have nothing to offer you other than my full sympathy for you and your troubles. I know virtually nothing about post traumatic stress and I never had to deal with it in person. I do understand that it can be excrutiatingly hard to deal with... I certainly have no advice for you; however I can offer you my full wishes of strength and courage to deal with this situatiation and hope that what your brother - and, in fact, all your family - is going through is nothing but a hard phase of his life.
Some good advice has come up in this thread and they are given by people that are indeed more experienced than myself, be it because they are older, because they served in the armed forces or because they know better than myself. I wish you all the best. Good luck.

I need to find out what meds he is on, but it seems to change every couple months. He has done no harm other than drive intoxicated all of the time, talk of suicide, and the other day at a neighborhood party near my house he came to visit he pulled the gun out, but not in anger but still to the dismay of the home owner. My sister has my mom babysit and my brother lives with our parents at that house and it is to the point where my sister does not want the kids around him. My wife and other sister have called the V.A. twice and said without social security numbers, rank etc. they could not do anything. They were more calling about family support and dependancy programs at the time. He does not have any army buddies on the west coast, a few in the wounded warrior program back east, and the rest are dead. His unit was very badly hit in 2007.

I think I will get together with the family and it seems that trying to get the V.A. to help fund a private councilor will be the best bet. If it comes down to it I'll get the family to help pay as well. Thank you for your comments, I was just emotional comming home last night with this on my shoulders.



Dave