PNI & Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

[cheshire]

Hi

I read a previous posting on this today, but have also been reading about it myself on the Internet.

I was wondering whether it was possible to have both of these things?? I know this is a strange question, but both of these terms are used in relation to some of my problems by the professionals working with me at the moment. Are they different, interlinked, the same?

I have only just started looking at this but it seems that there may be some overlap in terms of symptoms but I still see PNI as a distinct illness..I'm a bit confused

Hopefulxx

[Veritee]

Hi Hopeful

I always understood that PTSD could be a trigger or pre-cursor to PNI- but that they were very different things.

Many women do suffer PTSD for instance if they have a traumatic or bad birth experience and this traumatic stress is recognized as a factor if they go on to develop PNI.

I had a traumatic and very frightening birth with Caja and probably did have PTSD which was never in fact recognized, and I feel it is a factor in my PNI - but while I am sure that experiencing this did not help my well being I am not sure that I would not have got PNI anyway - and I am sure personally that my PTSD symptoms were separate and quite different form PNI symptoms.

And of course as with anything that involves stress and anxiety symptoms - their are overlaps .

But personally in my non expert opinion PTSD may be a factor in individuals PNI - but I would not say they are the same thing.


After all their are many women who get PNI who's births were perfectly OK and they did not suffer PTSD from any other source - yet they still get severe PNI - and many women suffer PTSD after a birth but do not get PNI.

Have you looked at the Birth Crisis web site?

www.birthtraumaassociation.org.uk/

They might answer your questions if you contact them.

I have always found them very helpful and willing to answer women personally who contact them.

However I am only assuming that the PTSD that your 'professionals' are referring to is in your case caused by a birth experience.

But if not I do not see why other forms of traumatic stress could not trigger or be linked with PNI.

Have you asked the people working with you for an explanation of why they have used the term PTSD?


All the beat

veritee

[yoyo]

Hmm interesting.

I was diagnosed with PTSD within a few days of the birth of Jake then PNI a couple of weeks after.

[cheshire]

Hi Veritee,

Thanks for this.

It's just that it interests me that so many terms get banded around and I'm sure it is because they overlap, as you say. Just like panic attacks are common to sexual abuse and also, PNI survivors.

I don't think they dispute the PNI and like you, I believe it is an illness in it's own right . But they also talk about general bad mix of things happening at around the time of the birth.

Possible triggers for PTSD ( I don't know - are they?):

1. Risk (not particularly high, but higher than average) that baby 2 had Edward's Syndrome (can die shortly after birth) decided against amnio so had no guarantees
2. Husband had major life threatening cardiovascular incident just before the birth. We felt we had to get our affairs in order re. Wills etc.
3. Had no pain relief and had baby at home - over 10lbs (it's makes my eyes water just thinking about it!!) shoulder got stuck and contractions felt as if they had 'run out' - baby pulled out by midwife. Apparantly I went into severe shock and was not passed the baby to hold for a long time (husband says)
4. Had recently disclosed childhood abuse
5. (something which I have felt unable to share before because I am not the sort of person who would normally tolerate anything like this) but when I was pregnant with no2 I was bullied at work - so much so that someone else reported it. How I got myself in that mess I do not know...(but I had just disclosed sexual abuse and was vulnerable). It was a truly awful sitaution, it really was.

Altogether I think a strange meeting of life and death. There was also bereavement in the family (close) at this time so my hospital visits totalled 56 in 8 months for various reasons (and I didn't go to the labour ward to give birth!)

I can see that one (PTSD) might feed the other (PNI)at least...and maybe make it a bit worse?
Hopefulx

[netty]

Hi

I have been diagnosed with both as well so this thread has been very interesting.

As a rn I would have said ''no how can you have both''! but now I have totally had my eyes opened. My ignorance about this illness and its effect upon women has become so apparent since developing it myself.

Love

nettyxx

[yoyo]

Interesting isn' t it?! Guess it's not a foregone conclustion that one leads to another but you can see how easily it can do in childbirth.

Bet there are many more who've had or have post traumatic stress but didn't recognise it or weren't given a diagnosis too!

[cheshire]

I agree, this is really interesting.
I apparantly had some 'classic symptoms' of PTSD, and then could also tick nearly every item on the symptoms list for PNI (home page and APNI) ..same thing, different, linked? Probably never know!

I suppose the fact that we got so ill after the birth is the major problem, but as you say YoYo, I didn't know what on earth was wrong to start with??!That was the hardest part.

Like you I had the awful 'can't lie down as my throat feels so restricted I'll stop breathing - I was so agitated for a spell, I couldn't even sit down without feeling like this.

It's one of the symptoms I hated the most.

Anyway, I guess the only type of research that can ever be done on this would have to be based on case studies, as everyone's own circs. and symptoms are slightly different.

I'd love to survey people's views (cross section of society) of what PNI/ D is and what people think causes it - could be interesting hey?