Federal government to fund horse therapy for injured veterans

Wild Thing,
 I cant say enough about clean eating and fitness along with some form of mind and spirit relaxation. Half the battle with PTSD is understanding it and why its there and what its impacts are. The other half is split between proper health and then medical therapy be it chemical and or therapy.
 My caution to you is dont dump the pills you have been prescribed!!!!! even if you are feeling on top of the world. Ensure any change yu make is spoken about with your doc! Good healthy life style may lend it to reducing what your doc is prescribing but do that with them in consultation. The failure to take a prescription for PTSD will alter chemical levels in your brain and body that set mood. Keep up the good work of living a better life style but talk to doc about what your doing and about the future plan and drug therapy.
 Sorry maybe motherhood but just want to make sure....seen too many go off meds when they felt good to tragedy.

Rags

I have been on a four week cleansing no processed food no sugar no coffee no salt green tea only, and saffron with everything, and i feel excellent lost 20lb and 20 more to go every thing works like im 19 again. fk the pills and fk any and all processed foods boose etc. its so nice to feel alert and alive again i can even tolerate my pain better.this is working for me so far so im going to stick with it. i could run a marathon if i wasnt crippled up. i have so much energy and my enjoyment for life is returning it was hard to give up the junk food but dont miss it at all now best decision i ever made.

Very good thoughts by both Rags, and Teen.

I always (ASK ) (RESEARCH) my medications before taken it.

What you don't want is to start taken something only to later find out that it is doing you more harm, then good.

One very important thing that everyone should remember not/not all doctors know about drugs and the side effects.

It's the PHARMACISTS that know this. It's their bread and butter so whenever in doubt always, always ask them to explain the drug to you and any interaction it may have with other drugs you are on.

I always go to Shoppers here in town. So everyone should stick to one pharmacy because they have you on record and know all the drugs you have been given.

Another advantage to Shoppers is the "drug history" printout I get with each drug that is attached to the receipt. This is and has been very great for me. It reminds me how many refills I have and if I go to a new doctor or for pre-surgery consult I take it with me and just hand it to them.

In Ontario you are allowed to make a 20 minute appointment with your Pharmacist and have them go over your drug history and educate you on the drug and any possible interactions with other drugs.

Thanks Rags picked up some saffron to help with any side effects.

Wild Thing, I will weight in on this, I can only tell you from a non expert in the health world but an expert from receiving health world effects.

Anything your doc prescribes you is for a reason and you should not take that prescription lightly. You should ask lots of questions about what its for why that drug and not another........Most important understand why they gave you that and take it as prescribed. If you dont like it or it is not effective you can ask your doc to change it.....there are lots of drugs that do same thing as the one you got issued. They all effect us differently so pay close attention to your own impacts and effects. I went through several different drugs and levels before I found the one that worked for me best. You are your own best medical assistant in your recovery when combined with your medical team. Those that just sit back wine and take therapy and dont ask questions and work at getting better ....never recover.

Rags

Has anybody used this med if so could you give me some feedback please.

Holy moly, me and another VET recommender this 12 years ago and we were told that we had gone of are roakers!!!!!!!! Pisses me off to see it toke 12 fu-----ing years.

Here is something interesting to read, and I think it is one of those things that could have and affect on some Veterans, and may not have any affect at all with other Veterans.
According to Mr. Ridley and Mr. Gauthier both Veterans claim that it is helping them.
To me if it was to only help one Veteran, that's good enough for me, I don't think it's the end all, but simply another tool that may become available to use going forward that may benefit some Veterans going forward.

The Harper government is taking another step towards mending strained relations with veterans by funding equine therapy for those suffering mental scars from the battlefield.
Sources tell CTV News that Ottawa will soon cover costs of the therapy for injured veterans who qualify for the program.
Veterans Affairs Minister says one of the last remaining hurdles is creating nationwide standards for the programs which bring veterans together with horses as a form of healing.

"So that if stables, whether they're in the west or the east, if they get into this program, we build them in a way that has the benefit of equine therapy alongside the work of clinical psychologists," Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O'Toole told CTV News
A $25,000 pilot study launched by Ottawa two years ago followed seven couples and found significant reductions in PTSD symptoms, along with anxiety and anger levels in those who participated in the program.
For veterans dealing with the scars left behind from military service, the memories are often too painful to discuss in traditional forms of counselling. But sometimes they need a friend, a companion, someone to spend time with as a means of coping with their PTSD.

That's where equine therapy comes in -- a form of treatment that helps mentally injured veterans connect with horses in order to, in turn, connect with their own feelings and hurts.
Sgt. Graham Ridley, a soldier who returned from Afghanistan with severe PTSD, made a major breakthrough after just two weeks in the War Horse program.
"I don't even know what we were talking about or what we were doing that day but I went home and sat on my back porch and sobbed for like four hours, I couldn't even explain it, it was just this overwhelming emotion and I just cried like a school girl, and it felt great," Ridley said.
Spending time with Rocky, Ridley said, helps control his anxiety, depression, and helps unlock the internal hurt that is normally hidden away from the world and even from Ridley himself because it is simply too painful to deal with.
But he has also learned to control the way he reacts to stressful situations, through his experiences working with the horses.
"If you can learn to control this guy or one like him, because they have a mind of their own, because they're so big and they move, it's a powerful tool to show you can control yourself," he said.
Ridley is one of dozens healing through the War Horse program. Master-Corporal Pierre Gauthier has long felt suicidal and unable to cope with the memories he brought back from the battlefield.
But spending time with Dakota -- walking and grooming him -- has changed everything, he says. In fact, his involvement with the program saved his life.

"I was on 16 types of different meds, I had depression and this and that. Since I started the War Horse program I'm down to five," he said. "I've got less stress, I'm more interested in life."
In fact, Gauthier is retiring from the military next year with an early medical release, and plans to buy a farm and horses of his own -- the connection is that strong.
Gauthier and Ridley spend time with Dakota and Rocky at a ranch near CFB-Petawawa in the Pembroke area. And there are others across the country.
In all locations, demand is growing -- largely because soldiers are coming home with wounds that aren't always visible to the eye, and which often come with stigma and shame attached.
Alison Vandergragt, the War Horse program director, said the programs are meeting the need.
"Every day I get a phone call, every day I get an email from a wife saying my husband needs help, what can you do for him?" she said.
It's unclear if the therapy produces lasting results, but Ridley hopes other troubled veterans can get access to the program, he says, saved his life.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/federal-government-to-fund-horse-therapy-for-injured-veterans-1.2333448