Posts Tagged ‘VA’

USA Today has an article in it stating that the increase in drug use among soldiers is due to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Soldiers come back with injuries and PTSD and get hooked on prescription pain medication and mood swing pills. As the 7^th anniversary of the war in Iraq is this month, it seems like a fitting and interesting piece to read.

Perhaps part of the reason for the rise in drug use is the fact that medications are sent constantly through the U.S. mail? It takes forever for a soldier to get seen, some are still waiting for their VA cards, but the medications come left and right, with the soldier even being confused as to what each one is for. Not surprising if one of those injuries affected the brain and if there is a diagnosis of PTSD.

Prescription pain medications are meant to help people but yes, they can be addictive. The intended patient and others can get hooked on them. That is why it is best to be under a doctor’s care so the patient can be monitored. But with a system where a soldier is constantly having to start over, where he or she consistently hears the dismissal attitude that questions the integrity and experience of the soldier or veteran, is it any wonder that it appears prescription pain medication use is on the rise? Not to mention alcohol and marijuana use?

When a soldier comes home, he lives with survivors’ guilt because the same blast that killed his comrade “only” gave him a headache or “only” took an arm or a leg. But realistically, that soldier with an amputated limb or head injury comes home to a new battle, one with the VA where his service is questioned and when someone does believe the DD214 is legitimate, doesn’t want to hear about his experiences because it will give that person PTSD. If a person can claim such a diagnosis second hand, how much more real is it then for the youth who actually lived it?

“Not in the system” is a term many veterans are hearing over and over and over again. Is it any wonder they turn to marijuana and alcohol use? In drug rehab, we are taught about enabling. How enabling is it for a system to turn its back on the very soldiers it was set up for? It’s hard for them to fight for their rights when they are remembering the buddy who lost a life. It’s hard for them to question the fairness of a system that doles out millions in bonus checks to employees while wounded veterans are kicked to the curb.

So they quietly go to their corner, drink a few more shots and smoke a little more weed. They take the pills delivered by mail when what they also need is counseling, medical monitoring and a call center set up that does not belittle their contribution to their country. If a call center representative spoke to a customer the way some of the ones for the VA system speak to veterans, that representative would be out on the street looking for another job. Instead, he or she is just lining the pockets of the higher ups with fatter bonus checks. Whether the veteran is in Texas, Michigan, Florida or another state, he or she needs something besides mailed prescription bottles. Maybe that’s why drug use is on the rise among those who have been to Iraq and Afghanistan.