Well...it's official as it's going to get anytime soon.

[writetolife]

I talked to my therapist and she agreed that though it isn't a DSM diagnosis, the concept of C-PTSD suits me well.

So, I have Complex PTSD, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that yet.  But at least there is a label for what I'm experiencing. 

[Three Roses]

 

[Dee]

I'm not sure how, but my medical records say PTSD - Complex.

I didn't think it could be official because it isn't in the DSM, but I seem to have an official diagnosis.  I was super upset when I first got the diagnosis.  I have come to accept it.  I think I decided, who cares really.  It doesn't change anything.  I need to work on relationships, boundaries, self-esteem, guilt, plus PTSD.  I did notice when I got it other diagnosis went away like major depressive disorder.  I guess it is now in one and not several. 

[writetolife]

I'm not sure how, but my medical records say PTSD - Complex.

I thought they recently made complex PTSD a sub-type of PTSD or something like that, so that if you meet the criteria of PTSD, you can have the "additional" stuff of C-PTSD.  But I'll be a monkey's uncle is I really understand all of that stuff. 

That seems like a really good way to look at it.  The diagnosis doesn't mean anything is different.  It still just means you need to work on those things. 

At this moment, I actually think I'm relieved.  I've been living in this weird space where no one around me seemed to know what to do with me.  I clearly had problems that spoke of trauma, (even I didn't know how bad they were because many of my symptoms just seemed normal to me),  but they didn't fit the traditional PTSD conception, so my doctor, for example, didn't really know what was going on.  I spent so long floating in the middle of everything, feeling like I couldn't claim or talk much about my experiences. 

[Blossoming]

I think you can have a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes that's not in the DSM. Although the DSM is the gold standard so to speak there is a separate medical coding system used (in the U.S. anyway) called the ICD-10 that doesn't always match up with the DSM. If that's confusing there is an article about it if anyone is interested in reading more:
http://www.behavioral.net/blogs/lisette-wright/icd-10-and-dsm-5-language-and-coding-conundrums
That could be how you got the diagnosis Dee despite it not being in the DSM?

I'm so glad you had your suspicions validated by your therapist writetolife!

[Three Roses]

Helpful info, Blossom, thank you.

[Blossoming]

Helpful info, Blossom, thank you.

You're welcome.