Has anyone heard of PTSD causing pain?

2 years ago I was involved in a very serious car accident. The accident was caused by someone else and was done on purpose. I was a passanger in a jeep wrangler and the car that hit us was a ford f350. I recieved some injuries, but now its been two years and some of those injuries have not healed, ie; i broke my ribs and they still hurt. I have been to the doctor many, many times and they mostly think i am a headcase. Today my doctor told me that she believes my pain is caused by ptsd. This doesn't make a lot of sense to me, I agree that i do have some form of ptsd as i have reoccurenses and nightmares, as well as a huge fear of pick-up trucks, but could this really be the cause of my chronic pain? The doctor wants me to start taking zoloft, but i am concerned with its side effects. Has anyone heard of ptsd causing pain? and does anyone know of alternative treatments or other drugs that can help treat this. I want to be me again, not this silly lump of pain.

i would say yes.. because you are stressing.. causing yourself more pain... When people stress... u can get chest pains... and usually doctors will prescribe you medicine or tell you to breathe.....

Symptoms
PTSD is an emotional, sensual, psychological and physical disorder. Several or all of these may be displayed through symptoms.

A person with PTSD usually cannot tell you "I have PTSD", unless they are already diagnosed and in therapy. It's not like having a cold or the flu, or a broken leg. The person may or may not remember the traumatic event. They may, in fact, outright deny that they are having any problem, other than the day to day stresses of the job, when in fact they feel inside that they are going crazy. Another difficulty with PTSD is there is generally a period of time that elapses between the trauma and when the behaviors start to show. With acute PTSD this is a much shorter time than with chronic PTSD, which can conceivably be years between the trauma and the fallout.

What I've listed below are behaviors and symptoms I have seen others experience, and some I have experienced myself. This list is not all-inclusive, and, again, may be indications of something other than PTSD. If it is PTSD, they will exhibit more than one symptom from each of the three areas, though you may not see more than one or two.

A word of caution: a few of these behaviors are normal for police officers. It's when they go from "normal" to the extremes that they become abnormal. If you know the person, you know what's normal. Watch out for these changes.

Intrusion
extreme nightmares
extreme paranoia
sense of shortened future, impending doom
Avoidance
loss of interest in sex
depression
isolation-especially from loved ones
avoiding work: increased absenteeism
avoiding certain previously visited locations that were favorites
diminished interest in previously interesting activities, sports, people
lack of motivation, constantly fatigued
loss of Faith in God
sleeping too much
addictions: alcohol, drugs, sex (repeated affairs, or found with a prostitute)
previously active in their work, significant shift to doing little or nothing
weak work performance, quality of work drops significantly
just plain numbing out
stops exercise and previous self-care (poor hygiene)
memory loss or poor recall
disappears for periods of time from home or work
Arousal
problems falling asleep, or problems staying asleep
irritability
worse than usual problems with Police Management and/or the public
more than usual contempt/exasperation with supervision, peers, public
increasingly cynical, maybe at most everything
sudden outbursts of anger or rage, especially overkill for the situation at hand
hypervigilance (paranoia)
exaggerated startle response
obsessive behavior (what is repressed is obsessed and acted out)
compulsive behavior (shame can power compulsion, which can become addiction)
overeating: noticeable weight gain
anorexia: noticeable weight loss
they were previously balanced in their work, or maybe even one of the best, but now it's insatiable, like a crusade
more violence
more hyperactive, and maybe now most all the time
Somatic Problems
problems urinating
frequent headaches
chest pains
intestinal pain
diarrhea, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, blood in stool
frequent, meaning very frequent, belching
very high use of antacids
Chances are you will see only a few of these things, not all of what is really going on. Some of these behaviors a person will outright hide, such as the addictions, for obvious reasons. These symptoms are a window to the soul. These symptoms are digressive, meaning over time they will probably get worse if not treated. PTSD does not go away by itself.

I have ptsd from being raped and i experience pain too.Mainly mine happens when something reminds me of the rape. or i'll wake up from a nightmare in pain like it just happened. I've been working with a therapist and my pain is getting less as time goes on. Report It

It is common for PTSD Patients to feel pain that is not there, just as easily for those suffering from deppression. I have PTSD caused from childhood problems and everytime I hit a trigger I feel pain. I would consult a shrink to see if theres anything you need to discuss.