Yes that's what desensitization will do, make you miserable short-term for the long term benefit of not having as many flashbacks and nightmares anymore. I think its a fair-trade, but as Dr. Gupta said PTSD is a physiological as well as psychological illness and some of the symptoms never go away. Next time you are traumatized your PTSD will come back again with a vengeance. The less you avoid triggering stimuli the less severe your reactions will become. With desensitization, things (anxiety, stress, flashbacks, avoidance, hyper-arousal) will always get worse before they get better. But the more you run from your fears, the faster they will chase you. I do think its best to wait for the desensitization until you are not experiencing the worst of the symptoms and are on some form of medication. This will at least keep you from getting too depressed.