STOP DENYING disability compensation! Include any/all autoimmune & neurological diseases/disorder as presumptive illness.
Assume Veteran's service in Theater of Operations (SWA) is cause of any/all autoimmune/neurological disease/disorders. Assume any display of symptoms during/after Gulf War service is connected/caused/is a result of sevice in SWA & compensate. Don't wait to admit/compensate Vets like those who are sick/dying due to Agent Orange.
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Paul Gleave (4th&1st Armoured Division) commented
I deployed to Saudi in 90 and had my 21st birthday in the Desert just outside Kuwait. I am now 47 and suffering with the auto immune disorders of Psoriasis and Ulcerative Colitis to name but a few things. I'm always tired and have statred to find it difficult to breathe at times lately. I am struggling day to day and find it hard to concentrate on anything. I need help! Can anyone point me in the direction of some UK help?
Thanks and good luck to all.
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David LaShell commented
I am growing weary of this denial of Gulf War veterans. Although I was not in country during the 90-91 period I was providing aircraft support from RAF Fairford, England. I later returned to Saudi Arabia in 1993-94 at Dhrahn supporting the "no-fly zone" in Iraq. This is where I believe most of my problems were intensified.
I have believed since 2005 from speaking with and talking to others of ODS that auto-immune diseases are prominent in all of us. I have seen and taken part in several Gulf War studies that are actually demonstrating this phenomenon, even as a bio marker which the IOM says has not been verified in any of the research to date.
I have talked several times to the researchers at the RACGWI committee and verified with them that many of the treatments they are using are part of my regimen for relief. To date though I am 100% (10% IU) none of my ratings are listed as GWI. How is this possible and why are they trying to stop the research for treatments without getting answers?
I want to fight on but with the revelation now by the IOM as our veterans are showing signs of the aging process they are giving up on us because are numbers are too few. What is it going to take to get recognized as environmentally exposed by our own nation during this war? Someone needs to take notice and get into this fight to help out, that means veterans and officials to get this done.
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CPLSmitty commented
@danielmccoy I totally understand & understand the feeling. Please hang in there! Don't let them win! If you give up, they win! There is a group that are fighting for us up on the Hill. You can follow them on Facebook. Its the National Gulf War Research Center (NGWRC). Jim Bunker & Ronald Edward Brown have been our voices! They are finally getting folks in Washington to hear us! I thank God for them & you too, my feloow brothers-in-arms. Keep the faith! Stay in the fight! #prayingforyou
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Daniel McCoy commented
I served in the Gulf War. Since then, I have developed 5 autoimmune disorders that the VA keeps denying any compensation. 1) Palmer-Plantar Psoriasis 2) Diabetes Milletus 3) Angio Edema 4) Pernicious Anemia and now 5) Multiple Schlerosis. None of these diseases run in my family. All of them started after the war. Can't wait to see what else is coming. Doesn't really matter. I'm checking out if it get worse.
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Vickie Harper commented
Today, my pcp at the VA, asked if I knew what Lupus was. Vaguely, I said. She wants me tested. I was ODS, Dec 91-May 92. Admin for helicopter medevac unit. Presence at bunker verified by official letter.
I get home, get on internet and haven't stopped crying from how common this is with us ODS vets. And it all fits symptoms I've had for decades.
I can't work. Everything hurts and flare ups exhaust me.
The VA has been working on relief for joint pain for near 6 months. Great occupational therapy outsourced!
Stopped smoking in March 14, now, lung heaviness so horrible that I'm considering going back to it. Never had trouble breathing while smoking.
Lupus fits. Thank God I'll be tested. In some ways I pray it is, so I have answers.
It seems like in some VAs you say key words and get a disability and get a check. Sure, that would be grand, but I want to know what is wrong wih my body. -
janet commented
Kelly, what is your eGFR and IgG and subclasses? Do you have skin and resp diseases? Have you ever had a blood transfusion? Are you on meds?Squalene is from shark's liver unless they synthesized it. I'm allergic to thimerasol, topically, contact lens or mucus membranes, had occupational allergy MD testing done in 97. Mercuy level is 2, 0-10 range, was told to avoid eating food w mercury, never had a doc tell me that before, even though I was aware.I have numerous adverse reactions to 1x use of meds, immediate bronchospasm, req prednisone, albuterol nebs/benadryl, etc, omnaris 2x use in 24 hr dropped lung function to 53%,sample from MD, also allergy to hyaluronic acids-synthetic/animal, it's in nasal spray was told to use something to keep nasal mucosa moist, that did me in , too. Hyaluronic acid is normal in our skin, but the cosmetic kind is Restylane for those wrinkles, also comes from bull testes if not synthetic, so becareful w cosmetic fillers.
I sure hope you have a good immunologist and emergency meds on hand. babesia is in the blood supply and cannot be tested pre use. I hope you are getting some type of medical care. Chelating agents for gadolinium would cause it to accumulate more to the kidneys, where it would normally be filtered out, but chelating would cause more renal damage. How do you know you are gadolinium toxic? skin biopsy is proof, though Mayomedicallaboratories.com -gadolinium shows serum testing, skin biopsy, urine random and 24hour. This is not done on heavy metal testing /screening. What are your liver function tests? The kidneys and liver are about the only organs that filter out that junk, lymph/spleen can be damaged. I hope you are not in pain and contact your VA liaison via your Congressman! -
Kelly commented
"read all sections of this posting to include comments. see gadolinium poisoning. see fda.gov for same, metal injected for MRI (magnets need metal) but was originally for film development. Kodak? now injected into humans, search TC 99, see where that comes from. US should be ashamed of itself. I'm not proud to be an American. See what they've done to us, to include civilians, children, etc. See human experimentation. Radiation etc. VA says they are paying on Agent Orange. go to va.gov"
I am gadolinium toxic, I have other heavy metal toxicity as well as hydrazine. I am positive for mycoplasma, squalene, brucella, tularemia, clostridium, botulinum, ebola, lyme, ehrlichea, babesia, bartonella,chlamydia pneumonae along with many herpes viruses including epstein barr and HHV6. My immune system resembles that of an HIV patient. I am a walking talking petrie dish and toxic waste dump. I am fighting for 100% service connection and guess what...I served in May 92-Oct 94 and never made it to my deployment. I'm nondeployed and I have gulf war illness. What's the common denominator...vaccines and communicable pathogens=bioweapons. Infectious disease and vaccines are the two main causative agents of GWI that the govt has taken off the table because they don't want people figuring out the damage they caused us.
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The current description of an undiagnosed illness is too vague for anyone to properly document. The explanation of this undiagnosed illness clearly includes the category of neurological, endocrine, immunological disorders (NEIDS) such as ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, and other multi-symptom and complex disorders. The National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control has recently concurred with recommendations from scientific experts to classify ME/CFS as a neurologic disorder under IDC-10-CM, matching similar movements internationally to recognize this and similar NEIDS-type disorders as significant physiologic system disorders.
Adding these symptoms as disorders that clearly fall under the neurological signs and symptoms in the presumptive clause of the law (38 U.S.C. 1117(g)), and this could easily be applied to fatigue, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, and sleep disturbances as well.
This would provide a great deal of clarification for ratings officers and make it easier for claimants, VA medical personnel, and civilian providers to understand the specific nature of the diagnosis documentation requirements for claimants, rather than the current vague and nonspecific language.
Dr. David D. Hatfield, SGM, US Army (Retired)
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janet commented
Did you have a "gulf war physical" when you returned to conus? We had to, they sent certified letters on updates, when I pcs'd to Ft. Lewis, one doc tracked me down to "give me the results", which were, "you have antibodies to Epstein Barr virus". Nothing else. Well, who cares, 1996, Nov, last month AD, sick, in ER 3x for resp sx, then asthma dx via methacholine challenge test, then sicker,2004 2nd sinus surg, 2007 3rd sinus surg + Pseudomonas, aspergillus F, lots of oral meds, continued cough, still untreated for + pseudomonas in lungs/bronch, begged for IV antibiotics, got 6 wks of Cefepime, then got UTI, known bacteria, untreated for 5 mo Univ of Col, finally went to downtown urologist, 2 cystos, cultured, hematuria-due to type of bacteria, 3 courses antibiotics, 1 amox-resistance, then zyvox, previous uti/renal surgery, 2004 neg test for CF-sweat/common screen panel, still continued with lung/sinus infections and ineffective antibiotics, they don't help the sinus mucus, saline rinses clears it out, 2008, DNA tested for CF, + rare mutations, epigenetic-means external causes, now dealing with MRI side effects from gadolinium, search it, metal used for magnets in MRI scans, last Dec 2010, July skin sx occurred w inc dermal mucus, and persist.
MRI gadolinium metal causes all types of neuro/muscular, nausea/vomiting, dec appetite, sleep disorders, mood, mental fatigue,muscle fatigue, hair loss and dec renal function. Get your labs , CBC, IgG and subclasses, if you have rashes, take pics , get biopsied, got to civilian MD"s, check www.mayomedicallaboratories.com for gadolinium serum, but the skin biopsy makes the diagnosis of this progressive disease, I knew the CF wasn't the cause of my last 4 years of symptoms, doc denied knowing what inc dermal mucin is, inc the rash, one idiot Inf Dis MD said flea bites, none here, then said HSV and rx'd Acyclovir, I have no HSV history. check your kidney function and avoid contrasted CT and MRI scans, they can be done plain or have ultrasound, Rx physical therapy. VA Denver told me they choose to keep what they want in the records, yet I have 100%, so , how can they choose to treat what they want, I give them all info, pics and med lists, it's never updated. Latest Comp was 2008 when CF diagnosed, but the clerk at the VA hosp entered the wrong data code, so it shows endometriosis, which I don't have, but VA regional has the correct info. Get your congressman's VA Liaison involved and stop this nonsense. Most VA hosp staff is from the local medical school, they are just passing through and the VA assignment is like not working at all, they stay about a year or less, get an attending, staff MD, who most likely is on staff at the local medical school. Denver, the VA, Denver Health, NJH is all staffed by Univ of Colorado MD's. they farm them out to other hospitals, clinics, etc. All over the state. go to fda.gov and search your meds as well as fda.gov-gadolinium, which will not tell you it's metal. search tc99m, nuclear med/tracer/chelater.
Sadly, the gov't does hope you die so they don't have to pay you cause you can't work, I told them here in Denver, I'm ashamed to be an American and wished I had never been in the military. Keep your head about you, one day at a time, eat healthy, do something that keeps you busy, sports, swimming, running, get a routine and enough sleep, write info down, make copies, have a plan how to resolve this, cause it's going to get worse when the troops come home and they have no jobs, either. Don't rely on the VA to keep track of your meds, Make your own list, start with current meds, allergy/adverse reactions, medical hx, surgical hx, lab tests, current sx, short chronology of events, they will never read your entire record, by keeping this short journal, it's 10 pages now, also includes emergency contacts, advance directives, DNR orders, donor status, be careful with clinical trials. the big phaRma companies conspiracy is to keep most of of ill with man made diseases and a link to our bank accounts, while they tell you are neurotic, have fibromyalgia, depression, other made up "diseases". Read books on Toxicology, I was getting suspicious of why I was not getting better, though I begged for help, literally, they did nothing. Now, on total disability. While you may have GWI, it can be made up of many recognized disease states. I have canine Rx book, says not to mix pyrodistigmine with chlorqquine. that's for dogs, That's what we were given. I didn't take them together, only 1 week of pyridostigmine, 3x daily, stopped. Please avoid supplements, many otc homeopathic's have metals in them. they are not therapeutic doses and you will waste your money, they are not curative, but for people that are sick, you need real medications. Good luck -
Warren commented
I was beginning to think I was the only one feeling this way about the symptoms and pain I was feeling, I was also in perfect health before I joined the U.S. Army, I to have the systoms of GWI and not one time that I have been to the VA have my doctors mentioned anything about my overall joint pain, PTSD, memory loss, anger and other things I have complained about being related to GWI. I'm tired of being given pill after pill and sent home to suffer the side effects, not to mention given pills that aren't supposed to be taken together, thats one of the primary jobs of the doctors and the pharmacy, to give us meds that will help us not make us worse, its almost like we're given medication to shut us up in the hopes that we OD and or die from the side effects. I'm on my 3rd marriage and have never felt more alone, violent or more rage in my life, I'm to the point now I don't even want to be around people, so I isolate myself to the house to make sure I don't harm anyone or them harm me and not only that I don't feel like going anywhere because my pain, but I love my country and if asked to go fight now I would be the first one in line to do so, joint pain and all but when are we gonna have our country do the same thing for us when it come to standing up for us and our rights as Gulf War Vets, NO ONE listens to us it's like we're making all our pains and frustrations up, LISTEN FOR ONCE VA!!!
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sea52501 commented
Kevin - Thomas Paine said, "That government is best that governs least." Our founding fathers still have lessons for us today in dealing with the legacy of the government they helped create. Never underestimate the power of ideas - Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" comes to mind with all the lessons we need for peaceful protest. Not that a revolution is the answer, but that treating any injustice inflicted on our people as the product of enemies of the Republic (foreign or domestic) has but one response from any of us who served the Republic. Our solemn vow remains in place. We must support and defend the Constitution of the United States - there is no release from that oath - even after we stop wearing the uniform. The moral difference between those of us sickened and injured by our time in service and those who hold office within the Republic or the beaurocrats wielding influence from within the vast labyrith of government red tape is that we have a clarity of focus on these issues (when focus is possible) that comes from digging the trench, laying in the fox hole, storming the beach, taking the hill, patrolling the jungle, bedding down to wait out the sandstorm, holding the high ground so that those we left behind wouldn't have to. There are always voices in the wilderness - you just have to find them and give them a forum... like this.
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Dedicatedsoldier commented
sea52501 - I have made the effort. Not enough veterans are willing to support such a protest. The defective reasoning of: "My country right or wrong" only fuels the silencing of the aggrieved
and empowers those that want to strip the VA's budget. Too many veterans vote against their own interests, or don't vote at all. What's particularly sad, is that many members of my own military unit won't even associate with me on this issue. None are willing to go public to criticize their own gov't. -
Dedicatedsoldier commented
Robert - It is Lupus, caused by use of the live virus (attenuated anthrax) in our case. Twenty years ago the chief of Army Epidemiology was silenced on this fact. CNN Networks did a very brief interview, most of it "whitewashed" of causative factors wich were known back then. I declined the public interview as CNN wanted me to not foment reasoning supporting the troops claims. Even when given the chance to really support the troops, CNN backed out like a disloyal sissy. I was one of the first vocal members of the cause, eventually I was paid a couple of visits from the Defense Investigative Agency recommending that I try to be a "good citizen" and not bring up these issues on the news networks. I've paid just about one million toward investigative diagnostics for myself. Drs. Haley, Nicholson and Pam Asa are spot on with their claims. Unfortuately for us, Congress doesn't want to hear it...
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sea52501 commented
Just thinking about the effort involved makes me shudder. However, a good plan and word of mouth can do a whole lot!
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Ezjay commented
I wonder if we came together (like the people on Wall Street, and across the US now because of this mess of an ecconomy) and set up camp outside the VA, marching, picketing, with signs that say "Ths VA has Hoodwinked, Bambooseled, Boongagled the Gulf War Vet!", would we get their attention...Maybe. For sure We'd make CNN. I'm down.
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Robert commented
They need to pay up. I have all the symptoms of Lupus. I was told that it is mostly a "womans" disease and since I am not female it is probably not Lupus. I have done some research and yes Gulf War vets (men and women) are developing Lupus at an alarming rate. Come on VA pay us...my tax dollars and my service are what is paying your salaries!!
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sea52501 commented
Balanced budgets require cutting expenditures or increasing revenue. Fine. Here is an idea: Grant EVERY currently filed claim for disability. Reassign or fire EVERY VA claims specialist, team manager, area supervisor, and decision review officer at EVERY VA regional office. The savings from this mass firing should help to balance the budget. Retain a small number of claims specialists to randomly audit claims files and connect continued benefits payments to VA health care's existing progress note electronic record system. Not only are the tools already in place to make this plan feasible, but the very notion of a veteran having to 'prove' their conditions are related to their service decades after having served is an insult to the honor and fidelity our nation has already attested to in the faithful execution of their active duty service.
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CPLSmitty commented
Ezjay, I am the original poster. I am a female who served with the HQ, 89th MP Brigade out of Ft Hood, TX. during that time we arrived in Dammam at a place we named Griffin Base. It was a big compound with a huge hangar. We were the first in. We slept outside with no shelter. Our food for a week was hard rolls & juice boxes from the locals as none of our conexes made it over. After a few months we received old trailers that were infested with ungodly sized roaches. I wouldnt let my dog sleep there. They bought and used industrial strength pesticides as the roaches took over camp. Fast forward to the night airstrikes kicked off we'd been taking anti-malaria tabs, pb, anthrax etc. Needless to say many of us were feeling strange symptoms but didnt know what they were. Fast forward to KKMC, one clear sunny day we had a scud attack. Nothing new. Except this time I and another Soldier walking with me saw cluster bomblets smoke in the distance & our nbc alarms went off. We donned masks, protective gear & sought cover. When we (2 lower enlisted) tried to report it to our S2, MAJ Hernandez, he told us there was nothing to report because we didnt see anything. We pleaded with him, it fell on deaf ears. We spoke to our S3, same thing. This is only a few accounts, there are many more. Needless to say, prior to joining Army, I was in perfect health. Now at age 41, having been diagnosed with multiple blood disorders, ITP, almost died, Acute Chronic Asthma, and oh yeah spleen removed b/c it thought my platelets were foreign bodies, I am juat simply tired. Tired of the lies. Tired of all the smoke & mirrors called research/studies. Tired of being treated for a whole host of symptoms that no one at VA is even willing to consider may be caused by 9 months in Desert Shield/Desert Storm. I'm just tired. I pray to God that we will someday soon, be heard/vindicated/compensated. I cry, I get angry, I cry some more. But mostly, I'm just tired.
Feel free to reach me e_ginasmith@yahoo.com
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Ezjay commented
I'm commenting here because there's a lot of votes. Ya think this one will cause someone at the VA to read these?...If you read every blog here it's all saying the same thing, "We're suffering from the Gulf War, We all Served Proudly, VA has a process problem." I think the Managers and straw Bosses need to ask the 5 why's.. Why are these Vets commenting in this manner, Why are they unhappy with the system, Why won't VA honor/ obey the LAW and help them, Why is the VA claim process BROKEN and "Presumptive Service Related ignored", Finally WHY can't we listento these Vets and help them? Has any Vet of the Gulf War received "Anything" that relates to their Service in the Gulf War Theater? Hopefully, (not sure) the VA will read everything written here and be better for it....Back date our claims if they are "Presumptive" to the date that War ended. We didn't make ourselves sick, but for sure when we joined your organization we all passed physicals, and when we landed in that sand box we were all Healthy and fit to fight and Win....We have offered you proof from every angle there is, from letters to us stating our units were in the area when those harmful chemicals and munitions were destroyed. We took shots, PB pills, and suffered while there from them...we had no fresh food, or water...but who cared then, or who cares now...right? We won.
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Dedicatedsoldier commented
RoundUp herbicide can induce ALS, interesting how the Air Force sprayed this stuff everywhere, including the training areas in basic training. My "syndrome" began the last week of boot camp!
Of course the experimental anthrax vaccine created more siezure activity that was discovered while trying to land an airplane on a training run - good thing I didn't wipe out the neighborhood below!
For God and Country! WooHoo!