Gulf War Illness Solved

Gulf War Veterans News Alert

With all the attention we have solved the problem of Gulf War Illness!  After all at the end of two years a 75 million dollar- 5 year project at Southwestern Medical University was cancelled.    The Senate VA Committee Chairman just put out a letter with no full hearings or investigation by the US SENATE.  Funding has been going down since 2001.  VA Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans ends with a wimper and no press release when they turned in their report to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.  But have we really taken care of our Gulf War I (90-91) Veterans – Desert Storm Veterans? 

It is time to let you know the Congressionally Mandated Veterans Affairs’ Research Advisory Commmittee is meeting in DC Nov 1-2!  Maybe there will be some huge announcement then leading into that sacred time of Veterans Day.  I wonder if there will be Senators or Representatives or their staffers present?  Will the Press be there so we get coverage equal to the Balloon Boy in Fort Collins Colorado? 

What will President Obama say about VA help for Gulf War Veterans?

Well if I have your attention I would like to share some comments from the gulf war veterans themselves and how they are receiving the news approaching their 20 years since they served in the 1990-91 Gulf War.

Excerpts taken from a collection out there on the internet: 

By Dan on 2009-09-16 16:14:40
 
I got out of the Army in 1994. I had almost twelve years time in, a wife and two kids, I walked away from everything. I was experiencing almost all of the syptoms associated with GWS but at that time it didn’t have a name and we were going thru a RIF, (aka-a peace dividend). As soon as we got back from the Desert my unit was deactivated and this happened a total of three times in about two years. They kept moving me around Germany to different units.

I’m going to post this and continue in another comment. For some reason my comments won’t post all the time and I’m getting tired of re-writing this.

By Philip on 2009-09-16 16:24:55
 
The VA has done nothing and refuses to acknowlege anything, same goes for civilian doctors, start treatment then convenently forget You exist. 
 

By Dan on 2009-09-16 16:33:06
 
It was a hectic time to be in the service and being an NCO I didn’t pursue a lot of medical help. When I did see the medics I usually got a prescription for motrin and was sent on my way. Anyways, I put in for the SSB and just left it all.

When I got back to the states I applied for disability benefits and they suggested I have a gulf war physical. I honestly don’t remember everthing that occured back then but I do remember being treated like a Malingerer by most of the staff I encountered. When my C&P came around I mentioned I was having pain throughout my body but particularly in my left arm. I suggested it was because I had broken it on active duty and claimed it accordingly. As it turns out, I had broken my right arm! lol When I got my evaluation letter from VA, they basicly called me a liar and sent me packing. Jeez, Now that was embarrassing! I dropped everything and just let it go. 
 

By Dan on 2009-09-16 16:45:22
 
So after my claim for disabiltiy was denied I started a business and tried to get on with life. The problem was I really was having some serious health issues and I was losing it mentally. I ended up going bankrupt and getting in trouble with the IRS for back taxes. The wife in germany divorced me and the german government wanted child support. I was at the end of my rope and probably would have committed suicide at that point if my younger brother hadn’t beat me to it.
 
 

By Dan on 2009-09-16 17:03:39
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I decided to try the VA one more time because I had nothing to lose at this point and I really didn’t want to hurt anyone I just wanted help. So I went to the VA emergency room and again they treated me like pond scum but they played it by the book and also got me a mental health evaluation. The Mental health person was a douchebag and I asked her why she bothered to work at VA with her shitty additude. Her additude was so judgemental it just sent me through the roof!
 
 

By Dan on 2009-09-16 17:14:53
 
Dang, just writing this down is pissing me off all over again but I digress. So anyways the douche made an appointment for me with the mental health clinic. They assigned a student doctor and she was the first person that treated me respectfully in regards to VA staff and so I was totally open and honest with her. I guess I convinced her I was serious about how things were going to happen cause I got sent upstairs to a more experienced doctor. They gave me a bunch of meds and said I had ptsd, which I probably did and do but the pain was real and they tried to convince me it was stress that was causing it.
 
 

By Dan on 2009-09-16 17:33:35
 
I reapplied for disability benefits and this is where things got interesting. When I went for my C&P the doctor looked nervous and sent me out for x-rays and a CAT scan, he told me he would call if he found anything. The x-ray tech started out treating me like a malingerer but after he took my x-ray’s he told me my "neck was all f*cked up" and then he was nice to me and said "if I needed anything to let him know."
So now I was scared because I didn’t know how bad "all f*cked up was". The exam and x-rays were done on a friday and I waited until about wedsnday for the doctor to call me but he never did. I got really scared and thought I might have brain cancer or something. Go figure! For someone that just wrote he wanted to commit suicide, I guess maybe I was having second thoughts!lol

 
 I’ve been fighting the VA for 16 years. Three 0% upper respiratory service connected, 3 tumors in 97, 3 more in 2005, masses & legions in rt lung, liver failure 2x, kidney failure 2x, 2 heart attacks, numerous spine & nerve disorders, seizures, 50% L5 fracture service connected, 10% sciatic paralysis both legs, pelvis, sacrum (w/arthritus), 2 kids w/birth defects, migraines.
I can’t name it all, I almost spend more time @ VA than home. Ruined 1 marriage & it’s whittling away @ # 2.

1.  They treat Gulf War illness like they did Agent Orange from the Vietnam War
September 3 at 10:29pm ·
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2.  AMEN to that David! why would they want to listen to any of us? we are just pawns in their sick twisted world.
September 4 at 12:42pm ·————————————————————————————————————————-
IF you gulf war Veterans dont start calling your senators and Reps the UTSW Med study has no chance! get on the phones call their home offices and tell them we want the UT
Southwestern Gulf War Study!
NOW OR NEVER
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3.  September 4 at 1:17pm ·I’ve had a blackout on Sunday and now today, is anyone else having this problem?
3 hours ago ·

1.               I have not been doing well, and a couple weeks ago it got real bad and i was peeing blood, so thinking that and the amount of lower back pain i had a kidney stone as i had one in the past. went to er and they had lab work and then gave me a full look if all know what i mean plus a shot of some toridal for pain then trip up for ct and then wait in a chair of pain all afternoon till i was about to leave but wife said i had to be discharged, finally called back by same er doc and when he see’s nothing on ct to cause the blood he asks me point blank if i stuck a tooth pick or other sharp object "you know where" to cause the bleeding. I was in disbelief and horrified by such a question and told him so he then gave a long story of someone doing something similar and i told him to stop as it was making me feel worse just thinking about doing such a thing.
anyway I left and never went back the bleeding stopped after a week but pain still bad, but i think my days at va are over permenantly. to be going through such a ordeal and worried about it as the bleeding was pretty bad only to be accused of self-mutilation, just blows me away. I don’t even have tatoos or piercings anywhere, just not my thing.
And this is what the gov. wants for every American, not good.

plus talked with another vet asked him if he was in the Storm as we was same age he said no he was embarresed by why he was in the system so i asked and he said he was at Ft. Hood getting ready to deploy for bosnia back in 94 or 93 but anyway he said he recieved abunch of shots and his pancreas shut down he lost 80 some pounds and he almost died and was medical discharge, i told him that was nothing to be embarrassed about as thses shots have done that to alot of good soldiers.

All this in just one day at your local va.
 
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2.                        I was recently speaking to person that served with me in 1/5 and he told me that a guy we knew died from GWS (I know…GWS doesnt exist). I know of a couple of other Task Force Ripper Vets I had contact with years ago that had also complained of symptoms. Is there anywhere to get information on GWS claims down to the unit level or area of operation?

Hearing this kind of frightened me. We went into southern Kuwait, through the mine fields, through the oil fields, and stopped outside of Kuwait City. I think I had the Anthrax vaccine and we did take the nerve agent antidote pills and some other larger pills. We had to have considerable exposure to the oil fire contaminants since we couldnt see during the day. We we experienced multiple chemical alarms during our treck. I have had a "rash" (white spots on my back, neck and shoulders that is worse in the summer) that I first noticed in about 1992. Naval doctors at Legune gave me some kind of shampoo like cream that I used on it, but it never has gone away and I haven’t seen anyone else about it. Also have some joint pain, mostly in the hips and knees, that comes and goes but is sometimes awefully annoying. I pretty much attribute the joint pain to aging, weight gain and lack of exercise but have kids now and am worried that I may have passed something on to them. My four year old often tells me his legs hurt, and I really don’t know if he is just trying to get attention or what. Anyone have any infromation that may ease my mind?

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JP- Gulf War Vet 1st Bn 5th Marines
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3.  I have just tested positive for Lyme Disease.
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4.   HELP!! My bro. served in the 1st gulfwar, he applied for disability, was offered 10% his repersenative says no we can get more but he failed to file papers in time. now my bro. can’t get any info from him even his medical & discharge papers. Since he filed he has been disabled according to Social security.ptsd, gulfwar syndrome, fibromyalgia, brain tumer, heart & lungs of an 80yr old. His 4 kids all have some major health issues & now his wife is sick. Where can he start the process over.
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5.   Hey folks lately I have been having this sensation of vertigo? For example if I drive fatigued suddenly it is like the lines come up the road and seem to "float" at me – and then a kind of tunnel vission experience takes place.

This feeling also happens if I happen to be somewhere and people are walking around me in various directions at one time. It is as if my brain is stimulated by perpherial vision – and suddenly the ground feels like it is zooming up and I have a moment of being disorientated in space and time.

This is scary, but passes in seconds.
I am on Ritalin for my cognitive issues and it seems maybe the increase in this might be related. I have to be on the Ritalin now to function.

I have not passed out. Although it seems to be threatening. I have also had a lot of nasuea waking me at night with the room spinning sensation.

Anyone have any idea what is going on?
I’ve been sick since my deployment in 2003, and I do have my concerns about the future. ——————————————————————————————————————
6.  I have similar issues and have had them for a long time. Any shooting pain in your head or temporal lobe headaches? A good dose of medical O2 helps me a lot!! Cluster headaches is what I have only because they ruled out seizure disorder.

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7.  I have yet to be disoriented while driving. I have had issues of extreme headaches though when playing video games on internet. Certain graphics tend to cause bad headaches and pain in me. I don’t have eplisepy and no one in my immediate or extended family has it either.

Before I got ill with all my medical problems I used get migrane headaches with tunnel vision often. Since end 2001 start 2002, which started the chronic pain,sleeping issues, and rash and more, I have maybe 3 migranes (which used hit often every 3 to 4 months or less). I often joke, but truthfully, that I would trade the migranes back for getting rid of the rest of my problems. The tunnel vision you describe is sorta like what I get when I get migranes I get this merging of my fields of vision like I had one cyclops eye instead of 2 normals eyes. The vision further degrades into jigsaws after that along with intense pain. If I take some kind headache medicine for it and knock myself out I am ok. Side note: when I suffer from my chronic pain tylenol etc does not work for me. I am not supposed to take asprin but if I am off somewhere and get migrane ( which is rare now days) I do take it.
Might try see if one the new migrane medicines on the market helps you endure. I posted some my information hoping it helps you somehow.

Just remebered I did have one major issue of vertigo when I was trying a new major skin antiobiotic a few years ago. Nearly passed out from it after walking a few yards. I figured out it was the clindomycin phosphate after elminating my medicines one by one.

Sorry about all the edits to the post sometimes I get stupid memory blocks and don’t remember something till later. Makes for crappy mood in me when I used have an excellent memory.
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8.   Yes, I have been getting dizzey since Desert Storm. I lose my eye sight completly in my right eye and then I pass out .
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9.    I was diagnosed with Parkinsons April, 2005. I flew A-6s from Ranger (45 DS missions, a dozen or so after) through oil clouds and occasionally low (150 feet to 6000 feet) and potentially through clouds of "other" contamination. I’d like to be put on your list.

By Dan on 2009-09-16 17:51:44
 
So I ended up back in the emergency room trying to get them to tell me what was wrong with my neck without letting them know I knew anything. But they wouldn’t tell me anything, I don’t know if they even knew about my neck. They had me hooked up to one of those monitors and just left me waiting in the back. After waiting a while, I disconnected myself and left, cursing them on the way out! I went to a civilian hospital and told them I needed to know what was going on with my neck and they did their thing. The doctor told me I had a couple of pretty bad disc that may explain the arm pain and I wasn’t terminal from it. whew!!!

I also know GWS is real because I am completely drained all the time since before I got out of the Army and the rest of my body aches as well though it varies from place to place and intensity, my memory is sh*t which may explain why I forgot which arm I broke. I just don’t feel right or well and haven’t since I got back. I feel sorry for all my brother and sister vets that are going thru what I did. You are my family and I pray you are given the help and respect you have earned.

God Bless

By Dee on 2009-09-16 20:51:57
 
My husband claim has been back in forth from the Regional Office and the Appeal Board since 1994. This is the type of treatment that most
of the Veterans of the Gulf War have been receiving. I think the VA
would like to see them all COMMIT SUICIDE.
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1.
I have been sick for 9 years now. I am tearing up right now because I have found a group that knows what I am going through. It isn’t just me though. My family has to see me suffer with so many symptoms. It makes them sad too. I have PTSD, all but one symptom of GWS. but the VA can’t seem to diagnose me with anything but PTSD, Severe depressive disorder & Anxiety/panic attacks. I am such a mess most of the time I am blessed to have 100% disability pay. but I would trade it anyday to work & live a "normal" life. I really want all of you to know that I am here for you, just as I feel already that you are here for me. thank you.
Mindy
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2.
Good day
My name is Pirra. I am a former Marine. I was in for 7 years. I have many questions about GWS. If you exhibit the symptoms, could you please contact me or friend me?
I have been sick for just about 10 years now. I am receiving NO HELP from the government in finding the cause of my illeness. I DO know i started getting sick right after my first anthrax vaccine.
I am now reading a very alarming book called Vaccine A by Gary Matsumoto. I believe we were injected with a squalene filled anthrax vaccine. Squalene is known to cause auto-immune disorders.
Can anyone agree with this?
Please contact me. I am very sick and I just want answers. Im not old but I can hardly do anything anymore. The pain is unreal.
I just want to meet people who understand what I am going through. I feel VERY alone.
Thank you
Semper Fi Lee
 
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3.
This is a terrible my brother Sargent Blaine Gullickson U S marines past away in 2003 from the gulf war syndrome it was very hard to see my brother go from a strong very smart young man to laying in a nursing home not even able to feed him self they even had to thicken water so he wouldn’t choke.So the next time some uses the phrase whats the price of freedom please reply life of loved ones-
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4.
I was a Marine infantryman in Iraq in 2003. As soon as I got out of country I began getting sick. I have been trying to find answers to my many unexplainable symptoms. Here is the FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS REPORT ON GULF WAR ILLNESS.
http://sph.bu.edu/insider/images/stories/resources/annual_reports/GWI%20and%20Health%20of%20GW%20Veterans_RAC-GWVI%20Report_2008.pdf
My heart goes out to those of you who have been suffering with this since the begining, 17 years ago. I have been suffering with it for 7 and its been hell. For those of you you can not find relief with modern pain killers, try cannabis. I have been using it for 7 years now to keep my abdominal and join pain at a tolerable level. I wish you all the best in your struggles. Please feel free to contact me.
 
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5.
My husband died in Nov. of 07 due to GWS. He came back from Gulf war 1 in bad shape. He was a green beret. After a couple of years, he seemed better. Fast forward to June of 06. We think he has the flu. Not! His heart had been beating 180 bpm for at least 4 days. He went from jumping out of airplanes and planning on climbing Mt Rainer to being a heart patient that couldn’t even walk to get the mail without getting tired. The special forces doc that sat in on the autopsy came to our home with atonishing results. He told me Craig had been dying for 17 years. His heart was double the size it sould have been. Same with his lungs. His liver was in a nutmeg shape. He told me I was lucky I had as much time with him as I did. Craig is the 4th guy out of his 12 man team to die young. Most of the other 8 are sick. Resurch into this illness needs to happen NOW! Good people are dying and we really have no research or accountablility. I can’t believe it took the govt this long to even admit GWS!
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6.
Hey, y’all. My husband is a Gulf War Vet with GWS. I’ve been having issues with info so I’ve started a group
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#2 M S wroteon April 21, 2009 at 8:20pm
good to see people are still researching this. I was there and been sick while i was there and ever since then. I was 23 then and now im 41. after 5 years of poor care from the VA, Ive just pretty much try to live with it since civilian doctors wont help or know nothing of it. 1 out 4 supposely have it.
Its more than that and troops returning from Iraq now are getting ill and having the same symptoms and the media and government havent realy said anything about it. I know troops personaly that have come back since 2003 that are ill and having the same symptoms from the 1st gulf war. then you have government contracters and civilians who have been exposed to this also. so much more about this illness that isnt being told by our government.
Hope you find a cure.
GWVET
USAF 363RD SPS
AUG 10 1990-MARCH 14 1991

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Post #3C K (FedEx) wroteon June 5, 2009 at 7:46am
I agree – I am in the same boat as Mike mentions … now 41, feeling like I’m in my 60’s … I hope that someone somewhere finally finds a cause and admits to the fact that we are indeed ill from serving our country.
 
 
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Post # 4  L G (Cincinnati, OH) wroteon June 11, 2009 at 8:45am
I am a desert storm veteran myself and have some of the same illness’s as well but am getting kicked to the curb so to speak by the VA. I have muscle/joint pains bad somedays and there are other days that I feel really good. I have chronic fatigue bad enough that I take medicine for to keep me awake. The VA has continuously denied my disability claims. I continue to fight that every day that I can but nothing so far. The VA basically says there isnt much in my medical records. So since I didnt whine and cry and complain about it, I am not taken seriously. I do hope that finally our government will finally acknowledge this and really take care of US as soldiers and our families.
 
 
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Post #5J D (Longview / Tyler, TX) wroteon June 18, 2009 at 6:28pm
I don’t know if it’s the GWI or what, but, since 1992 Iv’e had nothing but problems with my neck, back, and feet. My disc are deterorating and so far I have had have 3 surgeries on my back and 3 on my neck and the pain is horrible. I’m talking 24/7. VA tells me I have degenerative Arthritis and have me living on meds. The pain pills do not work.

This is just a few to give you a brief look into the world of Gulf War Illness.  Want to add your comments Veterans or family members –  Time is now!