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Is
it really worth fighting the VA for Gulf War Syndrome? It
seems to me they just want to identify you to ridicule you
and deny you benefits. I served in the Navy from July 76
until Jul 96 when I finally retired with my full 20 as a
Chief Fire Control man FCC (SW). I went out after spending
nine of my last 12 months of active duty on limited duty. In
July of 1995 I had a doctor who had been after me to go on
limited duty for about six months and after getting a
complete a$$hole for an XO I took him up on his offer.
At the time I was having problems with weakness in my left
arm, (MRI's showed a herniated disc in my neck and a
couple, out of many, nerve tests showed some pinching of a
nerve) at the same time I was seeing a rheumatologist for
joint/muscle aches, headaches and what they called DIMS (
Diminished ability to Induce and Maintain Sleep). Mind you I
had been hiding the joint and muscle pain for years in fear
of getting a medical retirement. During the course of the
exams I was having the doctor was having a hard time
locating reflexes in my left arm so he sent me to
Bethesda to see a neuro surgeon so off my wife and I went.
During the exam in Bethesda the doctor told me he was unable
to get any reflexes anywhere in my body to react at all. He
believed I had Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and should go back to
my doctor in Mayport. I went back to FL and my Doctor did a
spinal tap ( man talk about the mother of all head aches)
and ruled out MS, in the mean time I was diagnosed with
fibromyalgia. I was sent to Charleston on 9 month TAD orders
to be close to my family, went back to Florida for 3 months,
finished out my 20 and retired, no retirement ceremony or
party, no end of service award, no thank you for your
service, no transition assistance program, no benefits
briefing , nothing, just one day I wore a uniform and the
next day I didn't.
After I retired I approached civilian life just like I did
military I worked hard to be successful. But things were
getting harder and harder. When I first got out I applied
for benefits for my neck and I had bad knees as well as
sinus surgery, knee surgery and a rebuilt ankle. I continued
to work hard ( as a Realtor). Being a successful Realtor
takes long hours, working 60+ hour weeks and never having a
day off. You have to be there when your clients are ready,
day night or afternoon, weekday or weekend. So please all of
you appreciate what your Realtor does for you. Any way after
a while the body aches became to much and I was not able to
put in the hours I once was able to. The fatigue was getting
to me and there began to be days that I just could not
function. I asked fro an increase in my compensation fro
fibromyalgia (which at the time was only 10%) and I began to
go to Voc Rehab training because I knew I would not be able
to continue the long hours Real Estate required to earn a
living.
Lungs Filling up with fluid:
In In Jan 2003 I became ill and was having severe pain
when breathing, my doctors took some x-rays and decided I
had pneumonia and treated me with 10 days of antibiotics, a
follow up appointment showed no improvement, they then
started another course of stronger antibiotics. Another
follow up with no improvements. The x-ray showed a large
amount of fluid on my left lung. My doctor took me aside and
explained to me what was going on. He had consulted with
another doctor and I was going to have to go into the
hospital for some test to rule out TB and cancer. I went in,
they drained 900ml off my left lung. Spent 10 days in
hospital. Tets were neg for TB and cancer. Was out of
hospital for 10 days when it all started to happen again.
This time fluid was too thick to drain and I ended up with
having my chest spread open and having lung surgery to
remove the mess. I spent 4 days in ICU and 10 more days in
hospital. I now have only about 50% lung capacity.
Subsequent follow up with the consulting rheumatologist
shows it was an autoimmune attack
due to unspecified rheumatoid disease. I had a similar
episode in 1985 but the doctor (an internist) was never able
to figure out what happened. I applied for benefits based on
that and of course the VA denied my claim. They say there is
no service connection and it is probably related to the
fibromyalgia for which I already receive compensation. I
asked my doctor to review my active duty service record
which he did and he pointed out several things that were
over looked and why my current illness was undiagnosed while
on active duty, that there were signs of it going all the
way back to 1979 and that it was completely separate from my
fibromyalgia. I filled an appeal and have another C&P exam
with the VA in a week. I am currently rated at 70% ( they
dropped me from 80 to 70 because they said that even though
I now have 2 more herniated discs in my neck and
one more in my back my
degenerative disc disease is getting better). I
am hoping to finally get a 100% rating because due to my
illness and the side effect of the meds I take I have never
been unable to work since May of 03. I now suffer from near
constant muscle/joint pain, fatigue, depression, headaches (
that can last as long as a month at a time), have trouble
sleeping, morning stiffness, and fogginess. I tried for
Social Security ( on my own) with out knowing the system and
was turned down. hey told me to go back to Real Estate. So
much for the government you protected supporting you. I was
too embarrassed to appeal. I guess I should try again.
How does all this tie into the Gulf War? I was over
there aboard ship but I never figured I was effected by GWS.
I was over there long after the peak of hostilities were
over ( first half of 93). Of course we got an array of shots
and pills prior to deployment but I don't know where my shot
record is and there is nothing in my medical record. As a
Fire Control man I worked on the Navy's Close In Weapons
System (CIWS) which fired 20mm DU rounds. We fired the
rounds all the time and of course had to clean the gun and
police up the deck for the sabots and debris as well as
daily exposure to the magazine. This of course meant
exposure to solvents when cleaning the gun and its systems.
Shipboard life naturally meant some exposure to pesticides
because the corpsman would have to routinely spray for
pests. How much if any of this can or has attributed to
where I am today I don't know but is it worth going to the
VA and having them poke and probe me even more then they
have? Is it worth them trying to discredit what I have
already fought so hard for? It seems to me the people who
would have the most exposure were the ground troops involved
in the actual ground war. Believe I could be wrong as I am
as far from being a knowledge source as one can be. It just
seems that the VA should be there to support the
Veterans not to make their
lives a nightmare. The worst part is is that it seems like
no one cares. We are yesterdays garbage set out to the curb
for collection and disposal. brokendown&old
Jan, 2005
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