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
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Degenerative Disc Disease - Autoimmune