PLEASE VISIT THIS SITE: <<Link Deleted by Mod>>

My husband is an OIF veteran. He is 25 years old now and I am 23, our daughter is 2 1/2. He was deployed from early 2003 to June 2004. He was given the anthrax vaccines, small pox vaccines, antimalaria medication, and who knows what else because they handed these guys pills and refused to tell them what they were taking. After he came home I became pregnant within a few months. I was horribly sick(not morning sickness), headaches, dizziness, horrible pains that incapacitated me and so many other problems that ultimately added up to a threatened miscarriage(but by the grace of GOD didn't). Around the time I was 6 months pregnant, my husband had his first appointment with the VA doctors. He was ultimately diagnosed as having PTSD, tinnutis, irritable bowel syndrome, degenerative disc disease and several other conditions. During this first visit out of concern for me and our unborn child, we asked if there was any health risks to us because of these vaccines, bacteria or viruses he could have been exposed to, or anything else he could have been exposed to. Her answer?: No absolutely not. We both sighed with relief. My husband's condition has continually worsened. It's like being married to a different person. Many days he cannot get out of bed much less go to work because of the debilitating pain he is suffering. I found myself showing many of the same symptoms, fatigue, body aches, memory loss, etc. as my husband but didn't think anything of it. Our daughter has been a difficult child from the beginning. She's 2 1/2 and everyday I pray for the terrible 2's to happen to us because after 2 1/2 years of raising an out of control child, normal terrible 2's would be a blessing. Just take the terrible 2's multiply that by 1000 and that's what we've been dealing with since day 1. She's aggressive, moody, and to put it mildly out of control. So I decided to do a little research of my own recently. Mostly I was hoping to find a reason for my child's behavior. What I found would be horrifying to anyone especially a military spouse and mother.

My husband exhibits many symptoms that are associated with Gulf War Illness. Gulf War Illness not only affects veterans and families from the Gulf War but also OIF/OEF veterans. Symptoms of GWI have been linked to several things. The first of these being depleted uranium poisoning(which is a very real threat right now to everyone serving), DU poisoning can cause horrendous birth defects(please google to see pictures of these children but be warned they are graphic), miscarriages and stillborn births. Not commonly tested for and after a certain period of time is hard to find without testing bone marrow and organ tissue.

It has also been linked to a bacterial infection called mycoplasma fermentans. M. Fermentans causes a chronic bacterial infection that is also not commonly tested for. This infection can be passed on to spouses, children conceived and born prior to deployment and children conceived after deployment. This bacterial infection can cause spouses to show many of the same symptoms as their military spouse. 80% of the children of these vets who tested positive for m. fermentans also tested positive for the same bacteria. In children born prior to deployment the infection can cause an onset of Autism, Aspergers Syndrome and ADHD. This holds true for children conceived after returning home.

GWI symptoms have also been linked to the anthrax vaccines, small pox vaccines, and antimalaria medication (Lariam) and so many more factors.

Most veterans and families are not informed of these risks. Or if they think to ask, they're lied to. My family still has a long way to go to get answers, but I couldn't stand by and do nothing. I want to get this information to everyone that could be, has been, or will be affected by this. No family should have to go through what we've been going through for the past 3 years. We don't have answers yet to what the true cause is for my husband's health problems or my daughter's behavior, because I just recently discovered all of this information. But he will be going in to the VA to get tested for everything under the sun and then some. After that we'll go to an outside doctor to have them run the same tests. I've compiled hundreds of pages of research from doctors, and testimonies from doctors that was presented to the federal government and the VA during committee meetings. One way or another someone will tell me the truth, starting with the doctor that looked me straight in the eyes when I was 6 months pregnant and told me there was absolutely no risk whatsoever to our unborn child.

I'm sorry this was so long but maybe it will help another family out there that is suffering and has no clue why. Please I'm begging everyone that reads this to get the information out there and please visit the website <<Link Deleted by Mod>>

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dave_M,

I'm sorry to hear of your difficulties. I hope your husband is able to get the assistance he needs and deserves, including any testing that may be indicated.

However, I have to take issue with your assertion that servicmembers or their family members are deliberately lied to when they ask health questions. In my 27 years on active duty and additional five years as a civilian working for the Army, I NEVER knowingly lied to any patient or family member. I gave them the best information I had available to me at the time. That holds true of those I worked with as well: doctors, nurses, researchers, assistants.

Five, ten or more years down the road, sometimes new facts are learned that mean information I have have given out in years past would now be considered incorrect. I repeat: I did not deliberately lie or conceal any truth, nor do the vast majority of medical professionals. But we do not know everything. A perfect example is Agent Orange. Had we known in the early '60s what we know now, I sincerely doubt if this agent would have been used.

Hindsight is 20/20.

Again, I hope your husband is able to recover and you are able to better manage your daughter's behavior.

Then I guess I should thank you and others that don't lie. But the facts remain, such as a memo that was sent out June 2004 on VA letterhead to all VA dr's, nurses, etc about the side effects of Lariam. We went to the VA early 2005 and when we specifically asked about risks dealing w/ medications and told the dr he had been given multiple doses of Lariam...She still told us there were NO risks. The sad thing is all of the risks she told us didn't exist are conditions my husband has and had already told her about them. So I base my statement on lies that were deliberately told to us and so many others after these people had already been informed.

Lariam (mefloquine) is another perfect example of a medication that was properly tested, then approved for public prescription by the FDA. There is a gap between final phases of clinical trials, that can involve tens of thousands of participants, and mass marketing, that can involve millions of patients.

Just because a medication is approved doesn't mean research on it stops. "Post-marketing surveillance" happens when patients and prescribers report side effects of drugs that were not noted in earlier testing. With Lariam, vivid nightmares and (less frequently) suicidal thoughts and actual suicides were found to be more prevalent in those who had a history of depression or other mental disorder, including PTSD. For years, though, including during the Gulf War, Lariam was the only anti-malarial medication and the benefits (it DOES prevent malaria) outweighed the potential risks.

About 15 years ago, another anti-malarial drug (Malarone) was approved that has fewer psychological or psychiatric side effects, and that drug has been in the DoD and VA pharmacies since then. It can be used safely to prevent malaria in people who are contraindicated from using Lariam.

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Just because a medication is approved doesn't mean research on it stops.

quote:

Just because a medication is approved doesn't mean research on it stops.

Cider you are great
so correct and that is good A big ol' A&W Root Beer salute