quote:

Originally posted by Coutaux:
My response to this news headline was and is "Do Ya Think???!!!"

I was a Marine's young bride crazy in love during the Nam conflict. We are divorced now after 22 years of marriage, and yes I KNOW he has PTSD. He also is completely disabled now from alcoholism/drug addiction. He was given 6 months to live, a year tops on Christmas Day due to liver failure.

My question. Which thread do I go to to talk to you guys about advice on getting VA benefits. My sons found him on the garage floor on Christmas Eve. They called and told me they were taking him to ER. He was once in the VA system when he was hospitalized with Hepatitis B in 85 and in ETOL tx x 2. He spend the next two decades drinking and not going to drs. He did however apply for VA medical again, and was told he was qualified a few weeks before this incident.

I told my sons to call the VA first, before taking to hospital. The VA hospital here closed down years ago and it is a clinic only.

I'll defer from here until I get to the correct thread to seek your guidance for them.

Thank you and Thanks for your service.

What State are you living in?

MY DAUGHTER PREDICTED IN DEC 1990 THAT THIS WOULD BE HER AGENT ORANGE...

YES...GULF WAR SYNDROME IS REAL:

LEE ANNE LAMBERT

13APR65 - 3JUL96

CAPT, U.S.M.C.

R I P

~RIP~

Okay, Dave's post is deleted, and now i read through three pages of folks with one or another ailment either firsthand or a friend such as myself. The capper is your daughter. May the Lord bless you and keep you, no words, no words,

My gramps was killed be radiation in the Yuma Test Station, got one heck of a tumor on his neck. So many peers( older than I by a few years) have Agent Orange problems, then they sold it to another naton in which our teams and the aussies tromped through the crud, then Desert Storm and my bud( more than one but one like a brother, "Chris" HAD to leave the unit he so loved ( the 82nd) and within a year he was different, pain everywhere, degenerative problems as I said, and last I heard his mother told me he was in a wc.

Yeah, I have my % disability( 75+%) but losing your daughter, I don't know what I'd do if I lost my daughter, she's currently in the Israeli Defense Forces and you know what the Syrians have pointed in those missiles at Israel? Sarin Gas amongst other things...be strong, I'll pray for you:

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SinePariDonster
Member

Posted Wed 12 March 2008 06:24 PM Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by RONCO:
MY DAUGHTER PREDICTED IN DEC 1990 THAT THIS WOULD BE HER AGENT ORANGE...

YES...GULF WAR SYNDROME IS REAL:

LEE ANN LAMBERT

13APR65 - 3JUL96...too darned young,


Rest in Peace Captain Lambert

CAPT, U.S.M.C.

R I P

quote:

Originally posted by Durango56:
GEE! It took the Government 30 years to admit Agent Orange had an affect on the Vietnam vets. It has only been 17 years for them to finally, possibly, admit we Persian War vets are infected with something. I have reported all these symptoms to my Primary Care and keep getting excuses and more drugs.

Yes, and still will!!!

THANKS FOR SERVING EVERYONE...AND PRAY FOR ALL STILL AFFLICTED...SHE IS WATCHING

I don't think I knew that, RONCO. My heart goes out to you, as I have lost a daughter as well - though not to military service.

No matter, the death of a child is stupid and senseless. May she rest in peace and your memory stay strong.

Cider

YES CIDER...MED-BOARDED MAY 1996 DIED JUL 2002 AFTER 53 SURGERIES AND LIVING WITH CONTINUOUS PAIN...IT IS AN EXPERIENCE NO PARENT WILL OVERCOME

THANKS FOR THE KIND WORDS...

quote:

Is it a violation of TOS to have a moderator harp his personal book on this site? Well Mr. Dave Barker? It seems bad form at the very least hawking your personal work which one could think was an attempt as using this site for comercial gain. So, when the moderators abuse the forum who does one report it to?


Power corrupts

Mr. Willette
My material is free to anyone who wishes to use it. My book links were placed on Military.com originally by the Military.com Administrator in 2003.
I am not promoting anything for myself and work for Ohio AMVETS representing veterans. Your remarks were very disheartening.

David Barker

This has been something that I been researching about. I been to the Persian Gulf, in the Operation Southern Watch, protecting the no-fly zone. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in September 2004. Not knowning a research direction, I have been fighting with the VA since 2004. I did get a NSC from them, but its not that much. I resubmitted a new claim in Dec. 2007 with information that I have been researching. I know from my family, that my cancer was not handed down from anyone in my family. I think the VA like to say, no, your cancer didn't come from your military service. Everything that we was around, fires, chemicals that we worked with, greases, so on.

I hope no one takes this as a personal slap - it is not meant that way.

I am confident that there are many legitimate service-connected illnesses. Hodgkins lymphoma is considered presumptively service-related if there is a history of exposure to Agent Orange, for example. Other disease connections are not known or proven, but strongly suspected - such as ALS (Lou Gehring's disease) and service during the Gulf War era.

For those who served on active duty only during the first Gulf War or for a limited time (inital obligation of 2-4 years) also need to examine their exposures due to their civilian occupations and environments. Many military mechanics - aircraft, ships, vehicles, whatever - become civilian mechanics, and may be exposed to as much or more potential hazards in those jobs. MPs and firefighters who become civilian LE and emergency/hazmat responders are continually exposed to known carcinogens and other toxins - 9/11 at the WTC demonstrated that. Those exposures may be far more likely to account for later diseases than limited military service.

My point is that all avenues should be explored, not just the VA. It's just as difficult to get Worker's Compensation as it is VA disability/compensation, so this is not only a VA problem. There is widespread reluctance to compensate workers in the public or private sectors because of the expenses and liabilities involved. That's not an excuse, but it is a statement of fact.

I had posted previously about symptoms and a treatment that worked for me to reduce monoclonal protein and diagnosis of MGUS. What I didn't explain was that the toxins I was dealing with that were giving me positives for monoclonal protein were probably being produced by unknown fungi INSIDE my body. I am assuming this based on a couple of facts. The diet was designed to starve off any fungus inside my body and results of the diet were noticeable almost immediately. And while taking an oral antifungal medication for a short time, many of the symptoms disappeared until that medication ran out.
I have found out that certain fungus can produce some really bad toxins like aflatoxin, for instance. These toxins can produce many symptoms and ailments that have been discussed. So toxins you may be dealing with might possibly be coming from within your own body, and not by exposure to toxic materials. Do a little research about it. It might save your life.

I truly believe I am alive today because the diet killed off some type of fungus I was exposed to. And with the way we eat down here in Louisiana, you can be assured that if I was dieting, I was down to my last options and reaching desperation! But thank God it has worked!

With the question of DU contaminating servicemen and/or women. Is it just soldiers that served around the DU or can those on board ship also get contaminated? I was a Firecontrolman on my ship (1996 and 1997)and my job was to service, operate, and fire the Phalanx (CIWS).(I was also in the Persian Gulf in that time persiod.)The ammunition fired was DU and after each firing we had to clean the barrels and reload more DU in to the system. Also I have had others things that are mysterious happening to me. Like fatigue, wierd bumps on my skin, etc,... It has been 11 years since I had been in contact with the DU. Does it take that long for things to show up or could it be only an immediate response.

quote:

Originally posted by DANFARRIS:
With the question of DU contaminating servicemen and/or women. Is it just soldiers that served around the DU or can those on board ship also get contaminated? I was a Firecontrolman on my ship (1996 and 1997)and my job was to service, operate, and fire the Phalanx (CIWS).(I was also in the Persian Gulf in that time persiod.)The ammunition fired was DU and after each firing we had to clean the barrels and reload more DU in to the system. Also I have had others things that are mysterious happening to me. Like fatigue, wierd bumps on my skin, etc,... It has been 11 years since I had been in contact with the DU. Does it take that long for things to show up or could it be only an immediate response.

The DU I worked around was radioactive on a low level. I think DU is 0.7 times as radioactive as natural uranium. Its density is great for shielding highly radioactive sources. I know the material also has toxic characteristics but I'm not that familiar with those aspects.
When working with any radioactive material, there are two big concerns: Exposure and Contamination.
With contamination, low levels of radioactive material ingested or on your skin can be as damaging as exposure to radiation from a higher level of a radioactive source. With contamination, the tissue damage continues until you are decontaminated. With exposure only, it depends on time of exposure and radiation level of exposure. Once you are away from or protected from the source, tissue damage discontinues.
If you suspect contamination, it should be somewhat easy to detect.
Other radiation exposure damage could be gene damage.

Here is an article from my website.
Depleted Uranium

When Anthony Principi resigned as Secretary of the VA many of the veterans leaders were baffled. Last year some articles were published which may be a reason he left. Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter charged February 2005 that the reason Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi stepped down earlier that month was the growing scandal surrounding the use of uranium munitions in the Iraq War ... “The real reason for Mr. Principi’s departure was really never given, however a special report published by eminent scientist Leuren Moret naming depleted uranium as the definitive cause of the ‘Gulf War Syndrome’ has fed a growing scandal about the continued use of uranium munitions by the US Military'.”

Cutting Edge has long said that the misnomer, "Gulf War Syndrome" was merely a cover for Depleted Uranium Munitions. The Pentagon has stonewalled for years as to what really caused "Gulf War Syndrome"; however, now a scientist with credentials too impressive to ignore has published a report stating authoritatively that this so-called "Syndrome" is nothing other than Depleted Uranium poisoning!” - Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter 2/28/05

On February 14, 1997 I made a presentation in a meeting with Jesse Brown, then Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The meeting was in Cleveland and it was a round table conference with 7 people chosen to offer testimony regarding Persian Gulf War issues. We were allowed 7 minutes each. I took 12 minutes with permission granted in advance. We were required to supply a copy of our presentation in advance.
My presentation on Undiagnosed Illness was adopted by the Secretary as policy, word for word.

The Federal government has a policy of not addressing unusual health issues, until forced to by the public. Generally the public does not concern itself with these unusual issues. It is the veterans organizations who force these type issues. However that becomes another major problem. Veterans historically do not stick together very well. Already I hear a few Vietnam vets complaining of the Iraqi veterans being given priority. Back in the 1980's I heard Korean war and WWII veterans complaining about the attention the Vietnam veterans were getting regarding Agent Orange and PTSD. The Korean war veterans before that we all but forgotten.

It is my belief that we ALL owe it to each other to make absolute effort to bring all of the health issues to the forefront.

Now we are in 2006 and it is 15 years since Desert Storm with our troops still in Iraq and the Persian Gulf, the Agent Orange issues are still not resolved. We have hundreds of thousands of peripheral neuropathy victims denied because further studies have not been requested from the National Academy of Sciences by the VA. I testified to that fact July 8, 2004 before the NAS research committee. As a result of my testimony a slight change was made regarding diabetes descriptions.

The point being we need more veterans active in the veteran organizations and the leaders of those organization pushing the Federal government to fulfill their obligations to those returning home with unexplained illnesses and addressing them in a timely manner. Not after death takes so many it brings attention to the media.

From the World Health Organization 2005 report: Depleted uranium.

The uranium remaining after removal of the enriched fraction contains about 99.8% 238U, 0.2% 235U and 0.001% 234U by mass; this is referred to as depleted uranium or DU. The main difference between DU and natural uranium is that the former contains at least three times less 235U than the latter. DU, consequently, is weakly radioactive and a radiation dose from it would be about 60% of that from purified natural uranium with the same mass. The behavior of DU in the body is identical to that of natural uranium. Spent uranium fuel from nuclear reactors is sometimes reprocessed in plants for natural uranium enrichment. Some reactor-created radioisotopes can consequently contaminate the reprocessing equipment and the DU. Under these conditions another uranium isotope, 236U, may be present in the DU together with very small amounts of the transuranic elements plutonium, americium and neptunium and the fission product technetium-99. However, the additional radiation dose following intake of DU into the human body from these isotopes would be less than 1%.

Gulf War veterans returning from Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm display unusual levels of medical complaints that will be the subject of a research program at the Durham VA Medical Center. Three-year funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs is to start in January, 2006 with $180,000 to initiate animal studies into the possibility that prolonged exposure to chemicals such as pesticides and agents used to protect troops from chemical attacks might affect memory and learning. The research is also to explore possible drug therapies to reverse such problems. Meanwhile, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas would be designated a Gulf War illness research. The provision also requires VA to spend $75 million over the next five years on Gulf War illness research.

Just a thought, could it be...? Ol’ Dave was right in ’97?




Note: everything on my website is free, I was not paid to write, distribute, or print my books and articles. Never have I been paid one penny (or more) for my writings, or research. It was done because no one else would do it, in easy to read English. The website is hosted by GeoCities, because I cannot afford to pay for a website. There has been recent critical remarks regarding my moderator status and TOS. This is not a violation according to Admin who originally posted my work in April 2003.
As a matter of fact my original director in Columbus Ohio in 1983 threated to fire me for writing articles on Agent Orange. That is an article published on my website, under the title "Thailand." As recent as 2006 my website was highly criticized by a VA Socialworker in a Texas VAMC as self promotion, he had a right to his opinion. At age 67, it may be assumed my hide is quite tough with minimal thin skin.

KEEP ON KEEPIN ON, BROTHER BARKER

HEY, DAVE...AFTER READING YOUR LATEST POST RE GWS, I AM PROMPTED TO RELATE AN ACTUAL DISCUSSION I HAD ON THREE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS WITH LEE ANNE BEFORE SHE LOST HER BATTLE WITH THIS KILLER:

" I REMEMBER CALLING YOU BEFORE I LEFT PENDELTON AND SAYING I THOUGHT THESE SHOTS WE WERE TAKING COULD END UP BEING MY AGENT ORANGE.

I ALSO THINK THAT DESERT CONDITIONS MAY BE A FACTOR...WE WERE IN SAND BUNKERS...THE SAND HEATS UP DURING THE DAY AND GETS VERY COLD DURING THE NIGHT...THE MREs ALSO HEAT UP AND GET COLD DAILY..WE ALL WERE SICK WITH DIARREHA...MANY HAD SKIN PROBLEMS FROM THE SAND CONTACT.

THEN THE BOMBING STARTED AND IT WAS CLOSE TO US...MAYBE THE WINDS BROUGHT THE DU DOWN ON US.

WHEN THE OIL FIRES STARTED, I STARTED TO FEEL WEAK FROM BREATHING ALL THAT IN DAY AFTER DAY.

WE ARE CERTAIN THAT SOME OF THE SCUDS THAT LANDED IN OUR AREA WERE CONTAMINATED...THE LOCALS WERE CLEARING AREAS OF DEAD ANIMALS.

ANY ONE OF THESE MIGHT BE THE CAUSE...BUT A COMBINATION OF THESE DEFINITELY WOULD CAUSE MANY OF US TO GET SICK...THOSE IN THE BEST CONDITION HAVE HAD A DELAYED REACTION.

SOMETHING SURELY POISONED ME...OR CAUSED THAT GROWTH ON MY SPINE...I HOPE THEY GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS IN TIME"

LEE ANNE WAS A PRE-MED STUDENT AND SHE FULLY RESEARCHED ALL OF HER MEDS AND THE TREATMENTS. SHE HAD 53 SURGERIES OVER HER SLOW 6 YEAR DOWNHILL SLIDE TO LOSING HER LIFE TO GWS.

NEAR THE END, SHE ASKED ME TO KEEP HER STORY ALIVE UNTIL THE TRUTH IS REVEALED.

AGAIN, BROTHER DAVE...I SAY KEEP UP THE IMPORTANT WORK FOR SHE IS MOST ASSUREDLY WATCHING...SALUTE!!

Dave, this is not a slam on you, but as we all age, we owe it to our brothers and sisters to find worthy successors to carry on the fight for veterans and retirees. We joined out of a sense of obligation and patriotism, but we certainly didn't want to lose our health or children to preventable conditions.

Point: I really hope there is some sort of "Dave Junior" to carry on your work. You really are a treasure to those of us who served.

We have hundreds of 40 - 50 year old GW vets which have died prematurely. Brain Cancers, Cardiac and Neurological disorders today.
NEW
Federal Register: March 6, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 45)][Notices][Page 12258]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov][DOCID:fr06mr08-144]
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans;
Notice of Establishment As required by section 9(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee
Act.

I hope all will write to this BOARD!!
it IS WORTH 41 cent stamp.
Don't let our health problems be forgotten.