Greetings all...
Im recently out of the military, been about a year+ now. Ive been keeping an eye on the GWS stuff out of the corner of my eye for a few years now. Now that I am out I have more time to research and consider. Cant say Im too pleased with the situation as a whole. I had symptoms within weeks of being deployed. Long/short I am currently 20% disabled. My symptoms have gotten worse and I decided to get out of the military before they discovered my situation.
Ive decided to dedicate this year to consolidating my situation...one way or the other.
I dont have much to add but here is what I would tell any Gulf War vet I met.
Seek out an advocate in the form of VFW or DAV for example. Youll find the paperwork goes a bit faster. These guys for the most part know what they are doing.
Side story, when I first got back I had a 'Nam vet tell me "Son, the VA is the enemy". I had to laugh at the time but 10 years later I find he may very well have been right. I define "enemy" loosely as "Group or person who would much rather see you dead then alive." That about sums up my experience. Now of course there may be some people within the system who do not wish me ill will. But one trip to the VA hospital or regional service center shows me those wel wishers are few and far between.
Stay on top of the VA and try not to lose sight of the goal. Chances are we will never be "healed". But failing that its a good idea to persue a disability claim in case you do suddenly become unable to work at all. Dont become discouraged, the VA wants that. They want you to throw up your hands and walk out the door, hopefully never to return. One less problem for them to deal with.
My current goal is finding a 3rd party group that offeres quality guidance to Gulf vets. One look at the Nam vet organizations tells me we have a long way to go. They seem to stick together and share information alot better then we do. We could learn alot from them, in more ways then one.
I look forward to lurking around this forum over the coming months and reporting my findings. Good luck everyone!

You are encouraging me. I am a Gulf War vet who has been involved in three ventures toward gaining the government's attention. I am currently involved with a group of veterans who are younger and more energetic than me. The government is no longer the sole target of our efforts . . . the people who made this country strong are our main concern.

My vet friends are accepting my contributions of stories I've written, photographs I've taken and medical research I've performed. They're blending it in with other people's work and creating some veterans' self-help websites. The first website will be a testimonial and pictorial from those of us who started our battle toward better health in the early- to mid-90s. As soon as the website is complete, I'll attempt to post it here.

Our next efforts are to demonstrate the history of Gulf War Illness as it dates back to the Korean and Vietnam era-veterans. Another effort will be the Gulf War Kids, that is, children who are not right because of their father's and/or mother's service in the Gulf.

Other segments will be demonstrations of biological weapons sold to the Iraqis; experimental drugs and vaccines, environmental factors, results of depleted uranium and on it will go. Stay tuned . . . and don't touch that dial.

I'm interested in knowing any information Beckie has found about brain tumors. I am glad some of the "silly" remedies posted are being pointed out by you. Some of the herbal and home cures are just plain dangerous! When people are chronically ill many reach out and grasp for any hope out there. So, it is nice someone is there to say don't do that to yourself! Anyway, my husband had a left frontal lobe astrocytoma removed in 1999. I have since met and emailed several others with brain tumors. I wanted to know if you ran into any during your research. The VA finally admitted responsibility this year- we got 10% disability for him having brain surgery, being off from work, permanent vision damage, loss of sensation on the top of his head, his surgical scar which goes from forehead all the around to the bottom of his ear, getting to be on anti-seizure meds for life and getting to be followed up with yearly MRI's for life. That was worth a big 10% to them. But, at least it's something. I'd appreciate whatever you could pass on- thanks.

I apologize, in advance, for not being able to post websites or e-mail addresses to help you in your search. I don't have specific information on brain tumors, per se. But I can give you search words to plug into your search engine, so that you can come up with information that will arm you for the hellacious future you certainly face. For medical information, I recommend Alta Vista or Lycos search engines.

Most veterans talk about PET or SPEC scans that show the brain has been altered or damaged by lack of blood or lack of oxygen to the brain. Some say the damage is caused by chemicals spewing over the desert battlefield. I say it could be a combination of experimental vaccines and bio-weapons. Your husband's health was probably chewed up by what our government did to him over here, before all the governments dumped on him when he arrived over there.

The results of brain scans may be a precursor to brain tumors. And several Gulf War studies including one at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas, are available by searching the Journal of American Medical Association: JAMA. Research was performed by a PhD named Haley, and paid for by Dallas politician Ross Perot. I participated in the study.

In addition, there is a Showtime movie now available for rent at Blockbuster that you should rent, and view at least three times. It has been edited for viewing by family. It's called, "Thanks of a Grateful Nation" released in 1996 and starring Stephen Weber, Marg Helgman, Ted Danson, and Brian Denehy (sorry for slaughtering the spelling of their names).

The stories are true, because I have met some of the characters in person. Or I have heard their stories through surviving family members during Congressional testimonials from 1994 and 1996.

The civilian worker characterized by actor Stephen Weber suffers a brain tumor because he cleans the chemicals and bio-weapons off the tanks AFTER the Gulf War. He has no sanitary facilities such as showers or uncontaminated eating areas. The hospital that performs the surgeries to try to save his life is M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.

The reason I know M.D. Anderson doctors have treated this type of cancer before is because before the war, I served in their command and control headquarters for peace-time Army training and Ready-Reserve Rapid Deployment Medical Team events. I was public affairs and visited Houston a couple of times. During training the Houston and San Antonio doctors came to our training area, where I met up with them once again.

I have also heard that three V.A. hospitals are extremely successful in cancer treatment for veterans. Unfortunately, I have lost two very close veterans in their attempts to beat cancer. I think time was against them, though. Had they gone to the V.A. before they spent so much time with civilian doctors, they might have had a chance. Those three centers are V.A. hospital Amarillo, TX, V.A. hospital Dallas, TX, and V.A. hospital, San Antonio, TX. Houston cancer hospitals can give you all the information you need about V.A. studies and free drugs just for participation. I believe they have rating system for the V.A. hospitals they will share only if you ask. The studies frequently cure the patient long before the CDC clears the drugs for public use. It can add years to your husband's life.

For all other Gulf War-related illnesses, I highly recommend steering clear of the V.A.

I hope this has helped. And most of all, I hope I won't be edited to the point that my information produces no help at all.

God Bless you and your loved one in a speedy recovery!

I wanted to expound upon my research into cancer-causing factors stemming from the Gulf War. One of my Internet Gulf vet friends had told me that vaccines contain mercury. And while one vaccine does not contain enough mercury to be harmful, several given within a short period of time can damage the immune system. She stressed the fact that the government (CDC and NIH) have known this for a very long time. I checked up on her information and found it to be documented in several websites.

I was curious about vaccines and the dreadful diseases they cause. So, I researched a vaccine website that provides research to parents who do not want to vaccinate their children.

I read the description of how vaccines are made, and I copied this excerpt from it:

The weakened germ must then be strengthened with adjuvants (antibody boosters) and stabilizers. This is done by adding drugs, antibiotics, and toxic disinfectants to the concoction: neomycin, streptomycin, sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum hydrochloride, sorbitol, hydrolized gelatin, formaldehyde, and thimerosal (a mercury derivative).

Aluminum, formaldehyde, and mercury are extremely toxic substances with a long history of documented hazardous effects. Studies confirm again and again that microscopic doses of these substances can lead to cancer, neurological damage, and death. Yet, each of them may be found in childhood vaccines.

I just thought you should know that your husband's "military-grade" vaccines, overseas vaccines, and possibly some of his childhood vaccines may have contributed to his cancer.

I'm aggravated about vaccines because everybody has been brainwashed into believing that they are good things. The website I surfed actually confirmed that the government has a secret database that documents massive infants' and preschoolers' deaths linked to vaccines.

I'm also aggravated because once you inject somebody with the vile stuff, you can't get it back out of there. The damage is done, and passage of time is not necessarily your friend.

The only good vaccine I ever received almost killed me. After 10 years of fishing around for medication that would defeat my cytomegalovirus and give me my energy back, my last Infectious Diseases doctor injected me with Streptoccus pneumonia. He said I was a high risk patient because I had really bad reactions to flu vaccines, and I had shown some allergies to eggs and poultry.

Within 30 minutes of the vaccine, my nose stopped running for the first time in 6 years. The stuffiness in my head and tightness in my throat disappeared. But within three weeks, I was flat on my back, unable to breathe, unable to decide whether or not to go to the hospital. I was only able to realize that I had been injected with a bacteria (vaccine), and that no amount of drugs could help me then. I prayed and prepared for my death throughout the 8 days I lay on my back too weak and sick to move.

I just wanted to share that information with you in hopes that you might be able to find an Infectious Diseases specialist or allergies/immunologist who would be willing to test your husband's blood for off-the-wall metals, including mercury. They should be able to advise you as to what medication you might take to prevent further cancer developing from those metals. Or they might even be open-minded enough to tell you how to adjust his dietary and supplementary intake to help balance those metals so that they are no longer a threat to your husband's health.

I found this information on a website that links juvenile diabetes to vaccines. The author of the article and owner of the website from which I pulled the excerpt is National Vaccine Information Center. If you scroll through the websites, you'll find a button for Gulf War Illness that discusses vaccines used before, during and after the Gulf War. It might give a good idea of what questions to ask all of the medical specialists your husband must see.

I hope this has been helpful to you. It's been a real eye opener for me.

Thanks for the info. Just had our yearly MRI follow up which was all clear. Next step is the neuro. opth. to see about the permanent vision damage he has. It is funny you mentioned the vaccines, I checked out his service record for shots and it had only a couple basic ones listed. He told me he walked down a line and got about 10- on both arms and even one in another area. He asked what all of them were for and a guy laughed and said "camel bites". So, he was given multiple shots but very few were documented. Has anyone else found this? Did everyone get a boatload before they shipped out? His memory is sketchy at best. I'll also have to watch the movie you told me about. He won't watch anything about the gulf. Doesn't like seeing what may be coming our way. Thanks again.

I was given the swine flu shot in the early 70's. The military only gave it for a short time because personnel developed mono, MS, and chronic fatigue. Do a search on the swine flu vaccine and see for yourself. Told to shut up and take it. It's wonderful to see the military is doing the same old stuff to the next generation.

I think it's just swell the government did it to the next generation, and then the next generation is just laying down and taking it.

Amazing how our memories are only 10 minutes long, if that. Nice to know that civilians are now suffering long-last effects of flu shot because CDC didn't bother to screen toxicity of the shots. And civilians have been brain-washed into thinking vaccines are a good thing.

Go "back" one and check out the Resources Link on the Blue Bar at the top of the menu. Check out the "shots" website where it talks about how nasty vaccines are, about how they are processed through mercury, aluminum chlorhydrate and animal tissue. Enough to make you sick. Yet people roll up their sleeves for that kind of abuse every year. I guess I shouldn't talk. I did, too, until my respiratory system shut down three years ago from taking too many vaccines after my military tour of duty. H-m-m.

Ran across some more info regarding vaccines. You might want to check out websites of some law firms pursuing litigation regarding vaccines and uranium:

Law Offices of Shawn Khorrami, Van Nuys, CA
Waters & Krause, Dallas, TX
Baron & Budd, P.C., Dallas, TX

Hi - I never knew there was such a thing as Gulf War Sindrome. I guess that this just doesn't get as much attention from the media as you guys deserve.

So, you all fought in Iraq? What was that like? Did the Iraqis put up a good fight? Can you share some of your experiences? I've never really spoken to a War veteran, there seems to be many of you here though.

Also, what do you think of the prospect of war with Iraq, once again? And what advice would you give to anyone deployed? Is there potential for a Gulf War Sindrome 2, in your opinion?

Thank you,

Lets_Unite.

In this gulf War Veterans oppinion,we have never ceased firing upon Iraq.our planes bomb daily, only now does the media bring it to attn, because of the threat of another gulf war.It is also my oppinion that there is a real threat of illnesses once again from perhaps chemical exposer, or multiple vaccinnes, and pb pills.only the Government can tell you how many are affected as a result of the first war,but from what I have researched and heard directly from other vets, the numbers are staggering.that is why there is no compensation , and the claims process is so long.as far as my experience over there, id rather not talk about it, as I live with the horrors daily , the real war began when I came home and got sick, that is when I learned my Government had betrayed my trust.hope this helps, if I had to do it all again, I would have refused the shots and the pills and took my chances in prison for disobeying orders.

The answer is "No". Some of us never made it to the Gulf. Because we were infantry or first-line Medical Corps, we were required to take vaccines that no other service members had to take. We were not told what they were. We were merely alerted to the fact that maybe we shouldn't be taking them because we were the first WOMEN going through the vaccination line during the first four months of Operation Desert Shield.

Some of us received experimental vaccines to the point that we were incapacitated beyond deployment. So we remained in the States, watching those who deployed come back from the Gulf sicker than dogs and paler than death.

I myself immediately upon "vaccination" developed bowel incontinence and chronic vomiting, so much so that I lost 40 pounds in 1-1/2 years after my "overseas" and "military" vaccines. I only weighed 119 when it all started.

Do I anticipate another Gulf War Illness? No, this time Saddam Hussein, who has been armed by the U.S. and Allies with all the biologicals, chemicals and nuclears that are necessary to blast away a U.S. ground force, shall do so shamelessly.

And Saddam's marching orders shall come from the son of the First President who agreed to arm Saddam in the first place.

And they shall know him and call him by his name, Beelzebub W. Bush.

This message is for Michelle. I noticed on the 'old' health boards you were looking for others from your husband's unit, specifically the 39th Engineer Battalion (Combat). When and where was he when he was with the 39th? I was also with the 39th, D Co. at Ft. Dix, but attached to the 299th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 24th Infantry Division in ODS.