im glad im not alone... - Military Health Issues Message Board

19d · 01-28-2003, 09:55 AM

where do i start?first off i wasnt in the gulf...i joined right after,i did recieve the same vacc.as they all did...several times,first in training,then for bosnia,then sommalia,then hati.when i got out i felt great and never got sick..not even a cold,then came 1998i got what i thought was the flu had that for about a week and got better.then 2 months later got the same again...this gos on and on,cyclic,getting closer and closer together.now the nausia is constant with some good days or hours.it seems to be worse in the morning(pregnant?lol)lots of vomiting(yummie).i also have severe pain in my knees , back,neck and shoulders,and dont forget when my arms and legs go numb for months on end.and did i mention the tremors i have all over my body(leaf in the wind).rashes that come and go on my chest,about the size of a dime,perfectly round.but the biggest kicker is my memory or lack there of... i have to keep notepad going on the desk top when going through these boards and copy and paste or else i cant remember anything i have read,but i can remember books i have read when i was a teen almost word for word,but yesterday was almost non existant,and today is foggy at best.i have lost several jobs in recent years because of illness,and low and behold the doctors cant find anything wrong upper and lower gis,x-rays on my joints,ct scans on my liver,(which over produces some enzymes..thought to be the reason for the nausia).and all ive gotten from them is medication for acid reflux(which i dont have)and all that did was constipate me(oh boy mess up the only thing that works).i have a hard time organizing my thoughts anymore,they all come at once or not at all....my question is when will this all end?will i ever find a dr. that cares enough to go that extra mile?by the way i steer clear of the va. sometimes you feel like the only cure is a long jump with a short rope...well sorry i ran on(and for the lack of punctuation and caps... i wanted this done today lol)god bless and thanks for the help...see you on the boards.

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Michael L. Albers
Scout us army

VAL USAF · 02-01-2003, 10:34 AM

I have read so many things that describe all my symptoms.
I have a hyper sensitivity to any medication now and can hardly take anything.
The VA gave me a Tetanus shot in Aug 2002, since then I can barely function, and often wonder if I'll see tommorow.
There have been days that I ask God if its my turn, because I know my days are numbered.
Before the "shot", I had joint pain in my knees and hips,occular migrains, lowgrade fevers every afternoon,
some weakness in my hands, but I was still able to function on a OK level.
I think that the shot sent everything into hyper drive
my recent memory is so very bad, I cant complete hardly any tasks to the end, because I just cant think,
but I can rember things from long ago.I can barley get out of bed in the morning, My neck is all messed up, Ive lost most of the hearing in my right ear, my MRI shows some white matter changes on the left side of my brain and the left lower sinus is very dense.My tremors
come after any type of physical activity, so the VA gave me seizure meds that cause Glaucoma, I refuse to take it because these are not seizures and I cant see out of my right eye 1/2 the time already, I have a family history of Glaucoma and dont want to hurry that along any faster than normal. I have the "racoon" eyes associated with connective tissue disease, I can barely raise my arms, I drop most everything I pick up and now the right side of my throat feels like there is a huge lump in it all the time and it is hard to swallow,in addition to my left Thyroid gland being swollen ( my Thyroid function tests are normal) my hair is falling out, and I'm so tired all I want to do is sleep.I have a constant sharp pain in the right rear to center of my head since June 2002.
The neuroligist was a joke(she was an intern) who seemed rather amused by my problems, so I demanded to see a different one, but that appointment is not till April. I just hape I can still drive by then.
I have found that patient affairs may not solve all your problems with the doctors you are having problems with, but after seeing them one time, I did notice that my PCC had really changed her tune. So I think she probably got some heat from my complaint.
I just pray for you all that the goverment will figure this all out and take responcibilty for what this has done to so many young peolple. I didnt realize that there were so many people going through so much, and when you do go to the VA they act like its all new to them.
Come to find out, my PCC has a brother suffering from GWS. She acted like she had never heard of it the first time I saw her!!!
I just wanted to reply to you, to let you know someone does care and feels your misery.
God Bless You, Keep pushing ,look how long agent orange took to be recognized. Unfortunatley I dont think some of us will be here to see the resolve.
So find your faith,I'll keep you all in my prayers.