What Information Would You Like About Gwi/gws?

[VetlawUS]

A pretty large number of followers of the Veterans Law Blog have asked me to write more about Gulf War Syndrome/Gulf War Illness.

To make sure I get the most needed information to y'all, what do you most need to know about GWS/GWI claims or appeals?

I'll check in to this post, but you can also email me at support@veteranslawblog.org

Chris Attig | VeteransLawBlog.org

[Tbird]

This link may be helpful http://www.hadit.com/gulf-war-illness-national-center-for-biotechnology-information-ncbi-at-the-u-s-national-library-of-medicine-nlm/

[TOXIC]

there are case studies on the conditions , its called legionnaires disease. they just don't want to call it that, there's is actually alot of research on it as well as CW (sulpher mustard , Chlorine etc.. benzene this list is nearly endless) the connections and research are there but the VA refuses any attempt at validating any illness. the ARMY executives are just now recognizing some of these issues especially the chemical weapon usage by combatant forces upon installations and devices, still have to get the DOD , congress senate the president then finally the VA then they wont revise their policy until 10 years later and will autodeny any claim, i filed for gulf war exposure and as soon as you file they start treating you ike your "that guy" i have photographs and videos of chlorine gas cloud wafting over me and the actual detonation but they called me a liar at the cp hearing stated in their notes "exxagerated symptoms overreported symptoms and just ignored everything else i only have 10 percent hearing in right ear but its a zero disability i have constrictive bronchiolitis one of 38 diagnosed with it in iraq but they say it doesent affect me they wrote "mild obstructive and ventilatory defect" not to the extent of disability dlco 68% pox 98% and i cant walk across the room without gasping and hyperventilating as well as constant dyspnea (feeling like your suffocating all the time and head over heels dizziness....quite unpeasant) i have persistant chronic pleurisy , i can barely walk due to neuropathy in both arms and legs so no carrying anything , "exxagerated symptoms" and when the xray tech pushed my shoulders to the plates for xray my entire spine popped from my neck to my hips, no evidence of injury........ will probably be years before they actually approve anybody for it, also diagnosed with ptsd by va doctors but denied across the board 0% rated and the final note by va psychologist was "undiagnosed personality disorder" and actually tried to convince me to commit suicide. since birth or early childhood..........just waiting for suspension of all benefits that i dont get anyway. according to VA they dont even have a hole in the ground for me. so dont get hopeful yet . but then again im just a liar so dont take my word for it

[Berta]

Some vets disabled by toxic exposures ( who were not exposed to AO) have been able to succeed on their claims.

The problem with exposure claims is that the actual chemical or toxic substance must be identified, then the vet must prove they were exposed to the substance in service, via thier MOS and other forms of proof, and then the resulting disability must be directly connected, medically , to the exposure.

It can be done but almost always requires a LOT of leg work and then a very strong IMO.

They act like we are all liars...so .don't let this stuff get you down.....

This is a pretty strong statement: (like nothing I have ever seen before. The VA is in a hot seat regarding their suicide protocol and as bad as the VA is, I think you might have misinterpreted what this doctor said,as to suicide)

"also diagnosed with ptsd by va doctors but denied across the board 0% rated and the final note by va psychologist was "undiagnosed personality disorder" and actually tried to convince me to commit suicide. "

Can you scan and attach here the Reasons and bases part of the denial letter with the evidence list?

Cover C file #, name, address prior to scanning.

.

Edited June 12, 2015 by Berta

[TOXIC]

i will work on letting you see it ,we are talking about a state where an entire squad of national guardsman with a suicide pact were lost shortly after coming home, im not surprised by anyhting at all anymore. still trying to get the complete file this is only a few days out (i caught their notes this was decided before it left the cp office) , since the VA is more than 40 miles away and i dont get anywhere easily (nor do i drive) nothing is easy, the only thing i had going for me was i had my riginal smr , might try and put the whole story here but i just dont know . a year ago might have been different but im pretty fed up , and yes this psychiatrist kept prompting me with do you ever have thoughts of harming yourself? bout 6 or 8 times..... i had a "panic attack" or flashback or something i could almost see myself it was weird as hell while i was in there and im telling you i could barely restrain myself from grabbing this guy by his throat and taking his little weighted chair ....well you can conclude the rest, but they did everything they could to provoke me including laugh while i was talking about the chemical exposure. i was also "taken for a ride" on the elevator to the basement and we all know whats in the basement of these houses of horror. so yeah they provoked me intimidated me and when i was at that point they escorted me to proper floor of the building where mr examiner just happened to be waiting. all i could think about was getting out of there as fast as i could i was totally unprepared. heck a 50% rating with a year backpay would have literally changed my life i didnt submit a 600 page claim 6 joints (knees,shoulders, elbow right, neuropathy periferal and extremity bilateral, ptsd tendinitis bilateral knee, thoracic spine injury (i fell about 9 feet off of m923 on one occasion and walked away, what got me was the dropside gate section fallng and hitting me i was knocked out woke up laying against the wheel. unit wouldnt do LOD because noone witnessed it so i cant blame the denial there) lung condition GW i think thats it ill be more comprehensive, but i prob wont pursue it, like i said just wanted something for my wife and a hole somewhere so she wont have to deal with it , im enough to manage as it is. sorry for post jacking .

[TALON II FE]

Well, the way they handled Agent Orange worked well for them: many, many died before they did anything and how many claims and medical expenses did they dodge by delaying? How many had already estranged everyone around them and no one was left to file for DIC? How many were/are/ will be disillusioned and feel betrayed and forgotten? On top of that, they got a nice PR boost when they finally did something concerning AO, too late for many. They have their model for handling exposure issues like GWI and burn pits, etc moving forward and that model works to their advantage. It is a win-win situation for them and if people give up or lay down and take it, then they WIN. Don't let them win, or they will do it again, and again, and again. For each who has come before, and each of us here now, there will be an exponentially larger number moving forward facing these same types of issues with the system. If you don't feel you have anything left to fight for yourself, fight for them; our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, neighbors and friends. If we can't hold them accountable, at least we don't need to make it easy on them since they are not making it easy on any of us, or any of our brethren.

[TOXIC]

Well, the way they handled Agent Orange worked well for them: many, many died before they did anything and how many claims and medical expenses did they dodge by delaying? How many had already estranged everyone around them and no one was left to file for DIC? How many were/are/ will be disillusioned and feel betrayed and forgotten? On top of that, they got a nice PR boost when they finally did something concerning AO, too late for many. They have their model for handling exposure issues like GWI and burn pits, etc moving forward and that model works to their advantage. It is a win-win situation for them and if people give up or lay down and take it, then they WIN. Don't let them win, or they will do it again, and again, and again. For each who has come before, and each of us here now, there will be an exponentially larger number moving forward facing these same types of issues with the system. If you don't feel you have anything left to fight for yourself, fight for them; our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, neighbors and friends. If we can't hold them accountable, at least we don't need to make it easy on them since they are not making it easy on any of us, or any of our brethren.

i saw another post of yours i can probably help you in proving the service connection , i have the sf 600s and lots of other goodies and paperworks photographs letters from ltc. (af) and above about the environmental exposures(burnpit and likewise...dont forget the water they cooked with and we showered and shaved and brushed our shinys with was all contaminated and frequently ended up in the drinking water bottling area) , some of the stuff is publicly available but id like to give anything that could be helpful to anyone else if its needed i dont know if they will post this or let me speak on this site anymore but if you can reach me somehow ill do what i can to make sure you get the docs i have too.

EDIT: sorry for the format couldnt figure out how to complete the quotation , latest for me is i now have a baseball sized xray induced alopecia (babys bottom skin smooth baldness over my ear) that appeared after a chest xray at VA , so yeah now ive been "dosed" i wont go back to the VA they apparently want to kill me. and before anyone asks ive called every lawyer in the indiana yellow pages for my area as soon as i say VA malpractice. they want nothing to do with it.

i would post the names of the unlicensed doctors working at VA deciding disability benefits and doing the exams , but that would probably get me dead even faster.

Edited July 7, 2015 by TOXIC