Issues After 15 Years?

[onrope]

Hi there. I am new to the site. Been reading a lot of very interesting info. I ETS's back in 92 for a family hardship. I had begun having problems then but my bigger concern at the time was my family's well being therefore I hadn't thought much more of it. Issues had been prevalent especially the IBS which is sometimes more debilitating than the fatigue and soreness. I had never thought of GWI, but knew something wasn't right.

I had been able to compensate for a lot of my pain via exercise when I was younger but once I turned 35 my health began to rapidly decline. Sadly I have an extreme phobia of doctors and hospitals.

2 or 3 years ago I read that the Gulf War Registry would end in 2014. I stopped at the local VA and asked how to get on this registry. I had given the clerk by name and last 4 and he said someone would contact me. A few weeks later I received a letter from the VA with a clinic appointment for lab screening. I thought this was first part of the testing or screening procedure.

For several years now all of my blood work was normal. I mean, on paper I look healthy as a horse. Recently I ask the Doc how my screening is going he informs me that this isn't a screening or part of the registry. I am furious, I had been complaining of problems since I have been going to this clinic. The Doc said it was part of getting old I am only 42!

Next thing I receive an appointment for a doctor at the VA hospital 80 miles away. This happens just out of the blue. So I make my appointment and they tell me they want to do an colonoscopy which will require another 160 mile trip plus an overnight stay and my wife taking time off of work too.

I am glad the VA is addressing some things finally but only after 2 or so years of complaining. I hate complaining period. But all along I have been paying the VA for this treatment so now I don't even feel like I am getting my money's worth.

So now driving back from my last visit at the VA I become even more mad at the system and myself. I decided to move forward with filing a claim. I contacted a lawyer to help with the part.

Anyone have any input? Anything I should do in the interim? I do finally have an appointment with the environmental health coordinator but I am not sure that is going to amount to anything?

[Vync]

Welcome to Hadit!

I assume you were deployed because you mentioned GWI. Don't discount fibromyalgia, because many of the symptoms overlap between it and GWI. Fibromyalgia is a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning your exams and lab results show you are healthy as a horse, but oddly when they touch you in key locations it is really painful and tend to have that 'falling apart' feeling all the time. I was never deployed, am the same age as you, and served during the same period, but was told by docs that they swear up and down that I had GWI. After seeing a (non-VA) rheumatologist, they did a sleep study and diagnosed me with sleep apnea and fibromyalgia. The only real relief I got was from wearing a CPAP machine. It did not provide full 100% relief, but it was a noticeable improvement. Not everyone has this, but when the illness is a mystery it sometimes could be fibromyalgia. It might be worth a shot. If your wife says you snore like a horse, it could be worth investigating. Keep in mind that the diagnosis and treatment I mentioned here was not obtained from the VA and was quite pricey, but I have decent private medical insurance that covered it.

There might be a VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) near you that would make medical care a bit more convenient. Basically it is a local VA doc the box, but they refer you to the hospital for bigger issues. Before I moved nearer to the VA hospital, I went to the CBOC for a couple of years. It could save you a trip or two.

If you were deployed, you might consider talking to someone at a VA Vet Center about your doctor phobia. They are separate from the VA hospitals and might be able to help. The setting is completely casual and they don't go around wearing white lab coats. Some vets who refuse to go to the VAMC actually are comfortable in going to VA Vet Centers. Hopefully there is one in your area.

Also, are you service connected (SC) for anything yet? I am mostly curious if you have a combined rating percent, not specifically the conditions that you are rated for. If you are treated at the VA for SC conditions or get C&P exams, you could qualify for travel pay if you are far enough out.

At your age, don't let the doc tell you that age has anything to do with it.

Did you follow back up with anyone at the Gulf War Registry?

If you get your treatment at the VA medical center, please note that they sometimes have different primary care clinics but don't tell you about it. Here in Birmingham, AL, they have the 'red', 'blue', and 'gold' clinic. Red is staffed by resident docs who were still in college and need the experience. Blue was a bit better, but the Gold clinic here has only staff physicians with real experience. If you feel you are being short-changed by the VA docs, talk to the patient representative at the facility. They can be helpful in getting you with the right doc. If you don't like your current doc, you can ask for a different one.

Don't hate complaining. You're not on active duty any more. You served your country. Time for them to serve you.

Realize that anything with the VA, from claims to medical care, typically will take longer than it should. The processes are run by the government, meaning that it doesn't always make sense.

Definitely do your share of research regarding your claim. Hadit is full or resources and has great members. Lawyers can be helpful, but you could get varying results. I never used one, but hope you have a good experience.

[john999]

Did you get honorable discharge? How long were you in the service? Did you deploy to the Gulf? These questions can have meaningful answers. You were given a hardship discharge? What kind of discharge is that? I am not being nosey, but as long as you were deployed to Gulf and had discharge under honorable conditions the VA has to treat you and you can get compensation.

[onrope]

I did get an honoroable discharge. It was under hardship conditions due to a loss of my father and conditions of the loss. Its really an early discharge that I elected to take. I was enlisted for 3 years and spent 7 1/2 months deployed in the Gulf. I spent an additional 2 years in the USAR too after my active duty discharge.

I appreciate the heads up and words of encouragement. Im on the track to my exam for the 30th. So hopefully it all works ok and I can get some help. The whole process is exhausting. I know why I have put it off as long as I have now.

I asked about PTSD for the sleep and anxiety. The head shrink at the clinic seems to think I am depressed. Im not. I am anxious among other things but I dont feel depressed. This has all re-manifested when I went to the VA center. I had taken the depression and PTSD assesments and it points too that and not depression.

[john999]

Well, you can get SC for depression and anxiety just as easy as PTSD if not easier. Many people with depression don't feel depressed. Vets think the only mental condition they can get SC for is PTSD. That is not the case.

[Berta]

"2 or 3 years ago I read that the Gulf War Registry would end in 2014"

That is news to me.

They did change the date for GWI presumptives:

"These "presumptive" illnesses must have appeared during active duty in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations or by December 31, 2016, and be at least 10 percent disabling. - See more at: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/medically-unexplained-illness.asp#sthash.iqqzjJaF.dpuf

That Dec 2016 date will probably be extended again as it also covers all OEF OIF veterans.
We have lots of info here on Gulf War Illnesses.

It pays to claim anything that you believe had it's roots in your service (such as PTSD etc)

You can get a copy of your SMRs from NARA at http://www.archives.gov/

And it is always good to get copies of your VA medical records.

"But all along I have been paying the VA for this treatment so now I don't even feel like I am getting my money's worth."

Could you clarify that? Do you mean you have to make a co pay?

[onrope]

I go copies of my SMR's several years ago. Unfortunately I have one record in it due to a sprained knee which still gives me fits today. I have absolutely no other medical records. Not even any from where I hurt my back while deployed. I remember being in the TMC at Cement City and one time taken to some French medic unit near KKMC because I had lost the feeling in my right leg.

Other that that, it's all that I have.