Agent Orange and Neurological Disorders

jjames, Sir; Sincerely appreciate your post Dated: Oct 16, 2016.. However, with patience, I fail to understand our Congress, our VA in-reference to the abuses our honorably discharged Vietnam, and Vietnam ERA Veterans are left to suffer with ! Personally I have had 2 types of Cancer removed, two AORTA Aneurysms, one "Widow maker" plus 8 different stents crammed into my heart. I have stabbing pains in right knee, causing me instability (use walker).. Left Kidney surgically corrected from blockages.. Left side of body remains numb.. I have Sleep Apnea, and I have to use CPAP, and 24/7 oxygen .. Several emails to State representatives, Have received maybe 3 responses.. the rest have not replied, except to request Contributions and Voter Support !! ... I have requested (FOIA) 5 times reference to flight departures .. one response to redirect me to "Archives" still waiting on 4 remaining responses !! I have been denied claims.. even though I prove to VA that in 1971, I was on 2 Ships which are listed on VA "Exposed Ships List, 1971 ".. Some of above surgeries are listed by VA as caused by exposure !! Now, I am on appeals, Still waiting (3 Years) .. I feel with ALL this Crap, I am developing PTSD.. Definitely STRESS.. I don't know why we are treated the way we are... its almost (if Not) Unconstitutional, inhumane treatment.. I understand many politicians dodged the 60's draft.. I do Not blame them.. I was afraid too.. but why the continued suffering, abandonment issues.. Congress (per the Constitution) is who can declare War !! Congress can change the continued abuse and denials of benefits to our Veterans !! Why the Continued abuse, is it Shame, is it Guilt ? Respectfully, Mike

jjames, Sir; Sincerely appreciate your post Dated: Oct 16, 2016.. However, with patience, I fail to understand our Congress, our VA in-reference to the abuses our honorably discharged Vietnam, and Vietnam ERA Veterans are left to suffer with ! Personally I have had 2 types of Cancer removed, two AORTA Aneurysms, one "Widow maker" plus 8 different stents crammed into my heart. I have stabbing pains in right knee, causing me instability (use walker).. Left Kidney surgically corrected from blockages.. Left side of body remains numb.. I have Sleep Apnea, and I have to use CPAP, and 24/7 oxygen .. Several emails to State representatives, Have received maybe 3 responses.. the rest have not replied, except to request Contributions and Voter Support !! ... I have requested (FOIA) 5 times reference to flight departures .. one response to redirect me to "Archives" still waiting on 4 remaining responses !! I have been denied claims.. even though I prove to VA that in 1971, I was on 2 Ships which are listed on VA "Exposed Ships List, 1971 ".. Some of above surgeries are listed by VA as caused by exposure !! Now, I am on appeals, Still waiting (3 Years) .. I feel with ALL this Crap, I am developing PTSD.. Definitely STRESS.. I don't know why we are treated the way we are... its almost (if Not) Unconstitutional, inhumane treatment.. I understand many politicians dodged the 60's draft.. I do Not blame them.. I was afraid too.. but why the continued suffering, abandonment issues.. Congress (per the Constitution) is who can declare War !! Congress can change the continued abuse and denials of benefits to our Veterans !! Why the Continued abuse, is it Shame, is it Guilt ? Respectfully, Mike

The facts about Agent Orange and the effects it had on military people who served in Vietnam, including those whom the DoD and the VA have labeled as Brown Water Sailors is a complex issue. Made complex by the VA who ignored the thousands of Blue Water Sailors who were exposed to agent orange, but never acknowledged by the VA. Agent Orange had devastating effects on thousands, including cancers, diabetes, neurological damage just to name a few. For me the side effects include my immune system failure, chronic fatigue,diabetes, high blood pressure, heart trouble and most recently a brain disorder not yet diagnosed. I can't walk without crutches, I'm weak, hands tremble, small blood vessel damage in my brain. No one has ever been able to tell me why I suffer from side effects of dioxins, found in Agent Orange. I am a Navy Vietnam War Veteran.

Good questions Teresa with respect to Agent Orange and neurological disorders. I'd like to bring @mivy @johnjames @ggopher @macbeth @retairforceman and @Robert43DAP into this conversation as they have experiences to share.

Thank you for sharing this. My husband is being seen by the neurology department at the VA. He has 9-12 ‘full body spasms’ daily. It doesn’t matter what he is doing and we never know when they are going to happen. He has been given a UStep rollator by the rehab department in order to help keep him from falling during a spasm. He has had full body and neck MRI’s which show no damage to the nerves around either of his lamenectomies - neck and lower back. He is on Parkinson’s medication yet after all of this and my questioning if he could have Parkinson’s due to daily AO exposure in 1968 the doctors refuse to acknowledge that AO could be the cause.

We would like to seek a second opinion on the outside and live in San Antonio. Does anyone have a referral? This has been going on since 2012 and as his care giver I need rest and as the patient he needs resolution. Thank you.

Hello @djb0711, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. It looks like the Texas VA has a special assistance program for veterans affected by agent orange. I didn't see any phone numbers but they have a Contact Us on the website that you may be able to get some referral advice or suggestions from.

Texas Department of Health, Bureau of Disease Control and Epidemiology, Texas Veterans Agent Orange Assistance Program:
-- https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/20029/tsl-20029.html

The VA also has some information on related diseases here:

Diseases related to Agent Orange
-- https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/hazardous-materials-exposure/agent-orange/related-diseases/

Have you thought about reaching out to a veterans organization for help? The Vietnam Veterans of America has an outreach program for agent orange that you might find helpful. Website link - https://vva.org/what-we-do/outreach-programs/agent-orange/. The website has a link to a self help guide that you can print off or view here:

Service-Connected Disability Compensation For Exposure To Agent Orange for Veterans and Their Families (PDF)
-- https://vva.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/AgentOrangeGuide.pdf

@colleenyoung
@hopeful33250
All I know is that it has been recognized as related to a host of diseases in Vietnam vets, including Parkinson's, diabetes, some cancers, and ischemic heart disease, among other conditions. The vet who helped us file a claim, at a nearby VA regional office, (and a comp doctor there) also believe it may also be connected to dementia/early onset dementia, which makes sense, due to the relationship to Parkinson's and ischemic heart disease (the higher rate of ischemic build-up around the heart is bound to be happening elsewhere in the body - such as in the brain), but, that not enough veterans or their families are making the connection and filing claims. More claims filed = more attention from the government. Also, I am being told that it will take many more years of research before the connection is officially recognized between AO and dementias, in general. I realize that not everyone who gets a disease has a family history of that disease, but my husband's family has no history of dementia, and I began to notice symptoms or wonder about him, as early as in his early - to - mid sixties, and maybe before that, looking back. But I was in denial. He also has the AO related ischemic heart disease. One of my brothers (Vietnam vet) had an AO related carcinoma, and had to have his leg amputated. It can wreak havoc decades after exposure. I know that many children of Vietnam vets have had problems that are being traced back to the AO exposure of a parent.

All you have to do, is begin to research this stuff on the net. There are a lot of very sad, very frustrating experiences related there.

I know that there is strength in numbers, and that being civil is very important, but that being tooooo polite does not get a job like this done. Vietnam veterans and their families need to be heard about these facts and overwhelming coincidences. They need to file claims. They need to write letters. They need to get louder. They need to push. They need to extend the support to Vietnam veterans that they rarely or never received for their service.

O. K. Now I'll dust off my hands and get off my high horse. Can you tell I'm a little passionate about this?

Keep up the GOOD WORK, and thank you for your service. I am a widow of a BURIED VETERAN from VIETNAM who experienced pain and mental illness. He died from a DRUG OVERDOSE in 1977, he was 31. AGENT ORANGE was not the only threat, there was bluand yellow and other colors. The GOVERNMENT COVERED MOST OF IT UP> HELICOPTERS BROUGHT BARRELS OF THE
stuff and some broke open, IT DEFOLIATED THE MEKONG DELTA SO THAT THE TREES WERE BARE and could not hide the ENEMY soldiers.