Agent Orange and Neurological Disorders

I made signs and sat on the WHITE HOUSE LAWN, rode buses, put letters in the papers etc. He left this earth with two sons,the baby was seven months. HE is now 43. and lives with ME....the oldest s 52 and lives in MAINE.....we all have DIABETES...

I was referred to this group as a sufferer from essential tremors. Way less terrible than Parkinson's, I know that. However, in my case the VA admits I had been exposed to agent orange. My tremors really didn't start up badly until about age 40. I am 68 now. I feel like the VA is just waiting for us all to die off and not accept responsibility. I also have suffered ED issues ONLY after my Vietnam service. My VSO (VA attorney) had filed for benefits several times, each denied by the VA who says I would have to PROVE that agent orange caused my tremors. Let alone ED. So I was attempting to seek someone considered an "expert" who would support my claims to the VA to obtain benefits. Compounding this, we had not considered how my having has polio at the age of 1 which left me with frequent fatigue but thankfully the ability to walk and exercise, is still affecting me with the fatigue, suggested likely post polio syndrome. And combined with agent orange exposure, whether this all put together causes my tremors which will never go away. Any suggestions? It was suggested I use my Medicare and find a Neurologist who specializes in Parkinsons and maybe obtain an expert opinion that this was likely the cause. And go from there.
I truly hope people with the obvious worse condition of Parkinson's are able to live at least a somewhat fulfilled, enjoyable life, my issues are nothing in comparison, God bless you all.

I just noticed this thread. Anyone know of children with Neuro disorders if their parent (father) was exposed to agent orange?

@kristic, There are some associated conditions and birth defects that are passed on to children of Vietnam veterans exposed to agent orange. Here are a few links you that provide some information.

-- Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2012.- Effects on Future Generations: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK195093/
-- Birth defects linked to Agent Orange: https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/special-claims/birth-defects/
-- Agent Orange and Birth Defects: https://birthdefects.org/agent-orange/
-- The Children of Agent Orange — ProPublica: https://www.propublica.org/article/the-children-of-agent-orange

Is your father a Vietnam veteran exposed to agent orange?

Yes. He was. I am wondering if some of my problems are due to that.

I was in Vietnam for 16 months so I was exposed to Dioxin and I was at Camp LeJeune, NC so I was exposed to the contaminated water at that Marine base. I was diagnosed with MDS/MPN-RS-T so I was awarded 100% disability for that because MDS is one of the presumptive diseases of the Camp LeJeune contaminated water legislation. The problem is I was already at 240% (100% combined) due to several combat related injuries. I have Axonal Neuropathy so in October 2020 I went to Weill Cornell Hospital in Manhattan and had a Exome Sequencing and Whole Exome test done. Those tests look at over 20,000 genes for mutations and measure the protein levels of those genes. Still waiting for the test results. The lab blames COVID for the delay. I just want a clear diagnosis of which form of Axonal Neuropathy I have and Is it treatable or not. Some forms of Axonal Neuropathy can be treated with drugs or infusions. Others cannot. I had a INVITAE Saliva test done and the results indicated I an a SMA carrier and I had GAN. The SMA carrier thing was a surprise so my kids all got tested to make sure they didn’t inherit that gene mutation from me. So far, my three daughters are negatives. My son hasn’t been tested yet. The GAN thing is obviously not inherited because if I was born with GAN I would have been dead within a year or so. So it’s an acquired mutation. I suspect being exposed to dioxin and/or the contaminated water at Camp LeJeune caused the mutation but proving that is probably impossible.

I was urged to apply for Sericce connected Mediacl Issues from agent Orange (Dioxin ) The VA asked for Scientific and Medical Evidence that my thyroid issue was caused by my Vietnam Service and exposure to Agent Orange. . Of course no way in Hell I can provide that. But searching for info about Dioxin and came across posts here and was shocked at the Myriad of health issues caused by Dioxin and even how it affected their Children! My Daughter has MS. It hiurts to think it may have been caused by me.

Welcome @jdesan, Sorry to hear the VA is not being very helpful. I'm also a Vietnam Vet but served on a Navy Destroyer supporting the ground troops so wasn't exposed to agent orange. I'm wondering if the following VA sites will help you find what they need for evidence of exposure.

-- Agent Orange exposure and VA disability compensation: https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/hazardous-materials-exposure/agent-orange/
-- New Conditions VA Presumes Are Related to Herbicide Exposure: https://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/claims-postservice-questionnaire-claimherbicide.asp

Are you able to share a little more about your thyroid issues?

I am interested too. I have a severe degenerative disc disease and chronic pain syndrome. These are issues seen in second and third generation Vietnamese exposed to "lighter" AO bombing.

I am looking for studies about this as well. If you know of any studies or any medical specialists that are researching this, any sharing is appreciated greatly.

Welcome @vetdaughter, I'm a vet who also has degenerative disc disease but I don't think mine is related to my time with the Navy in Vietnam. Assuming you've done a lot of searching using Google, have you tried Google Scholar? It can sometimes pull up a lot of new research info (some you have to pay for). Here's search results using "Agent Orange exposure +Vietnamese" --
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Agent+Orange+exposure+%2BVietnamese+&hl=en&as_sdt=0,24
Not sure if you have seen this article on the Know A Vet website but it has a lot of references in the article that might be helpful. -- A Toxic Legacy: The Generational Effects Of Agent Orange: https://www.knowavet.org/a-toxic-legacy-the-generational-effects-of-agent-orange/

Do you think your degenerative disc disease might be causing some of your chronic pain?