Essential tremors and post polio syndrome and agent orange exposure

Have you considered seeing a neurologist specializing in Parkinson that accepts Medicare? It will help your VA claim to have a doc's diagnosis outside VA system. It will help your claim if you are receiving Rx meds for the Parkinson. Get copies of all these medical records to file with your claim. Also, do you have VFW or other service organization rep. fighting for you?

@bruce0712 It must be difficult to experience tremors and at the same time pursue legal action against an enormous entity like Veterans Affairs. It sounds like the Navy should not have enlisted you due to your having polio as a child and your attorney believes you have tremors due to having polio coupled with the exposure of Agent Orange in Vietnam.

You are looking for a provider that can make the connection between polio, Agent Orange, and tremors. Did I get that right?

You said that what you are experiencing is rare. I have tagged members @margaretob @hopeful33250
@oldsalt1947 @glenner075 who have previously discussed similar topics.

I have also linked a previous discussion on this topic, as this may be helpful in your search for answers.
- Agent Orange and Neurological Disorders https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/agent-orange-and-neurological-disorders/

I borrowed a mentor’s links from a previous post on this topic. The information may be information that you already have but just in case I have reposted it below.

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

- Vietnam Veterans of America: Agent Orange https://vva.org/what-we-do/outreach-programs/agent-orange

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

Regarding finding a specialist, would you tell me more about what Mayo Clinic said regarding scheduling appointments? Have you been a patient at Mayo Clinic in the past?

As far as I know, the tie between Agent Orange and Parkinson’s is presumptive - all you have to prove is that you were Nam during the years Agent Orange was in use. I have never seen polio discussed. The VVA may be a good resource

Hello @bruce0712,

I am sorry to hear of your tremors. We have some other members who have experienced neurological problems as a result of exposure to Agent Orange. I would like to invite @johnjames, also a Nam veteran, to share some of his experiences.

wow, thank you very much! I made a phone appointment online, that happened on October 23 at 2pm. As I recall, I went through my details on the call, letting the person know what I was seeking as described, and after all of that, the lady put me on hold for about 5 minutes, telling me she was going to see if she could find an appointment in Neurology. She came back on the line to tell me she was unable to make any such appointments, plus there were no waiting lists, nothing anyone at the Mayo Clinic could help me with. I was willing to drive up to Jacksonville for an afternoon appointment whenever they could get me in. But to no avail.
I will pull up the material you pointed me to and send it to my VSO. He had made several claims that were all denied by the VA but we had not considered the post polio syndrome aspect until now, thus I was willing to be examined for that.

Yes, the VA thus far has denied claims several times, each time essentially telling me that I would need to prove that agent orange exposure causes essential tremor. They have acknowledged exposure based on where my ship was. I do have a VSO assisting my claims, he is as upset with how the VA is handling my claim as much as I am. Thus, he suggested trying to connect my having had polio with the exposure but that would require an expert opinion. I already know how easy it is for me to get fatigued, and I deal with the tremors and ED issues to boot, to be totally honest.

I should try that. I only recently moved to Daytona Beach so I don't have a Neurologist like I had in California. I cannot reach the one I had in California as he had retired a few years ago. I may try t get an opinion from him. I do have a VSO who has been fighting for me, my claims are denied for the tremors being caused by agent orange, but we had not yet considered trying to link the combination of having has polio with the exposure.

My name is John James- Hopeful ask if I would try and help you with information about (Parkinson's and the connection with Agent Orange?-and there is) I was diagnosed by the VA Neurological over 4 years ago. And he told me that agent orange was related to the disease of Parkinson's and he would send in my positive exam for Parkinson's and the connection to agent orange- and my exposure both times I was in Viet Nam -66 and 67. However-here in Phoenix, the VA has a full time officer that versified ( for example) my exposure to the chemicals-which I needed for my claim. All you need is your DD214 showing when you were in Viet Nam and the unit-which they can trace to verify you were in VN and exposed, and where you were at. They give you a letter verifying-you were in fact exposed and than they put that letter with the Parkinson's diagnosis for the claim. They approved my claim in 30 days. Was there something else you are trying to find info: for a claim John James

In my case, the VA is saying that there is no medical conclusion by any experts that agent orange could have caused my tremors. Until I provide any medical expert that expresses the professional opinion that this is likely the cause, my claim is denied. Even when they acknowledge I was indeed exposed. That they admit based on the ship's know location which I was told to prove, so I did. Once I proved that was true, they changed the narrative to "prove that agent orange caused tremors". Seems they admit it for Parkinson's but not for tremors. Makes no sense. Thus, is why I put in the other factor of polio history and the hope of finding some medical expert in a position to declare that my tremors were likely caused by the combination of agent orange exposure plus post polio syndrome symptoms. So frustrating.

I'm sorry to hear your getting such a run around- Give me a couple days and I will talk with the VA Claim's Officer here in Phoenix- about what their telling you- that it can't cause tremors. Was a VA Nero/Doctor who did the exam? I will check this out and get back to you by Friday. Johnjames