Gulf War Vaccines, (lost Shot Records)

Hello People,

It's funny. The longer I stay on this site, the more questions I have, more uses for such a forum I get.

In this case, my question involves the Topic above.

I am a Navy veteran of the Gulf War, enlisted 1990.

After achieving a specific test score type on the ASVAB, I ended up in an "Other Than Generic" Boot Camp Company in Orlando, FL. I am only listing that information, in case it helps others decide if we have had similar experiences or not.

While I was in, I found out I had received a Vaccine for Anthrax, Hepatitis and HIV. Since most of that time was a complete fog to me, it never really registered until years later, when I began having assorted Medical Problems.

I will hold off on listing my medical history.

It was at this time that i wanted to see my entire shot record. Well, I found out that my shot record does not exist before 1997.

Is there anybody out there that has had a similar experience? Any information is welcome.

I cannot say for myself but my oldest cousin came back with some health problems. He thinks it was the depleted uranium he was exposed to. What ever it was it has caused him to have severe chronic headaches and constant diarrhea. Just from my seeing him before and after, he certainly seems a lot more fatigued and just plain out of energy all the time. And the headaches have not subsided.

Was that a typo with regard to the HIV vaccine. If it's not, and HIV vaccine is news to me.

No, that's what I said. Experimental HIV vaccine.
That's why I wanted to see my shot record. I don't remember any of the shots and vaccines from that time. It is all a blur.

Gulf War 1 vet here, Navy also.

My whole medical record from my whole service is missing.

I have symptoms of Gulf War illness that have had me disabled for the last 5 yrs, which I believe comes from the vaccines we received (Anthrax), but a lot if us can't even prove we had the shots because our records are missing.

Those who do still have their medical records, like you, do not include a record of the vaccines, even though they received them.

You're not alone...

[edit on 18/2/2007 by ANOK]

Originally posted by ANOK
Gulf War 1 vet here, Navy also.

My whole medical record from my whole service is missing.

I have symptoms of Gulf War illness that have had me disabled for the last 5 yrs, which I believe comes from the vaccines we received (Anthrax), but a lot if us can't even prove we had the shots because our records are missing.

Those who do still have their medical records, like you, do not include a record of the vaccines, even though they received them.

You're not alone...

[edit on 18/2/2007 by ANOK]

Thanks ANOK. I appreciate that.
Yeah, I traced my problems to the Anthrax vaccine also. Something about the actual "Booster" part of it, "Squalene", which is derived from deep sea shark liver.

Also, something else that I am looking for in my documentation right now.

Here is a doc that goes deeper into it:
Safety of the Anthrax Vaccine

All I know is I have a list of crazy symptoms and diseases that the VA is treating for free, and I was given a disability rating and benefits with a non-specific description.

I wish I had a list of how many of us have no shot record.

ReadilyUnavailable: here is the answer to your post:
Gulf War Mystery and HIV




[edit on 2/18/2007 by Horrificus]

Horrificus:

Several of my non-generic friends had their medical records 'disappear' and their DD-214's altered after the fact, along with some of the other 'more atypical' contents of their record jackets.

Considering that the hard copies of THOSE were kept in the private lockup in Tampa, instead of with the other kiddies', there's not much doubt that their records were retro-actively edited.

So far, it's all been NCOs. The ossifers don't seem to have the same issues. One of the guys was told "You should have taken the three free copies of your medical record at the 'exit interview' " True, but not real helpful.

While I'm sure some of this can be attributed to that good ol' military efficiency in action, there seems to be some patterns to it. It's not all GW1 and later, either, there's a lot of them missing prior to that.

Wow Horrificus, thanks for the link. That is some amazing stuff, although given what we know about history, not terribly suprising.

Tom Bedlam:

It sounds about right.
The list of symptoms is so long, and so varied, I am embarrassed to talk about them with anybody, because it reads like a grocery list. The only way to describe it, is to say that I am basically "breaking down" from head to toe.

I'm just waiting for something that can't be stalled by a pill. And, I'm tired of the pills.


ReadilyUnavailable:

I'm sorry I was right. I don't want to be. In Sci-Fi books, it is "cool" to be an experiment. In real life, we just get sick.



OK Guys, tomorrow I will list some links that I have, if you are interested.
Thanks.

Horri

[edit on 2/18/2007 by Horrificus]

[edit on 2/18/2007 by Horrificus]

US Army Gulf War I vet, SEP90- MAR91

I also received immunizations in Saudi after deployment, this was prior to our units equipment, records got there, so most of my unit got a "new" now "nonexistant" immunization record.

I received the gammaglobulin in addition to the anthrax, hepatitus innoculation, I have no knowledge of an HIV shot.

One item we also were "ordered" to take was a pill, which was to help us in case of an NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) attack, something about nerve coating and aiding the atropine we had in the self-injection kit.

I remember being in formation, being briefed by a Med Offficer on this pill and when asked about the pill basicly gave us the runaround as far as this being approved or experimental, or side effects etc.

If I remember correctly I think this was a pill to be taken in 6 hour increments (4 times per day), and what was wild was it was and standing "order", with disciplinary action for those who didn't folow the order.

In some sections of our unit, the SSG (section sergeant w/12-15 troops) would hold a formation and visually acknowledge each soldiers' adherence to the order.

Fortunately, I and my RATT (radio teletype) team were sent to a Corps HQ for communication support. We were able to set up our RATT 1.75 miles from the main body and were able to operate in essence "alone" where our equipment was located.

I was always skeptical of this pill's intentions, effects, etc. So I actually took a minimal amount, and never again once forward deployed. My RATT teammates "ceremoniously" gathered at the 6 hr interval, popped the pill out of the blisterpak and tossed them into the desert. Whenever our "higher ups" stopped by, a blisterpak check was always done, that is why we stuck to the 6hr timing as it was known, how many of those pills should be on each soldier at a given time. This scrutiny lasted for quite some time but once the Air strikes began it was no longer a big issue where I was deployed.

I still have the packaging of the last pack of pills somewhere in my many boxes of military gear, uniforms etc.

I have some of the symptoms of GWSyndrome but mine are nowhere severe as some of my fellow servicemen/women, but I did start the syndrome program at Fort Belvoir and never got past the first interview, it felt like I was being psychoanalyzed and somehow being treated as a guniea pig, so I never went back.

Have you been tested for anti-squalene antibody yet? (sorry for the one liner)

I haven't been tested yet. Have you, or has anybody else out there?
Please let us know.

There's a test. www.autoimmune.com... I had the impression the VA will sometimes run it but in my case I never got the rot.

About the worst I got was, I ended up some years after with a six-month run of "an unidentified non-culturable strain of Mycoplasma" while I was in school, but it was so long after that it probably wasn't "work" related. It did take a while to figure out what it was, and boy was I miserable the whole time.

I might have gotten it at a "summer job" though, you never can tell. Still, it's nothing compared to what some other people are going through; I got off light.

Edit:
PS - have you dropped into any of the support forums yet? I would bet that there are some groups on china one that would know. You might even run into some old compadres.


[edit on 18-2-2007 by Tom Bedlam]

Interesting stuff folks. Do you think the same shots were given during O.I.L. oops, O.I.F?

Also one other question. I have a friend who is hopefully going to ETS in August, should he make sure that he has copies of all these kinds of records. I am inticipating that he could have some sickness from exposure to D.U. in the future and being the pro-active person that I am, would like him to have his records in case some action is needed.

I am no stranger to this type of thing. My stepfather has cancer from Agent Orange and I lived in Vietnam for two years and continue to see the effects.

I am concerned about the future health of my friend.

Don't waive anything, read what you sign, take the three free copies and keep them yourself!

So many records just vanish that it's always safest to get a copy of EVERYTHING including his DD214 right up front while he can still get confirmation from people he knows if necessary.

Horrificus--

Sorry to hear about the probs--you and a whole lot of others, it would seem.

Let me just say this, and you can get a strong hint from it. I am a disabled Nam Vet and DAV Lifer. I have had problems myself related to Operation Ranch Hand and heavy exposure to various defoliant cocktails (Agent Orange, Agent Purple, Pink, etc). Interestingly, after Congress passed the Agent Orange compensation act, ALL of the Incident reports which contained our names and places, vanished. Understand that, at the time, the "burden of proof" was on us, and that proof was in the incident reports. The 4th floor of the DoD Archives building in St. Louis, which contained those records, was gutted by fire exactly 2 weeks after the Act was passed. This was incredibly strange since the building, itself, was designed as an Archive, and was supposedly fireproof and had sprinklers. The later, conveniently, did not go off. I also know first hand and from the mouth of the responding Fire Battalion Chief, that the St. Louis FD was NOT allowed into the grounds to fight the fire.

A little more. My X--BIL is one of a few Nam Vets that contracted Dioxin-Related Parkinson's Syndrome. He was diagnosed when he was 32 years old. He is 60, now, and JUST got a settlement from the VA on that and is now drawing benefits. I watched this man suffer without those benefits for nearly 30 years. Don't let it take that long for you Gulf I and Iraq Vets, and NEVER take "No" for an answer from the VA. Call on us (DAV) if you need to--that's why we are here.

Good luck.

Originally posted by JacKatMtn
One item we also were "ordered" to take was a pill, which was to help us in case of an NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) attack, something about nerve coating and aiding the atropine we had in the self-injection kit.

I found out the name of the pill, it was Pyridostigmine Bromide

Some Links to this particular pill:

Q. Why were troops given Pyridostigmine Bromide (PB) during the Gulf War?

RE: PYRIDOSTIGMINE BROMIDE - a drug given to protect against the nerve gas soman
What do we conclude about the risks of PB to Gulf War veterans?

Given the extensive cumulative experience with the use of PB in patients with myasthenia gravis and data collected from military personnel, the Committee concludes it is unlikely that health effects reported today by Gulf War veterans are the result of exposure simply to PB. Ongoing federally funded studies should help the scientific community draw conclusions about the synergistic effects of PB and other risk factors.

Hey ED, doesn't this conclusion sound familiar to you?


Just adding the link to an MSDS sheet on PYRIDOSTIGMINE BROMIDE,

MSDS

Section 3: Hazards Identification
Potential Acute Health Effects:
Very hazardous in case of ingestion. Hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of
inhalation. Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (sensitizer). Severe over-exposure can result in death.
Potential Chronic Health Effects:
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.
MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.
TERATOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available.
DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY: Not available.
Repeated exposure to a highly toxic material may produce general deterioration of health by an accumulation in one or many human organs

This appears to be pretty nasty stuff, but still good enough for our soldiers according to the FDA and Defense department



[edit on 2007/2/18 by JacKatMtn]

Tom,

Thanks for the link. I will look into it, and anything I find out, I will drop on here.



Deessell,

I don't have much information, but it sounds like Tom is on the mark.



Ed,

Thanks for all the info. And, I will probably take you up on the offer.



Jack,

That sounds like poison to me. Just more poison, blah, blah, blah.



To all of you guys, I'm sorry we have to deal with this.

[edit on 2/18/2007 by Horrificus]

Has there been any newer interest in this topic from any of you out there?

My husband was given a slew of shots and pills to take during Desert Storm. I'm not sure where his medical records are, but his yellow immunization booklet doesn't have any of those shots listed.

I'm going to ask him tomorrow what shots and pills he took. Also bumping this old thread becasue it's important.