Desert Shield/Storm Victim
This was very strange to me. I left to go to Desert Shield on August 16th of 1990 and came home on March 16th of 1991.While in Country, I was notified by my wife at the time that my pay had been messed up and she wasn't getting but a small amount. When I returned I found out that the code that had been put in my service record was different than anyone elses. I asked what the code meant and I was told that it meant that I was taking experimental drugs for the military. I told them I hadn't taken anything, until I started thinking back and also developed many medical problems.
I developed a constant nasal problem and had to have two surgeries(Nov '92 and Nov '93) and had to start taking acid reflux medication, developed horrible migraines and started loosing my Short Term Memory.
In March of 2002 I was performing my physical fitness test and usually could do 12-15 dead hang pullups and this time, I did 3 and started feeling a horrible pain in my head but pushed through and blacked out on my 4th. I developed a seriously horrible headache that would not go away. I admitted myself into a civilian Emergency Room and they did every test imaginable, including a spinal tap and could find nothing.
They gave me demerol, then toradol, then more demerol, and all those did was take the feeling away from the rest of my body but made the headache more pronounced. They finally gave me morphine and it only eased the pain. They sent me home with some Vicodin and I have had the headache ever since. Not as bad, but it's always there.
The military sent me all over and I've had 5 MRI of the neck and head and they can't find anything. Amazingly on my last Permanent Duty Station move, my medical record turned up missing. I'm still fighting with the Veterans Administration about many problems I'm having. I went through a Persian Gulf War Victim questioneer and all I could remember was getting some yellow powder spread on the sand to keep the flies away from us, is what they said.
Taking the following drugs:
Pyrostigmine Bromide, I kept the original packaging and Anthrax Immunizations, which when first given, we were only allowed to enter A-1 or A-2 in the Marines Medical Immunization records. Makes ya think, huh. I was a Navy Combat Medic while in the Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Received 08-02-2004