Hi:
I am new member to this site and I hope to connect with as many people about my condition.
I am a 63 year old Viet-Nam Vet and was exposed to Agent Orange,when I was stationed in Danang back in 1970/1971.Everything was fine(I thought) for several years,after discharge from the Air Force in 1972, and never even thought about AO,until a fellow vet told me a story(back in 2006)about his exposure to this dreaded dioxin.Sad story,as he said he didn't have much longer to live!Anyway,during a pre-op blood test in 2007,I was diagnosed with a rare disease/condition called Essential Thrombocytosis.I was told by an hematologist/oncologist that it was because my bone marrow was not functioning as it was supposed to. There is no cure BUT it is manageable.I'm on a regimen of 500 mg of a med called Hydroxyurea...........1 cap a day for the rest of my life.This was to stabilize my platelet count which was around 1,000,000 when discovered to its current level of approx. 471 thousand,which is considered in the "safe zone".My problem is ,is that my condition could "morph" into a more serious condition.Quite unnerving,to say the least.As of recent reports,no-one has any idea where this comes from(same for its counterpart........Lower platelets),it's not hereditary,is not contagious,is manageable but is also quite serious.I have to go for a blood draw every month and have my platelets monitored.See,too many platelets could lead to clotting issues.(IE: Clots could form,travel to the brain/heart/other areas of the body.and could result in some kind of catastrophic situation).There is a reason I am saying all this and I hope I'm not boring too many with this information.
To shorten this thread,somewhat,........under advisement from a VA rep,here in New Hampshire(where I live),I filed a "disability claim",for my condition alleging that AO was the reason,in part,for my condition.Oh,by the way,for those that didn't know it?..............ANYONE that spent ANYTIME in Viet-Nam WAS exposed to Agent Orange.Whether it was for 1 day or any length of time.This garbage was sprayed over alot of jungle area during the war,as a defoliant(It also obviously went air borne all over the countryside,by the wind!).It was also used in limited amts. in Laos,Cambodia and Thailand.That being said,I was required to get a AO screening physical.Nothing was noted as being AO related.There is a presumptive list of maybe about 12 or so conditions,linked to AO.My condition wasn't one of them................My claim was denied,and I appealed.It's been over 2 years and counting!Researching on line,I discovered that MANY Viet-Nam Vets had come down with this condition,but the VA simply refuses to recognize the possibility that AO could be the cause!
Get this: Type 2 diabetes is one of those conditions on "the list".This diabetes is one of the most common,most treatable,most reversable and ANYONE can get it.regardless of age and/or gender.I have a friend (V.Vet) who was diagnosed with t2d and he's getting 100% disability(About $2,600.00 a month).Oh,he also eats anything he wants,smokes like a chiminey(sp?) and laughs all the way to the bank!With this disability benefit,soc. sec. and a pension he gets from somewhere,he's living on almost $6,000.00 a month.We,who have this incurable,rare condition(My Dr. said possibly 1 out of every 250,000 people may get it.....The National Institute of Health...NIH...has higher estimates) are getting squat because it's not on "the list".I've been trying to get some kind of response/count as to how many Viet Vets are affected by this and if they have had trouble getting VA assistance for it.
If anyone(Vets and/or family members of those vets) reading this can add to this thread,or maybe we can start our own "session",please respond with your experiences.I was told that for ANYTHING to stick to my claim,I would have to get "clinical rationale" to back up my claim.Simply put,a medical professional opinion saying that the chemical(s) used in AO could be the reason for this heartbreak.The chemical is abreviated tcdd and is an acronym for a long chemical name.I have not found one medical professional, anywhere,to commit themselves to any kind of a statement.I get answers like......"We don't know much about AO".............. Can't find any med profs old enough to have served in 'Nam,or even explain this dioxin and what it might do to bone marrow.
Hope to hear from somebody.Pse contact me here on this site OR e-mail me at
werickso49@hotmail.com OR "friend" me on FB My profile picture was taken when I was in 'Nam and I'm holding an orphan.(Frequented the Danang Orphanage to visit the kids,as often as I could)
Thanks for the time to read this lengthy thread,but hopefully we can come up with something.I am NOT going to give up on this,but I sure could use some help.
Wayne Erickson(Viet-Nam Vet from NH)