Military service and PD

[SCT25]

I am curious how many PWP served in the military prior to diagnosis?

How long after your military service were you diagnosed?

Did you ever serve in a conbat zone?

What did you do in the military (i.e. Infantry, pilot, etc)?

[SCT25]

I have only met one other person who was diagnosed while still on active duty. I would think there are more out there, and would be thrilled to hear your story.

[MBAnderson in reply to SCT25]

Where have you been stationed?

[SCT25 in reply to MBAnderson]

Edwards AFB CA.

Izmir Turkey.

Kelly AFB TX.

Davis-Monthan AFB AZ.

Stuttgart Germany.

Dyess AFB TX.

Peterson AFB CO.

And 7 deployments post 9/11.

Along the way I traveled to 34 countries to date.

[MBAnderson in reply to SCT25]

Have you claimed your PD is service-connected?

[SCT25 in reply to MBAnderson]

I have. Since my diagnosis came while I was still on active duty the service connection was uncontested by the VA. What was contested was my actual rating, which has gone from 30% initially to my current 100%. I would gladly give the VA back every nickel for a cure.

[MBAnderson]

There are a few people following this forum who were in the military and then diagnosed years later. I was a combat infantryman in Vietnam from October 66 to October 67. I was diagnosed in July 2011.

[aflyboy]

I just signed up to this site because my husband has Parkinson's. He is age 78 & he was a pilot in the Air Force however, I do not think that his is connected as he was never in Vietnam other than to fly in supplies. If you will type in the following:

Dr Antonio Costantini, Viterbo, Italy, B1 thiamine

you will learn of the benefits of using high dose injections of B1, (thiamine) for not only Parkinson's but also MS, MD & other neurological diseases. He has had tremendous success with this treatment. My husband is a "doubting Thomas" & refuses to try it which I cannot understand. I have done quite a bit of research on the benefits & he has had tremendous success with it. My understanding is that now, you can contact Dr. Costantini via email & offer some information about yourself, ie; height, weight, etc. & he can prescribe the correct dosage for you. I believe the usual intramuscular dosage is 100 mg, twice per week. Please note, the dosage is much higher than the USA recommended dosage requirements is. A physician will likely argue with you as ours did so you will likely have to find a holistic Dr. who will prescribe. You can learn to do the injections yourself or find someone, perhaps a nurse who can do it for you. Good luck & I hope to see your results if you decide to do this.

Wife of doubting Thomas.

[Despe in reply to aflyboy]

Aflyboy,

Dr. Costantini is no longer available to provide assistance. He had a serious complication after a routine surgery. His recuperation is ongoing.

[aflyboy]

I forgot to mention, you can sign up with the Michael J Fox foundation which we did & we were contacted my "23 & Me" which does the gene testing for PD for free if you agree to answer a lot of questions. My husband does not have the gene that they have connected to PD however, his mother had PD so apparently there is another gene involved that has not been isolated yet. HIs family were from Italy, not far from Rome.

Wife of doubting Thomas

[SCT25]

Aflyboy - I have heard that there is now an automatic link that the VA recognizes between service in Vietnam and exposure to agent orange. My Dad applied for it with what I thought was very thin evidence for the VA, but he was approved. I believe the VA grants 20% rating. Not much by itself but it all adds up. Does your husband have a current rating from the VA?

I have enjoyed tremendous success with B1. I take 1200MG per day, in the form of 2 each 300MG tablets that I purchsed from GNC via Amazon. I had increased my dosage after a month to 1800MG per day, and then up to 2500MG per day. I didn't see any solid improvement from either increase. But I did have a really bad week of dyskinetia so I took 2 days off then returned to the 1200MG does and things are going well again. Like most things PD..everyone has different symptoms, and different results from various therapies. I hope this helps.

[neverb4coffee]

My husband, diagnosed 2 years ago at 51 young years of-age, has been labeled with Parkinson's Plus/MSA and was in the Army from 84-87. He started developing strange symptoms shortly after receiving multiple injections during his induction: sudden onset sleep apnea followed by a gradual loss of his sense of smell, then Narcolepsy along with several additional "minor" issues as the years progressed (hindsight's 20/20). He was never in combat and served as an Admin Specialist. I'm currently researching the link between vaccines and PD in an attempt to not only prove that it is service connected but also to raise awareness. I would be thrilled to swap notes with you.

Check out this article, for starters:

hormonesmatter.com/molecula...

~Mary