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Posted 10/15/2010 11:41 AM (GMT 0)
I have an unusual question...read somewhere (can't remember where it was now) about a correlation between fibro and agent orange. How many of your fathers were exposed to agent orange in Vietnam?

Thanks
Missy
Posted 10/15/2010 11:56 AM (GMT 0)
Hmmm thats interesting. My uncle was exposed
Posted 10/15/2010 1:51 PM (GMT 0)
Missy,

Nice to see you again. Good, but scary question. I would be very interested in finding out about that connection. My father was of the older generation (WWII era), but my DH served in VN, as did my brother. They both were exposed to AO. I have wondered for yrs if health issues they deal w/ were from that exposure. I have also been concerned about the health of my sons and my niece and nephews. 

If you come across that article again, pls let me know. I will try to find some info on it, also.

Was your father in VN?

God bless.  Alice.

Posted 10/15/2010 3:38 PM (GMT 0)
My father wasn't in the military due to a heart defect.  We have not had any "connection" with Agent Orange.  But, I do know that servicemen have had the symptoms of fibro and they said they think it's from Agent Orange.

 

Sherrine

Posted 10/15/2010 7:07 PM (GMT 0)
I don't think there would be much correlation, simply because you have people who suffer from Fibro in many countries that weren't even involved in the Vietnam War. I'm from Canada, and I would expect that very few Fibro sufferers here have fathers who fought in Vietnam. I could be wrong, but it's a good question to ask.

I do know that Agent Orange is suspected in the many handicaps found in babies born in countries where it was used. My girlfriend has an adopted boy from Cambodia who was born missing both arms at the elbow, and missing one foot. There are many children there with similar issues, so it definitely caused bodily harm long after it was actually used.

Pam
Posted 10/15/2010 9:27 PM (GMT 0)
Wow this has me very interested. My dad was heavily exposed to agent orange. When my brother n I were growing up, we had acne worse than our derm had seen on any other teens. They said that was probably due to AO! Hmmmmm...
Posted 10/16/2010 5:44 AM (GMT 0)
OMG My son used to be a bit excentric and buy helmets and such from e-bay.
He bought a real ww2 gas mask and wore it in a halloween parade before he got ill.

Never thought about that until now....

Does anybody know how or if they have testing for AO
Posted 2/22/2013 8:13 PM (GMT 0)
My daughter has fibromyalgia and my son (now deceased) had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.  Both of these things are congenital and NEITHER of them are present on either side of the family.  My husband was exposed to agent orange and had hodgkin's lymphoma.  (in remission) 

I am certain that that chemical did something that caused my kids to become ill.

Posted 2/22/2013 11:46 PM (GMT 0)
very interesting, my docs are now thinking i have fibro, and not long ago my biological father said his doc needed a list of all our problems because he was exposedin Nam....
Posted 2/23/2013 2:11 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, there is a DEFINAT connection to AO and diabetes. Other issues, I suggest contacting your local VA.
Posted 2/23/2013 5:03 AM (GMT 0)
My dad was in WWII and he told me a story about his whole platoon being instructed to go into a building that was full of some kind of gas - as a training exercise. It made them very sick.

They never found out what it was they had been exposed to. Real nice. I think so much of what's wrong with all of us must be environmental - -

Debbie
Posted 2/23/2013 4:47 PM (GMT 0)

Well now that sounds like a $10,000 question for me !

My father was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, and died from a rare lung disease at the age of 47 (I was 11). Even the government admitted that he death was "connected to his time spent in the service".... but never went so far as to use the exact words "agent orange". Instead, it was like, just be quiet about everything, and we will take care of you......

Now, sorry to throw a wrench in your theory, but after I tell you the next little fact, please read on... their is much more...

I was adopted. So what dif that my father had been exposed to agent orange, right ?

~~~~~~~~~~

Skip forward a few decades, and at the age of 21, I found myself working at the Ortho division (pesticides) of a Chevron refinery. We were pressure washing equipment, pipes, fittings, etc, that had been contaminated with a hideous chemical compound called Difolitan. This is a defoliant which kills not only any plant life, but most animal life it comes into contact with > JUST LIKE AGENT ORANGE ! In fact, chemically speaking AO and Difolitan are both very closely related. Hmmmm.

It had the weirdest, funkiest smell ! It was like, you could barely smell it, but when you finally got the faintest whif, it made you want to run and vomit ! And if it got on something, cloths, boots, whatever, you might as well just throw it away, because nothing would remove it.

Oh, another "fun fact" about Difolitan.... It was not made "on purpose", but rather, was the by-product of some other hideous crap that was being made. And it was SOOO toxic, that it was not legal for use, or sale in the US. So, how to get rid of it ? Why simple... just barrel it up, and send it to 3rd world countries that don't have the strict environmental and health guidelines that the US does.... probably for the cost of shipping :(

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One time while working around this stuff, my throat started swelling shut. Me and my co-workers also started having all kinds of weird mental stuff start happening... depression and such. That's when we all agreed, "Ya' know what ? No more of this $#!+.....

Sometime within the next year is when I developed Fibromyalgia and IBS. That was 26 years ago.

Simply a coincidence ??? You decide.

Fish


Post Edited (Fishchris) : 2/23/2013 9:51:04 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/24/2013 6:02 AM (GMT 0)
No one in my family was in Vietnam, so my Fibromyalgia is not related to Agent Orange. However, I was raised on a farm, and was exposed to a number of different pesticides during my childhood.
Posted 2/25/2013 10:20 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I did call my father and he is calling his doc at VA and discussing all my health issues with him...interested to see what he has to say...
Posted 2/26/2013 1:06 AM (GMT 0)
Good luck, mrsbugzy. I hope you get the answers you are searching for!
Posted 2/26/2013 2:02 AM (GMT 0)
OH PLEASE SHARE if you hear anything else. My dad was heavily exposed and I've read before that they are finding correlation. Of course there isn't just ONE cause for fibromyalgia so just because you parent wasn't exposed doesn't mean there isn't correlation. I was just beginning to research it 2 years ago then my dad passed. I kinda forgot about it since. But now I'm "re"intrigued!! :-)! I might call my VA. I'm a vet too and need to be seen about a service connected injury too. Might as well make it a double date.
Posted 2/26/2013 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
True, there isn't one cause of Fibro...just as there isn't one cause for so many things these poor men/women suffer from. However, their suffering must not be over looked because of this. I think you should look into your father's situation...doesn't cost anything.
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