we drive 2 hours every other month to Los Angeles, DH is participating in a study at the Memory Clinic at the VA that has to do with Viet Nam era vets and EOAD. If it can help anyone in anyway, why not?
Diane, I am interested in the study your dh is in. Our local counselor at the VA tells me she has lots of Vietnam Vets with ad. My dh was dz with EOAD at 53 years old. Sorry everyone, I just had to ask.
When talking with the VA social worker, one of the first questions asked when hb said he was in Vietnam - were you anywhere you could have been exposed to agent orange- he was on a ship off shore. So they definitely think there could be a link.
Kathryn0907, don't be sorry in the least. This is the place to come and ask! The study that my husband is taking part in is interesting. I see your email info in your profile, I will dig out all the info and email it to you. Not sure what state you're in, I'm in California, but Dr. Mendes-Ashra is doing this study in conjunction with docs all over he US. It won't likely help our DH's, but maybe someone else down the road. So sorry for your DH. He is very young, my DH was dx's at age 61. Dr. Mendes-Ashra says anyone under the age of 65 is EOAD. He is convinced that there was something used during the Viet Nam war that may be causing this. My guess would be agent orange. Maybe there's some correlation between the agent and amyloid deposits in the brain. It'll take me a day to dig out the info, be patient, I will ge it to you.
Comment Author Charlotte CommentTime26 minutes ago
When talking with the VA social worker, one of the first questions asked when hb said he was in Vietnam - were you anywhere you could have been exposed to agent orange- he was on a ship off shore. So they definitely think there could be a link.
My husband has FTD and was in an area of Viet Nam that was heavily sprayed with Agent Orange. I'm wondering if he would be elgibile for such a study. He is 59, diagnosed at 58.
I would contact a VA social worker and talk with them. He may even be eligible for some type of disability pay. If you get no where there, talk to someone at the VFW.
The folks at the VA are amazing. We met with an Agent Orange Specialist, who spent an hour with my DH, and he is now in he AO data base. They follow each vet carefully, and any illness that comes up that could be AO related, it flags his file and we get a phone call, and if we need to make any appointments regarding what ever they saw in the file, they make them for us. My DH went from being 40% to 75% disabled just by talking to the specialist. This program is offered at all VA facilities nationwide, so deb112958 and Charlotte and anyone else whose DH was in Viet Nam, please check this out. It's also a way to track the effects of Agent Orange. Very important stuff!
I too have a DH that was in the Navy during Vietnam. Shortly after the DX he was blaming agent orange for his Mild Cognitive Impairment. He was diagnose at 58 and will turn 60 next month. I appreciate the information shared here and will give the VA a call.
Contact the VA and ask them to send you an "Agent Orange Assesment Package". It will tell you all the paperwork you need to gather, and a phone number to call and make an appointment for the assesment once you gather all your info. By the way, some of the things (like orders and such) they asked us to bring, they never looked at.
Thanks for the information Diane V. I had called the VA about a year ago to inquire about any kind of disability and I was shunned off. Now I know what to ask for.
Texasgirl, if you called the Houston VA office, I understand. The first person I spoke with wouldn't forward my call to the person I was asking for until she asked why I was calling...(Wartime Service - Care Assistance) and all she could say was NO you are not eligible...No you are no eligible. It was so frustrating. I didn't get to state my case!!!!!! I hear this story from everyone here. Are they trained to turn people away like that?
About five years ago he applied for disability due to him being diagnosed with PTSD by one of the VA doctors. He wasn't approved, then he was found to have bladder cancer but was told it wasn't on the list so no go there. Now FTD, with no family history of any dementia. I don't know if I should try again. If he has diabetes, he would be approved almost instantly.
God forbid if it's not on the list deb. There is no flexibility in government offices. Reminds me of that credit card ad on TV when everyone was told to say NO to people redeeming their travel mile credits. No nada, nyet, no no no.
It has been a few days since I've been here. My dh was involved with agent orange. He was a combat engineer so they used it to clear the area before they could build roads. Agent orange never came up but the fact that he has PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and dementia was discussed. When the counselor heard this she instructed our intake worker to apply for compensation and pension. Dh was approved a year later and I also got paid for "aid and attendance" because I cared for him 24/7. The VA is now paying for his nursing home care. My aid and attendance is over but he still gets his monthly pension and my daughter was eligible for payments for her schooling. Wish I had applied sooner. We might have been able to pay for college without going into student loans.
Jim was in the Air Force during the early years of Vietnam. He was in Europe the whole time. So there was no chance of exposure. Still he has FTD dx'd at 61.
My DH was with the Marine Corp in China 1946/47. Developed MCI around 1990 or earlier. Now Stage 6 Alz plus Parkinsons.
Our daughter worked in an early ALZ research for the VA during the late 70's. She tells me that over half of the patients had served in the South Pacific.
Is there something in that area; is it the insecticides used lavishly; or what? No one knows.