Re: Nerve Gas protection Pills blamed for Gulf War syndrome

[Guest guest]

My oldest son was in the first Persian Gulf War. He called me one

morning from Daharain because he was affraid to take the pills they

were handing out. They would line them up in the morning and hand

each one of them a pill. He said many that were stupid enough to take

them would start passing out, vomiting and some would just loose

bowel and bladder control. According to my son they were still

ordered to take the pills no matter the adverse reactions. I told him

no matter what you do, or what they do do not take those pills. I

told him to pretend to take them and just drop them in the sand when

no one was looking, and don't tell anyone.

Peggy

>

> I knew it.

>

> Also there was a insecticide that the Americans were sprayed with.

> Apparently the Brits and others who refused the spray never got the

> syndrome.

>

> I knew 2 guys at Dell where I worked before, one had a hunk of lung

> removed, he said you could knock it against the table it was so

hard.

> The doctors were somehow able to stablize him with steriods....

>

> The other guy couldn't breath, he needed a ride to get to his car!

>

> Horrible.

>

> Nerve Gas protection Pills blamed for

Gulf War syndrome

>

>

> Pills blamed for Gulf War syndrome

>

>

> http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-

news/pills-blamed-for-gulf-war-syndrome-1023096.html

>

>

> By Kim Sengupta

> Tuesday, 18 November 2008

>

> A landmark investigation into the causes of Gulf War syndrome has

concluded that the illness was caused by troops being given nerve gas

pills and exposed to pesticides.

>

>

> The study in the United States, mandated by Congress and described

as one of the most wide-ranging undertaken on the subject, found that

the most likely cause of the illness was pyridostigmine bromide (PB)

in protection pills given to American and British troops to counter

the Soman nerve gas Saddam Hussein could have used in the 1991 Gulf

War. US soldiers were also affected by neurotoxins in pesticides

extensively used in preparation for operations.

>

> The findings led to immediate calls for official action on both

sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, troops' welfare groups said the

British Government must do more to help those affected and carry out

its own comprehensive research. The British Government has insisted

there is not enough scientific evidence so far to prove the existence

of Gulf War syndrome. But it has agreed to offer war pensions to

members of the forces who became ill after serving in the first Gulf

war. About 6,000 British service personnel, out of 55,000 mobilised

for the conflict, are reported to be suffering from the symptoms of

Gulf War syndrome. Many were medically discharged from the forces and

have had to give up subsequent civilian jobs due to ill health. The

Royal British Legion demanded that a payment of £10,000 be made to

each veteran suffering from the ailment in compensation for a failure

of duty of care.

>

> The 450-page report, commissioned by an American veterans'

organisation, was handed to Peake, the Secretary of Veterans'

Affairs, yesterday in Washington. The researchers from the Boston

University School of Public Health said it was unlikely that the

syndrome was caused by other possible factors such as depleted

uranium from US and British shells, the detonation of chemical

weapons and fumes from blazing Kuwaiti oil wells.

>

> In Britain, soldiers given the nerve-gas pill but not sent to the

Gulf complained of suffering from the illness. The MoD said British

troops had been given the same pills as their American counterparts.

But a spokesman added that UK personnel had not been exposed to

pesticides containing neurotoxins.

>

> The US report found Gulf War illness " fundamentally differs " from

stress-related syndromes described after other wars. It

said: " Studies consistently indicate that Gulf War illness is not the

result of combat or other stressors, and that Gulf War veterans have

lower rates of post-traumatic stress disorder than veterans of other

wars. "

>

> Sue Freeth, the director of welfare at the Royal British Legion,

said: " For veterans, some of the mystery behind what has caused their

conditions is over. For years, veterans have been told that their

illnesses are psychological. This report concludes that this is not

the case, but the result of exposures to very specific and harmful

toxins while serving in the Gulf. The UK Government must not delay

any further. It should build on these results and immediately co-

operate with the US to find ways of treating these lamentable

conditions. "

>

> The Legion's parliamentary adviser, Lord of Manchester, who

sat as a co-opted member on the Congressional committee of inquiry

into the Gulf War, said: " US spending on research into Gulf War

illnesses exceeds $400m, some £260m. That compares with £8.5m in the

UK. That is why this report's findings are so important. "

>

> The MoD said last night: " The Medical Research Council's 2003

report on Gulf veterans concluded that 'there is no evidence from UK

or international research for a single syndrome related specifically

to service in the Gulf'. Any veteran in the UK who suffers from ill-

health as a result of their service is compensated through the War

Pensions and Armed Forces occupational pension scheme, regardless of

the existence of Gulf War syndrome as a discrete pathological entity. "

>

> Case study 'We had all been given these pills'

>

> * was a 21-year-old sapper with the Royal Engineers

when he was given his vaccination before being deployed for the Gulf

War in April 1990. He spent three months in Saudi Arabia. Two years

later he developed the symptoms which led to a medical discharge from

the Army in 1994. He was not exposed to other possible causes, such

as the fall-out from destruction of chemical weapons, depleted

uranium and smoke from Kuwaiti oil wells. " Those of us suffering from

this illness have often talked about what common experiences we had,

and we had all been given these pills, " said Mr . " People

given this vaccination but never deployed also developed the same

problems. " Mr , now 39, of Weaversham, Northwich, Cheshire,

cannot work because of the recurring illness, which included stomach

pains, headaches and debilitating fatigue. He is paid a military

pension which is related to his health problems

>