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Florida: "I was in Army active duty...in a Rapid Deployment Unit. For
this reason the anthrax shot was mandatory for us. Now I'm out from the Army with a
medical discharge...my symptoms are the same as (Tom) Colosimo...extreme fatigue, shortness
of breath, loss of memory, fainting, sometimes I was just walking and suddenly passed out."
New Mexico: "I am a former Marine who was discharged in 1999...I was forced
to take 2 shots in the series...3 months after receiving the second shot I began to feel very
tired all the time, affecting my family life and my work. Approximately 9 months after that
I began to have seizures at night. I was afraid to let my boss or anyone else know... Last
Saturday night I had a seizure at work and my fears came true....(second letter) Since I
last contacted you I have had 5 more seizures and 3 unexplained cases of passing out while
I was walking. I am hoping to get more help from the VA but they don't seem like they care."
Idaho: "My husband has become extremely ill from the vaccine too. He got
three shots in 1998 and has been sick since...Three years later he still struggles to walk
and get around. He is always in pain but he tries to keep a good attitude about it. Some
days it is hard because the VA still has not started to give us benefits...We were given
an appointment but it was for 7 months later...We turned in his VA stuff one year ago and
still nothing."
Indiana: "Navy: I was on the USS __________- when I received my Anthrax
vaccinations. After the first one I experienced severe migraine headaches. The second and
third I took without any significant health problems, however the fourth caused a slew of
problems for me. I was given the fourth in the series in late 1999. It began with patches
of itchy dry and flaky, flaky skin on my lower legs and quickly spread...the itching became
so severe I was scratching myself bloody while I slept. ...The condition has continued
to worsen now covering my arms, legs, feet, hips, hands and face....Many times the wounds
became infected and the infection must be treated as well. ..I also suffer from extreme
fatigue. Some days it is hard to get out of bed...My hair falls out in large quantities
and I also now have digestive problems. Yet still, no doctor I have seen to date knows
what is wrong with me....The only validation I ever received that this was all probably
due to the Anthrax vaccination was from a dermatologist I saw at Portsmouth Naval Medical
Center. She informed me that there had been many cases in the months prior to my appointment
of the same type of condition, and that the only real constant in those cases she has seen
was that they had all received the Anthrax vaccination - more specifically, she said, the
fourth in the series...I never said no. I should have. But I was a military member, doing
my best to do the job that I had been trained to do."
Nebraska: "I'm a 25-year-old Ssgt in the USAF. I had a severe reaction
almost two years ago and still suffer severely from it. I have been in and out of the
hospital 10 different times since the shoot. They have diagnosed me with everything from
Crohn's disease to an auto-immune disorder. I'm currently under review for a medical board."
California: Air Force - "I had only one shot. I was diagnosed with Chronic
Cholecystitis...I still have a great deal of pain. My gall bladder was removed. My other
symptoms are fatigue, joint pain, muscle pain and stiffness, headaches, rashes, sores,
memory loss problems sleeping, difficulty concentrating, problems with coordination, difficulty
reading, loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, weakness, occasional numbness/tingling, high
blood pressure, acid reflux, dizziness, some blurred/spotted vision. I still can't believe
how I could go from health and playing sports, to this. Most of the time I don't even have
the energy to go out with my friends. Some days just getting out of bed is a real chore,
and then I still have to face a day of work, and sometimes I wonder why I am fighting a medical board."
Arizona: Ssgt., Air Force: "I received two shots while I was in Korea...after
my second shot I had a lot of things go wrong with my system such as swelling in my joints,
joint and muscle pain and stiffness, and the mysterious lump that appeared in my neck below
my ear, behind my right jawline. My feet and ankles swelled for three months after the
second shot, and still are to this day. The bones in my feet and handls feel like I have
arthritis. The doctors nerver formally diagnosed me as having an adverse reaction to the
vaccine. Instead, they shuffled me from doctor to doctor and diagnosed my reactions as "possible"
or "probable." Nine months, eight doctors, and ten missed duty days away from work, and my
case is still not final... I have no prior history of any ailments like this before being vaccinated."
Virginia: Navy: "Two years after the 3rd shot in the series, I still have
symptoms of fatigue, low grade fevers, no immunity defense to common illnesses, and joint pain
in the right hip area. I was not seen for any medical problems for the 3 years prior to the
shots. Now I go all the time."
Illinois: "My husband refused to take the anthrax vaccine last year. He
was kicked out of the USAF. Our family was in Germany at the time. After months of making
our lives miserable, they sent me and my 2 babies (both under 2 years old) back to the states
with the promise that my husband would join use in 2 weeks. After 2 months of hell, my husband
arrived back in the states. Of course, there is much more to our story."
Delaware: "Our son had 14+ years in the Marine Corps. After he receive the
Anthrax vaccine, he contracted Type 1 Diabetes, at the age of 31. From what we have read, it
is almost unheard of to get Type 1 at that age, as it is commonly known as juvenile diabetes...
he has to take insulin four times per day and his pancreas is not producing any insulin at all.
Next step - USMC informs him he is no longer able to serve and made him an offer of a percentage
of disability pay for five years... his career has been snatched away from him, and probably
because of their requirement to take the Anthrax vaccine, his insurability is gone, his health
is in jeopardy, his life expectancy is reduced and his livelihood is gone, etc. Well, you can
see that I am not over being bitter."
Texas: "I have lost almost 40 pounds. I am always nauseated. The arm I got
the vaccinations in goes numb a lot or tingles a lot. My joints are achey a lot of the time.
I now become easily disoriented. I get dizzy spells often. My biggest problem though is the
constant fatigue that I am always experiencing....I've tried the VA hospital but they were no
help at all."
Oregon: Army: "I had immediate pain at the injection sites after receiving
my anthrax vaccinations. I also felt very sick on the same days of the injections, very tired
and dizzy. I'm now suffering from Gulf War Syndrome - thyroid problems, erythema nodosum
(nodules under the skin), aching joints, stomach problems, difficulty concentrating, memory
loss, chronis fatigue, migraines, menstrual problems, inability to conceive (only after the Gulf),
and finally, possible MS.
Alabama: "I was given an anthrax shot at Al Eskan, Saudi Arabia. I became sick
the same day. The next day the most predominant symptom I had was heavy and constant nasal
drainage such that I had to carry a handkerchief under my nose to catch the drippings. I began
to lose strength and endurance at that time. Ten days later, after a night of SCUD alerts and
about 3 hours sleep, I began to shake uncontrollably and was subsequently hospitalized. I am
also a Vietnam veteran and knew that the shaking was the result of some illness and not fear.
I was medivaced to the US and subsequently demobilized. I have been sick since I received the
shot with a continued flu-like symptomology. My clinical diagnoses include thyroid failure and
two sleep disorders. I have applied to the VA and been repeatedly rejected since 1992."
Florida: Air Force: "I had three vaccinations...and have been suffering from
weight loss, fatigue, muscle and joint pain...and have not been successful in finding a physician
that can diagnose the problem. I also have a cyst on one kidney."
New Hampshire: USMC: "He received two doses of the Anthrax vaccine in January
of 2000. After the first shot, which he received with a number of other vaccines, he complained
of headaches... Following his second shot, he was helped out of the infirmary by two of his close
friends. His headaches increased and he was getting abdominal cramps. His run time dropped
dramatically so the Marines put him on extra PT. A few days after his second hot, fed up with
being ignored, he tried to kill himself. He spent the week at a psychiatric hospital, where he
talked to a number of doctors about his symptoms. The doctors were curious and wanted him to
stay for further testing, but the Marines refused. They stripped him of 1 rank and he was sent
home, fully discharged, within 3 weeks...Soon after he came home I began to witness episodes
where his abdominal cramps would become so bad that he would fall doubled over onto the
floor...his boss told me he was starting to lose concentration, slowing down, and was physically
lacking spunk...He suffered from what we believe was a heart attack while driving home from work
one night. Later... he would get severe chest pains, his headaches would intensify and he would
pass out...he drove into a telephone pole. Somehow by the grace of God he and our 4-year-old son,
who was riding in the back seat, were spared serious injury."
Illinois: Navy: "He was given the Anthrax vaccine in 1997...within two months,
he started having pain in his right hip and pain in his chest. He was diagnosed with
costochondritis and also possible bursitis in his hip. Over the past four years he has
gradually gotten worse and worse. He now has pain in both of his hips and legs and lower
back all of the time. He has "charlie horse" type pains that make him cry out in pain, he
has electrical shock type pains, and it is hard for him to walk on his feet because they feel
like they are "broken." Anytime he tries to do any kind of physical activity with any part
of his body, including even typing on a keyboard of a computer, it causes him pain in the
part of his body that he uses. He has also had dizzy spells and come close to passing out
on several occasions....In September of 2000 a cousing of mine who is a clinical pharmacologist
asked him if he had ever ha an anthrax vaccine... and, indeed, we found out that he did.
He has applied for Social Security Disability and been denied twice..."
A ship at sea: "I delivered the information you sent me, to Petty Officer _____. ...He does
indeed firmly believe that he is suffering from the side effects of the Anthrax vaccine that
was administered to him. Told me that was when his hair loss began, then later on, the
"run down" feeling that comes on from time to time... He also described to me the "run around"
he got from the ship's medical staff, when he repeatedly asked them, then later told them,
whether or not his ailments could be coming from the Anthrax vaccine. They would either tell
him he was exaggerating, or didn't get enough sleep, or that he just had a cold - or sometimes
just act as if they didn't hear his questions."
Texas: "I am a First Sergeant with an Air Force Reserve Unit...I had received
five anthrax vaccinations when I discovered problems such as tingling, numbers in fingers,
loss of strength...Went to a civilian neurologist and all tests were negative except for being
diagnosed with CIDP, Chronic Inflammatory Demylenating Polyneuropathy. Went to the Air Force
and they ran all sorts of tests that came back normal. They decided to do a lumbar puncture
to see if the protein level in my spinal fluid was elevated. They said that if they found it
elevated, that it was 80% conclusive that my neuropathy was acquired and that it had been introduced
into my body by something. Well, it was elevated. They have already done one treatment of IV IG
and boy did I get sick from that, with chills and fever, etc. I am not looking forward to my second
treatment this month. They Air Force is saying that they will never prove that the Anthrax caused
my neuropathy, but they also stated they will never prove it did not cause it."
Michigan: Air National Guard: This vet received four shots in 1998 and 1999, and
was diagnosed with all the symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome with an added neurological component.
She has tremors on the right side of her body; memory loss; chronic fatigue; shortness of breath;
constant rashes; and arthritic symtoms.
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