Rheumatoid Arthritis - PTSD and Agent Orange

My 60 year old brother, who served in Viet Nam, was exposed to agent orange.  He has PTSD and rheumatoid arthritis.  I want to know if either PTSD or agent orange contribute to rheumatoid arthritis?

[txsilver]

Bless your brother for his service to our country.  According to the VA website, rheumatoid arthritis is not on the list of diseases associated with agent orange.  There are studies, however, linking PTSD and rheumatoid arthritis.  I googled post traumatic stress disorder and then searched within results for rheumatoid arthritis and found the result from nyam had exactly what I was searching for.  JA Boscarino is the author of the study that was done in 2004.

[Marlenarae]

Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to research this.  I do have the Joseph A Boscarino study that was published in 1/04, and another one dated 3/03 from the New York Academy of Medicine that is brief, but touches on the increase of autoimune diseases in Viet Nam veterans.  

Thank you again, tx.

Marlenarae

[txsilver]

I am glad the information was helpful.  If there is anything else we can do to help you or to help your brother please let me know.

[bobr0210]

I'm 62 yrs old may of this yr,Iwas in vietnam 1968 to 1969,I got discharged in 1973,In 1978 at the age of 31 I had a disease that attacked each of my joints,I was in the va hospital for 18 days,the end result was non explainable colected on the class action suit for exposure from agent orange, my records then an to this very day are sent to washington,I'm part of a study that is conducted by our government,till this day they can't tell me what I have, like most vets I believe this problem is related to those days in vietnam, I was in long haul ,64b20  transportation I've been disabled ever since.

[roshrom]

The VA has bulletin 3.309  pages 1-8 which lists diseasese and conditions the VA conders SC = Service connected,
3.309
They include Arthristis and Endocrinopathies, It does not specifiy the TYPE of Arthristis,
but RA ( Rheumatoid is MUCH more severe than most other forms of Arthristis, so please check this list.
The list also include psychosis,  so please google this to see if PTSD is not considered under this heading as well, since this is general list and does not break each category down.
http://www.menstuff.org/issues/byissue/agentorange.html#herbicide

www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/benefits/Herbicide/AOno3.htm

http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/21pamphlets.html

Hope this helps

[Agnese]

Hi bor2010- First I'd like to say thank you for serving our country. My boyfriend served as recon in the Marines from 1986-1994 and he still suffers from PTSD but he doesn't suffer from any autoimmune diseases.  He once told me during jungle training (or something like that) that it was important to protect agains insect bites since they carry so many diseases and can possibly cause death. I might be grasping at straws but Vietnam was the jungle...can it be that you were exposed to an insect bite that kicked your immune system into overdrive?  Has this ever been considered? GL.

[Nita555]

My husband has RA . He has had it for 35 years now. It started on him about 15 years after Vietnam. The doctors are having a hard time getting a medicine to work on him. He has tried them all.  He believes that Agent orange was the cause of his condition.

[buddaflai]

My father was exposed to agent orange during both of his tours in Vietnam. He died at 36 years old of "natural causes." These natural causes included rheumatoid arthritis and schleroderma. He was disabled for years before his death. Myself and two sisters were born in the 70's after the war. Myself and one sister both have rheumatoid arthritis and all three of us have hypothyroidism (endocrine system). We have some records of my father visiting the med tent in Vietnam. We requested his service records for years and were ultimately told they burned in a fire. These health issues are real and from my direct experience, hereditary. We have absolutely NO family history of rheumatoid arthritis or endocrine problems.

[carolanivey]

My uncle served in Viet Nam and also developed RA later in life. However, in his particular case, RA does run strongly in our family - his mother (my grandmother), his older brother (my other uncle) and I also developed it at various ages.

It doesn't surprise me that the tremendous amount of stress suffered by those with PTSD and the resulting roller coaster of cortisol (stress hormone) would trigger RA and other auto-immune disorders.

Let me add my grateful thanks to those who have faithfully served our country, and my prayers for their healing on all levels!

[buddaflai]

Thanks so much for your input. It's interesting to hear from someone whose family has a medical history of RA. Supposedly this is uncommon. I would like to note that my father did not suffer from PTSD.

[Gary712]

I had rheumatoid like conditions, about11 years after exposure. The condition was hard to classify as it did not behave like regular RA. It ran ram-pet for 12 years before the swelling subsided. I have the after affects from it, I have other diseases related to AO, There are no other family members with RH. I have hypothyroidism, as does one of my daughters. I worked right next to the aircraft that did the spraying and there was always overflow when the filled the tanks of the aircraft. My immune system was totally destroyed by AO. The VA does not recognize this of course.

[SPECIALK263]

HI MARLENARAE
       SPOKE TO YOU ON PHONE BACK IN OCT WANT TO KNOW HOW EVERYTHING IS GOING. HOPE YOU AND YOUR BROTHER ARE DOING FIND.  
                                         LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU
                                        K. DONLEY
                                     ***@****

[leo9063]

I'M new at this but I wanted to know if anyone with diabeaties has had dental bone loss due to thsi?

[Gary712]

yes, quite severe bone loss in the jaws, I believe this is a part of Agent Orange  -diabetes connection,  I found that the oxygenated blood supply is diminished in that area just like in the feet, causing loss of muscle and nerve damage. The VA will of course not own up to this of course.  I have stopped the loss, and this information has been available since 1992 in the medical community, including the VA, however, no money to be made with over the counter supplements that replace those that our body produced before coming in contact with A O  

If one stops eating wheat and wheat products the joint swelling will diminish substantially.