Confused and stressed
 

I guess I am feeling overwhelmed and a more than a bit useless. Where to start .. First of all I am a Veteran and I am dependent on the VA for health care, the experience has not been good.

I was in the Army, won a scholarship as a computer programmer, got hired midway through the course and worked for a couple of months before getting bored and becoming a fireman at the Airport. A year later I was pulling duty in the watchtower watching the planes come and go and I thought to myself what am I doing here, I could be on one of those going somewhere.

A week later I was on a plane to Germany where I sold cars on a US base, a year later I was in the USA, I wasn't yet 22. A year after that I joined the US Army to become a helicopter pilot but at the same time a spy scandal concerning a Father and Son sold some naval secrets and as a result non US citizens (I became a citizen 4 years later) had their security clearances pulled.

I elected to stay and went to Mechanic school and later became a crew chief and after that an Inspector. One day I hurt my back moving a helicopter in the hangar and had back problems from that day on. They never could find anything wrong and ultimately after almost 7 years I could no longer meet the physical demands of military life and had to leave.

I'm telling you this so you know what my lifestyle was nothing more, I was all about action and adventure, living on the edge, so to find myself virtually crippled from neuropathy has turned my world upside down. Fast forward a decade or so. I earned a living as a Personal Trainer eventually moved into marketing and consulted to many small businesses.

I just learned to handle the pain, no pain no gain and at 53 I was training to become an MMA fighter, I wanted to be the oldest ever to fight professionally. In February of 2011 I was working out twice a day and consulting for a retail chain between time. I had finished my morning workout, felt great and decided to visit a friend who was in hospital having a colonoscopy.

When I got to her room she was still having the procedure so I sat down and began to watch the news. Less than a minute later I was faced with a crushing pain in my chest, jaw, and shoulder. I literally staggered out to the nurses station where I collapsed. Long story short I had suffered a "Widowmaker" heart attack.

Two titanium stents and a week later I was back in the gym, never skipped a beat. It turned out that due to genetics (not lifestyle, diet etc) my body could not regulate cholesterol. I was put on statins and within a few weeks I complained to the VA doctor about fatigue, muscle aches, and burning in my extremities.

After a year they changed my statins and this went on for a couple of years. About that time my business went south and a project I had invested everything in failed to attract second round funding and I was dead broke.

Through all this I carried on working out, staying in shape but the pain, and fatigue were getting so bad that I went back to the VA literally thinking I was on death's door.

A nurse took me aside and asked me if I took Statins and told me that they were probably the cause of all this and advised me off the record that I should consider whether to continue to take them or not.

As usual they did blood work it was all normal, thyroid, blood sugar (high but not diabetic) Testosterone, etc etc, all good. After that the VA did what is always does and sent me to a psychiatrist, we had a nice chat about why he chose psychiatry and we both agreed , I was not suffering from P.T.S.D. or depression that wasn't appropriate for what I was experiencing.

On April 5th this year I suffered my second "Widowmaker" and this time they performed quintuple bypass surgery. I haven't worked since. The pain in my arms and legs is unbearable it feels like I have been doused with gasoline and set on fire. My tailbone feels like a raw nerve when pressure is applied, i.e. sitting!

I can't sleep, can't work, can't work out, I'm lonely and depressed. I am in this horrible sleep pattern, tonight is an up all night night, but I might be preaching to the choir here. I have started an SSI disability claim but I know it is going to be denied and that ultimately I will have to find a lawyer.

Anyway, thanks for reading and all the best to you.

B:confused:

Great to meet you!!
 

a couple of brain injuries have left me at home at 46. same issues with work, sleep and pain. good luck to you.

Hello badlimey,

Welcome to the NeuroTalk Support Groups. :)

Here's the link to the
Social Security Disability Forum

If you need any help finding your way around looking for specific
topics or forums here, please just ask and someone will help.

take care

Welcome badlimey. :Wave-Hello:

Badlimey, welcome.

I join others in thanking you for your service. I join that nurse in suspecting that (at least) some of your issues may be connected to statins; they are known (in some cases) to cause peripheral neuropathy (possible reason for burning pain), however that may still be better than succumbing to another widowmaker.

There is much information about statins in the Peripheral Neuropathy forum, as well as what can be done to mitigate their damage. You can find it (for starters) through the Search facility. Type statins in the Keyword(s): window, select Search Titles Only from the drop-down, Show Results as Threads, and click Search Now.

I also suggest/urge you to post something in the Peripheral Neuropathy forum (including which statins you were on, and specific blood tests and results). In particular, have you been tested for Vitamins B12 & D(3)? Patients on statins are often low on those two vitamins (among others) which can cause/contribute to peripheral neuropathy.

Best Wishes, and again Thank You and Welcome,

Doc

Hello badlimey and welcome to NeuroTalk :)

That nurse was telling you the truth.

You can find personal story after personal story about the negative side effects and sometimes permanent damage done by Statins.

I was on a Statin for approximately a year and a half. In that time I lost my ability to drive, had memory loss, fatigue, and weakness. My mobility has significantly decline from my already compromised mobility due to a Neurological Disease.

I ended up going through a NeuroPsych evaluation and testing. The Dr. told me that he and others in his field had been seeing an increase of patients with memory loss from the use of Statins.

In my case once the Statin was stopped I slowly began to see an improvement in all of my symptoms. Unfortunately, I had to work to try and regain my strength and stamina to get back to what was normal.

If you are still on a Statin you need to speak to the prescribing Dr and see about getting off of it. I am sure the current heart issues will complicate this :(

Below are some links that you may find helpful regarding the topic of Statins:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/759335

http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/cons.../ucm293330.htm

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...81R1O220120228

Hey there, Badlimey! Fellow vet and traveler through the intricacies of the federal medical system...I know exactly what you're going through. I too am new on this forum and I'm so happy to already have met a fellow vet, and so many who share medical mysteries. My local family doctor and emergency room doctors both think I have either multiple schlerosis or myasthenia gravis, but the VA is convinced it's not MS and hasn't tried any further to make a definitive diagnosis, so I may never know unless I hit the lottery, LOL!

VA had me on statins for several years, during which time the pain in my arms and legs was sometimes so bad I walked like a 90-year-old. They switched me to every different kind they had but it made no difference. I finally quit them altogether after doing research, and they tried niacin and fish oil to lower my cholesterol.

I too had serious back issues (training horses and tons of heavy lifting) but finally had to go to private neurologists to get help. They only got one section fixed when the really bad neurological stuff started so I refused to have the other 2 surgeries. I really think the 6 hours of anesthesia had something to do with it!

I can no longer drive more than 10 minutes, can't sit upright or walk more than 1/2 block. Fell in the shower a couple of years ago and tore the rotater cuff in one shoulder. I'm in pain most of the time, even with medications and really understand the sleep issues. I walk with 2 forearm crutches because of such weak arm joints and muscles and my balance is awful!

But...all that is balanced out by my family and my two short, disproportionately long dogs. Last year I got my own computer and I discovered the wonders of the internet. Now I can research, talk to others like me. I can see what works for them and what doesn't, what current research is being done. Of course, the VA doctors don't like that, but they're not my mama!

I'm being long-winded, I know, but know this: you are not alone! I know the two of us can't be the only vets on the forum, and I'll bet my winter underwear, they know exactly what we're dealing with. Hang in there, man, it does get better.

Hello Doxylady,

Welcome to the NeuroTalk Support Groups. :)

I'm not exactly sure which forum or forums you're needing, but I'll leave the main page of the site so that you can look through the list.

If you need any help at all just post again.

take care

Nice to meet you!!