Gaylon
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Gaylon was an Army Nurse and Medic during the Gulf War. While deployed overseas he helped build a hospital and went on special missions to get supplies for the hospital. He described many exposures he encountered during his time in the Gulf War, including the fallout of missiles being exploded overhead, nerve gas alarms going off every night, burn pits, oil field fires, and dust. He also noted that they were given poor-quality protective gear with clogged filters, which did not mitigate exposures. Gaylon suffered from extreme heat and treated many soldiers getting sick from infections and heat exposures. He expressed worry about what the anthrax vaccine and what the other exposures might have done to him.
Soon after returning home from the Gulf War, Gaylon first noticed symptoms of chronic diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome, extreme fatigue, depression, and asthma-like symptoms that made it difficult for him to work. He was able to finish his nursing degree and get a job at the VA. While working at the VA, Gaylon’s symptoms got worse, which prompted him to start asking around for help with his symptoms. He also noticed that other Veterans who had served in the Gulf War were also experiencing similar symptoms. He went to the local VFW office where he was given a brochure about Gulf War Illness and spoke to other Veterans who had similar experiences and symptoms as him. Gaylon describes this experience, “I read a pamphlet one time about the Gulf War Syndrome, and I went, holy hell, I think I have some of these symptoms.” He started researching Gulf War Illness and seeking out care for his symptoms, which eventually led to his diagnosis for Gulf War Illness.
Gaylon has medication to help with his asthma-like symptoms and he uses an anti-depressant to help with symptoms of depression. Gaylon has had good experiences with receiving care through the VA, but also acknowledges that it can be difficult for Veterans to navigate the health care system. Gaylon hopes they can find better treatments for fibromyalgia, but he has found some relief from his symptoms through acupuncture and swimming and floating in water. Gaylon did get remarried and has a good relationship with his second wife and her kids. He says his wife and swimming help keep him motivated. He plays the guitar in a band with another Marine and he listens to music to help him relax.
Gaylon has found support through his work at the VA and working with other Veterans. “The VA helped me.” He says it helped him connect to other Veterans and knowing he isn’t alone in his experience. Gaylon participates in research studies at the VA and wants to continue helping other Veterans. He says it is important for family members and healthcare providers to believe Veterans struggling with health problems related to their military experiences and exposures.
Gaylon thought his IBS and fatigue symptoms were due to a virus, but they kept coming back.
Gaylon thought his IBS and fatigue symptoms were due to a virus, but they kept coming back.
And I noticed around then I started having like, you know, a lot of diarrhea and a lot of kind of like IBS. Noticed a lot of fatigue, you know, really tired and achy. And I didn’t think anything of it. I just thought I was, you know, tired. I worked—let’s see after those 30 days I was a janitor before that at Our Lady of Lords School and I went back there but I couldn’t—it was too—and luckily I got my LPN like a few months later. And then I worked at St. Joseph’s Villa and I worked at and then I was on active duty at Camp Williams for like 3-1/2 years as a medic. We were exposed to a lot of stuff out there too. I went to Dugway a lot, lots of nerve gas and all kinds of gases and CS gas and exposed to a lot—a lot of dust I’ve been exposed to in Saudi Arabia and also in Camp Williams and Dugway… I got home back and I was working at Camp Williams, you know, I noticed it. I’d have to go and then. I noticed I was really tired too a lot but I thought well maybe just stress from, you know, coming home or something. About that time I started noticing it a little bit different than I used to be. I just had to run to the bathroom more, look for outhouses, or sometimes you had to go outside, poop outside. But you know, I didn’t think that much of it because, you know, most of the other—I didn’t think it was. I thought maybe I just had a virus or something. I didn’t think anything about it. And then it seemed like it’d go away for a little bit, you know like a month it’d go away and then it’d come back again, you know. It seemed like it was either constipated or I had diarrhea, you know, it’s like I was only normal for a couple weeks and then all of a sudden it’d be diarrhea again.
After leaving Camp Williams, Gaylon could never work full time again.
After leaving Camp Williams, Gaylon could never work full time again.
Interviewer: It sounds like the symptoms got worse over time.
Gaylon: They just seemed like they got worse. And then it seemed like—a lot of times I just didn’t work—I didn’t work full time at the VA a lot. I felt like I had to go to part time. So a lot of the years, most of the years I spent at the VA was like 32 to 24 hours. I didn’t work full time. I never worked full time again after the—I actually I did for—after I left Camp Williams I really haven’t ever worked like full time again. So I could have worked a lot more, I think, if I didn’t have all the diarrhea and stuff and the achiness and fatigue. You know, I wanted—like you work three days and then sleep or lay in bed the next day. So that’s—I think that’s the biggest way it affected me is I didn’t work as much after that.
Floating in water, using a hot tub, and acupuncture help Gaylon’s achiness.
Floating in water, using a hot tub, and acupuncture help Gaylon’s achiness.
And they give me a pill for the achiness but it doesn’t really work very good. I’ve been doing acupuncture and that’s been helping me, you know. But it just seems like you ache and there’s different spots on your body and you just barely touch them and it’s like pain. And I’ve got a whole bunch of them all over my body where they just, you know, just like a constant ache. Tylenol helps a little bit. But they give me an NSAID and stuff for, you know, meloxicam but it doesn’t seem like it helps that much. And swimming helps, getting in water, laying around like a hot tub, stuff like that. But I need to do that more, but that seems to help a bit, but that’s about it.