Posted on 09/07/2004 5:20:02 PM PDT by ebersole
Unfortunately, I only know information moving forward from 97...
They don't give a rip if it causes instant death, they will cover up, defend, obfuscate, or whatever it takes to keep from having to answer for the deleterious effects of their drigs.
drigs = drugs. (sheeesh!)
The guy with the marital problems was not either of the ones you mention (or should I say all three? As there are two Bills) but actually came home early to try to straighten out the marital difficulties. He took the wrong approach. Although I believe that one of the names you listed also maps to long-time marital stress.
Now, there is another case that gets tossed in with these and definitely shouldn't be. There was a 10th Group soldier that capped himself after returning from Iraq -- shortly after being arrested for trying to set up a tryst with a 13 year old. In that case, suicide was probably the best thing for that sick soul. That man was not either of the ones you have named (and I don't believe he was an SF soldier, rather a support guy... who are no better than the average run of support guys and occasionally you get a bummer. In 10th in 1979 we had two guys murder one of 'em's wife and we had "Green Beret Killer" headlines for three years... they were a cook and a truck driver, IIRC).
If you really want to know who had an Air Jordans problem, freepmail me. This stuff is tragic enough without washing it out in public.
And finally: to anyone who reads this --- if it's that bad, divorce her (or him!). You'll be able to laugh about it soon enough. Suicide is pleasing only to Allah, I mean Satan (I'm always getting those two confused. Must be the mefloquine!)
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
Whoa, that's pretty whacked.
What were the effects, if you don't mind my asking? It sounds like Malaria is preferable...
Paranoia without realizing you are paranoid... and you can sense the moods and vibes within a city due to the hypersensitivity (without realizing it)... it is like feeling by the tips of your hair.... also freaky dreams
"I have to say, I have my doubts about this. Thousands of us took Mefloquine (Lariam), once a week, for months on end, and while there were some side effects -- most of the guys had extremely vivid nightmares -- "
Vivid nightmares are an indication that a drug IS having an effect on the brain, mild though it may be. From what I understand, those guys who had the severe reactions to Larium subsequently had tests that showed brain stem damage. Specifically, they had SPECT scans and, I believe, evoked nystagmus tests. You only flunk both those tests if you have something bad going on in your brain. You certainly don't exhibit nystagmus, especially persistent upbeating nystagmus, or have an abnormal SPECT from garden variety psychological issues. It's organic in nature. And the psych problems are secondary to the organic problem, not the other way around. Also, there's no way to predict who'll get those particular side effects from Larium. In other words, the guys who are a little 'off' aren't necessarily the ones who'll have problems. It seems to be completely random. I'm sure Larium helps zillions more than it hurts, but woe to the one in a thousand. I, for one, am glad that the potential side effects are getting publicized, however rare they may be. Forewarned is forearmed.
It was the "are all believed..." part that I have a problem with.
All of the specific soldiers mentioned in the article were confirmed to have taken Lariam. I don't believe he meant all of the US soldiers in theatre in Iraq and Afghanistan, but then again if he did mean all soldiers in the middle east, then he is wrong.
Most boys are diagnosed by the public schools as something or other these days - that way they can drug 'em and forget 'em.
I presume that the SPECT scan and nystagmus test were prescribed by a physician concerned about some other behavioural issue or complaint? (I'd ask my doc lady but she is not up on the net at present).
Here are a few facts, points, and thoughts not previously mentioned:
The bottom line of this is that the whole thing will take quite a bit longer to understand, and longer still to know what action to take. In the meantime, the message from the statistics is to take your Lariam.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
"I presume that the SPECT scan and nystagmus test were prescribed by a physician concerned about some other behavioural issue or complaint?"
Actually, they'd probably never order those tests for a behavioral issue in the absence of concomitant physical problems. PET or CAT scans are usually ordered before a diagnosis of schizophrenia to rule out tumors, but not those. The nystagmus tests would be done to nail down the cause of balance issues and maybe problems with holding eye position, and are often done in conjunction with positional vertigo tests. The SPECT scan is a fancy CAT scan that's quite expensive and not available everywhere and is used to study blood flow in the brain. So it studies function as opposed to just things like white matter disease. They often do them on folks with MS, CFS, neurological lyme, brain trauma, long-term meth abuse, etc. I assume they were ordered on the Larium guys due to cognitive disfunction of some kind - short-term memory issues, dizziness, disorientation, etc.
I'm not a doctor, btw, so keep that in mind.
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