The last neurologist my dad saw advised us that we should register for VA benefits because my dad served in Vietnam and there's some reason to believe that Agent Orange exposure could be responsible for his developing LBD. I guess the VA fully covers treatment for Vietnam vets with Parkinson's because of a known connection between the two, and since LBD is a "Parkinson's-plus" disorder, it stands to reason it is related also. He said the VA may put up a fuss about it though, since it's not technically Parkinson's.

Just wondering if a) anyone else had heard of the Vietnam connection and b) if anyone here had successfully gotten the VA to pay for LBD treatment.

Thanks!

P.S. > This last neurologist finally gave us a solid medical diagnosis. Only took five months and seeing dad's primary care physician, two other neurologists and a neuropsychologist first to confirm what I figured out using Google in 5 hours

courtney...

welcome...

my hubby was in vietnam.. and was sprayed daily with AO.. there is not one person in his family, that we can find, that has ever had lewy body. i'm struggling with them on a lot of issues.. ive been trying to get all the info i can on lbd and agent orange.. altho' i keep being told if its Parkinson, you have a 100% change to receive benefits as its one of the illnesses they accept now.. but if it lb dementia or lb disease.. we are in for fight...

its interesting as i just got the book on caregivers by buell(?) and one of the first things it mentions is lewy body causes and herbicides, are listed .. and in many other articles i have found where it talks about lewy body and Parkinson and puts them together, in the same breath and says they are one of the same... my hubby is showing some signs of pk but not enough at this point to be definitive. i have been thinking of adding lewy body to our claim and see what happens.... please let us know what you find out... good luck to you and your dad!!

Courtney,

You might want to do a search here of past posts containing the words "veterans Agent Orange." Much has been posted here over time.

In short, you will want to say that your dad has Parkinson's Disease with Dementia, and that the PD was caused by AO exposure.

I think the neurologist could make an OK argument that DLB is not Parkinson's Disease but PDD is most definitely Parkinson's Disease.

As you may know, the only way to confirm a diagnosis is through post-mortem brain tissue analysis. You can read about brain donation elsewhere on the Forum. Unfortunately, most of the VAs that I know do NOT have a brain bank or brain donation program. Kind of shocking!

Robin

Well the neurologist didn't specify, but I think my dad has DLB not PDD. His mental symptoms are much worse than his physical symptoms. But they're so close, it seems silly for the VA to quibble over the order of progression

It's called PDD if the parkinsonism began a year or more before the cognitive symptoms. It's called DLB otherwise.

It would be better for your father's case if it were called PD with dementia.

as i mentioned, im looking for articles that have to do with the VA and lewy body or anything i can find that points to herbicide and lewy body.. anyway in my looking, found this today. winter study from the va, concerning Parkinson and they mention lewy body!!


http://www.parkinsons.va.gov/Consortium ... r_2011.pdf

maybe, its being discussed/ considered??? who knows what they will accept, with out any clarification, as they now do Parkinson... and a few others.. we can only keep hoping and trying...

Hi there....my dad was diagnosed seven years ago....he also was in Vietnam. My sister and I are his POA. This is all pretty hard to deal with. I noticed you are young...we are too, 28 and 31. Message me if you want to chat and compare stories!