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"Greetings Chief, I saw your post and wanted to ask your advice.I just recently started having alot of breathing problems. I was a HT for 6 yrs on board floating drydocks the whole time.Alot of exposure to asbestos. I just started this process and…"
"Dear Benny, I was on the dock in the 70's ..I was a HT and just started to develop breathing problems recently...Went in for a ct scan and so far they can only detect asbestos in my right lung...my pft has gone from 107% a year ago to 55% this…"
"keep on fighting...I just found out that i have some asbestos in my right lung and am haviving alot of breathing problems lately..going to start a claim with the VA here soon .. I was a hull technician on board floating drydocks my whole time in..we…"
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i was on the point defiance 73-76 and was built with asbestos throught the ship , my claim is with the review board and they've had it a long time.i have a dav rep they are good to have to deal with va.va has a list of ships w/asbestos exposure;they have admitted i'm suffering from an illness due to complications of exposure.good luck with your claim they will try to deny you and you have to appeal each time.i have been at them for two years.stephen gibson usn retired.
Hello Geoffrey,
Sorry to hear about your lung problems. It is hard for me to tell exactly when my problems started, everything happened so gradually. I had pains deep inside my chest on the right side way back in the 70's - but it came and went so I didn't worry about it much. It was about 1992 when it started to get frightening for me. I was still working then -routinely climbing up the brows to get on the ships I visited. It had never bothered me before but I would get totally out of breath and sometimes go into severe coughing spasms. Like you say - I would almost pass out. I also experienced fatigue and general weakness - I would need to lie flat for about 15 minutes to rest after mild exertion. Not good when you are on the clock! I know what you mean about all of the poking and prodding. Some of the breathing tests I took at the VA were very uncomfortable and I had to do it multiple times so they could do their comparisons. Keep good copies of everything so you can present it to the VA. It will also help if you can get hard copies made of your service record and medical record while you were on active duty with the Navy. I believe they were flagging people for the special asbestos screening program while you were in active service. If you were in that category it may help wuith the VA claim.
Welcome aboard! May you have fair winds and following seas.
Geoffrey, see if you can contact the dav [disabled American veterans]. they will provide you with a counselor. I found this out too late. I have one now and will be taking everythin g that I have gathered. I know someone who went to them first, and got the diability quickly. good luck.