The unseen battle: America's veterans and the crisis of chronic pain

Since the Civil War, there have been seventy-four wars and conflicts America has fought in. But as bad as previous wars had been, there has never been anything in American history like the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. While America’s direct intervention against Germany and Japan lasted less than five years, the war on terror went on for decades. Extended time in extreme circumstances will cause extreme adaptations in the human body and mind, and many of these are not conducive to life at peace. Then there was radioactive dust suspended in the air and inhaled by our troops as they advanced past tanks taken out by spent uranium rounds, burning toxic chemical pits that somehow no one realized was bad to inhale, etc. Besides the usual bullets, bombs, and IEDs, these factors generated an enormous number of veterans who suffered from debilitating conditions that primary care doctors were ill-equipped to treat.
Of the approximately 697,000 American fighters that were sent to the first Gulf War, about 250,000 of them were plagued by strange rashes, fatigue, cognitive problems, insomnia, and, of course, pain. The worst kind of pain as far as treatment goes. If you are suffering from cancer, you go into a special category according to the Center for Disease Control’s misguidance. As if, somehow, pain caused by burned toxins damaging your nerves and making them constantly fire pain signals is different than radiation treatment damaging your nerves and making them constantly fire pain signals. Why? I think the answer is simple. Money. If you have cancer, most states provide some type of insurance that covers your treatment. If you are a veteran with pain, you will be at the mercy of the Veterans Administration, which politicians’ control.