Did the Navy inject me with insomnia?

Jan 2008 I deployed overseas and in the first month of the deployment, I was given the smallpox vaccine. It made me very sick for the next 4 weeks and it was 6 weeks before I felt mostly normal again. I had fever and flu like symptoms and I would wake up constantly after about 1.5-2 hrs of sleep (I had no trouble falling asleep).The only thing that didn't seem to go away after the 6 weeks was the insomnia. My ship pulled in to Guam and I got myself a bottle of valerian root. This worked for months and got me through the deployment although I did have to increase the dose a few times.

Fast forward to Oct 2010. Valerian root no longer works for me and I have now been through melatonin, benadryl, OTC sleep meds, trazodone, ambien, lunesta, amiltriptylene and seroquel. I have been on different doses and even combinations of these simultaneously (by psychiatrist's direction). Not only do I wake up constantly, but I also have trouble falling asleep now and according to my latest sleep study, I do not even reach REM. I have been pulled off my ship and I may get medically discharged from the Navy after 13 years of service due to insomnia and the resulting memory loss which makes me incapable of continuing to do my job. They have also had me on zoloft, celexa, effexor, klonopin, buspar and atarax for depression and anxiety although I didn't have these problems before I got sick. According to my sleep study, I fell asleep over 200 min after the lights were out. I slept a combined total of 73 min out of 480 and awoke 28 times. The longest I slept was 25 min. Time in REM was listed as 0.0 min.

I can't find anything in my research of the smallpox vaccine causing insomnia or memory loss. The only other changes in my life when the insomnia started though was that I went on the deployment (my fifth so that's no big deal) and I was away from my girlfriend (now my wife). I also was back on sea duty after shore duty (my third sea tour so that's no big deal either). If I was depressed about being back on a ship, it should have gone away in June when I was taken off sea duty. If it was from being away from my wife, it should have gone away in June 2008 when I returned from the deployment. The Navy doctors have dismissed every suggestion I have made that the vaccine could have caused this.

I feel that if I could just figure out why this started, I could fix it and get back to work. If anyone can help, I would greatly appreciate it.

Hi, Jackssmirkingrevenge! Have you had a doctor who isn't in the navy look into the vaccine? Maybe this has to do with stress or depression, though. They don't necessarily go away when you get out of the environment that's been causing you some of the stress. Maybe it'd help if you talked to a psych doctor or therapist.

You are looking for an answer ,an i dont think the jab you got in the navy has anything to do with it. Thats just something to blame that you mind has latched on to, or there would be hundreds of navy guy,s like you .They all had the same jab, you have a illness that needs to be teated by a shrink to find the real cause. If you keep thinking your not going to sleep the you wont its that simple, you must be getting sleep at sometime or you would not survive.

@ jasmin, no I haven't seen a civilian doctor yet but I'm working on it.
@ manic666, that's a possibility. I won't deny it. But this all started when I got sick. I wasn't having any depression problems and I liked my ship. The timing makes it seem more like the vaccine has something to do with it. There are always side effects that are more rare than others.

You'll find out what happened eventually, with a doctor's help. Try to take care of yourself as much as possible, that's important. Maybe the illness just triggered something that was going to happen any way.

it was the vaccine,

because if you were fine before they gave it to you,

then by logic there can be no other cause,

vaccines contain mercury that lodges in the brain and disturbs normal chemical reactions,

you need to detox, and go on an organic diet 100%

take supplments and herbs to regain normal brain function,

do not take drugs anymore,

they will make it difficult to reestablish normal sleep,

go to a steam room everyday in the afternoon to detox,

taek magnesium citrate everyday,

study supplements for sleep,

check out curezone

i have lots of info,

but my comp is slow,

so i´ll just give you the most important stuff first,

look into methylcobalamin (b12)

it has very high absorption rate in the body,

this b vitamin has helped people repair neurological damage cause by drugs and vaccines,

and with it their sleep has improved,

b12 helps you get into rem sleep,

http://www.doctormurray.com/index.php?o ... cle&id=103

I have severe PTSD. I also have insomnia.
Trauma gave that to me.
Alteril is all natural sleeping aid. It is the only one that has helped.

I took trazadone but it became hard on my stomache.

Which is a bummer because sleep wise trazadone worked perfectly fine for several years.

just fyi

5htp wrote:it was the vaccine,

because if you were fine before they gave it to you,

then by logic there can be no other cause,

vaccines contain mercury that lodges in the brain and disturbs normal chemical reactions,

you need to detox, and go on an organic diet 100%

take supplments and herbs to regain normal brain function,

do not take drugs anymore,

they will make it difficult to reestablish normal sleep,

go to a steam room everyday in the afternoon to detox,

taek magnesium citrate everyday,

study supplements for sleep,

check out curezone

IF its mercury in a injection, dont you think a doc would see it floating on the top, %90 of us have a mouth full of mercury in are teeth fillings an they stilll use it.