Search4Truth

I have decided that whatever the conclusion to my personal medical situation, I don't want it influencing anyone else's decision, to pursue a solution with the US Embassy, or not.

I have nothing more to say on this topic. 

Thanks to everyone for their constructive criticism.

I think of Fibromyalgia as a condition. Not a sickness. Before taking vitamin C I was often getting sick with meningitis, which would often relapse. As well as influenza. I don't get these anymore. Neither does my family. Neither do I have problems with shingles. But the vitamin C has had no effect on the FM. If it were only that simple. It is a complicated and debilitating condition. I do however have other symptoms. 

Fibromyalgia

Fast Facts:

* Fibromyalgia affects two - four percent of people, women more often than men.
* Fibromyalgia is not an autoimmune or inflammation based illness, but research suggests the nervous system is involved.
* Doctors diagnose fibromyalgia based on all the patient’s relevant symptoms (what you feel), no longer just on the number of tender places during an examination. 
* There is no test to detect this disease, but you may need lab tests or X-rays to rule out other health problems.
* Though there is no cure, medications can reduce symptoms in some patients.
* Patients also may feel better with proper self-care, such as exercise and getting enough sleep.

Fibromyalgia is a common neurologic health problem that causes widespread pain and tenderness (sensitivity to touch). The pain and tenderness tend to come and go, and move about the body. Most often, people with this chronic (long-term) illness are fatigued (very tired) and have sleep problems. The diagnosis can be made with a careful examination.

Fibromyalgia is most common in women, though it can occur in men. It most often starts in middle adulthood, but can occur in the teen years and in old age. You are at higher risk for fibromyalgia if you have a rheumatic disease (health problem that affects the joints, muscles and bones). These include osteoarthritis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or ankylosing spondylitis.

https://www.rheumatology.org

Recap of the issues:

Contracted Fibromyalgia rescuing 4 people from the foul flood waters in 2005 in New Orleans.

Deemed disabled by doctors and the government.

Compelled to stay in the Philippines during a visit when OTC contraception failed and resulted in a pregnancy. 2 pregnancies before realizing and correcting the problem.

Became stranded in the Philippines when a close family member reneged on the AOS for my wife so they could attempt to steal my house.

In the process of acquiring a visa, my wife tested positive on the TB culture but negative of the 3 consecutive smears. She is symptomless. This is the least contagious form of TB.

Further research at the CDC website reveals that those with the minimum infection, indicated by the results of my wife's test, are rendered non-contagious in 7 days or less of treatment.

Whenever treatment is started and stopped there is the small chance, but with serious consequences, that the person could develop a multi-drug resistant TB (MDR TB) and become infectious again.

CDC says that commercial airlines represent little chance of transmitting infectious diseases. Due to filters, the cabin air recirculation system and input of fresh air. Exceeding the CDC's standard for safety for persons with infectious diseases. The wearing of a face mask by the infectious person reducing the risk further. Which can be monitored and enforced by aircraft crew.

If the treatment is not started and stopped then there is no risk in creating a MDR TB.

After 1 month of treatment another 3 consecutive smear tests are performed and then a culture. 2 months are required for the results of the culture. A negative result on all of them would prove that she is not contagious and can then travel to the US with me without being a risk to the public, according to the CDC.

The problem then becomes how can my wife, a college educated professional,  and I assure the government that she will continue the treatments when in the US. Avoiding the potentially serious danger of a relapse and becoming infectious with the very dangerous MDR TB.

Their are a lot of legal issues around forcing Americans to submit to treatments. Accept, when those Americans or LPR willing agree in writing to submit. Which then allows the government to impose treatments. 

To my mind, the safest and perhaps the most acceptable solution for getting my wife to accompany me back to the US ASAP is to start the treatment in the Philippines. Once a negative culture and 3 negative smears result, then travel to the US to resume prearranged treat there. It would result in only a 1 or 2 day lapse in treatment. Cutting a 7 month delay down to 3. One does not receive the results of the final test until the 7th month. Along with the packet for the interview. So I've read.

Alternatively, my wife could travel to the US before treatment is started wearing a surgical mask as stated by the CDC. To start treatment there. With no risk of becoming infectious with MDR TB.

Another option is to start treatment for 7 days as stated by the CDC to become non-contagious, then travel to the US wearing surgical mask on the flight. Then resume treatments immediately upon arrival in the US. 

It is the measure of a civilized culture and nation, how they treat their elderly, sickly and young. It is the measure of a culture in decline when their attitude is that of survival of the fittest. 

Thanks for the constructive criticism,

Al.

I have done my research for my claims and will be sourcing the documents from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) pertaining to TB treatments and the World Health Organization (WHO) pertaining to commercial aircraft travel and contagious diseases, in my Extreme Hardship appeal.

Thanks for the interest and concern.

Al.

28 minutes ago, Jojo92122 said:

 

While I am sympathetic to your plight, you are not going to get a waiver based on sympathy.  

 

The US Embassy has to follow the law.   That's what makes America great.  The rule of law.  Everyone is treated equally.  Everyone must meet the qualifications to bring a spouse to the US.

 

The US Government is not keeping an elderly man who through no fault of his own who has a debilitating illness to not be given a SIMPLE deferment for a medical treatment for his wife.  You choose to stay in the PI.  You choose to neglect your health.  Nothing kept you from coming home to get treatment except you.  As an elderly man, you should know how to take responsibility for your choices instead of blaming the US Government for enforcing its laws.  

 

You can blame the PI for corruptions while you are illegally importing narcotics into their country.  Poor you.  You couldn't illegally import narcotics into the PI.  Those bastards keeping you away from your medicine.  

 

You want sympathy for you, yet you don't seem to take the risks that your wife may expose an entire plane full of people to a highly contagious disease.  Cuz this is all about you.  You.  You.  You.  Oh, poor you.  

 

Grow up.   Stay in the PI and die a painful death or come home and get treatment.  You are not entitled to having your wife here.  The rules will not bend to accommodate you during the immigration process.  You will need to bend to accommodate what the US Consulate is required by law to consider.  

Where is your son?  Why can't he help you?  Why can't he fly to the PI and take you back home?

 

 

Philippine customs allows for the importation of narcotic pain relievers. A doctor's prescription and pharmacy receipt must be attached to the outside of the package. The customs fees are high as I've already stated. Punitive one might say.

Thank you for your sympathy,

Al.

1 hour ago, Hank_ said:

 

Immigration laws are not keeping you from entering the USA.   The embassies job, along with proper vetting of those that want to get a visa, is not allowing those with contagious diseases to enter the USA.   TB in the USA has climbed dramatic in the past few years.  The Philippines is in the Top Ten hit parade for TB.             

 

I would not use that phrase "care taker/giver wife" where the embassy may sniff it out ...  

 

As for hospitals, around Manila there are some very good hospitals (on par with the better U.S. hospitals); Makati Medical, St. Luke's Medical Center (Taguig) and a 3rd in Alabang that I can't remember the name.  St. Luke's Medical Center I can attest to as being very good ..     I have also heard that PGH is also very good.

 

 

 

Yes, I'm sure there are some very good hospitals in Manila. And some very good doctors too. I had a great one in Cebu. A prominent Rheumatologist. Who did her best to help me. As I've already stated at length.

But I am not in need of a hospital or a doctor.

I have a complicated and debilitating condition. One for which I have been determined to be disabled. A condition the cause of which is unknown. For which there is no known cure.

Fibromyalgia was erroneous assigned to Rheumatology because it was first thought to be inflammation related. It is now known not to be. One of the tests to rule out Fibromyalgia is to look for inflammation markers in the blood. One of the many tests I've had.

There is virtually nothing Rheumatologists can do for a Fibromyalgia patient but prescribe pain relievers. In their normal practice of treating inflammation related conditions they are not called upon to prescribe strong pain relievers. None I've seen would prescribe narcotics. It's just not part of their practice. A pain specialist is required for that generally. 

I've already been through the gauntlet of medical specialists in the US. The conclusion was that only narcotics were going to help me. Unfortunately it wont be the same pain reliever I was taking before because acetaminophen now raises my already high blood pressure, as my health has deteriorated over the last 8 years. But I'm hoping a pain specialist in the US will be able to help me. Already having tried to find pain relievers in the Philippines. Which I have already explained at length.

Having stabilized my condition in the US with a narcotic pain relievers, I can set about again doing the research to treat this condition myself. My goal is being able to stop all pain medication. Which may also allow me to go back to work. I still have a lot to offer to the business world. I loved my career before it was taken from me.

As I've also already stated, the Center for Disease control (CDC) states that after two weeks of TB treatment, it is no longer contagious.

But I'm prepared to leave all of that up to the experts and will be submitting their information and opinions with my request to the US Embassy.

Now I know that there is always someone in the government looking for a bogey man. Or perhaps just an excuse to be cruel. But there are also fair-minded people who are reasonable and compassionate.

But in the end,  I'm just an old guy, perhaps more mileage than age, who through no fault of his own has a terrible condition, who simply wants to go home with his wife and caretaker, so he might get the medical help he needs to live a little longer for his wife and daughters. 

I'm not going to be repeating anymore of my points for those who aren't reading them before posting or just have a knee jerk reaction to me and my situation. It seems to be an abuse of the privilege Ive been extended by being able to post my visa problem here. For that privilege I will post it to its conclusion.

Thank you for your interest and concern,

Al.

14 hours ago, Hank_ said:

You will not find it much easier getting opioid based drug much easier in the USA.   Doctors here are getting extremely difficult on that.   

 

I look at it as the government can't win the war on illegal drugs ... so they decided to go after prescription (narcotic) drugs as law abiding citizens are much easier to control ... then they will puff their chests and say - look what I did!!  I stopped drug addiction.  (dipsticks)  

 

 

Last time I had a prescription for a narcotic pain reliever in the US was 8 years ago. From what I have been reading, seems like narcotic (see effective) chronic pain relievers have become politicized. What a shame.

The resources in the US to help me with my health problems are still infinitely better than here in the Philippines. The goal being to not have to take narcotics. I won't live the rest of my life sedated.

My problem is not simply pain. Eight years of medical neglect has created a host of undiagnosed and untreated problems that I didn't mention. Uncontrollable BP, weakness, tightness of chest and labored breathing. I fear the Fibromyalgia symptoms are concealing other health problems.

I am optimistic that America is still the pinnacle of the Free World. Despite its many problems. That I will be treaty fairly and compassionately by the US Embassy. 

My experience so far has been that the people at the US Embassy are decent people. Who know the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. That the purpose of immigration laws are to protect the nation from wrong doers. Not to keep an elderly man who, through no fault of his own, has a debilitating illness, to not be given a simple deferment of a medical treatment for his wife. So he can return home with his caretaker wife and two young daughters.

I will keep this thread updated on my progress. If for no other reason than posterity.

On 28 June 2018 at 5:14 PM, Hank_ said:

Have you tried seeing a doctor at one of the major hospitals around Manila and use the pharmacy in the hospital?   To me those hospital pharmacies would be more likely to have the meds.         (just thinking out loud) 

Thanks for the suggestion. I welcome ideas.

The Philippine DEA has a problem with people being prescribed narcotics for chronic conditions. On each prescription is a check box asking if the prescription is being written for a cancer patient. They seem to make every narcotic  prescription written by a doctor their business. 

The variety of narcotics is very limited here. My Rheumatologist in Cebu put me through them all. And that wasn't many. Time release as well. Which I didn't like. The idea seem to make me more dependent on a narcotic 24x7, which didn't appeal to me. But didn't work anyway. There were stronger drugs I think, but my doctor was already getting enough heat from the DEA. Threatening to drug test me every month. Which is odd since I'm being prescribed narcotics. Go figure.

I was used to taking pain medication when I had to. When the pain had become intolerable. It was a psychological battle with the pain. Trying to tough it out. Once you submit to the pain it dominates you. I wasn't going to allow that. 

None of what my doctor prescribed helped. Plus we had to drive all over the city to find them. The hospital had limited stocks. Sometimes requiring that they call the doctor before filling the prescriptions. They looked at me as if I had a third eye in the middle of my forehead.  Like OxyContin which I finally settled on. Until my doctors narcotic prescription license expired. Also consistently available a some Mercury drugs somewhere. But had tried it in the US where a had a lot of pain medication options. Perhaps the largest in the world.

The Hydrocodone with the acetaminophen seemed to be the magic bullet. It did help a lot. But taking any narcotic really worried me now that I was responsible for a wife and two little girls, having my judgement impaired by a narcotics 24x7. 

I thought that I might get the same effect as the Lortab 10 from OxyContin and acetaminophen. No cigar. 

But 8 years later my blood pressure is so high, even though I'm taking 2 BP medications, that whenever I now take acetaminophen my BP sky rockets and I feel like I'm dying.  Been in the emergency room for it. So the Lortab 10 seems to not be an option for me anymore. If it even still exists.

Narcotics is not something you can take on and off. When I first came here and ran out of Lortab 10 which I had been taking for a year or two, I found out why. It was a unique experience. I spent a day or two rolling around my bed in and out of consciousness. I couldn't differentiate between what I was imagining and what was real. Friends and family didn't know what to do. It finally wore off.

I even tried herbs that were being used to wean addicts off of morphine. One called Kratom. Didn't have any effect. Some of the things I took actually made me feel worst. Which was a clue that something was really wrong somewhere. But I could not make any sense of it.

Tramadol is the closet thing I've found that has helped. Mostly because I can get as much as I need. It is for all intent and purpose uncontrolled. Because I have to take much more of it than recommended. One of the biggest advantages is that does not have a narcotic effect on your thinking. It claims to be an opioid, trchnically. But a little research reveals that it works on with the serotonin. 

Years ago I could get away with 100mg 4 times daily. At the least on a good day. Which is the daily maximum. Now I have to take twice that amount. Like I mentioned I only take it when I need to, and only as much as I need to. Sometimes my kidneys do hurt and I have to reduce my dose, regardless of how much pain I'm in. That really is miserable. Because it hurts most when I lie down to sleep. Every where my body makes contact with the 1 inch mattress on the floor creates intense pain. So all I can do is sleep sitting up. I can only do that once I'm at the point of complete exhaustion.

Thanks for your patience. I welcome the inquiry. My wife was a successful teacher when I convinced her to be my wife. I can talk to her about a lot. But there is always that cultural gap. I haven't had the opportunity to talk with many Westerners in the last 8 years. I suppose that's why I'm so wordy.

Thanks again,
Al.

15 hours ago, javadown2 said:

Interesting story, thanks for sharing. Sounds like it's been an uphill battle to say the least with some strange and unpredictable outcomes. Have you shared your story with other survivors of that flood, does anyone else have the same prognosis as you that you may share your research with? There has got to be lots more in the Louisiana area who may have contracted the same symptoms as you? So you need to go back for medications, you can't get them in the Philippines? 

 

My wife and I just had our first child also, your right..it is a huge blessing in life. It really puts life into perspective when everything else might seem to be unraveling around us. I hope you can find peace and some form of treatment. I'm still not very optimistic that your wife can get a waiver though, but I wish you the best. 

 

 

Thanks for the understanding, sympathy and support.

Apologies again for the sloppy writing. It really took a lot out of me to recall and write that. It has elevated my pain a lot until now.

It was never my intention to stay in the Philippines. I was simply visiting with my son, to celebrate the approval of my wife's CR1 petition. When she got pregnant, twice, I was compelled to stay. Considering the culture and my wife's 13 siblings, to do otherwise would have been a profound insult. I rather run afoul of the government then betray my wife. The moral of the story is don't trust over-the-counter Philippine contraceptive pills. Go to an OB.

Then when we were ready to return with our two children, the family member who was providing the AOS reneged. A lawyer had convinced them that if the owner of a house, my house, had abandoned the house, a relative who moved in and took over the responsibilities of the house would eventually own. All that was required for this was a retainer for the lawyer. This relative knowing I would not leave my wife and new born children behind to reclaim my house.

After my income was discontinued 5 years later, they changed their mind and provided the AOS and vacated the house. 

I'm not sure why my life has taken on so much drama. I'm looking forward to getting back to my home. I don't think I will ever go outdoors again. The world has become too complicated for this 62 year-old.

To answer your question. I have researched what other people who were exposed to the flood have experienced in the aftermath. There is a thing called the Katrina Virus. Which some have been stricken with. It leads into a lot of conspiracy theories which I do not dismiss out-of-hand. But it did me no good in helping me treat my condition.

I'm not a person that lives in the past. But trying to think out my decisions about my current dilemma brought back all the memories about that event and I felt a need to let others know what I knew. All things considered, I'm still grateful for all that I do have.

Going by the USCIS's definition of the purpose of a Waiver, my situation does not fit. I'm not looking for a waiver as such. Especially one that seeks to put aside wrong doing. But a deferment of the completion of medical procedure. To start the treatment in the Philppines, to render the TB non-contagious, according to the CDC, then complete it in the US.

Very  little would be required to do this but some common sense and compassion.

I will not be going back to the US alone. Being as disabled as I am and as dependent as I am on my wife as my caretaker, it would in all likelihood be suicide to do so.

So I will be staying in the Philippines with my wife. Where my condition will certainly continue to deteriorate, as it has for years, for lack of proper treatment and medication. And within 6 - 9 moths consume my remaining finically resources. Which was my secondary, necessary  reason for returning to the US. To reestablish my income.

This all seems all so unnecessary, when a solution is so simple. But governments have been doing this to its citizens for time immemorial. But I really thought more of America, the center of the civilized world, my son having fought in a war to protect it. With combat badges and commendations. Not doing just what he had to, but more so. Volunteering for missions.

It may well be that I am left here to perish for lack of a little compassion and a little common sense. But it is not going to be done in obscurity. It is going to be a very public event. Maybe some good will come out of it.

So I will be documenting my medical condition and making an Extreme Hardship appeal to the US Embassy - Citizen Services - Emergency Services. To allow my wife to start her TB treatment at St. Luke's for at least 2 weeks, then resume the treatments immediately upon arriving in the US.

That will be my starting point. We will see where it goes from there.

Thanks again for your interest and support. 

May God bless you and yours,

Al.

12 hours ago, javadown2 said:

I was wondering the same question, (how did you get there without help?)sounds like some difficult decisions you've got to make.  Shingles in its self is bad...couple that with the fibromyalgia and you must be miserable. Are you diabetic also? I work in healthcare and agree that Western medicine = push pharmaceuticals, but honestly many of the drugs are helpful and some aren't. There is never a good ending when someone takes narcotics like candy to control pain. 

 

Good luck with your waiver, but I'd start thinking about Plan B, traveling by yourself back to the US. 

Apologies in advance to the moderators for being off topic. And to all for the long story.  But a background seems pertinent. Apologies also for the sloppy writing. But this is absolutely exhausting to recall and write. Which also raises my pain.

It is likely my disability was caused by having been submerged in the flood waters in Lakeview, a subdivision in New Orleans, a couple of miles from the 17th St. Canal breach. I was compelled to stay because my mother wouldn't leave without her cats. So I witnessed the entire event from the second story of my home on Canal Blvd.

There was practically no damage after the hurricane. Just a lot of tree limbs on the ground. I was standing at the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Canal Blvd when I saw the water coming from the other canal breach from the east. I forget the name of the canal. It was a surreal site. Seeing that dark colored water moving towards me like an invading army. Carrying pieces in front if it of the things it had destroyed along the way. Smashing the debris into all it encountered. Using the debris like weapons. 

I would not been able to out run it. I was memorized by it. My mind couldn't process it. I had no experiences to draw upon to make sense if what I was seeing. It was an entirely new experience.

The flood water would have overtaken me and certainly killed me if it were not for the fact that the intersection I was standing on was the highest in the area. So the flood waters reached Canal Blvd and turned to move north and south. Canal Blvd acting as a levee. But not for long.

It was almost immediately, but I couldn't swear by it, time takes on a strange dimension when you are in shock. But I turned around and saw the flood waters coming from the 17th canal breach. Which also reached Canal Blvd and turned. So I was now standing on the high area between the two breached canal flood waters. The flood water moving quickly, but not getting very deep, yet, because it had not yet filled the city.

Sitting in my Lakeview home, witnessing this event from the very large window in the front of my house, I watched the flood water rise. I had placed a stick out front of my home to monitor when the water crested. But it just kept getting higher. Wasn't long before I could hear the sound of the furniture and appliances downstairs banging against the ceiling. It just added to the creepiness of the whole event. As if someone was trying to escape the flood waters below.

While watching this all unfold, I saw something, moving in the water. It was moving against the current, which is why I noticed it. When I looked again, I could see it was a group of people walking along the Canal Blvd median towards the city. The median were I stood before was now covered by water. But not as deep as the surrounding area which was now 8 to 10 feet deep. As I looked harder I could see it was 2 older women, one carrying a baby, and an 9 year-old, practically submerged by the flood water. It turned out that it was the mother of the infant and girl and their grandmother.

I knew they didn't have a prayer trying to walk out of this flood. So I ran to the stairwell to go to get them. As soon as I reach it was now a dark deep pool of dark water. So I dived in to swim to the door.to discover that doors are actually very hard to open in the water. Especially the big, heavy, front door of my house. Which was completely submerged. I finally got it open enough to squeeze through. When I got outside the water was about 8 feet deep according to where the water reached on the house. I could see that these group of people were now some distance away. So I mustered as much strength as I could and just yelled "HEY". To my relief they stopped and looked my way. So I swam out to them. I asked them where they were going? They said, "to the bank"! I said, "the bank is closed". As strange as that dialogue might sound, it is not unusual for people in shock.

So I told them to follow me back to my house. But I couldn't remember where the tree debris was. Fearing that they would entangled in the 8' deep water they had to go through to get to my house. So I  started to try to feel my way through when my right foot became entangled. At the same time the water that was still flowing was pushing me face first into the water. Not deep, but deep enough so as I could not breath. I remember thinking to myself, to not panic. That I had air in my lungs. That I would pull one time as hard as I could, if it did not free me from the debris, I would then use that leg to pull me down to the entanglement where I could free myself with my hands. Which is exactly opposite of what your instincts are telling you, which is to get to air. Fortunately when I pulled the foot came free. Knowing then where the debris I was trying to avoid was, we all went another way. I brought the group into my home, gave them towels and refreshments. The rescuers were in the area within only a few hours. They took the women and my mother away. I stayed. I had two bath tubs full of water and would be a depot for water for the rescuers.

My first night there was the creepiest of my life. I get emotional as I think of it. Or maybe it was the second night. But it was a new moon and was pitch black. The batteries in my flashlight were dead by then. So I sat in my bedroom in the pitch black. I could not see my hand in front of my face. The sound was otherworldly. There were no sounds. No sounds from birds, dogs' cats, insects, nothing. But the sound of the water lapping against the homes around me. And the faint sounds of weeping. Maybe it was my imagination. Or perhaps the sound of evacuees still being shuttled out of the area 24x7.. Every now and again big air boats would come around with their very loud engines and intense search lights. Looked and sounded like an alien invasion. Then pitch black and the sound of a dead city.

One night while just laying in my bed, I didn't sleep, trying to take in what all of this was going to mean, I saw a very bright light outside my sliding glass door. The tree and plants were blowing around furiously as if it were another hurricane. When I went out to see what was going on there was a huge helicopter right above me. I waved them off because I was not yet ready to leave. I didn't have to wave twice, they were gone in a heart beat. Hundreds of people to rescue.

After my water supply was gone I decided to leave on one of the boats that came to my house for water. Little did I know, circumstances were only going to get worse from there. 

About a month from the time I was submerged in the water I woke up one morning in intense pain all over my body. So much so that I groaned. I've been in pain since then.  That was 2005. 

As a footnote. That 17th St Canal had been leaking there were it broke, for years. It was common knowledge to those who lived in the area. It was a popular area to walk since it bordered City Park. The water that had been pooling there was tested by the locals to see what's it source was. The canal or a water main. The test revealed that it was canal water leaking under the canal wall.

 So that's the story you don't get on from the media. That paragon of virtue, that pinnacle of truth. They all lie. 

This happened at a time when I was just starting build a new career. Having had my career, not my job, sent overseas. I was starting to get good part-time work due to the kindness of online friends. 

The doctors, after months of examinations determined the cause of my pain. The brain fog, and sleeplessness, was the result of the flood waters I ingested, which turns out to be one of the foulest substances you can invest. Comprised of feces, rotting flesh and chemicals long ago outlawed that had been sitting on the shelves of garages for decades.

 That combined with the sleep deprivation, the emotional trauma of having witnessed the disaster, and having my son fighting in Baghdad at the time, was the cause of my condition. For which they could do nothing but give me drugs. Their wonder drugs supposedly specifically for Fibromyalgia made me much worse. I don't know how they get away with giving that stuff to human beings. Only the narcotics helped. Lortab, 10mg Hydrocodone and 500 mg acetemetaphen. Which actually helped a lot. Which to my mind is a clue to the cause of the condition. Since an opioid practically relieved the symptoms. But have serious issues of their own. I'd rather be in pain than have my mood altered by a drug. My mind Is all that I had left. I wasn't giving it up. I have been trying to get to the cause of my condition ever since. But it is complicated, and made even more difficult by having to be the researcher, doctor and patient at the same time. While living in the Philippines.

So I was deemed disabled for my condition. But since I had not been gainfully employed for so long, was only getting part-time work - but with potential to become a new career, rebuilding my life and career after having my carrier sold out to corporate interest aboard - I was given welfare instead of disability. Social Security being more of an insurance plan than a savings account. It will expire if you do not continue to pay into it and you will be treated as if you never worked a day in your life.

It got worse still, before it got better. But being married to my Filipina wife is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Giving me two precious girls. So I don't complain. But I do want to the truth to be known.  Life is stranger than fiction, so the saying goes.

13 hours ago, Hank_ said:

 

You are missing one key point, those links you posted are to USCIS.    The embassy is in not connected to USCIS ... simply put ..  USCIS can not dictate to the embassy in Manila as all embassies are under the Department of State.   

 

But then I posted this all earlier.

 

How did you travel to the Philippines on your own?

When I came to the Philippines with my son, just returned from fighting in Iraq, who also wanted to marry a Filipina, I was still taking the Lortab 10. And did so the 6 months due to the kindness of a friend who sent me the prescription. The customs fee being more than the cost of the drug.

Once the prescription expired that is when one of the many problems I've had here started. Narcotics are very hard to get here. As they are expensive and hard to find.

Living in the Philippines for 8 years, is a study in corruption. The one doctor who tried to help me had her license to prescribe narcotics taken away from her by the DEA. No due process involved. Although a bribe always makes the wheels of government turn here in your favor. It is an a domination to the Wester mind of law and order. What you get here is lawlessness and disorder. It is only gotten worse in the time I've been here. It is a country defending into chaos.

I am now very tired and in a great deal of pain. So will retire for the rest of the day.

10 hours ago, geowrian said:

The waiver, AP, etc. of the case is likely to be months...no quick way around it. She needs to start treatment ASAP anyway, but yes, the majority of the treatment would likely be done with by the time a waiver decision is granted. At that point, it's a tough call to say a waiver is still necessary as - if I'm understanding the situation correctly - the OP would have been back in the US for treatments and receiving the necessary care for some time already.

 

@OP

Please keep the thread updated. We don't see a lot of waiver requests for this in this area, so it's always good feedback to know what happens. Thank you.

9 hours ago, Boiler said:

Does anybody know how long waivers take, must admit I do not for this category, I agree very unlikely to be quick, nothing is.

The policy manual I linked to states that the CDC turnaround on the medical opinion is typically 1 month. That the adjudicator can choose to fax the case to them if they choose. Or mail it. Then follow it up in a month if they have not yet received a decision.

There is no telling what the time might be to then render a decision. From the manual, it seems to be a lot of discretion is given the adjudicator. They could speed it up, or slow it down. I'm hoping to get from them an opinion of what is involved and my chances of success. Before embarking on this costly process.

So far in my dealings with the embassy, policy is the rule, but common sense and compassion dictates in the exceptions. But there are always people looking to game the system, which has them on guard all the time. I don't have a problem with that.

I will report anything of value on this subject. But I need to be discreet that I don't reveal anything that someone might use to cheat the system.

Thanks for the input, Al.

P.S. I do not have the resources to pay a caregiver and support my wife and 2 daughters still in the Philippines at the same time.

10 hours ago, Lemonslice said:

If you do have to return to the US ASAP, I suggest you look into hiring a caregiver - Do not delay your, or her, treatment while waiting for bureaucracy to works its way.  If it takes three months to get a decision on her waiver, she would already be halfway through treatment... 

Good advice. Thanks, Al.

I have not read the link. But I have little confidence in their Mayo studies. If I'd believed what their study said about Vitamin C, I'd still be crippled in my right leg, with continuous, puss laden sore and substantial nerve pain from my shingles. But due to honest studies I've found, Vitamin C relieved all of my symptoms. Although it has not cured it. It will return whenever the vitamin C is stopped. If it were not for the Vitamin C I'd be an invalid.

How is it that the Mayo clinic and the numerous doctors I spoke with don't know this. Because it is bad for business? What would a multi-bullion, multi-national business not do, to protect their profits? Is it an industry of saints? I'll let the reader decide for themselves.

I've done a lot of studying in the last 8 years to try to cure or treat my condition. Since all the medical industry could do is paliate my symptoms with narcotics.

In my studies the Mayo clinic studies consistently comes down erroneously on the side of the drug manufactures. And on the opposite side of my personal experience. I think if they had their way, I'd need to pay a doctor just to buy vitamin C.

Thanks for the link anyway.

Al.

Thanks for the replys,

Fibromyalgia is not an immune system condition. It's source and nature is still unknown. Which makes it rife with snake oil salesmen. There is a lot of profiteering by people claiming to understand the condition and have the exclusive remedy.

The treatments vary widely. My doctor in the US prescribed strong narcotics. It helps a lot. Narcotics are very hard to get prescribed in the Philippines, especially for Fibromyalgia. Availability is also a problem. So I have to take the much less addictive, but less effective Tramadol. It claims to be an opioid, but works differently. Many people use supplements to treat their Fibromyalgia. I have been disabled since 2008 due to this condition. 

I've had Fibromyalgia for 13 years. I take large doses of vitamin C everyday. To bowel tolerance. Which has completely eliminated my debilitating Shingles symptoms. Athough the symptoms return if the Vitamin C is stopped. 

After dealing with a case of Candida I now have daily bowel movements. I never get sick. My wife and I have been married for 8 years and living together. She takes vitamin C and never gets sick. We have two daughters who also take vitamin C daily. They never get sick.

I have approached this condition as a virus, bacteria and heavy metal toxicity. None of which yielded the results a wanted. That being that I no longer have to take any pain medication. The Tramadol barely making the pain intolerable. Exacerbating  circumstances can make the pain agonizing. If you haven't experienced chronic, systemic and intense pain, you don't understand it. There is a significant psychological component to chronic pain. If you don't conquer it, the pain will break you. Depression often accompanies chronic pain. But not in my case, thank God. I still have hope.

Being the only one knowing the totality of the situation, I think my chances are good to get a waiver.

I also think that I can get a better idea of my chances of a waiver - which is not really a waiver, since the treatments will be conducted in the US - due to family hardship, from the person handling the case at the interview before applying. Waivers are very expensive.

If anyone wants to to know more about Fibromyalgia, Candida or Vitamin C please contact me privately. 

Thanks again, Al.

Thanks for all the responses. Especially the links. Makes a good starting place for research.

My research has yielded the following information. Of course, do your own due diligence.

Studies by numerous authoritative health and travel organizations have determined that the risk to travelers while on board a commercial aircraft with someone who is an infectious TB patient were very low. The studies were conducted based on individuals with serious TB cases. Due to aircraft filtering and ventilation. Commercial aircraft exceeding the CDC's requirements as safe environments for contagious TB patients. 

The CDC also indicates that someone with a smear negative and culture positive TB test is the least infectious TB.

The CDC also states that two weeks of TB treatment as the time necessary to render an infectious TB case non-contagious. Multiple drug resistant TB has a higher requirement.

So in summary.

My wife has the least contagious TB which can be rendered, according to the CDC, non-infectious in two weeks. Therefor not a public health hazard.

Waivers are highly discretional. The CDC being the medical authority. But not the decision maker. The decision maker being the embassy adjudicator. There are also no specific evidence requirements. Family hardship is a factor.

Thanks for all the help, 

Al.

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume9-PartA-Chapter4.html

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume9-PartB-Chapter2.html

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume9.html

I

4 hours ago, geowrian said:

You can request a waiver, and it goes through a CDC consult and other steps. But it will not be quick, and I don't have any hard numbers, but they are very difficult to obtain.

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume9-PartC-Chapter2.html

 

The mere act of somebody with active TB being on an airplane for an extended period of time is risky for others' health.

Thanks for the response.

Yes I agree. I would not want to, neither would immigration allow, my wife become a health hazard to others. It is acknowledged though, that TB once under treatment, is no longer contagious in only a few weeks. That is when I would think it would be safe for others for my wife to travel to the US with me to continue her treatments. Although her treatments would be incomplete, her case would then be one of an inactive TB and not communicable.

Thanks for the link.

Al.

My wife has tested positive on a sputum text for an active TB during her medical evaluation for her IR1. I am disabled with a severe Fibromyalgia and must return to the US ASAP for medication and treatment. But I can not take care of myself. Can anything be done?

48 minutes ago, madmanmike said:

Excellent response Al. Thank you so much. I was really getting depressed about this and you have cheered me up. Thanks again, I will research the AOS some more. 

 

Michael

You are welcome.

I am hoping someone else here will validate what I have written. There are members here that are much more knowledgable than I am.

Good luck, Al.

I am a rank amateur at this. Just in the preparation stages. I have lived in the Philippines for 9 years. The adjustment required of an American to Filipino culture is significant. Don't under estimate it. Things work a lot different here. They have worsened over the years in my opinion. With the new President's hostile attitude towards the West, the attitudes of Filipinos have changed as well. I'm just waiting to sell my wife's house before we move back to the US. If you have any questions about living in the Philippines I am glad to help. Message me privately.

On the Affadavit of Support (AOS) your mother's household would be 3. Your mother, you and your wife. Also your oldest daughter if she continues to live with with your mother. Which would then be 4. As long as your mother's retirement income exceeds the federally established poverty minimum plus 25%, there should be no problem. I think a cover letter explaining your situation and plans would be appropriate. 

I have had an immigration attorney suggest that the age of an elderly AOS applicant can be a factor. Since the AOS does not mention health, I would deemphasize that aspect in your cover letter. The term "care-taker" sounds as if she is ill.

I would ask ask the forum to validate what I have written.

Godspeed, Al.