Gamma Globin and Malaria Pills

[jinelson]

I think all Nam Vets remember these tortures. For you youngens the gamma globin was a shot in the butt that was so thick it left a golf ball size lump in your butt and hurt like you know what. We received one every three months supposedly to keep us free from hepatitis. I tried every thing to convince doc not to shoot me, come shaw, money, captured weapons and liberated alcohol but he wouldnt give in. Then I found out that the Navy had too much of it and they were just useing it up on Marines before the shelf life expired. Another weekly torture was every wednesday at chow there would be an officer to make sure that everyone took their malaria pills, you know the big orangish horse pill and the little white one. The down side here was for four days a week you had the screaming slits. As a sergeant I found a way around it, at least I thought that I was smart. I would spit them out after the officer couldnt see me. Well I paid dearly, I was sick for weeks and was diagnosed with "fever of unknown origon" or FUO. Finally while driving a 5 ton 6X6 up Hi Vanh Pass I passed out and crashed into the side of the mountain. When I woke up I was in the malaria ward of the US Sanctuary (AH-17) hospital ship sailing for Subic Bay, PI. I never did that again. But the upside was I got to spend a month in Olongapole City, man truely a boys town.

Sempers Jim

[jinelson]

Come someone out there must have the same memories

[Toby M]

Jim, I remember the shot in the butt but I don't remember how painful it was. What remains most vivid is when we got the series of shots right before 'Nam. Air gun on one side and regular needle in the other at the same time. The airgun ran out of juice and pumped in air which startled me and I jumped..this action of course, pushed against the other corpsman and forced him to jam the needle into my arm and hit the bone. Owwww, was that painful!!! To this day, I cannot get shots without remembering that event.

[DSchmitke]

I remember the shot in the butt and it hurt like he!!. Received this in bootcamp. We had to move our canteens on that side. Then we had to empty out half of the water and run back to barrack area. And the next morning was the worst. your right leg and hip din't want to move.

[MillRatUSMC]

I believe that it was 1966, at that time they would figure how much Gamma Globin to give an individual by 0.5 divided into your weight.
Say you weoght about 200 lbs that would turn out to 10cc of Gamma Globin, you had to have.
They could ony shoot 5cc of Gamma Globin per cheek that meant you had to have two shots.
So those weighing less got less, that one time you were glad that you did not weigh too much.
Later on they change it to just 5cc, which was a blessing to some, especially those weighing 200 or more.
Time between shots , I seem to forgotten.

Semper Fidelis/Semper Fi
Ricardo

[Sparrowhawk]

at Universal studios.. LMAO

http://www.incrediblehulk.com/gammaglobin.JPG

Don't remember but getting one shot during my tour, don't know what it was, but the whole platoon got it and we were all sick and throwing up for two days.


Malaria tablets we took here and there nothing steady, most of the time we didn't get a supply of them.

Marty my a-gunner came down with a fever of an unknown origin and got send to the rear, two months early but the rest of us weren't that lucky.

[DELTA2ALPHA]

Oh yeah..Got that bad boy on OKI in early 67.Was a golf ball on your ass for two weeks.The Horse pills every week were the size of poker chips and tasted like balsa wood.Remember that small bottle of Halazone tabs for your canteen?? DELTA2ALPHA out......

[jinelson]

Oh yeah I remember them well they were supposed to purify the water ha ha he he

[DELTA2ALPHA]

I used them all the time,but yeach,what a taste.Thank god for KooL-Aid.Might have helped out on my total tan in those days.Who knows??!!.....OUT

[LarryBee]

It was Halizone tablets for the water, nasty stuff.
and the gama globin shots I almost forgot about until I read these post's...

[bubba]

I never forgot the gama globin ....I was over 200 lbs and they gave me two shots....I think I like pain

[rlbhersh]

I remember the Gamma Globin shots. They told us it was to thin the blood for the hot weather in Vietnam. Also every Thursday we had to take the horse pill malaria pills..
I don't think any of it worked.

[montana]

dont remember the Gamma Globin.. we got a malaria pill ever so often....remember a few getting malaria....they had to have three attacks of the stuff befor they took um to the rear to finish their tour....was bad stuff....remember then soke and wet from swet and shivering live crazy thinking the was freezing and us all the while pouring water on um trying to cool them off

[rlbhersh]

The called it GG shots for short

[Sgted]

Originally posted by LarryBee
It was Halizone tablets for the water, nasty stuff.
and the gama globin shots I almost forgot about until I read these post's...

I remember all this and the malaria pills.
I also remember having to take salt tablets.

[bazzy]

We received our Gamma Globulin shots in Oki. before mounting out for Nam in March of 65. Everyone in the outfit spent the next few hours walking around trying to kick everybody else in the butt. They must not have had the pills to treat the water when we first got there. The only water we had was in the 500 gal. water buffalo tank. The corpmen dumped what tasted like Iodine and Chlorine in the tank to make it safe to drink. The tank set out in the sun. The water was almost hot enough to make coffee. Tasted like hot battery acid.

[Patdaly]

I got the shots and the pills but I had a bout of malaria after I got out and was going throuth the first winter I had seen in 4 years. It almost killed me. I don't know how you could forget the shots they hurt and you had to get them way to often.