In 1961, a list of Kennedy’s medications included hydrocortisone, prednisone, methyltestosterone, fludrocortisone, phenobarbital, paregoric (a hydroalcoholic solution containing opium), diphenoxylate, meperidine, methadone, codeine, amphetamines, chlordiazepoxide, meprobamate, methylphenidate and gamma globulin, a rather formidable menu of medications with the potential to affect cognition.48
It has been speculated that he may have suffered from progressive osteoporosis as a result of chronic steroid use.44 Perhaps Kennedy’s back problems directly contributed to his death; a rigid back brace he wore for uncontrolled symptoms kept him upright after the first gunshot at Dallas, which might not have been fatal by itself.49,50
Some of the notable events of the Kennedy presidency include his affair with Marilyn Monroe, the Cuban missile crisis, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the beginning of the Vietnam war, the Berlin airlift, initiation of space exploration, desegregation and civil rights legislation, and the founding of the Peace Corps.
What if … John F. Kennedy had not been symptomatic from autoimmune adrenal insufficiency and inflammatory spine disease, was not consuming a daunting cocktail of analgetic and other mind-altering medications, and did not need to wear a back brace on that fateful day in Dallas? How different might his presidency and the history of those times have been?
Autoimmune Thyroid Disease, Canine Lupus, George H.W. Bush & a Debacle with the Japanese Prime Minister
In 1991, when he was 66, President George H.W. Bush became breathless while jogging. An electrocardiogram demonstrated atrial fibrillation. Later that year he announced he had Graves’ disease.51 He was hospitalized multiple times for uncontrolled symptoms. Interestingly, his wife had the same diagnosis two years earlier, and their son would be diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.52 The White House dog, Millie, had canine lupus. All of these conditions are considered autoimmune disorders.53-55
One possible complication of uncontrolled hyperthyroidism includes flu-like symptoms, such as nausea, fevers and vomiting. It has been speculated that such an episode may have led to Bush’s vomiting on the Japanese prime minister at a state dinner in January 1992.56 Perhaps the perceived weakness of Bush due to chronic illnesses provided an opportunity for the opposing presidential campaign to exploit Bill Clinton’s image of youth and vitality.52
What if … George H.W. Bush didn’t develop hyperthyroidism or had it sufficiently controlled so as to prevent the embarrassing events of the state dinner with the Japanese prime minister? Might his public image have been sufficiently different that he could have been reelected?
