As for the Addisons Disease I do think due to the incredible stress of being President he would have struggled with it much more in a second term
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Blue Skies in Camelot: An Alternate 60's and Beyond
- Thread starter President_Lincoln
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Thanks Kennedy along with Lincoln and even FDR are such great "what if they had lived" Presidents in my opinion
Deleted member 146578
According to many sources, his health was actually improving by the time he died due to new treatment and he may have been in the best of health on the day of his death.
Bookmark1995
Banned
Shockingly, he had already been given last rites a couple of times BEFORE Dallas.
It is bitterly ironic that his back brace, the thing that helped him with his numerous problems, might have killed him.
I had no idea I just assumed Jack was unfortunately addicted to the painkillers because of Addison Disease
Bookmark1995
Banned
Here is a list of treatments Kennedy got for everything.
During the first six months of his presidency, Kennedy's physicians "administered large doses of so many drugs that [Dr. Janet] Travell kept a `Medicine Administration Record'" 1b. Many of the drugs Kennedy received affect thinking:
| cortisone | [injected] Cortisol has profound psychological effects. At one extreme, "steroid psychosis" can result. At the other, a profound sensation of well-being can occur. In between, the effects are more difficult to characterize. |
| cortisone | [oral] |
| lomotil | For diarrhea. Contains anti-cholinergic compounds, which, in toxic doses, can make someone "mad as a hatter." |
| paregoric | For diarrhea. Contains opium. Mentation is probably unaffected if used in reasonable doses, but Kenndey was taking at least 3 medications for diarrhea, suggesting that doses were high. |
| phenobarbital | A classic "downer" |
| testosterone | Was Kennedy's "bull-like" libido a side effect of testosterone? Was his cholesterol level of 410? |
| trasentine | An anti-diarrhea medication. There is very little published about this drug. Side effects include giddiness and euphoria. |
| Tuinal | A mixture of secobarbital and amobarbital Kennedy used to help him sleep. Amobarbital is better known as Amytal, one of the more common "truth serum" drugs. |
| amphetamines | Post and Robins, writing in 1993, thought it was "highly suggestive" that Kennedy took amphetamines while President, but considered it unproven 13a. The recent Atlantic article states definitively that Kennedy received injections of amphetamines and painkillers from "Dr. Feelgood," a.k.a. Max Jacobson 1b. Kennedy dismissed concerns about the injections, saying, "I don't care if it's horse piss. It works." Jacobson's medical license was revoked in 1975. Previously, in 1969, all controlled substances in his possession were confiscated by the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs 13a. It is thought that Kennedy was under the influence of amphetamines when he made his "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech 13a. |
To put things in a different light, if an officer in the U.S. Air Force were taking any one of these medications, he or she would not even be allowed to talk on the radio to aircraft as supervisor of flying. Kennedy, as commander-in-chief, was supervisor for the entire Air Force.
Question: Did the Bay of Pigs result from Kennedy talking, or was it the testosterone talking?
EDIT: This is the source: https://doctorzebra.com/prez/g35.htm
Bookmark1995
Banned
Medicine is better than it was in the 60s.
Even if he did, he would have a much easier time than his dad.
Whoa! I gotta feel for Jack Kennedy having to live his life in so much pain and taking such different drugs. Poor guy
Bookmark1995
Banned
It's a miracle he didn't KEEL OVER from having to take all these drugs.
It is bitterly depressing that his own back brace, the thing he needed to walk, may have killed him.
And even if he dodged that non-figurative bullet, he may have still died in office. Because even if Kennedy have lived to a second term, he might have still had to deal with the massive social unrest that dogged the late 60s. Imagine trying to manage these medications AND your cities are going up in flames.
Trying to pursue a political career was a bad career move for ol'Jack.
Deleted member 146578
What do you think could have been the cause of his health problems that started when he was a young boy?
Bookmark1995
Banned
I read his mom was the product of a marriage between second cousins, and some theorize that JFK lacked a healthy mix of genes, but it's just a theory.
Deleted member 146578
I have never heard about that before, but I think that could have happened.
Bookmark1995
Banned
Inbreeding is a really dangerous thing to do.
Read about Charles II of Spain to see how bad it can get.