All the President's pills; WHAT JFK TOOK IN AVERAGE DAY TO STAY ALIVE Codeine, Demerol, methadone, Meprobamate, Librium, thyroid hormones, barbiturates, gamma globulin, antispasmodics, antibiotics, hydrocortisone, testosterone, salt tablets, Ritalin and procaine.Byline: RICHARD WALLACE US Editor in New York JOHN F Kennedy took an extraordinary cocktail of up to eight different drugs a day to combat chronic ill-health. He needed painkillers, anti-anxiety tablets, stimulants and sleeping pills as well as hormones to keep him alive - and used huge extra doses in times of stress. The US president, assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963, was almost permanently in pain for the last 10 years of his life from a long-running back ailment. And because of irritable bowel syndrome irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), condition characterized by frequently alternating constipation and diarrhea in the absence of any disease process. It is usually accompanied by abdominal pain, especially in the lower left quadrant, bloating, and flatulence. he also suffered from chronic diarrhoea. Newly-released medical records revealed his back problems were so bad he could not put a sock on his left foot without help. But he was determined to show himself as an action man and history recalls a youthful go-getter. JFK's health was always fragile and as a child he suffered frequent illness. His cocktail of drugs included codeine, Demerol and methadone for pain. He also took the stimulant Ritalin, Meprobamate meprobamate (məprō`bəmāt'), tranquilizing drug that acts as a depressant of the central nervous system and is commonly used in the treatment of anxiety and sometimes schizophrenia. and Librium for anxiety and barbiturates for sleep. Then there were jabs of thyroid hormone and blood derivative gamma globulin to combat infections. During the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 he was taking antispasmodics to control colitis and antibiotics for a urinary tract infection urinary tract infection (UTI), n infection in one or more of the structures that make up the urinary system. Occurs more often in women and is most commonly caused by bacteria. . And he needed increased amounts of hydrocortisone hydrocortisone (hī'drəkôr`tĭzōn'), another name for the steroid hormone cortisol, more especially used to refer to preparations of this hormone used medicinally. and testosterone, along with salt tablets, to control his adrenal insufficiency and boost his energy. Before public appearances he would have up to eight injections of procaine procaine (prōkān`), anesthetic drug, commonly called novocaine, that gives prolonged relief from pain (see anesthesia). It is used as a local anesthetic and in rectal and other surgery. It is marketed under the trade name Novocain. in his back to numb the agonising pain and often got about on crutches. Because his illnesses took such a toll on his weight, JFK had injections of testosterone to build up his muscles. At times he would wake in the middle of the night with severe stomach cramps. Kennedy was in hospital for back and intestinal problems nine times from 1955 to 1957. His brother Edward said last night: "While not aware of the exact details of his medical condition, I did see the great courage he exhibited throughout his life. "Yet, through it all, he was able to triumph over illness and pain." It was a life of illness which began when JFK was a child. He suffered whooping cough, measles, chicken pox, mumps, German measles, and bronchitis. At two, he nearly died from scarlet fever. And he was plagued by Addison's disease, which causes weakness and weight loss, until it was treated. Later, Kennedy ruptured a disc in his spine playing football, an injury made worse when his navy boat was rammed by the Japanese in the Second World War. CAPTION(S): SHOT: JFK is killed in Dallas in 1963; RELIEF: Antibiotics and antispasmodics |
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