My, aren’t we in some fine company?

I found this yesterday at IBS Tales(where I had never been before and found rather on accident….) . Apparently our US presidents aren’t haven’t been as healthy as they pretend to be and many have suffered from different forms of gastro issues.

For example: 

And finally, John F Kennedy, who I’ve saved until last because as you’ll probably know, JFK was surprisingly, almost terrifyingly unhealthy. His list of malfunctioning bits and pieces included a back problem which was so chronic he had to wear a back brace most of the time, and Addison’s disease, an endocrine disorder which almost killed him.

For us intestinally-demented folk though, JFK’s most interesting malady was a prolonged gastrointestinal problem, which was treated with steroids and at least three different anti-diarrhea medications, including Lomotil.

The first record of JFK’s digestive distress dates back to when he was just 17. Later on, when he was in the Navy, it’s fascinating to see that his disorder was described as “severe spastic colitis” – spastic colitis being, of course, the old-fashioned name for irritable bowel syndrome. Could Kennedy have been one of us?

There’s some speculation that JFK might actually have had undiagnosed celiac disease, or an inflammatory bowel disorder such as Crohn’s disease, although examinations to look for inflammation found no evidence of this. But there’s no doubt that he had some pretty nasty diarrhea attacks. And in fact, just before and just after the Bay of Pigs invasion, Kennedy was suffering from “constant, acute diarrhea” and was treated with anti-spasmodics, a puree diet and pencillin.

So, the next time you’ve got stress-induced diarrhea, and some clown tells you that you should relax and it would all go away, just say “Well, If President John F Kennedy can’t control his own bowel then neither can I”.

I for one, had no idea he was so sick, being that I wasn’t not alive when he was. Poor guy. Kinda makes me feel sorry for him. It’s too bad that so many of us can relate.

But anyway, cruise around the site, and let me know if you find anything interesting!