John F. Kennedy
While frequently thought of as among the youngest and most active of presidents, John F. Kennedy suffered from Addison’s disease and a number of other health conditions. Addison’s disease is an adrenal condition causing a lack of adrenaline and other hormones. Symptoms of Addison’s include fatigue, dizziness, muscle wasting and weakening, and changes in mood and personality.
During the 1960 campaign, Kennedy’s opponent uncovered his Addison’s disease; Kennedy released a statement that he did not have Addison’s disease caused by tuberculosis. Approximately 20 percent of cases of Addison’s are the result of tuberculosis, but the matter was dropped thereafter. He had, in fact, been diagnosed with Addison’s disease in 1940, and with hypothyroidism in 1955.
In fact, Kennedy experienced debilitating pain and symptoms from the illness. Today, doctors believe he suffered from autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2, which caused both Addison’s disease and hypothyroidism. Kennedy had also suffered from colitis for many years.
Kennedy’s illnesses were treated with steroids for colitis, thyroid medications, and hormone therapy to prevent the wasting commonly associated with Addison’s, as well as anti-histamines and even a short course of anti-psychotics. According to Jackie Kennedy, the anti-psychotics were required as a result of a reaction to an anti-histamine. The steroids he relied upon may have helped to provide his year-round suntan and thick head of hair, as well as his well-known high libido. In addition, he relied heavily on anti-anxiety medications, amphetamine shots, and painkillers throughout his presidency. Visits from a doctor later known as “Dr. Feel Good” were common at the White House in the Kennedy years.
While some presidents were less successful at hiding their illnesses, Kennedy is remembered as a young and vigorous president, not as a man who could not climb stairs or put on his own socks without assistance. Kennedy was, of course, assassinated, so there is no way of knowing what health conditions might have impacted him in later life.