# Trump's health **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 15, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963 "2016-08-15T23:33:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/101 "2016-08-21T14:30:24Z")
Desiccated thyroid is not the best choice for most people, but there are three groups for whom it is still prescribed: those who have been on it for a long time without ill effects and don’t want to switch, those who have unacceptable side effects or allergies to levothyroxine but can tolerate desiccated thyroid, and those who are insistent on “more natural” methods of thyroid management. I can’t say which group Clinton may fall in, but it’s not exactly bloodletting. It’s an unfashionable, less used option, but it’s still an option. And if Pinsky doesn’t think warfarin/coumadin is used anymore, I invite him to take over calling my patients, their doctors, and the phlebotomists who come to their homes monthly to test their levels, and the pharmacy every time I’m supposed to change their dose by half a milligram and only have 5 milligram pills in the house. 'Cause that shit takes up way too much of my time for something that isn’t done anymore. On the blood pressure debate, I’d be mildly concerned if a man of Trump’s age, weight and complexion had a 110/65 blood pressure. Not enough to call the doctor (I have to call the doctor below 100 systolic or below 60 diastolic) but enough to watch him pretty closely and ask him carefully if he had any symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath, or weakness. In my nursing experience with hundreds of men of his age and physique on antihypertensives, I’d expect to see 130s/70s, not be alarmed in the 140s/70s, and be delighted if we were able to maintain him around 124/64. (How can you tell a nurse who listens to her patients’ bps with a stethoscope and manual cuff? Her numbers are always even. No odd numbers on a manual gauge. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![dofe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ba0ec/32.png) [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/102 "2016-08-26T23:36:11Z")
[Trump Doctor Wrote Health Letter in Just 5 Minutes as Limo Waited](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-doctor-wrote-health-letter-just-5-minutes-limo-waited-n638526) > [@](#): > > Donald Trump’s personal physician said he wrote a letter declaring Trump would be the healthiest president in history in just five minutes while a limo sent by the candidate waited outside his Manhattan office. . . . > > Asked how he could justify the hyperbole, Bornstein said, “I like that sentence to be quite honest with you and all the rest of them are either sick or dead.” > > He went on to say that the Oval Office has been occupied by presidents with dementia or tumors or even men who were “paranoid” or “psychotic.” ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/103 "2016-08-26T23:44:40Z")
> [@dofe](#): > > [Trump Doctor Wrote Health Letter in Just 5 Minutes as Limo Waited](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-doctor-wrote-health-letter-just-5-minutes-limo-waited-n638526) [This is how I picture him arriving at the limo.](https://youtu.be/ZPYz6AWxjGk) ---
**Author:** ![dofe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ba0ec/32.png) [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/104 "2016-08-26T23:47:21Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > [This is how I picture him arriving at the limo.](https://youtu.be/ZPYz6AWxjGk) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/105 "2016-08-27T06:21:18Z")
Not sure if it’s mentioned yet but let’s remember that there are believable allegations that Trump used to take prescription amphetamines like stimulants for years, both by statements from ex-staffers of his and that he’s known to have visited a Doctor notorious for handing them out like candy. From his irrational behaviour it’s at least reasonable to suspect that he might still be taking them in order to keep up the campaign schedule. > **[The Best Theory of 1992: Donald Trump Took Amphetamine-Like Diet Pills](https://www.gawker.com/the-best-theory-of-1992-donald-trump-took-amphetamine-1755299885)** > > What, beyond a team of university psychologists, could explain the mechanism of Donald Trump’s mind? In the early 1990s, two journalists thought they’d figured it out, claiming Trump was fighting his overwhelming fear of being fat with a steady... I’ll let someone with more medical expertise than me speculate on the likely effects on his future health from that. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/106 "2016-08-27T07:16:49Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > And if Pinsky doesn’t think warfarin/coumadin is used anymore, I invite him to take over calling my patients, their doctors, and the phlebotomists who come to their homes monthly to test their levels, and the pharmacy every time I’m supposed to change their dose by half a milligram and only have 5 milligram pills in the house. 'Cause that shit takes up way too much of my time for something that isn’t done anymore. I’ve been on warfarin for about five years now. I go to my doctor’s office every six weeks for an INR check which has been very stable. Plus it is cheap, unlike the new stuff. I’ve also been on the same dose for at least four years. You’re going to have to pry my warfarin out of my cold dead fingers. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/107 "2016-08-27T18:22:02Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > (How can you tell a nurse who listens to her patients’ bps with a stethoscope and manual cuff? Her numbers are always even. No odd numbers on a manual gauge. 😉 ) Clever! ---
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/108 "2016-08-27T19:57:20Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Desiccated thyroid is not the best choice for most people, but there are three groups for whom it is still prescribed: those who have been on it for a long time without ill effects and don’t want to switch, those who have unacceptable side effects or allergies to levothyroxine but can tolerate desiccated thyroid, and those who are insistent on “more natural” methods of thyroid management. I can’t say which group Clinton may fall in, but it’s not exactly bloodletting. It’s an unfashionable, less used option, but it’s still an option. > > And if Pinsky doesn’t think warfarin/coumadin is used anymore, I invite him to take over calling my patients, their doctors, and the phlebotomists who come to their homes monthly to test their levels, and the pharmacy every time I’m supposed to change their dose by half a milligram and only have 5 milligram pills in the house. 'Cause that shit takes up way too much of my time for something that isn’t done anymore. > [@Voyager](#): > > I’ve been on warfarin for about five years now. I go to my doctor’s office every six weeks for an INR check which has been very stable. Plus it is cheap, unlike the new stuff. I’ve also been on the same dose for at least four years. You’re going to have to pry my warfarin out of my cold dead fingers. Yeah if it wasn’t bad enough that he’s running a Nancy Grace type tv show, that quote ““Certainly a presidential candidate would get one of the newer anti-coagulants,” Pinsky opined.” is just nuts. Any asshole on a blood thinner would know there’s reasons to use or not use warfarin over say Xarelto, and anyone opining on it should know there’s no approved anti-agent for Xarelto and in fact an anti-agent that’s proven to work actually got a CRL from the FDA about a week ago because of a management fuckup. ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/109 "2016-08-27T22:45:34Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > [This is how I picture him arriving at the limo.](https://youtu.be/ZPYz6AWxjGk) Have you seen this picture of Melania, Trump and Barron (his youngest, now 10 I think) [http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/43/00/21/9176166/5/1024x1024.jpg](http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/43/00/21/9176166/5/1024x1024.jpg) Note the toy cars, Limo’s because of course they are. Also the ‘I can’t believe this bullshit either’ look on Barron’s face made me laugh like a idiot for a good 30 seconds the first time I saw this shot. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/110 "2016-08-27T22:49:18Z")
Caption: “Chris Christie plays a lion in his thinner days.” ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/111 "2016-08-27T23:03:38Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > We don’t need a doctor’s report on that one. Call me picky, but I’d prefer if we could find three. I’d even donate a pen if it would help ensure his restful stay toward recuperation, but thats only because he is such a dear man. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/112 "2016-08-27T23:59:23Z")
> [@DeptfordX](#): > > Have you seen this picture of Melania, Trump and Barron (his youngest, now 10 I think) > > [http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/43/00/21/9176166/5/1024x1024.jpg](http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/43/00/21/9176166/5/1024x1024.jpg) > > Note the toy cars, Limo’s because of course they are. > > Also the ‘I can’t believe this bullshit either’ look on Barron’s face made me laugh like a idiot for a good 30 seconds the first time I saw this shot. That poor kid. You can just see the barest ember of humanity left in his eyes as it fades… ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/113 "2016-08-28T02:45:46Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > That poor kid. You can just see the barest ember of humanity left in his eyes as it fades… Oh God. That poor kid. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/114 "2016-08-28T03:07:29Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Oh God. That poor kid. Sorry. I’d call him anything BUT poor. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/115 "2016-08-28T03:20:53Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Sorry. I’d call him anything BUT poor. 😃 He’s poor in the things that matter. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/116 "2016-08-28T03:25:57Z")
> [@DeptfordX](#): > > Have you seen this picture of Melania, Trump and Barron (his youngest, now 10 I think) > > [http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/43/00/21/9176166/5/1024x1024.jpg](http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/43/00/21/9176166/5/1024x1024.jpg) > > Note the toy cars, Limo’s because of course they are. > > Also the ‘I can’t believe this bullshit either’ look on Barron’s face made me laugh like a idiot for a good 30 seconds the first time I saw this shot. Notice that Donald’s the only one who’s smiling. There’s a new Facebook meme that has a picture of Trump’s “doctor”, and it says, “He looks like the kind of doctor who will write your weed prescription without even hearing your bullshit excuse.” I KNEW he looked like something but couldn’t articulate it until I saw that. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/117 "2016-08-28T03:29:51Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Desiccated thyroid is not the best choice for most people, but there are three groups for whom it is still prescribed: those who have been on it for a long time without ill effects and don’t want to switch, those who have unacceptable side effects or allergies to levothyroxine but can tolerate desiccated thyroid, and those who are insistent on “more natural” methods of thyroid management. I can’t say which group Clinton may fall in, but it’s not exactly bloodletting. It’s an unfashionable, less used option, but it’s still an option. > > And if Pinsky doesn’t think warfarin/coumadin is used anymore, I invite him to take over calling my patients, their doctors, and the phlebotomists who come to their homes monthly to test their levels, and the pharmacy every time I’m supposed to change their dose by half a milligram and only have 5 milligram pills in the house. 'Cause that shit takes up way too much of my time for something that isn’t done anymore. Desiccated thyroid is also recommended for people who have serious allergies to dyes, because it is dye-free. MHO: Xarelto is fine for people who need short-term anticoagulation, but long term? Use Coumadin, unless there are other contraindications. Yes, it has to be monitored, but it WORKS. (When I worked at the grocery store, I had several customers who would request refills on their rat poison 😛 , because that’s what Coumadin is also used for. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/118 "2016-08-28T03:41:10Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Desiccated thyroid is also recommended for people who have serious allergies to dyes, because it is dye-free. Oddly enough (because I really do not see it often) today I admitted a patient on Armour Thyroid. Of course I thought about this thread. I asked if there was a reason she wasn’t on Synthroid (they’d already said no allergies, but sometimes people forget until a question like that) and yeah, she’s allergic to dyes AND she’s been on it forever with good thyroid control, so why switch? > [@](#): > > MHO: Xarelto is fine for people who need short-term anticoagulation, but long term? Use Coumadin, unless there are other contraindications. Yes, it has to be monitored, but it WORKS. My husband is still on warfarin/coumadin after nearly 25 years. And yes, every so often, usually because I’ve gotten him to eat a little better, they need to adjust his dose. Monthly monitoring is kind of annoying, but it’s really not a huge deal. And he’s got a belly full of hernias and a complicated cardiac history. At any moment, one of those hernias might strangulate, or he might need angioplasty, or who knows what. So the most important thing for us is that he be on something reliably reversible in case of emergency surgery. They tried to switch him to Pradaxa when the reversal agent for that got approval last year…but my rule of thumb is that I don’t want him to take any new drug in the first 10 years on the market unless there is no other option. Let the Phase IV aftermarket trials find the adverse events first, thanks. His doctor (first year Resident) argued, but his pharmacist told me I was absolutely correct, and talked to the doctor and shut him up. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/119 "2016-08-28T03:53:52Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Notice that Donald’s the only one who’s smiling. Melania: “I married you so I wouldn’t _have_ to pose like this anymore.” Barron: “Must I do this _now_, father? I’d much rather be ordering the help to do battle for my amusement.” Donald: “I’m in front of a camera! People are paying attention to **ME**!” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963/120 "2016-08-28T05:18:53Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > (When I worked at the grocery store, I had several customers who would request refills on their rat poison 😛 , because that’s what Coumadin is also used for. Almost. It was invented as rat poison (it made rats bleed to death internally) and got repurposed as an anti-coagulant. From [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warfarin) > [@](#): > > Warfarin, also known by the brand names Coumadin among others, is an anticoagulant normally used in the prevention of thrombosis and thromboembolism, the formation of blood clots in the blood vessels and their migration elsewhere in the body, respectively. It was initially introduced in 1948 as a pesticide against rats and mice, and is still used for this purpose, although more potent poisons such as brodifacoum have since been developed. In the early 1950s, warfarin was found to be effective and relatively safe for preventing thrombosis and thromboembolism in many disorders. It was approved for use as a medication in 1954, and has remained popular ever since. Warfarin is the most widely prescribed oral anticoagulant drug in North America.[3] The WARF stands for Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which funded the research. My wife, who writes about drugs for on-line encyclopedias, never lets me forget the origin of this drug. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-health/762963.md?page=7)