Biden suffers from obstructive sleep apnea, spinal arthritis, sensory neuropathy in his feet, a-fib with normal ventricular response, hyperlipidemia, gastroesophageal reflux, seasonal allergies, the president's physician said after annual physical.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) February 28, 2024
… I do believe there’s more than a few of us — voters as well as jackals — who’ll look at this list and say ‘Looks pretty good, considering what’s in my medicine cabinet.’
The ‘sensory neuropathy in his feet’ would explain why Biden looks great on a bike, but a bit hesitant/shuffling when he walks. His balance is fine, but he doesn’t have full feeling in his feet (especially when he’s wearing stiff shoes, I suspect). This is actually reassuring, because ‘poor feeling in feet’ is hella less threatening than ‘possible brain issues’!
Biden had difficulties falling asleep while wearing the CPAP mask but has stuck with the therapy and uses it for most or all of the night, doc says.
Biden, who weighs 178 pounds, is taking several meds: Eliquis, Crestore, Fluticasone nasal spray, Allegra, Pepcid and Nexium.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) February 28, 2024
Biden's physician, Kevin O'Connor, says a "neurological exam was again reassuring in that there were no findings which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as a stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's or ascending lateral sclerosis"
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) February 28, 2024
After today's physical, Biden's doctor concludes that the president is a 'healthy, active, robust 81-year old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency' pic.twitter.com/HkxiFEjO7L
— Monica Alba (@albamonica) February 28, 2024
And I’ll use this report as an excuse to share a thread from Jaime Harrison…
Joe Biden’s age and experiences have provided him wisdom, insight, empathy, and a fundamental understanding that the American Dream is meant for all of America’s people.
Biden inherited the reins of a nation in the midst of a pandemic, with a crippled economy, and a democracy bludgeon from an insurrection… but despite it all he brought us back from the brink of disaster and achieved some of the greatest legislative achievements of a generation. From investing in the nation’s infrastructure, to creating millions of new jobs by rebuilding our manufacturing capacity, to repairing our reputation on the world stage, to lowering healthcare costs & investing in the fight against the climate crisis, Joe Biden navigated the chaos of Washington and delivered for America.
I can’t say that about an old and unhinged, twice-impeached, Donald Trump, who has done so much to destroy our democracy, abandon our foreign allies, embrace brutal dictators, attack our nation’s veterans, and rip away the fundamental rights of women to control their own bodies. (There aren’t enough characters to cover all that he has done to hurt America and the American people.)
I also can’t say that about a younger Nikki Haley who as Governor of South Carolina blocked thousands of her constituents from life saving healthcare & attempted to rip away the freedom of women to control their own bodies.
To hell with age… what are you going to do with the power when you get it?!
Are you going to fight for the folks I care about- in my family and my community? Are you going to be fair and just? Are you going to stand up for all or just a select few?
We have seen the work of Nikki & Donald up close and frankly we can’t afford to repeat those disasters. It isn’t their ages that make them bad leaders, but their fundamental beliefs.
@JoeBiden
hasn’t just been a good President, but a great President! He is a good and decent man that gets up every single day thinking about making our nation better for all.His determination for a better America is not hampered by his age, but enhanced by his wisdom!
So in the choice between Nikki, Trump, or Biden… there is only one correct answer folks- give me that seasoned JOE BIDEN! #BidenHarris2024
Supreme Court Grants Cert On Immunity Case
Chris Johnson
Plus we Dems are team-builders and democracy supporters.
We BUILD systems faster than right-wing rabblerousers can tear them down. We’re just funny like that.
A vote for Biden is a vote for America, not just for Biden. Vote for the whole system :D
Urza
Now do an honest exam of the other guy.
Baud
I don’t know whether to trust a Doctor or a Republican special prosecutor.
Gary K
Yeah, doc, but can you “state unequivocally, [that Biden] will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency”? Checkmate, libs!
eclare
@Baud:
Hahaha…
japa21
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Ruckus
@Urza:
Now do an honest exam of the other guy:
I can’t say that about an old and unhinged, twice-impeached, Donald Trump, who has done so much to destroy our democracy, abandon our foreign allies, embrace brutal dictators, attack our nation’s veterans, and rip away the fundamental rights of women to control their own bodies. (There aren’t enough characters to cover all that he has done to hurt America and the American people.)
This is a start.
SpaceUnit
Plus, Uncle Joe doesn’t wear our asses out every day with a pathological barrage of showboating, drama, grievance, and lies. He just gets shit done.
Kay
I knew he was fit and healthy. He’d look younger if he would gain 10 or 20 pounds but I think he’s probably naturally slim and can’t.
zhena gogolia
@SpaceUnit: Truth.
HumboldtBlue
We need a movie on Clyburn and his impact in Congress and life in general. The man oozes wisdom.
Baud
@Kay:
Another reason to hate him.
MobiusKlein
ugh, a-fib is not very fun. The pills are also not fun.
Kay
@Baud:
I’m glad they found a normal physician. Poor Obama got stuck with that Right wing nutjob who seems to be some kind of drunk/drug addict and went on to Congress.
Jay C
@Kay:
well, if you’re referring to Ronny Jackson, he proved to be the perfect physician for TFG: just signed off on anything his “patient” wanted to say.
Kay
NYTimes has 11 reporters investigating Joe Biden’s allergies right now. STAT!
Elizabelle
@Kay:
From Texas. Quelle surprise.
MattF
I’ll bet seeing that list gets every Old to compare their own list of ailments. I don’t see hypertension on Biden’s list, which is a good thing.
Kay
@Jay C:
I think he was Obama’s physician too. Well, “his” physician. I’m sure Obama had a real doctor on the side.
Was Ronny Jackson doing all the recreational drug prescribing in the Trump White House? Outside the scope of practice- they should look at his license. Texas though. Probably not.
Baud
@Kay:
Haha.
MagdaInBlack
@Kay: I believe you are correct.He was the one handing out all sorts of pharmaceutical goodies. Have you seen that list?
Kay
Hope we got rid of these bad apples! All lawbreakers in the Trump White House- every single one of them.
Harrison Wesley
Foot neuropathy? GERD? Oh, yeah.
Kay
@MagdaInBlack:
Stimulants! For what, I wonder? None of them did any work. It does kind of explain the incoherent, aggressive shouting they all do, though. Kelly Anne Conway is definitely on something.
MagdaInBlack
@Kay: They used the stimulant to wake him up from the Ambien. There’s fentanyl and both oxy and hydrocodone in huge quantifies as well. It’s just nuts
Eta: I watched a youtube clip where they had a page of the pharmacy log and went down the page explaining what everything was and the quantities given at one time.
MattF
@Kay: Well, prescribing large amounts of sleeping pills and stimulants is worrying.
Baud
@Kay:
Both sides!
Eyeroller
Other than Eliquis (anticoagulant) and Crestore (statin) those are all over-the-counter drugs. That’s a pretty light medication regime for somebody his age.
zhena gogolia
JL Cauvin’s take on McConnell
Unabogie
@Kay: Well the big question is why they paid full price for no reason? Someone who acted as the supplier got that money for free.
MagdaInBlack
@Baud: Ha! 🤗
AlaskaReader
@Kay: Not just in the Whitehouse, all through the system.
Example: How can Louis DeJoy still be allowed in a position of public trust?
There are more…..
twbrandt
He’s in better shape than I am and I’m 13 years younger.
Jay
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/wildfire-grows-into-one-of-largest-in-texas-history-as-flames-menace-multiple-small-towns-1.6788355
Princess
Haha, this is hilarious. He literally sounds like me right down to the Flonase. Okay, I don’t have neuropathy…yet.
TeezySkeezy
No.
NotMax
Better than Dolt 45, with acute autoimmune disorder.
//
AlaskaReader
@Unabogie: Why?
Look no further than Republicans and Trump’s WhiteHouse chief of staff.
Unabogie
@AlaskaReader: I get that they are in the tank for pharma generally, but this is a specific supplier who would have been tasked with procuring the drugs. That person can charge whatever they want and take a commission, so instead of buying $300 worth, they bought $50,000 worth. Someone just pocketed that cash. Maybe they even bought the generics and just said they bought the name brand?
Ladyraxterinok
@Harrison Wesley:
I learned about this when my brother (83 in July) was diagnosed with this.
He walks carefully.
Geminid
I saw some good news in the Times of Israel. National Security Minister and political arsonist Itamar Ben-Gvir had declared restrictions on Arab citizens attending Ramadan services next month on top the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Last year hundreds of thousands attended.Today Israel’s War Cabinet rescinded the restrictions and said they, not Ben-Gvir, would determine policy in this area.
Ben-Gvir wants to start a civil war to go along with the war on Gaza. Last Saturday night, he instructed police to break up demonstrations in Tel Aviv with water cannons and mounted police. The demonstrators say they are coming back this Saturday and bringing everyone else they can.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
Since we’re talking about health, is it normal to see sparkles when you cough? Very occasionally it spatters my vision, looks almost digital in nature.
Only other time I saw it, I took a real good slap so I’m wondering if I’m dinging something.
Jackie
@Kay:
If only he’d follow TIFG’s diet and exercise regimen! //
Biden exercises regularly – in part to burn off the ice cream calories he consumes daily? – but, ya, he’s got that natural skinny gene we all wish we had.
Kay
@AlaskaReader:
I read that Louis DeJoy has gained the trust of Democrats. He helped push a postal reform bill (with funding) thru Congress – he got GOP Senators to sign on. Supposedly he gets along with the postal unions and people in the USPS now trust him.
Biden and DeJoy plans would convert 100k part time postal jobs to full time, which, speaking as a former USPS employee and manager, is amazing. We were constantly being told we couldn’t move anyone to full time permanent.
Baud
@Geminid:
That is a bit of good news.
Geminid
@Baud: The Al Aqsa compound on top of the Temple Mount is 37 acres in area. I saw a picture of it last year, on the last night of Ramadan. It was packed with worshippers..
Baud
@Geminid:
I believe it’s the third holiest site in Islam.
Doc Sardonic
I’m not quite 20 years younger than Biden and can testify that the sensory neuropathy can wreak havoc on your balance and stability on your feet, and the spinal arthritis (fortunately the report did not mention stenosis) just adds to the fun. The spinal arthritis can make the sensory neuropathy worse at times, which can have a greater effect on gait and stability.
Jackie
This quietly happened:
Geminid
@Baud: Almost 20% of Israeli citizens are Arab, and most of these are Muslims. Barring men under age 40 from Ramadan services on the Mount, as Ben-Gvir intended, would have been a grave insult.
During the 11-day Gaza war in May of 2021, there was rioting between Jews and Arabs in Israel’s mixed cities. Westerners were mainly upset about Israel bombing Gaza and Hamas firing rockets into Israel, but Israeli media seemed much more disturbed by the rioting. So far this war has not caused that sort of inter-communal strife, but Ben-Gvir wanted to change that.
Geminid
@Jackie: Also today, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Assembly’s law creating the state’s new Congressional map. It’s fairly close to the one released by the Independent Redistricting Commission, which in turn tracked the one devised by a special master for the 2022 election. Democrats like Tom Watson are hopping mad about this.
Juju
@Kay: He needs to eat multiple peanut butter cups late at night. That has always worked for me, unfortunately.
Scout211
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: In consultation with Dr. Google, it appears that seeing sparkles while coughing or sneezing is not unusual. It usually occurs when you squeeze your eyes shut while doing either.
I get sparkles occasionally but I have recurring vitreous detachments (bursts of floaters) that cause sparkles when they burst and then last for a couple of days.
Dr. Google says there are many other reasons why people see sparkles but it sounds like if you are aware that it happens while coughing you likely don’t have one of the more serious conditions.
And try not to squeeze your eyes shut when you cough.
pluky
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Get your retinas checked STAT. I’m seriously myopic with pinhole defects in my retinas. The ophthalmologist cautioned me to beware of just what you describe as an early warning sign of tears or detachment.
Steve in the ATL
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: weren’t you told not to take the brown acid?
wjca
Well, that’s what happens when you don’t rake the prairie.
/s
Scout211
@pluky: when I saw my retina specialist, he explained that a retinal detachment may have sparkles but it is marked by a much more serious curtain-like effect (like a curtain coming down over your affected eye and blocking your vision).
The vitreous detachments I have are mostly sparkles, with no curtain coming down.
But getting an ophthalmologist’s opinion is always superior to Dr, Google, so that is good advice for The Kropenhagen Interpretation.
Matt McIrvin
Yeah, about half of the things on that list are things I’ve got, and I’m a hell of a lot younger than him.
Jackie
@Geminid:
Why? I did a quick Google search and came up empty.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@pluky: Understood. I’m overdue for an optometrist visit anyway.
cain
@Jay:
Trust that Abbott is not going to be doing much.
Uncle Cosmo
@Eyeroller: FTR Crestor is available as a generic (rosuvastatin). I take it in generic form and as a tier 1 drug, my Medicare Part D plan provides it for free.
Ohio Mom
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: IMO, you will get a more thorough exam from an ophthalmologist (who is a medical doctor).
Plus, if there is, or ever is, something wrong with any part of your eye, you will need an ophthalmologist, so might as well establish a relationship with one now. As the old saying goes, the best time to look for a doctor is before you need one.
rikyrah
Biden’s time in government is his superpower
AlaskaReader
@Unabogie: The Director of the White House Military Office has oversight of the White House Medical Unit which runs the White House pharmacy services.
In Trump’s term the Director of the Military Office was Keith Davids, the Director of the Medical Unit was Ronnie Jackson.
Mark Meadows was Trump’s White House chief of staff.
The ongoing military investigation into the matter may identify a specific person who directed the purchases of brand drugs and other crimes committed under those above named Directors.
I pointed at Meadows because I believe, between he and Trump, they both micro-managed every facet of the comings and goings at the Trump White House.
AlaskaReader
@Kay: I still see him as an embed. I can’t give the benefit of the doubt to any Republican, let alone a Republican appointee of Trump.
It appears he’s ‘playing nice’ to preserve his position, but that doesn’t excuse him for lining his pockets with contracts, (Louis DeJoy held investments in 14 companies that have done business with the U.S. Postal Service when he took office as U.S. postmaster general), or for his hand in disrupting the vote.
Count me as thinking we can do better.
Geminid
@Jackie: Watson thinks NY Assembly Democrats could have gained more of an advantage for Democratic candidates and still complied with NY antigerrymandering law. The Democratic majority was too cautious, he felt.
Betty
@AlaskaReader: I agree. The postal service should be treated as a public service, not a business.
evodevo
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation:
Have an eyecare provider check your retinas – mine looks at it when I go in once a year.
Subsole
@Kay: I suspect the Stimso were to help counteract the massive volume of downers being handed out.
Y’know. Like drinking a bottle of green label to take the edge off the crank.