I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

Momine

About planes, yes, flying can contribute to blood clots. After chemo, I wear support hose when I fly to help prevent clotting. I also get up and do stretching exercises in the aisle.

bluedahlia

We parkies noticed a definite tremor in his hands.  Might be Parkinson's or Essential Tremor.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=79155&highlight=clinton

River_Rat

I was reading that Hillary had the flu shortly before her fall so it may be that the flu resulted in increased inactivity which could also lead to a clot - hard to tell.  Lots of people get clots as they age too so I doubt we'll ever know for sure what caused the clot.

1Athena1

Ahhhh that explains it, Lindasa.

Kam - the clot could have even formed in recent days because she obviously spent a lot of time in bed. Some of these are very aggressive, others are sneaky. You can have clots that are small and harmless for a while - that is my understanding, atr any rate.

But this is rather concerning:

Hillary in 2008:

Hillary today:

Never liked her and hope to God she doesn't run for president - but I wish her health and this increased frailty is worrisome.

pupmom

Hillary was so pretty when Bill was first elected. But she is not aging well. I think she's working herself to death and really needs to take a break. I agree that Bill doesn't look very well either, but I believe he is healthy. He's just overdone the weight loss thing.

lassie11

My injury was in my shoulder, yet the blood clot went to my lung. Sneaky little critters who can go wherever they want.

eta - the doctor said it was not expected that a blood clot would come from my injury although it did. I can see no reason why Hillary's concussion and/or frequent air flights might not have caused something similar. The Enquirer might not be my first choice for solid information. Further, the guy on CNN doesn't know where her clot went so he can't say whether anti coagulants would be the appropriate treatment.

YramAL

I wouldn't put much stock in the veracity of a National Enquirer article. That being said, I wish Hilary well and pray for her full recovery from whatever is troubling her. 

Athena-I think your pictures show some weight gain, but most of all what I have noticed is her hairstyles(or lack thereof). It's too bad but we do have a double standard about how our politicians should look. I don't know why she's going for the long, limp gray hair look these days. 

Plus, I wouldn't want anyone to compare pictures of me from now and 5 years ago.

Mary

pupmom

Mary, it's also the fact that she pulls it back so severely. Definitely NOT attractive. And I agree, no comparing of my pictures from 5 years ago with current ones, please!

1Athena1

Mary -What most concerns me is her pallor and how she has aged. She is also not one of those women who looks good with the hair taken back like that, as her face shape is not that pretty. I think her previous style really enhanced her good features - including her hair. I think she went for the "elderly stateswoman" look.

As for the men - we all know what happens and they can never hide it. They enter office with dark hair and leave it with white. Obama is headed that way BUT he doesn't look frail or unhealthy as the Clintons do.

The National Enquirer is a rag that lies and should not even be mentioned in decent company - lol! I think I would believe Fixed Noise first.

bluedahlia

They sometimes get things right!  LOL! Remember Edwards?

1Athena1

Yes, they certainly do, but they have been killing the Clintons for decades now. Oprah too. Their favorite dx is always brain cancer, too.

crazy4carrots

I vaguely remember reading that Hilary wasn't prepared to travel with a hairdresser, and that the long hair, handily pulled back with a scrunchy or clip, was the easiest to manage.

208sandy

Lewing - fabulous picture, love, love, love the description of the location and the food - how wonderful.

 It is 39 years ago today (actually almost to the minute) that I was married to my beloved Joe - at City Hall in Calgary - I wore a dress from Mexico that had pointsettias embroidered along the Nehru collar - it was cream coloured with red and green and yellow embroidery - it was actually just a long nightshirt and I loved it - our reception was at a friend's house and catered by me, the friend and my sister (who flew in from Montreal as a surprise) - I even made my own cake Maple Nut Chiffon with flowers in the center - we had only four people at the ceremony but 50 at the reception - it is a beautiful memory...

Here's to at least 39 happy years for you and Eric.

1Athena1

Clinton has tremors - maybe he is shaking from hunger at depriving himself of animal protein...

I wonder now....Tremors are a frequent side effect of some medication. I don't know what Clinton is on, if anything, but it would be my first guess. You folks would know better, though, Blue.

A sidebar on tremors from meds: Tremors from meds are hell on wheels and very embarrassing. I used to get tremors from a med I still take that were so severe that I could not write or sign my name for months. Another med I went on gave me such severe tremors that my entire torso would shake - it's hardly believable unless one experiences it.

RetiredLibby

(((((Sandy)))))

bluedahlia

Sandy, great memories!

Athena, was it Adderal?  Very embarrassing when one can't control their movement.

1Athena1

No - stimulants are contraindicated for me and I don't have a need for them anyway. It was Lithuim and then Lexapro. I take both to this day (Lexapro only PRN). Some meds have that bizarre characteristic - a really strong SE will appear and then disappear after several months.

Beta blockers are sometimes used to combat tremors. Who knows if or what Clinton is on. If he takes a beta blocker, then the tremor would likely be due to another cause.

QuinnCat

As we age, having a little extra fat smoothes out the skin, so losing weight in the face often makes us look older after having those fat pads underneath.  Conversely, having thicker skin also smooths things out..."Black don't crack."   For the record, Bill Clinton is Vegan, not just Vegetarian.  He eats nothing with a mother.   It appears to me that Bill has thin skin (literally) and it makes his blood vessels beneath his skin more noticeable.  That with his tremor and weaker voice (what I notice most), make him appear unhealthy.  I bet his arteries are the healthiest of his life, though.  Why he has tremors and a weak voice...I guess that is speculation.  He has been through a lot.

I don't mean this in a mean way, but Hilary hasn't had time for a face lift!!  I've noticed Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi all look rejuevenated after a long Congressional break.  (Diane Feinstein, imo, has had too many "breaks," if you know what I mean.)  I think we are so use to seeing women in their 60's, in public life, who have had face lifts, we don't know what a real 60 year old women looks like anymore under harsh tv lights in high definition.

I still have a question about airplane flight.  How long would an airplaine flight(s) induced clot last?  This doctor was trying to link her extensive flying, possibly, to her current clot.  I would think after a few weeks, that would no longer be a factor.

bluedahlia

True.  There is no definitive test for Parkinson's.  Many are misdiagnosed.  Stiffness, tremor, loss of arm swing, bradykinesia, masked look and weak voice are the dead give-aways.

1Athena1

Kam, there is no fail safe data on that, to my knowledge. But even if you are stuck in economy for ages and ages, you can do stretching and muscle contracting leg exercises to reduce that risk of a blood clot and a PE. You can move your toes or gently massage your legs. The length of the flight per se is not a problem as long as you keep your circulation going.

Vegans don't even eat plants?

1Athena1

Blue, now I am curious - has anyone in your PD community looked into whether Clinton is on any prescription meds - perhaps for his heart or something else, and whether that could explain a tremor?

bluedahlia

Not that I know of but the comments I read on several blogs all say he has PD.  Hope not.  But his would be age related and not young onset, which is what I have and has an entirely different treatment plan.  The levodopa has very bad side effects so they try to keep us away from that med if one has young onset, for as long as possible.  If one is older then they start them on the levodopa right away but that doesn't really do much for tremor.

1Athena1

Did he have any risk factors for PD that you know of?

bluedahlia

Just like cancer, PD is a complicated disease.  Some are tremor dominant, some are stiff as a board (me).

bluedahlia

Not unless he had his dna tested.  I did and I don't have the LRRK genes, but got it anyways.....go figure.

pupmom

My MIL had PD for many years. She died 11 years ago at age 91 from something else. My DH's left leg is starting to shake and I'm worried he has it too. He sees the dr. on Wednesday.

1Athena1

I see. Bipolar, on the other hand, is one of the most heritable of illnesses. That is, most children of a bipolar parent will not get it, but there are almost no known cases of someone who is bipolar NOT having a parent (My father, in my case.) or grandparent with the disorder or with depression. Bipolar is more heritable than schizophrenia. There is no one gene associated with it, though.

(The only other case in which a person can be classified for clinical reasons as bipolar is if the initial diagnosis is depression, the person is given anti-depressants and subsequently suffers from symptoms of mania. That is bipolar due to medication.)

bluedahlia

Schizophrenia is too much dopamine in the brain, PD is not enough dopamine in the brain.

YramAL

My brother had early onset Parkinson's.(35 at diagnosis) He died at 43 of pneumonia.  My mom is 85. I have decided that if I'm diagnosed before she dies, I will not tell her. I don't think I have it, but even so, my breast cancer diagnosis was hard enough on her. 

Blue-you are so lucky that you could have the DBS. My brother's dementia was so far progressed(from the meds? from the Parkinson's? Who knows?) that he was not a candidate. I know it's not all a piece of cake for you, though. 

Mary

bluedahlia

No its not a cure and the disease does progress.  It has managed my dyskinesias which were killing me.