I know (from polls) that most of you don’t subscribe to The Washington Post, so as a service I am excerpting the evidence offered by sometimes satirical and sometimes and serious columnist Dana Milbank that Trump has overdosed on hydroxychloroquine. (Link $)
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This satirical and some would say sarcastic OpEd is especially timely because Trump has ridiculously latched onto the explanation that his ludicrously ignorant claims about ultraviolet light and bleach were meant as sarcasm to bait the reporters at his briefing. I wonder if anyone would dare include it among his daily press clippings to help him understand what sarcasm actually means.
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Dana Milbank explains that while he isn’t actually a doctor he’s like Trump, who claims he got his natural medical instinct from his uncle who was a scientist, because he too has a natural instinct for science because his brother is a urologist. He was a member of Skull and Bones at Yale though I doubt you had to have aced an anatomy class and be pre-med to be selected to join.
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With this medical instinct he concluded “that hydroxychloroquine abuse has caused Trump and some top aides and allies to suffer a condition we experts refer to as acute nuttiness.”
First, it is scientifically obvious from Trump’s enthusiasm for hydroxychloroquine that he has been using it himself. While taking the drugs, he has not succumbed to coronavirus. He has concluded, therefore, based on his study population (N=1), that the drugs prevent coronavirus 100 percent of the time.
To this I can add clinical evidence, derived from searching the Mayo Clinic’s website for side effects of azithromycin, hydroxychloroquine and its cousin, chloroquine. Among them, I found: “change in hair color” (Trump has recently faded from orange to gray), “discoloration of the skin” (originally and mistakenly attributed to tanning beds), “trouble sleeping” (see his overnight tweets), “noisy breathing” (that gasping during his Oval Office address), “difficulty with speaking” (whenever using a teleprompter), “runny nose,” (the sniffing!) and “unusual facial expressions” (‘nuff said).
Also, consider the mental side effects the drugs can cause: Irritability. Confusion. Aggression. Anger. Hostility. Quickness to react or overreact emotionally. Unusual behavior. Unsteadiness. Severe mood or mental changes. Restlessness. Paranoia. Depersonalization (an emotional “numbness”). Feeling that others are watching you or controlling your behavior. Feeling that others can hear your thoughts. Feeling, seeing or hearing things that are not there.
Confusion, paranoia, aggression, unsteadiness, severe mental shifts: These would seem to describe not just the president’s actions of late but those of some top aides and allies.
Milbank concludes with a reference to an article in The Guardian which you can read: French researchers to test nicotine patches on coronavirus patients. He suggests that Trump might “distribute to every ICU in America a case of Marlboros from the national stockpile.”
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He concludes:
“Patients, after a rejuvenating lung cleaning, can enjoy a smoke with their chloroquine cocktail.”
I would add that Milbank’s description of new physical symptoms are easily observed the mental side effects of the drug have been present for years and are indications of a serious case of malignant narcissism and having a delusional disorder. Perhaps his overdose has exacerbated them because they have certainly gotten worse.
Today, the most recent interview with John Gartner:
The latest from Bandy Lee:
CONSIDERING HIS BEHAVIOR OVER THE LAST WEEK HOW LIKELY DO YOU THINK IT IS THAT TRUMP WILL SUFFER A PSYCHOTIC BREAK IF THE COVID-19 NEWS CONTINUES TO BE BAD? 5 = HIGH TO 0 = VERY LOW OR NONE
Box 1 Positive psychotic symptoms
Clear symptoms (one or more needed for a diagnosis of schizophrenia)
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Paranoid delusion: Any delusion that refers back to the self—in practice, most are persecutory delusions. Grandiose delusions (such as special powers or missions) occur in schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder
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Delusions of thought interference: Delusions that others can hear, read, insert, or steal the patient's thoughts
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Passivity phenomena: Delusional beliefs or perceptions that others can control the patient's will, limb movements, bodily functions, or feelings
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Thought echo: The patient hears their own thoughts spoken aloud ()
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Third person auditory hallucinations (voices speaking about the patient): These may include a running commentary on the patient's actions; these are common in non-affective psychoses
Less clear symptoms (one or more needed for a diagnosis of schizophrenia)
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Hallucinations in any modality without clear affective content
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Second person auditory hallucinations (voices speaking to the patient): These may include command hallucinations (“run out the door”); these are common in depression, where they are demotivating or abusive (“you're useless”)
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Thought disorder: Breaks in the train of thought (thought block), excessive attention to unnecessary detail (overinclusive thinking), and difficulties in abstract thinking (for example, cannot explain proverbs or common sayings)
Box 2 Negative psychotic symptoms (less clear symptoms; on their own, at least two of these symptoms are needed to diagnose schizophrenia)
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Apathy (disinterest) manifested as blunted affect
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Emotional withdrawal: flat affect
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Odd or incongruous affect (for example, the patient smiles when recounting sad events, and vice versa)
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Lack of attention to appearance or personal hygiene
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Poor rapport: reduced verbal and non-verbal communication (for example, eye contact)
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Lack of spontaneity and flow of conversation