In order to mark what would have been her 100th birthday, The Wizard of Oz will be playing in select cinemas across America, with the 10th annual Night of a Thousand Judys event taking place in New York, featuring musical theatre performances and celebrating LGBTQ+ month in her honour. But along with celebrating her birthday, fans of the musical icon are remembered of her health struggles in real life. Garland battled insomnia, depression, acute hepatitis, addiction and liver problems which sadly led to the end of her life which occurred soon after the star had been performing a series of comeback performances at London’s Talk of the Town club in early 1968.
During her later performances, Garland was hounded by the media, and in her obituary it was noted that she looked like a “walking casualty” , especially as she had lost a great deal of weight towards the end of her life.
Garland was plagued by health issues ever since she was a child actor. It is reported that she was given “pep pills” in order to suppress her appetite as a youngster and sleeping pills at night.
Her weight drew constant criticism from Louis B. Mayer and other studio executives which sparked a lifetime of insecurities and her dependence on certain medications which would keep her at a slim weight.
Although the Over the Rainbow singer managed to put in legendary performances like the one at Carnegie Hall back in 1961, one article listed that she suffered from “exhaustion, kidney ailments, nervous breakdowns, near-fatal drug reactions, overweight, underweight and injuries suffered in falls”.
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“She let her guard down. She didn’t die from an overdose. I think she just got tired,” her daughter and performing icon Liza Minnelli said in a 1972 interview.
“She lived like a taut wire. I don’t think she ever looked for real happiness, because she always thought happiness would mean the end.”
Acute Hepatitis
Being admitted to hospital with acute hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver in 1959, Garland’s intoxication with a variety of drugs had caused permanent damage to her body. The NHS explains that hepatitis is the term used to describe inflammation of the liver.
Usually a result of a viral infection, the virus can also be caused by liver damage or drinking alcohol. There are several different types of hepatitis ranging from A-E and another known as alcohol hepatitis.
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For those who stop drinking excessive amounts, the liver can usually recover from hepatitis, but for others it leads to cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver failure or liver cancer. Other symptoms that may also develop include:
- Muscle and joint pain
- A high temperature
- Feeling and being sick
- Feeling unusually tired all the time
- A general sense of feeling unwell
- Loss of appetite
- Tummy pain
- Dark urine
- Pale, grey-coloured poo
- Itchy skin
- Yellowing of the eyes and skin (jaundice).
Cirrhosis
As Garland failed to stop drinking or taking drugs, even after developing acute hepatitis, the star developed cirrhosis -a condition that prevents the liver working properly due to scarring.
Sometimes called end-stage liver disease, cirrhosis can cause serious complications and put an individual’s life at risk. Although individuals may not experience symptoms in the early days of cirrhosis, as the liver becomes more damaged individuals may feel weak and tired, nauseous and start to rapidly lose weight.
The NHS notes that if cirrhosis gets worse, some of the symptoms and complications include:
- Yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice)
- Vomiting blood
- Itchy skin
- Dark pee and tarry-looking poo
- Bleeding or bruising easily
- Swollen legs (oedema) or tummy (ascites) from a build-up of fluid
- Loss of sex drive (libido).
There is currently no cure for cirrhosis and those who are diagnosed can only learn to manage symptoms and try their best to prevent complications to slow the disease’s progression.
If your liver is severely damaged, a liver transplant may be the only treatment option. For those who have developed cirrhosis due to drinking alcohol, they are provided with support and guidance to stop drinking altogether.
Perpetual Exhaustion
Although not sounding as serious as her other ailments, exhaustion can be a debilitating condition that severely affects an individual’s ability to function. Exhaustion, also known as fatigue, becomes a problem when it continues day to day, affecting an individuals health and safety.
“Exhaustion is overwhelming,” says nutritionist Jennie Gough. “It’s not like normal tiredness. It’s like you’re trying to move through thick mud, and think through thick fog. All you want to do is lie down and sleep – and then sleep some more, after that. You can’t function because everything leaves you wiped out.”
If your exhaustion has continued for over four months, then you may be diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). According to the NHS, CFS is a long-term illness with a wide range of symptoms, the main one being extreme tiredness.
Kidney Failure
Another major health condition Garland battled was kidney failure.This occurs when the organs become unable to filter waste products from the blood. When this happens, dangerous levels of waste then accumulate causing the body’s chemicals to become unbalanced.
Acute kidney failure, also called acute renal failure or acute kidney injury, develops rapidly, usually in less than a few days. Symptoms of acute kidney failure typically include:
- Decreased urine output, although occasionally urine output remains normal
- Fluid retention, causing swelling in your legs, ankles or feet
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Confusion
- Nausea
- Weakness
- Irregular heartbeat
- Chest pain or pressure
- Seizures or coma in severe cases.
Treatment for kidney failure usually requires a stay in hospital where the underlying cause is treated. The causes of the condition usually range from having a condition that slows blood flow to the kidneys to the kidney’s urine drainage tubes becoming blocked.
Through all of her ill health, Garland remains an icon, and as one journalist perfectly summed up: “Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the career of Judy Garland was that she was able to continue as long as she did—long after her voice had failed and long after her physical reserves had been spent in various illnesses that might have left a less tenacious woman an invalid.”
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