Keith and Tourette's

[Scott Schrade]

This thread got me to wondering what Tony Fletcher had to say
on the subject in his exhaustive Moon bio DEAR BOY.  I think
we'd all agree that Mr. Fletcher's opinion should be given some
weight since he spent so much time researching our favorite 
drummer.  (Page numbers sited are from the first British edition.)

==========
[Keith's] inability to focus at length on any one project that saw
him quickly tire of his...train sets, his habit of interrupting & speaking
out of turn that was taken for mischievous insolence, the perfect
mimicry that was exemplified in his...impersonations, the restless
nature that had begun manifesting itself in constant fidgeting & agi-
tation, these were classic indicators of hyperactivity, a problem that
had been with Keith throughout his childhood & was now threaten-
ing his adolescence.  (Page 15)
==========
Keith's adult problems were to be the textbook worse case 
scenario of untreated hyperactivity, in which depression, psychiatric 
disorders (including Borderline Personality Disorder & elements
of schizophrenia), alcohol & drug abuse, & antisocial & violent
behaviour all helped chase him into an early grave.  (Page 16) 
==========
The results of Keith's heavy boozing mixed with cocktails of potent
drugs was to induce in him memory lapses & a considerable dose
of paranoia.  (Page 149)
==========
Off he went again, on one of these mental excursions...  It wasn't
drink-related, not drug-related.  It was like an entirely different per-
sonality taking over, as though there was more than one individual
taking refuge in Keith's unsettled mind.  (Page 165)
==========
"He just wasn't a rational person," says Kim [Moon].  "I don't know 
if he was clinically schizophrenic, but he really was lots & lots of 
different people.  He was very difficult to deal with."  (Page 242)
==========
Clearly, Keith needed psychiatric help.  Perhaps if he had been treated
& diagnosed at this point in time (1969), when his violent alter ego
began emerging from the shadows with alarming frequency, his
personal demons could have been confronted, his rage brought under 
control....  (Page 242)
==========
In all likelihood, Keith was suffering from Borderline Personality
Disorder.  BPD...does not indicate that a patient is on the borderline
of illness, but that the Disorder itself is one on the borderline between
neurosis & psychosis.  (Page 338)
==========
[Scottish-born doctor] Meg Patterson...had seen many rock stars
over recent years, some of them in very bad shape, particularly those
with heroin addictions.  But still Keith, who never went near the needle,
stood out.  They had a lengthy conversation in which Keith talked in
detail about his problems both physical & emotional...  "You don't 
need my treatment," she said.  "What you need is Jesus Christ."  To
her astonishment, Keith looked right back at her, & said, "I absolute-
ly agree with you, but how do I find Him?"  (Page 449)
==========
To compound Keith's medical problems, while at Cedars-Sinai he
had a seizure.  To the uninitiated -- as had been the case when he had
a similar attack in front of Kim some five years earlier -- it looked
like an epileptic fit, & indeed, the condition he was pronounced
to suffer from is referred to as status epilepticus.  But...he was not 
actually an epileptic.  His attack was the result of sudden withdrawal
from alcohol and/or cocaine.  (Page 485)
==========
[Doctor] Geoffrey Dymond...put him on a course of Heminevrin,
the brand name for the compound chlormethiazole, which is officially
described as being for use 'in the treatment of insomnia, psychosis,
alcohol withdrawal symptoms & status epilepticus.'  (Page 512)
==========

I couldn't find any references to Tourette's syndrome.  If you want to
know about Keith Moon -- read this book.  I left out a lot concerning
the traits of Borderline Personality Disorder & how Keith's actions
fit those descriptions.


- SCHRADE in Akron