Dan Patrick took time out of his radio show on Thursday to address health concerns that have plagued the sports broadcasting legend for seven years. He revealed that he suffers from Polymyalgia Rheumatica, which causes severe join pain. Patrick described the condition as being “like having the flu, only you’re not nauseous.”
Initially he was prescribed Prednisone for the disease. Patrick called it “a great drug, but it’s a horrible drug.” He said that the drug treated his joint pain, but there were side effects including depression and suicidal thoughts.
Patrick went on to say that he now receives light doses of chemotherapy to treat his Polymyalgia Rheumatica. He goes to a hospital in New York and receives treatment through an IV for an hour once per month.
Both the host and the Danettes said they can tell a difference in how Dan Patrick moves since starting the IV treatments. Paulie said that he noticed that Dan doesn’t go through the intense stretching routine he used to.
There are side effects to the new treatment which Patrick said he wanted the audience to be aware of. One of them is memory loss. He described a struggle to remember Albert Pujols’s name in the middle of a segment last week and credited Paulie with being quick with reminders when it is clear Dan has lost his train of thought.
The full segment is below. In it, Dan Patrick fights back tears as he talks about his pain and self-medicating with Vicodin and alcohol.
