Michael Jackson's Health Problems

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The problem with being a superstar is that all eyes are focused on you. One small move and it is already documented, talked about and dissected. So you can just imagine what Michael Jackson had to go through when through the years his appearance started to change.

MJ started to change his look drastically. And this was no simple hairdo makeover or fashion change. Michael grew up in front of many people as the lead singer of the Jacksons 5 when he was very young - and it is well-established that he is of African-American descent.

But by the mid-1980s, the changes were harder to ignore. His skin tone started to become whiter and whiter. His nose suffered an injury while he was working on a musical project. Because of this he underwent rhinoplasty or nose surgery. He was also observed to have undergone a forehead lift, cheekbone surgery and an altering of the lips. This was even more marked during his later years: his hair was now straight; his entire body was of a white skin tone, his lips seemed to have enlarged a bit and he had a cleft chin put up.

Imagine by the year 1990, close friends of Michael Jackson have estimated that he already had ten cosmetic procedures. If that was a fast trend for him, just how many more did he do after 19 years?

A friend of Michael for 20 years, Dr. Deepak Chopra had this to say: "What became his compulsion with cosmetic surgery was an expression of self-mutilation, a total lack of respect for himself."

In a move that is still being argued as just a PR move, MJ was said to have been diagnosed in the mid-1980s to have the condition called vitiligo. This announcement was pronounced in the midst of rumors that he was bleaching his skin. Vitiligo is a condition where patches of skin seem to lose its melanin and become a bit white.

Michael has also been said to have the lethal condition that is lupus which made him sensitive to sunlight. Because of this he depended on Solaquin, Tretinoin and Benoquin to compensate. He was also applying hydroxychloroquine injections in his scalp for the same purpose.

According to J. Randy Taraborrelli, these medications contributed to his paler skin.

His weight also plummeted down because he had this desire to be in a dancer's body, so to speak. His lowest weight was at 105 pounds and mind you, he was five foot eleven.

Another issue with Michael has been his dependence on prescription drugs especially painkillers and strong sedatives. Because of these, it has been widely observed that his health deteriorated. MJ admitted this in 1993 when he said that he was taking painkillers Valium, Xanax and Ativan to try to compensate with the stress of dealing with the child sexual abuse charges hailed against him.

Right at this time, MJ was said to have lost about ten pounds and has stopped eating regularly. He would then be observed to be drowsy and lacked concentration. This then triggered speculations that MJ was suffering from anorexia nervosa.

In fact, in 1995 Michael Jackson was rushed to the hospital after collapsing during rehearsals for a televised performance which was subsequently cancelled. This is why during the onset of the news that MJ was now dead, several showbiz gossip columnists such as Perez Hilton dismissed it as a publicity stunt - because it had a precedent.

But as it turned out it was no joke or PR campaign. It was real. The king of pop succumbed early and was gone too soon.

Michael Jackson's health problems were for real.