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Darwin also suffered from chronic health problems for his entire adult life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_of_Charles_Darwin https://en.wikipedia.org/wik

Darwin also suffered from chronic health problems for his entire adult life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_of_Charles_Darwin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_of_Charles_Darwin "For over forty years Darwin suffered intermittently from various combinations of symptoms such as: malaise, vertigo, dizziness, muscle spasms and tremors, vomiting, cramps and colics, bloating and nocturnal intestinal gas, headaches, alterations of vision, severe tiredness, nervous exhaustion, dyspnea, skin problems such as blisters all over the scalp and eczema, crying, anxiety, sensation of impending death and loss of consciousness, fainting, tachycardia, insomnia, tinnitus, and depression." The time integral of his suffering must be enormous. I'm a little horrified that a man so famous can suffer so much, and yet almost no one knows about it. They remember him for his achievements; but the countless days he spent in pain are forgotten.

JJMcJ 7y ago
Some think it was Chagas disease, contracted while he was in South America during the Beagle's voyage.
- jl2718 7y ago
  I’ve just discovered that I’ve been living for with blood parasites from my travels many years ago. It’s been really terrible, chronic inflammation, years of doctors telling me that nothing is wrong. I only discovered it because one of the symptoms got so bad without explanation that I bought and refubished an old microscope and started looking at things for the last few months. First I saw their eggs, and I thought they were white blood cells. There were millions of them, but my WBC counts came back low. After a few months I finally saw one of the little monsters. I sent photos to my doctors and they ignored them. Finally, I got a video call with a doctor, went through the whole procedure with them and found one on the call. This got their attention, but they couldn’t re-order labs because they had already come back negative. The proper tests/treatment are very specific and expensive in the US, nearly impossible to get approved by insurance, although they are given for free in the third world. This stuff happens. Native people generally develop some form of neonatal immunity or tolerance. Travelers mostly stay safe in leisure travel, but some studies show it to be less rare than expected. For me it took a combination of an untreated flesh wound, and a flood of contaminated water. I’m reminded of the blood parasites support group in Fight Club. I can’t even begin to tell you how much of my life I’ve lost to this.
  - 70jS8h5L 7y ago
    I'm curious, what happens next for you? What is the treatment for the parasites?
trevyn 7y ago
Keep in mind that one of the definitions of the word “suffer” is “to undergo or experience (any action, process, or condition)”. The article you link to also mentions that Darwin himself found upsides to his condition, which implies that the integral of the suffering (now using the emotionally-valenced definition of the word) may not have been of the magnitude you imagine, nor even necessarily negative. On a related and curious note, I have found fainting to be one of the most pleasurable experiences.

JJMcJ 7y ago

Some think it was Chagas disease, contracted while he was in South America during the Beagle's voyage.

jl2718 7y ago
I’ve just discovered that I’ve been living for with blood parasites from my travels many years ago. It’s been really terrible, chronic inflammation, years of doctors telling me that nothing is wrong. I only discovered it because one of the symptoms got so bad without explanation that I bought and refubished an old microscope and started looking at things for the last few months. First I saw their eggs, and I thought they were white blood cells. There were millions of them, but my WBC counts came back low. After a few months I finally saw one of the little monsters. I sent photos to my doctors and they ignored them. Finally, I got a video call with a doctor, went through the whole procedure with them and found one on the call. This got their attention, but they couldn’t re-order labs because they had already come back negative. The proper tests/treatment are very specific and expensive in the US, nearly impossible to get approved by insurance, although they are given for free in the third world. This stuff happens. Native people generally develop some form of neonatal immunity or tolerance. Travelers mostly stay safe in leisure travel, but some studies show it to be less rare than expected. For me it took a combination of an untreated flesh wound, and a flood of contaminated water. I’m reminded of the blood parasites support group in Fight Club. I can’t even begin to tell you how much of my life I’ve lost to this.
- 70jS8h5L 7y ago
  I'm curious, what happens next for you? What is the treatment for the parasites?

trevyn 7y ago

Keep in mind that one of the definitions of the word “suffer” is “to undergo or experience (any action, process, or condition)”. The article you link to also mentions that Darwin himself found upsides to his condition, which implies that the integral of the suffering (now using the emotionally-valenced definition of the word) may not have been of the magnitude you imagine, nor even necessarily negative. On a related and curious note, I have found fainting to be one of the most pleasurable experiences.