Health of Vincent van Gogh

Van Gogh suffered from some seizures or crises, and in one of these attacks, on 23 December 1888, he cut off a part, or possibly all, of his left ear.

Initial attacks of confusion and unconsciousness were followed by periods of stupor and incoherence, during which he was generally unable to paint, draw, or even write letters.

He was unable to sleep for three weeks before his diagnosis of gonorrhea in The Hague (sleeplessness and fever probably due to infectious disease).

[14] Van Gogh reported his impotence to Theo, his brother, in the summer after he arrived in Arles,[15] and a month later, when he wrote to Bernard, it seemed to still be very much on his mind.

After she declined his marriage proposal, he had his first psychotic break, which caused him to change his entire life in order to devote it to God.

One author points out that "[T]here was a family history of mental illness",[23] and Van Gogh displayed symptoms of bipolar disorder, in which heredity plays a significant role.

[22] Van Gogh indulged in various activities which undermined his health, such as constant smoking, excessive alcohol and coffee consumption, and eating poorly, even fasting at times.

In January 1890, after another one of Vincent's seizures, Theo wrote to him, saying "if you know that it is dangerous for you to have colours near you, why don't you clear them away for a time, and make drawings?

"[27] Theo's alarm is somewhat reduced after hearing from Vincent, and five days later he explained: In [Doctor Peyron's] first letter he gave me to understand that it was dangerous for you to go on painting, as the colours were poison to you, but he went a little too far, which might have been due to his having relied on unverified rumours, as he himself was ill at the time.

Van Gogh himself thought that he might have epilepsy[29] and his doctor Dr. Félix Rey at the Old Hospital in Arles made the same general diagnosis,[30] as did Dr. Peyron at St Rémy.

[34] Furthermore, it seems that Vincent's condition was controlled by the administration of bromide, which is effective against grand mal seizures, as well as absinthe intoxication and porphyria, but not for temporal lobe epilepsy.

[36] It has been suggested that Van Gogh was not just bipolar, but that the crises in his last two years were brought about by the additional effect of thujone poisoning from his consumption of absinthe.

[44] The hypothesis that Vincent may have suffered from Ménière's disease — a balance disorder of the inner ear which is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, hearing loss, and vertigo — was first published in 1979 by Yasuda.

[46] Arnold refutes the hypothesis, stating that there is no case for Ménière's, and that the logic of the JAMA article was flawed in that it put forward only epilepsy as an alternative diagnosis.

The JAMA article's suggestion that Vincent's cutting of his ear was an attempt at self-performed surgery to relieve the Ménière's symptom of tinnitus has been regarded as far-fetched.

However, Erickson and others refute this diagnosis arguing that the key symptom of urine discoloration was never noted, and that van Gogh's "bad stomach" does not match the commonly experienced "excruciating abdominal pain" associated with AIP.

[56][57] Erickson and Arnold disagree as to the support offered by the family history, and in particular regarding the status of Vincent's father's health: Arnold, basing his opinion on Tralbaut, believes Theodorus to have been in not-very-good health for most of his life, whereas Erickson chooses to see him as being essentially an active man until a relatively sudden death at age 63.

Arnold suggests that Theodorus' quiet and balanced life meant that he avoided several factors that precipitated symptoms and progress of the disorder in his children.

[59][60] Yasmeen Cooper and Mark Agius have suggested that Van Gogh suffered from schizoaffective disorder; bipolar type, due to his bouts of psychosis, mania, and major depression.

[69] Moreover, assuming that both brothers had contracted syphilis in the brothels of Paris (March 1886 – February 1888), it is impossible that they developed so quickly neurosyphilis mental disorder, which occurs 10 to 20 years after infection.

[70] Dr. Cavenaille diagnosed the artist with "syphilis", according to his grandson,[71] but this diagnosis was not confirmed by the physicians caring for Vincent in the hospital (Dr. Urpar, Dr. Rey, and Dr. Peyron) or Dr. Gachet in Auvers.