This is a very interesting summary of the Empress' medical condition, couldnt find it on the forum anywhere.
Extract 'Last Years at the Court of Tzarskoie-Selo' English Edition by Alexander. I. Spiridovitch
Empress Alexandra Fedorovna belonged to the family of Hesse,
‘The morbid history of illness within the Hesse family was transmitted
in the male line, in the form of haemophilia,
Empress Alexandra Fedorovna belonged to the family of Hesse,
known for its morbid moods. She was the daughter of Grand Duke
Louis of Hesse and Princess Alice, the fourth daughter of Victoria,
Queen of England, her paternal grandfather and her father had been
sick for most of their lives. Her brothers and sisters had suffered from
hereditary diseases,
Page 284 Last Years at the Court of Tzarskoie-Selo
‘an illness accompanied by changes in the neurovascular system and
in the composition of the blood itself’. In the female side of the bloodline,
the hereditary illness was apparent in other forms. Grand Duchess
Elizabeth Fedorovna was a very sick lady.
‘For Alexandra Fedorovna, the hereditary illness was manifested, in
her youth, through a very weak nervous system and great impressionability;
later, due to the unfavourable conditions of life at the
Court, the nervous system began to show definite alterations, hystero
-neurasthenic phenomena and some psychological problems.
‘The hysteric nature of the nervous symptoms is proven to us through
the ease with which the Empress accepted positive suggestions from
some, and negative suggestions from others.
‘Her neurasthenic symptoms are apparent in the form of a great
weakness ‘asthenia’ in the body in general, and in the cardiac muscle
in particular, with painful sensations in the precordial region.
‘These complaints are also associated with oedema in the legs, due to
poor circulation’.
‘The problems in the neurovascular system just mentioned are also
evidenced by the regular changes in skin colour ‘dermographism’ and
by the appearance of rather large red patches on the face’.
‘As for the psychological problems ‘loss of psychological balance’,
these are mainly shown through a state of deep depression, a great
indifference to everything around her, and a tendency towards religious
daydreaming’.
‘The neurovascular phenomena concerned here ‘dilation or constriction
of the vessels’ become more pronounced as the critical age approaches.
They are then complicated by a feeling of anxiety, a weakening
of centres of inhibition, and intellectual problems mainly affecting
the logical functioning of intellectual functions.’
It was this illness, hysteron-neurasthenia, which had caused the Empress’
exaggerated likes and dislikes, her bizarre way of thinking and
acting, her religious exaltation, her belief in the supernatural in general,
and her faith in Rasputin in particular.
Initially, her illness had only affected her personal life and that of her
family. But as the critical age approached, and the illness became
more and more pronounced, the Empress had felt the need to intervene
in State matters,
‘an illness accompanied by changes in the neurovascular system and
in the composition of the blood itself’. In the female side of the bloodline,
the hereditary illness was apparent in other forms. Grand Duchess
Elizabeth Fedorovna was a very sick lady.
‘For Alexandra Fedorovna, the hereditary illness was manifested, in
her youth, through a very weak nervous system and great impressionability;
later, due to the unfavourable conditions of life at the
Court, the nervous system began to show definite alterations, hystero
-neurasthenic phenomena and some psychological problems.
‘The hysteric nature of the nervous symptoms is proven to us through
the ease with which the Empress accepted positive suggestions from
some, and negative suggestions from others.
‘Her neurasthenic symptoms are apparent in the form of a great
weakness ‘asthenia’ in the body in general, and in the cardiac muscle
in particular, with painful sensations in the precordial region.
‘These complaints are also associated with oedema in the legs, due to
poor circulation’.
‘The problems in the neurovascular system just mentioned are also
evidenced by the regular changes in skin colour ‘dermographism’ and
by the appearance of rather large red patches on the face’.
‘As for the psychological problems ‘loss of psychological balance’,
these are mainly shown through a state of deep depression, a great
indifference to everything around her, and a tendency towards religious
daydreaming’.
‘The neurovascular phenomena concerned here ‘dilation or constriction
of the vessels’ become more pronounced as the critical age approaches.
They are then complicated by a feeling of anxiety, a weakening
of centres of inhibition, and intellectual problems mainly affecting
the logical functioning of intellectual functions.’
It was this illness, hysteron-neurasthenia, which had caused the Empress’
exaggerated likes and dislikes, her bizarre way of thinking and
acting, her religious exaltation, her belief in the supernatural in general,
and her faith in Rasputin in particular.
Initially, her illness had only affected her personal life and that of her
family. But as the critical age approached, and the illness became
more and more pronounced, the Empress had felt the need to intervene
in State matters,
