Complaint from this writer as the French succeeded (7)
I believe the answer is:
measles
'complaint' is the definition.
(measles is a kind of health problem)
'this writer as the french succeeded' is the wordplay.
'this writer' becomes 'me' (the person who is writing these clues).
'the french' becomes 'le' ('the' in French).
'succeeded' becomes 's' (genealogical abbreviation).
'me'+'as'+'le'+'s'='MEASLES'
'from' is the link.
(Other definitions for measles that I've seen before include "Viral disease once common in children" , "Disease where spots may be seen" , "Infectious disease covering body with red spots" , "Childhood viral disease" , "Spotty viral infection" .)