Running A Business And Living With An Autoimmune Disease: You’re Not Alone

This round, we have SO many people with an autoimmune disease – we have clients with Crohn’s, Hashimoto’s and Type 1 Diabetes.

We often tell people that end-stage burnout can send the immune system into overdrive, and cause autoimmune diseases to develop. Similarly, having an autoimmune disease can put your body into burnout faster.

Then, when you layer the fun and stress of owning a business, it compounds on the symptoms more.

The thing is, we’ve always written to you about burnout, and how it affects energy, mood, and weight. We’ve even spoken about the links between burnout and cravings – sugar, salt and even alcohol.

But – I’ve never spoken about burnout and autoimmune disease.

Truth is, managing autoimmune is a big part of my life – his name is Sean.

Sean is the director of our company, but he’s also my husband.

I met Sean 5 years ago.

The then-29 year old Sean had already had 2 bowel resections and 6 strictureplasties from having Crohn’s disease since he was 16.

Over the years he had gone through a myriad of immunosuppressants and steroids, and finally landed on Humira, an anti-TNF medication that kept his symptoms mostly at bay.

What people don’t often realise though, is that surgery and meds is just a small part of living with a chronic disease.

Dealing with the side effects was where the problems really got real – his side effects kicked in within days of being on meds, and this involved chronic insomnia, weight gain, depression, uncontrolled tempers and the thinning out of his bones (osteopaenia).

His energy levels were non-existent and he did the bare minimum before hopping into bed and spending the rest of the day sleeping.

For Sean, being in and out of hospital, not being well sporadically and going from being fine one second to flaring up the next has also meant that he hasn’t had much luck holding down a job for most of his life.

I remember once he told me about how as a teenager, he used to make excuses to not go out with friends because he never knew when he might be trapped on a moving train when he needed to use his bowels and he was deathly scared of literally shitting himself in public.

Then, as an adult, he would need to scout out all the nearby public toilets wherever he went, and would have to be extremely careful of what he ate, because he’d never know when something would set him off, and he’d have to spend the next several hours in the toilet. To top it off, Sean hates burdening others, and would constantly feel like he was a burden to his family.

Quite early in our relationship, I remember suggesting that Sean look into changing his diet. He really didn’t have a great diet – but what really struck me were:

#1

His skepticism of dietitians (because according to him, his only experiences with dietitians were in hospital after a flare, and they would come around with Sustagen to get him to have “something”, when all it did was make him feel ill), and

#2

How adamant he was that nutrition wouldn’t change how he felt – because that’s what all the doctors he’d seen had told him: “You have an autoimmune disease. Your immune system attacks itself – nothing you eat or not eat will change this. You’ll just need to stay on top of your meds for the rest of your life.”

Unfortunately, he really believed this.

Luckily though, he did decide to give diet change a go – and fast forward 5 years, Sean is now managing his Crohn’s off all meds.

He’s not had a single flare up in the last 3 years since changing his diet, and has somehow managed to also lose 30kg whilst UPPING his intake of foods.

Since being able to come off all meds, his depression has lifted, his anxiety is gone, and FINALLY his hormones, metabolism and immune system are all functioning the way they should be.

These days, Sean is the director of our company – he works long hours, dealing with all the ins and outs of running a business and have not had to take any extended time out for surgery and recovery.

His energy levels are good, his mental focus is sharp and finally, he feels like he is back in the driver’s seat of his own life.

From someone who struggled to keep a job because he was always off sick or having surgery, this was a HUGE turnaround for him.

Since his own experience getting firmly on top of his Crohn’s, Sean has become a keen advocate for nutrition and just what food can do.

Now, we’re helping dozens of other business owners really understand the root of their condition, and making tangible steps towards getting their lives back too.

Literally just today I spoke to one of our newest clients, who told me that they are now finally seeing the light at the end of an otherwise very dark tunnel, and just how motivating it is!