‘OutDaughtered’ star Danielle Busby’s health struggles, explained

Reality star Danielle Busby has recently opened up about her ongoing health problems, leading to years of hospital visits and tests to determine the cause behind her autoimmune disease and what it was.

For context, Danielle, alongside her family, including her husband Adam Busby and their six daughters — Blayke (12), and quintuplets Ava, Hazel Olivia, Parker, and Riley (8) — won the hearts of many in 2016 after showcasing their lives in the hit TLC show OutDaughtered. 

But by 2020, Danielle’s health sparked concern when Adam revealed that she was hospitalized after experiencing some “sensation in her arms and legs.” Although, at the time, medical professionals were running tests to find a solution to the mother of six’s health struggles, it came to no avail. 

Over the years, in addition to those symptoms, Danielle began to experience extreme fatigue and migraines. Despite the couple providing regular updates about Danielle’s health and the fact that it was ultimately narrowed down to be an autoimmune disease, not many details were provided to the public until now. 

So what is Danielle suffering from? 

What is Danielle Busby suffering from?

In a recent interview with Us Magazine, the 39-year-old, promoting OutDaughtered‘s ninth season, disclosed that she was diagnosed with and treated for fibromyalgia when the newer symptoms arose. 

Mayo Clinic reports that fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes “musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory, and mood issues.” The site also states that fibromyalgia can be generated for various reasons, including “genetics, illnesses, and physical events” such as a car accident. During the discussion, Danielle told the publication how badly the disorder affected her physically. She said, 

“I used to not be able to get upstairs without feeling like I was gonna pass out. That’s just not a norm for me. I was always athletic and kind of fit and we’ve always taken care of ourselves. So for my body to go so down, it just was alarming.”

Further into the interview, the YouTuber shared that her health struggles began after giving birth to her quintuplets in 2015. Danielle added that even though doctors have solved some of her issues, she isn’t out of the woods yet because she continues to deal with flare-ups and inflammation.

“After I had [them], my body never kind of recovered because it was nonstop movement. I was living a life of adrenaline for years. So when my body started to slow down and they were in school and kindergarten — and well, first grade really — my body wasn’t used to this. And so I went into this shock.I can’t not be okay. And so [I] really had to slow down and my body still goes through flare-ups here and there. I have tons of inflammation.”

Danielle and Adam Busby discussed her health issues before

Aside from Danielle’s interview with Us Magazine, this isn’t the only time the star has candidly opened up about her health. 

In 2022, in a YouTube video titled Are We Going to Film a New Season of OutDaughtered and Many Other Questions Answered from the Family, Danielle explained that after experiencing nerve issues, migraines, and fatigue, she was advised to follow a particular diet to limit the effects.  

“Is there a specific name for this? No. But there’s a lot of indicators that I’ve been aware of with certain food reactions and replenishing my body with the right nutritions and vitamins and stuff which has been helpful. I see a neurologist pretty frequently that helps me with a lot of the nerve issues.”

Danielle added that after adjusting her diet and following the doctors’ orders, her “debilitating” migraine had temporarily subsided, and she was feeling “a whole lot better.” Also, in the video, the star candidly shared that she had limited feelings throughout the process because her health fluctuated regularly. She was while also mentioning her husband’s reaction,

“It’s hard sometimes to even explain what I’m feeling or how my body is reacting to something, even in the view of Adam because he’s like, ‘You look fine, you [were] fine yesterday.'”

At this time, no additional information regarding Danielle’s health has been released. 

The ninth season of OutDaughtered is now airing on TLC, every Tuesday at 9 pm, while other seasons are available to watch on any streaming service for a small fee.