Jill Duggar’s Husband, Derick Dillard, Discusses Health Issues With New Doctor On ‘Counting On’

Jill Duggar’s husband, Derick Dillard, headed to the doctor again during the Counting On season premiere. The missionary was seeking answers for what is causing his long-term health problems, and he finally got a possible diagnosis.

On a previous episode of Counting On, Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard talked about the health issues that Derick has struggled with ever since he was a teenager. The Counting On cameras captured Jill’s husband suffering one of his scary gagging episodes while he was out for a run. He had to stop by the side of the road when he began coughing and retching violently, and he later explained that he often experiences these symptoms when he’s engaging in any strenuous physical activity. Jill and Derick asked the Duggar family’s physician if he had any ideas about what could be causing Derick’s health issues, but the doctor was unable to give the couple a diagnosis.

During the season premiere of this season of Counting On, Derick Dillard’s mystery illness was revisited. Viewers got to see the footage of Jill Duggar’s husband heaving and spitting up clear fluid once again, and Derick and Jill were filmed visiting a different doctor. Derick revealed that he had previously consulted with an ear, nose, and throat doctor, but this time he decided to get checked out by an allergist.

“Anytime you go to the doctor for something like this that Derick’s been dealing with it’s good to—either way, whether you pinpoint what’s going on or you rule out things that aren’t going on, either of those options are both good,” said Jill Duggar of her husband’s latest doctor visit. “Hopefully, the allergist can do one of those two things.”

Derick actually enjoyed one of the tests that the allergist asked him to perform: using a mouthpiece hooked up to a computer to blow out virtual candles on a birthday cake.

“That was fun,” Derick said. “She really just wanted to test the lung capacity—the force and the volume—to see if I might have asthma, exercise-induced or not.”

The doctor told Derick that his lungs were functioning just fine, but she had some bad news for him; he’s allergic to a long list of things. Allergens that he needs to be worried about include milk, wheat, peanuts, soy, and a wide variety of other plants and trees. Derick said that he was “the poster child for allergies.”

“One of the things that I think you might have is eosinophilic esophagitis,” the doctor told Derick. “That’s when you have a cell that’s related to allergies that’s causing problems in your esophagus.”

She said that the condition can cause spasms, choking, and a narrowing of the esophagus, and she suggested that Derick try sublingual immunotherapy. According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, this form of treatment involves placing “small doses of an allergen under the tongue to boost tolerance to the substance and reduce symptoms.”

It’s been months since Derick Dillard’s doctor visit was filmed for Counting On, and neither he nor Jill Duggar have updated fans on whether the sublingual immunotherapy is helping with his gagging issue. However, as In Touch Weekly reports, some fans think that Derick currently looks unhealthy.

“Boy Derrick [sic] looks painfully thin. Look at his legs,” wrote one fan in response to one of Derick’s recent Instagram snapshots.

“Are you sick? You look really sick. ? If I didn’t know who you were I’d think you did drugs. (I know you don’t). I’m sad for you,” commented another.

Derick hasn’t responded to any of these concerns, but he has insisted that he’s perfectly healthy, other than the whole gagging thing. Jill Duggar also hasn’t updated fans on her own health issues that were discussed during the last season of Counting On. As CafeMom reports, the Duggar family’s physician told her that she was possibly suffering from narrowed arteries, and she was advised to undergo some followup tests. Perhaps she was filmed doing so for a future episode of Counting On.

[Featured Image by Duggar Family/Facebook]