The story behind the waiting list
I have a waiting list. At first, that was because I became a little too popular. But these days, it’s for a completely different reason. I’ve temporarily stopped working.
The truth
I could say it’s due to “personal circumstances”. Or that I’m “taking a sabbatical”.
But as De Pitchcoach, I stand for honesty, directness, and truth. That’s what I ask of my clients, and of myself.
And the truth is that I’m going to recover.
Diagnosis 1
It started in 2020, when I suddenly gained a lot of weight. I began having intense cravings: my body demanded sugar. Strange, because I’d never had a sweet tooth; I’ve always preferred savoury.
Doctors said it was stress. I’d been widowed three years earlier, moved house two years ago, and left my military career to start my own business. All valid reasons for stress, they said. The bingeing must be a coping mechanism. It was all psychological, even when I insisted it felt deeply physical. My body was demanding sugar.
Besides gaining weight, I became more and more tired. But that must have been because of the weight, right?
As a soldier, I’d learned there are only two modes when it comes to work: either you’re working, or you’re dead. And since I wasn’t dead, I kept going. It did mean giving up stand-up comedy, theatre classes, and weekday social life.
Only after a year, when I told a locum GP about my ongoing symptoms, she said: “Well, that sounds like a classic case of the autoimmune disease Hashimoto’s.”
And indeed: the tests confirmed my thyroid had practically given up. I had a diagnosis!
Diagnosis 2
But even with thyroid medication, I remained exhausted. Deeply exhausted. Some days I’d start counting the hours to bedtime at 1 p.m.
And I kept gaining weight: 20, 25, 30 kilos. Until I met a dietitian known as the Sherlock Holmes of Utrecht. She said: “This isn’t psychological, it’s 100% physical. It sounds like your body is producing so much stress hormone that it can only store fat and no longer release it. Not from mental stress, but physical stress. This sounds like sleep apnoea. Please get tested.”
And indeed: the tests showed that due to my extra weight my breathing stopped 23 times an hour during sleep. I had a diagnosis!
Diagnosis 3
With the dietitian’s help, I managed to stop gaining weight during the year-and-a-half-long process of getting a CPAP machine. By then, I’d gained 37 kilos, took two naps a day, and limited social plans to one friend a weekend.
But by January 2025, there was finally a glimmer of hope. The CPAP and the new way of eating started working: I lost fifteen kilos in eleven months.
Yet I kept getting more tired. I also became dizzy, my migraines went from twice a year to twice a month, and I found myself in A&E three times because I couldn’t see for hours.
The fourth time it happened, I called my eye doctor immediately. And this time, she could finally see something: my optic nerves were swollen: a sign of increased brain pressure.
And indeed: tests showed my brain pressure was sky high. I had a diagnosis!
I produce more brain fluid than I can drain. It’s called IIH, Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension.
It’s rare (only about 300 people in the Netherlands have it). And “idiopathic” means the cause is unknown. Though doctors do know that losing a significant amount of weight often helps it disappear.
As my occupational health doctor said:“Yes, you’ve finally found your energy leak!”
Time off
After this third diagnosis finally explaining my constant fatigue, I took a long, two-month summer break to recover from nearly five years of sheer exhaustion. In short (and unsurprisingly): it wasn’t enough.
So, on medical advice, I’m taking a temporary break to focus on rehabilitation, continuing my weight loss journey, and rebuilding my energy step by step.
Since September 2025, I’ve stopped taking new long-term clients, wrapped up the existing long-term projects. So from 15 December 2025, I can pause De Pitchcoach with peace of mind and focus on getting healthy again.
But to quote Arnold Schwarzenegger: “I’ll be back.”
Though, exactly when isn’t clear. In rehab they say it’s best not to put a dot on the horizon and take it one day at a time.
Waiting list
What if you’d like to work with me as soon as I’m back up and running?
Just join my waiting list. I’ll email you as soon as I’m available again. Joining the waiting list is entirely without obligation.
