Carla Abellana is not letting her health condition get the best of her.
On September 22, 2024, Carla published a two-part social media post, detailing the "struggle, frustration, embarrassment, worry, and desperation" that come with having hypothyroidism.
READ: Carla Abellana on Battling Hypothyroidism
The actress starts her post by describing hypothyroidism as "the bane of the past 5 years of my life." At just 37 years old, Carla found herself dealing with perimenopausal symptoms. Despite her best efforts to manage her weight through strict fasting and rigorous workouts, she continued to gain weight.
"My hormones were nowhere within normal range, cortisol level was extremely high for so long," the Widows' War actress revealed. "I was practically perimenopausal at 37 years of age, and despite fasting (more like starving myself already), along with regular and stringent workouts, I was still gaining weight constantly."
She went on to write: "5 years. 5 Doctors. Numerous tests over the years. Countless medications in all sorts of combinations. Hundreds of thousands of pesos. Nothing seemed to really work long-term," she explained. "Unless you have Hypothyroidism, you’ll never know what the struggle, frustration, embarrassment, worry, and desperation is like. Most especially if weight and appearance are key factors in your line of work."
In October of last year, Carla made the bold decision to switch doctors once more in pursuit of better results for her specific case. This search led her to Dr. Roland Angeles, an internal medicine doctor who subspecializes in obesity medicine or medical weight loss treatment.
"I knew he would be challenged by my condition," the actress said. "And I was right. I was one of the very few patients he’s had who DIDN’T lose weight in a month."
READ: Carla Abellana on Undergoing a Special Plan to Lose Weight
Although Carla entrusted her weight-loss journey to the hands of Dr. Angeles, her hunch about being a rare case became reality.
"We’re only allowed to eat platito-sized meals that are about 100g, and not to mention all the good and healthy food we weren’t allowed to eat!" she wrote. "I wanted to cry, but my desperation was stronger."
Unlike most of Dr. Angeles' patients, she didn’t lose weight in the first month, breaking his record of success. "For the first time, Dr. Angeles didn’t have that signature bright smile on his face upon realizing mine was a special case," she says. "My Hypothyroidism game was strong and my body was stubborn."
After five months of persistence, she finally began to see progress. In addition to Dr. Angeles' guidance, Carla mentioned the body treatments that helped her along the way, naming the Aivee Clinic's Onda and Tempsure as some of her go-to therapies.
"I’ve lost around 18lbs in the past couple of months and at one point, I had already reached my target weight," she adds.
She concluded her post with an encouragement to others facing similar struggles, reminding them that progress is possible with patience and the right approach.
"So just like a lot of you, I also see photos of other people who are so fit and I can’t help but feel insecure," she confesses. "I also wish weight loss would work like magic, but NO. It really doesn't. There really is no shortcut."
"Having Hypothyroidism is a pain in the butt because there is no cure for it, but there is a way. It may not be the same for all of us, but there really is a way."
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