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, embarassment, worry, and desperation" that come with having hypothyroidism.
She starts her post by describing hpothyroidism as "the bane of the past 5 years of my life."
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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 medication in all sorts of combinations. Hundreds of thousands of pesos. Nothing seemed to really work long term.
"Unless you have Hypothyroidism, you’ll never know what the struggle, frustration, embarassment, worry and desperation is like.
"Most especially if weight and appearance are key factors in your line of work," she explained.
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 on obesity medicine or medical weight loss treatment.
She detailed (published as is): "October of last year i had very little (but just enough) hope to once again shift Doctors.
"I chanced upon @roland_angeles_md online and read that he has a record- almost all patients losing a certain % of weight in just a month.
"So i immediately set an appointment. I came in and really felt that i would break that record of his.
"I knew he would be challenged by my condition. And i was right. I was one of the very few patients he’s had who DIDN’T lose weight in a month."
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Carla undergoes special diet plan to lose weight
Although Carla entrusted her weight-loss journey in the hands of Dr. Angeles, her hunch about being a rare case became reality.
"Seeing @roland_angeles_md diet plan for the first time made my jaw drop because of how limiting it was," she recalls.
"No wonder most of his patients lose so much weight after just one month!
"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!
"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. Hah! Sorry for breaking your record, Doc! Good thing you still accepted the challenge."
After five months of persistence, she finally began to see progress.
Carla expresses: "Yes, 5 months. It took 5 months for the ball to get rolling.
"But boy was it worth all the trips to his clinic, strict dieting, strong willpower, discipline, concoction of medication and perseverance.
"Dr. Angeles' smile was back whenever i’d see him, but my smile has been much bigger."
In addition to Dr. Angeles' guidance, Carla mentioned the body treatments that helped her along the way, naming 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.
"Kudos to @theaiveeclinic too for the treatments that went so well with our wellness plan. Onda and Tempsure have been my best friends there.
"I give so much credit to The Aivee Clinic, it makes me want to cry happy tears. Thank you, @draivee and @drzteo [white heart emoji]"
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.
"Mine just happens to be the @roland_angeles_md + @theaiveeclinic way. [red heart emoji]
"I can't thank you enough, Dr. Angeles. And pats on the back to myself too, for not giving up."
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