Kris Aquino in a series of Instagram posts revealed how a serious financial loss in business affected her health.
It was previously reported that she lost a lot of weight around the last weeks of September. She also lost her ability to sleep and eat properly.
Aquino later on revealed that she was facing a financial problem after being betrayed by a business partner.
What went before
Based on one of her Instagram posts, she was supposed to do a television commercial shoot with Chowking on September 23. Aquino is the brand’s celebrity endorser.
However, the shoot got rescheduled to October because she was “physically unwell.” She cited that blood tests were already done to her on September 21, two days before the shoot.
By September 22, she opened up about her ordeal over her business ventures and blamed it for affecting her health.
By September 25, Aquino shared that she underwent another series of blood tests. The results prompted her to seek medical treatment in Singapore. She flew out of the country by September 30.
On October 2, she submitted herself to further medical tests and shared that she “had 16 vials of blood drawn” out of her.
“Full results of my blood panel will take one week,” Aquino wrote in one of her Instagram posts.
She also revealed that she has started taking prescribed medicines for her allergies as recommended by her Singaporean allergist-rheumatologist-immunologist.
By October 4, Aquino and her two sons flew back to the Philippines.
The illness
“The Queen of All Media” opened up about her illness on October 11. She said she was initially diagnosed with autoimmune disease.
Further diagnosis, however, showed that she has chronic spontaneous urticaria or CSU, an autoimmune skin disease.
“To be specific, I now know I have Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria, and yes, mine is an autoimmune disease,” Aquino shared.
“I am now, and for the rest of my existence will be, on high dosage antihistamines and having the EpiPen will always be crucial. Severe allergies are life-threatening because of anaphylactic shock,” she added.
EpiPen is an injection used to treat extremely serious allergic reactions while antihistamines are medications used to treat symptoms of allergy.
An autoimmune disease is when the person’s immune system mistakenly attacks the healthy cells within the body. It is further broken down into 80 types, including what Aquino has.
Urticaria refers to the swelling of the skin associated with itching. World Allergy Organization notes it usually lasts for 24 hours.
When the swelling lasts for more than six weeks, however, the individual is diagnosed with “chronic spontaneous urticaria and angioedema.”
Angioedema is characterized by “pronounced swelling involving deeper dermis,” according to Dermatology Advisor. The individual experiences a “burning or painful sensation” in the skin.
Apart from that, he or she may also suffer from sleep deprivation, lack of energy, depression, anxiety, social isolation and being emotionally upset, Novartis notes.
Aquino shared a video to explain her illness and recounted that ever since her childhood, she has been “severely allergic to several types of medication” already.
“Environmental allergens started triggering what I thought was just allergic rhinitis, sore throat, and skin asthma in my late 20’s,” she said.
Apart from CSU, Aquino revealed that she has been taking maintenance for her hypertension since 2015. It is a long-term condition wherein the blood pressure in the arteries is constantly elevated.
She also takes injections to treat her severe migraine attacks. Last year, she disclosed that she needed 34 shots of botox for treatment.
Botox has been recognized as a form of treatment for chronic migraines by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2010.
Road to recovery
On October 10, Aquino shared pictures of her rescheduled television commercial shoot with Chowking, indicating that she is now ready to get back to work.
“I am grateful for all that’s here & now, and most especially for the people who are worth my love & loyalty,” she wrote. However, her various medications for her ailments will continue in the long-term.