Angelica Panganiban bares battle with painful bone disease

Angelica Panganiban discusses her avascular necrosis. Screengrab from her vlog.

Angelica Panganiban bared her battle with a bone disease that she said has been causing her severe pain in the hip area, and which began when she was pregnant with daughter Amila Sabine.

In her vlog, Panganiban revealed that she is suffering from avascular necrosis, so-called “bone death,” a disease that results from the temporary or permanent loss of blood supply to the bone due to injury or trauma.

“Six months into pregnancy, meron nakong mga nararamdaman sakit sa may hips. Hindi ko actually ma-pinpoint noon kung sa hips, sa leg, sa likod or sa puwitan. Yun yung mga struggles ko noon. Nagtanong-tanong ako sa mga doktor, and friends ko na naging mommy na rin and lahat naman sila sinasabi na it’s part of pregnancy. So nung nanganak ako, wala nakong time na pansinin yung mga masakit sa akin,” she narrated.

Panganiban said that when she started her physical exercises and yoga, she began experiencing again the pain on  her hip, thinking it was just a pinched nerve. It turned out that her rigorous activities would only aggravate her condition.

When she and her celebrity friends went to Palawan, it was when she was rendered almost immobile by the severe pain, wherein she had a hard time walking.

After that trip, she went straight to the hospital where doctors advised her to undergo therapy in lieu of medication since she was breastfeeding her daughter. At first she said the therapy proved beneficial for her for a time, but she would soon begin experiencing intermittent pain until it would recur more steadily.

Her fiancé Gregg Homan then brought her to a bone specialist, which then cultivated plasma from her own blood, which then served as her own treatment. This treatment involved the injection of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to avert the progression of necrosis.

“Namatay na yung mga bones ko sa balakang. Kaya pala hirap na ako maglakad. Nung una ang sabi sa akin ay surgery, parang joint replacement na parang nakakatakot pakingan. So naghanap ako ng doctor na magkakaron ng conservative approach,” she said.

“So bumalik kami sa pagsaksak ng PRP sa hips ko. This time, nag drill sila ng hole. Ininject nila yung PRP directly doon sa dead bone. Masakit ba yung procedure? Di ko inakala masakit sya. Tulo ng tulo yung luha ko. Nakaramdam ako ng awa sa sarili ko na bakit ako, bakit sa akin nangyari ito. Kasi ang cause ng avascular necrosis ay steroids abuse,” she further said.

At this point the actress couldn’t help but laugh at the irony, pointing out that steroids use was never part of her lifestyle. “So ano yung cause nya? Wala. Malas lang talaga at nangyari sya sa akin.”

Panganiban said she’s choosing to remain positive despite her condition, believing that the mind has the power to heal. She is also grateful that at least the doctors have identified her condition and have prescribed an apt treatment for her.

She couldn’t help but realize that at 37 years of age, “there was something dead inside (her),” a fact that tickled her funny bone, pun intended. She said she is hopeful that her recovery would be speedy as she planned to go back to work by next year.