Ivana Alawi grateful for ‘second life’ after hospitalization due to PCOS

Ivana Alawi | Image: Screengrab from YouTube/Ivana Alawi

After sharing last month that she had been rushed to the hospital, actress-vlogger Ivana Alawi finally revealed the reason for her hospitalization, saying she got afflicted  with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which became complicated, adding that she is grateful for her “second life.”

“Ipapakita ko sa inyo ang isa sa pinaka mahirap na journey sa buhay ko,” she said on her vlog uploaded on Friday, Nov. 8. “Feeling ko nagpaalam pa nga ako sa mama ko. Feeling ko talaga it’s really my second life. I-share ko lang din sa inyo na meron akong problem sa ovaries and that’s how it started and I also have PCOS doon siya nagsimula.”

(“I will show you one of the most difficult journeys in my life. I feel like I even said goodbye to my mom. I feel it’s really my second life. I’ll just share with you that I have a problem with the ovaries and that’s how it started and I also have PCOS, that’s where it started.)

Alawi detailed what she went through during her hospitalization, stressing that she had difficulty breathing.

“Siguro kung hindi ako pumunta ng ospital, feeling ko wala na talaga ako. […] I also got fluid in my stomach na sobrang napuno na siya. Day by day habang nasa ospital ako, umaangat nang umaangat ‘yung fluid sa tyan ko, mukha akong five months pregnant. Ta’s ‘yung sakit, hindi na ako makahinga. Konting lakad ko lang parang hihimatayin ako, nanlalamig na ‘yung buong body ko tapos tumitirik daw ‘yung eyes kong ganun,” she narrated.

(Maybe if I didn’t go to the hospital, I feel I’d be gone. […] I also got fluid in my stomach that filled it beyond capacity. Day by day while I was in the hospital, the fluid in my stomach was rising, I looked like five months pregnant. And the pain, I couldn’t breathe anymore. Walking just a few steps, I felt like I was going to faint; my whole body got cold and then my eyes accordingly were blank.)

The former “Batang Quiapo” star recalled that she already begged to have a tube inside her as she could no longer bear the pain.

“I felt like the liquid was already getting into my lungs. Ta’s parang sabi ko, ‘Butasan niyo na ako,’ So ‘yun, pinasok nila ‘yung tube and then they started to drain. Tapos meron daw two liters [na] pinupush na daw ‘yung lungs ko that’s why nahirapan ako. […] Three days akong nakahiga, as in walang tayuan. […] Pati ‘yung bladder ko wala nang lumalabas na ihi. And then ‘yung heart ko, masyado nang mabilis ‘yung tibok. Hindi na din ako nakaka-poops. Wala, lahat naiiipit na sa body ko,” she shared.

(It’s like I said, “Put a hole in me,” so they inserted the tube and then started to drain. Then they said there were two liters [of water that] was pushing my lungs; that’s why I had a hard time. […] I lay there for three days, as in there was no standing up. […] There was even no urine coming out of my bladder. And then my heart was beating too fast. I couldn’t even poop anymore. Nothing, everything got stuck in my body.)

Even as she advised her viewers to listen to their bodies, Alawi said that she was still not 100 percent recovered.

“Kapag may nararamdaman magpa-check agad huwag nang hintayin lumala (When you feel something, get checked immediately, don’t wait for it to get worse),” she said. “Ngayon, I’m still recovering; hindi pa 100% okay (Now, I’m still recovering; not 100% okay yet).”

Meanwhile, Alawi recently made headlines after she told her followers that she is not interested in joining politics despite her fellow vloggers filing their certificates of candidacy for the 2025 midterm elections.