Bethenny Frankel has been diagnosed with stage 2 chronic kidney disease.
“I have a medical announcement,” the Bravo alum shared via TikTok on Thursday.
“A few months ago, I decided to get more blood tests done. I started having a series of blood tests, and each time my kidneys were failing.”
Frankel, 55, said she had seen a doctor earlier in the day and received a diagnosis.
The “Real Housewives of New York City” alum shared that her symptoms could be the result of “a traumatic experience many years ago when I almost died from an allergy attack,” or it could be an autoimmune disease.
She said she learned that other infections could have caused the illness, noting that she used to have urinary tract infections often, but “they don’t happen as often now.”
“I don’t drink much water,” Frankel admitted. “I have a bottle, but I don’t usually drink it.”
“[The doctor]said, ‘Water is medicine,'” she told viewers, adding that she must drink up to 1.5 gallons a day.
The reality star was also told to stop using painkillers like ibuprofen and Advil, as well as supplements like turmeric.
Frankel said he went public with his diagnosis not to make fans worry about him, but to warn them to “take precautions” for their health.
“Please be careful,” she urged her followers. “Maybe this is something I’ll have to deal with forever, but I just wanted to let you know because I think it’s important to get all the blood tests done.”
The Skinny Girl founder tends to be candid on social media, recently sharing that she contracted a bacterial infection on her face after partying in St. Barts on New Year’s Eve.
At the time, Frankel shared a vulnerable video of herself with a rash around her eyes.
She claimed the towels had “germs on them” which caused the rash.
“Even a well-washed towel still has germs on it. Facecloths have germs on them,” the TV personality said in the clip.
