Bethenny Frankel has been diagnosed with stage 2 chronic kidney disease.
“I have a medical announcement,” the Bravo alum shared via TikTok Thursday.
“Months ago, I decided I was going to be very proactive about blood tests … I started to take a series of blood tests, and each time my kidney function was coming up low.”
Frankel, 55, explained she had a doctor’s appointment earlier in the day, and received the diagnosis.
The “Real Housewives of New York City” alum shared that her condition could be the result of a “traumatic experience [she] had years ago when [she] almost died from an allergy attack,” or it could be an autoimmune disease.
She noted she learned that other infections could have led to the disease, saying that she used to get a lot of UTIs but “not as much anymore.”
“I don’t drink a lot of water,” Frankel admitted. “I’m holding a bottle, but I’m not usually drinking it.”
“[My doctor] said, ‘Water is your medicine,’” she told viewers, adding that she has to drink up to 1.5 gallons per day.
The reality star was also told to lay off pain medications, such as ibuprofen and Advil, and supplements, such as turmeric.
Frankel stated that she was sharing her diagnosis not to get fans concerned about her, but to warn them to “take precautions” for their own health.
“Be mindful,” she urged her followers. “Maybe this is something I’ll have to deal with forever, but I just wanted to tell you because I think it’s important to go get all your bloodwork done.”
At the time, Frankel shared a vulnerable video of herself with a rash around her eye.
She claimed that she got the rash from towels because they “hold bacteria.”
“Even a well-cleaned towel still holds bacteria. A face cloth holds bacteria,” the TV personality said in the clip.
