Bethenny Frankel has been diagnosed with Stage 2 chronic kidney disease.
The Real Housewives of New York City alum, 55, took to TikTok on Thursday to share the news of her diagnosis as she urged others to “be thorough” when staying on top of their own health.
“I have a medical announcement. Not because I want you to worry, but because I want you to take precautions in your own life, be mindful,” Frankel began her video. The reality TV personality revealed that her dedication to being “proactive” about blood tests determined that her kidney function was “coming up low,” and she was referred to a kidney specialist.
While Frankel was reticent to make the appointment, she revealed the specialist had diagnosed her with stage 2 chronic kidney disease, which could be autoimmune, or could have been caused by “this traumatic experience” she had several years ago, when she had a near-death experience caused by an allergic reaction. “It could have done damage to the kidney,” Frankel explained.
The SkinnyGirl founder said that her kidney disease has likely caused infections, including UTIs, and that she’d been advised to stay hydrated as her first line of treatment.
“I don’t drink a lot of water … I’m holding a bottle, but I’m not usually drinking it,” Frankel said, adding, “[The doctor] said, ‘Water is your medicine. You have to drink a giant —’ I think he said 1.5 [gallons] — ‘and you can put your hydration packets in it.’”
Frankel was also told to cut out ibuprofen and turmeric, among other things, including the ice cream she was currently eating on camera. “I remembered after,” she shrugged.
The Bravo alum, who has been open about her long COVID and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) diagnoses, as well as the bacterial infection she contracted in St. Barths over the holidays, told her followers she wanted to share her latest health update with them to encourage them to “go get all your bloodwork done.”
“Be thorough, then do the follow-ups for anything that seems like an outlier,” she emphasized. “And frankly, get your bloodwork done maybe six months and then six months later, because different stuff could come up and sometimes it’s an aberration and sometimes it means something.”
“In this case, it was a pattern,” she said, noting that she hoped to get more information from the “part-time doctors” on TikTok. “I don’t know exactly what it means,” she said. “Many of you will, which is also why I’m sharing with you.”