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Bethenny Frankel revealed she has stage two kidney disease, and she hinted that it could be from a “traumatic experience” she had years ago when she “almost died.”
The Real Housewives of New York star was open about her life on camera, and she now stays in touch with fans on social media. In 2023, Bethenny led a movement called Reality Reckoning, which called out the unfair treatment of reality stars.
“So I have a medical announcement,” said Bethenny in an Instagram video. “Not because I want you to worry, because I want you to take precautions in your own life, be mindful, because months ago I decided that I was going to be very proactive about blood tests, bone density, all the things I had heard people talking about, and I started to take a series of blood tests.”
“And each time my kidney function was coming up low,” she continued. “And then today I was told I had a doctor’s appointment with a kidney specialist, and I didn’t want to go … I didn’t feel like going today, and I got myself to go. Truthfully, my team said, ‘Well, your kidney was low, your kidney function was low, so you should go. You can only get this guy once a month.’ And I really didn’t want to punt it.”
Bethenny said the doctor told her she has “stage two chronic kidney disease.”
“He said it could be a function of this traumatic experience I had years ago, and I almost died from an allergy attack. It could have done damage to the kidney. It could be autoimmune, it’s connected to urinary,” she said. “And I don’t drink a lot of water, you guys know that. I always have a hydration packet … He said, ‘Water is your medicine. You have to drink … I think he said liter and a half [a day].'”
“[He also said], ‘You can’t have Ibuprofen or Aleve or Advil or one with an N,’ I think he said,” Bethenny recalled. “And he said, ‘You can’t have turmeric, and one other thing … Then you’re going to keep getting it tested.’ … I have had issues with POTS after the vaccine, some of us discussed that. I have severe dehydration, so I’m trying to tell him everything so we can sort of try to be ahead of it, and maybe get my levels back up. Maybe this is something I’ll have to deal with forever, but I just want to tell you, because I think it’s important to go get all your blood work done.”