What is POTS? Bethenny Frankel breaks down in emotional post about her health issues
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Bethenny Frankel shared an emotional update with her fans on why her face has been "looking different" in recent videos. Taking to Instagram and TikTok on Thursday, February 23, the 'Real Housewives of New York City' alum said her battle with the blood circulation disorder POTS syndrome has significantly worsened since Covid.
The 52-year-old reality star said she suffered several symptoms including weight gain, bloating, dehydration, and body aches from POTS -- short for Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome -- which causes one's heart to beat faster than normal whenever one stands up from a sitting position. POTS patients are said to experience rapid heart rate, low blood pressure, fainting, and lightheartedness.
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'I am not doing that great'
"Many of you are asking why my face looks different in my makeup videos and it's because I am messed up. I am not doing that great," Bethenny shared in an Instagram video. The TV entrepreneur later took to TikTok with further updates, and her voice cracked at one point when she broke down in tears while talking about staying healthy for the sake of her daughter Bryn Hoppy, 12. "My real thing is the terror of just not being healthy for my daughter. That's the biggest thing. Who cares about the rest of it, I just want to be healthy for her," she said. The businessman first took to Instagram, explaining, "There were some comments about my face looking different in recent videos, so here is why. I'm bloated, swollen and I've gained 4 lbs in 3 days because my body is desperately hanging on to any water it can."
"A while back I shared what has been a serious battle with POTS," she continued. "This is an auto-immune disorder that seems to have been drastically exacerbated since COVID. I know there are many of you out there, so thanks for all of the information. It’s certainly a condition to manage. I suffer from chronic severe dehydration. I have always experienced extremely low blood pressure and dehydration, but it’s gotten exponentially worse. I make a tremendous effort to stay hydrated, and get IVs, and I haven’t had liquor for 6 months. I’m basically on the case. Altitude and a dry climate (in my favorite place in the world to do my favorite sport) present additional challenges," she added. Bethenny then reminded her followers to think twice before passing judgment on someone's appearance. "PS. When you comment on someone’s physical appearance, you may not know exactly what they’re enduring personally, physically, and emotionally."
'This is me today'
Bethenny described being "riddled with aches and pains" in her Instagram video. "This is like very intense and it's gotten really bad in the last few years since this autoimmune thing I'm dealing with," she explained. "So that’s why I look f****d up. I wake up like every two hours in such pain and dying of thirst." On TikTok, the former 'Bravo' star insisted she wasn't going to filter her face because "this is me today." She declared in the caption, "POTS is real & COVID effects are also."
As mentioned, Bethenny became emotional while thinking of her only daughter, who she shares with her ex-husband Jason Hoppy. "I want to go on Aspen vacations and take her snowboarding. Want to live a long life 'cause I had a child later in life," she said in a follow-up video. "I'm absolutely scared because I don't like that I do everything to be completely healthy, and still, sometimes this thing is winning and it's upsetting." The star captioned the post, "I never do this but I don’t want to seem like I always have it under control. I definitely don’t."