Brandi Glanville has made countless trips to doctors and spent eye-watering sums trying to figure out the cause of her facial disfigurement, which has rapidly deteriorated in the last 12 months.
The Californian former model sparked concern when she posted a selfie on Twitter on Sunday (December 8) where fans said she looked completely unrecognizable.
Brandi Glanville is best known for starring in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (Bryan Bedder/Peacock via Getty Images)
The 52-year-old said she suspects a ‘parasite’ took hold of her when filming the Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip in Morocco, and she can ‘feel’ it moving around under her skin.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, she said six months after she got back home, she started to have ‘this speaking thing and the swelling up thing’.
Now, it looks ‘like tiny bubbles bursting’ and Brandi horrified fans when she said she can feel the parasite ‘jumping’ from one side to the other – and even ‘s***ing or having babies in my face’.
The author also explained she posted the snap to put false rumours to bed.
Brandi said: “I’m so sick of the narrative that I’m sitting around having plastic surgery all the time. First of all, I couldn’t afford it if I wanted it. Secondly, no.”
“This is why I’m sitting at home”, she continued, “This is why I’m not on red carpets. Because I don’t want to go out like this.”
The star shocked fans with the snap (Twitter/@BrandiGlanville)
Brandi has also lost nearly half a dozen teeth, which she told the US Sun started from a bout of stress-induced angioedema.
To add insult to injury, medics are yet to come up with a formal diagnosis and she’s forked out more than $70,000 in the process.
Brandi said: “Honestly, I have so many doctors and I’ve had so many tests. I did lab work for $10,000. They ran every test under the sun. They’re like, ‘It could be a parasite that’s new’.”
Any treatments she’s had to date have only served to be a temporary fix and not a long-term solution.
The television personality admitted she’s become ‘stressed’ juggling medical bills while being out of work.
Understandably, her health issues have also taken a toll on her confidence and her social life.
The famous housewife looks completely unrecognizable (Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images)
She continued: “I’ve been on meds this whole year. I don’t socialize. I don’t go out and I’m just spending all of my money on trying to figure out what’s wrong with me.
“Everyone thinks I’m so tough but I’m fragile right now. It’s a very fragile time for me. I don’t remember a day when I haven’t cried. So leave me the f**k alone.”
After several trips to the doctors, Brandi said she’s not getting her hopes up for a diagnosis any time soon but said it would be ‘amazing’ just to have an answer.
She said: “This is a horrible thing to say but even if it’s like a tumor, I want to know. Honestly, health is wealth and that’s all I want.”
