Riverdale star Lili Reinhart, 28, reveals shock well being battle with ‘thriller’ power illness

Lili Reinhart has revealed she has been diagnosed with interstitial cystitis following a lengthy journey seeking answers to her painful symptoms. 

‘Being diagnosed with interstitial cystitis while simultaneously searching for answers about a mysterious autoimmunity/inflammatory disease made 2024 the hardest year of my life,’ she posted to her Instagram on Thursday. 

Also known as bladder pain syndrome, interstitial cystitis ‘is a condition that causes long-term pain or discomfort in your bladder and abdominal area, along with urinary frequency and urgency,’ according to the Cleveland Clinic. 

Reinhart, 28, also opened up about the diagnosis and health ordeal in a candid new interview with Self magazine, where she said she was inspired to share her ailment after her grandmother, Corine Reinhart, was diagnosed with cancer. Corine passed shortly after Reinhart’s interview with Self was conducted. 

‘I was inspired to talk about this after my grandmother was ignored by doctors for months when exhibiting clear symptoms of cancer- and it was only after her own strength and advocation for herself that she was given a blood test that diagnosed her,’ she posted to Instagram. 

‘And by then, the cancer had spread. The most important thing I have taken away from this experience is the absolute need to advocate for your own health. Do not let a doctor gaslight you or diminish your pain. I hope the men & women out there struggling to find answers feel even the slightest bit seen by my experience.’

Lili Reinhart has revealed she has been diagnosed with interstitial cystitis

The post was accompanied by various photos of Lili at the hospital, doctor’s offices, along with text messages sent to friends about her health battle. 

The actress candidly described her lengthy and journey towards diagnosis in an interview with Self magazine. 

‘No one ever knows what that is when I talk about it,’ Reinhart told the publication. ‘But my urogyno is telling me so many women have this, and that’s why I think it’s as important as it is to just be like, ‘Hey, I’m dealing with it too.’ 

During her interview, Lili opened up about extreme fatigue she began experiencing after coming down with COVID during production for season five of Riverdale.

The weariness worried her doctors. ‘She was like, “Your chronic fatigue is suspicious, and you’re sleeping for 13 hours on the weekend when you can and taking naps. This isn’t normal.”‘

But in 2022, she began grappling with guy issues and mysterious weight gain, and underwent tests for Celiac disease and Crohn’s disease.

‘I’ve done all of them,’ she told the publication. ‘And my gut’s still like, “Hey, b**ch, you got something. You just can’t figure out what it is.”‘

During this time, she also began suffering from an eating disorder.

The post was accompanied by various photos of Lili at the hospital, doctor’s offices, along with text messages sent to friends about her health battle

‘I really don’t like looking at season six imagery or pictures, because I know that 99% of my thoughts were about my body,’ she explained. ‘I was a thousand percent just disassociated through that entire day or scene because my entire inner dialogue is just… ‘Your body’s changing.”‘

Reinhart also began experiencing hair loss earlier this year. ‘I went to my dermatologist because my scalp was also getting kind of itchy. She was like, “Yes, it’s alopecia,”‘ she explained.