Tina Turner Revealed She Had Unresolved Kidney Issues, Was on 'Multiple Prescriptions' 2 Months Before Death
In recent years, Turner faced a number of health problems, including a stroke, intestinal cancer and total kidney failure
More than two months before she died, Tina Turner shared some insight into her struggles as she urged fans to prioritize their health.
The Queen of Rock — who received a kidney transplant in 2017 — detailed her health journey in an interview with the European Health Kidney Alliance in March.
"The months after the transplantation were marked by a never-ending up and down. From time to time my body tried to reject the donor kidney as it frequently happens after a transplantation," she wrote. (Turner received a kidney donation from her husband Erwin Bach.)
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She added, "Every so often this required more hospital admissions. I kept feeling nauseous and dizzy, forgot things, and was scared a lot. These problems are still not quite resolved. I am on multiple prescriptions and take great care to follow my doctors’ orders meticulously. For I know that I can trust them and their therapies."
Throughout her longstanding 60-year career, the "Proud Mary" singer was often vocal about her health struggles, which date back to 1978 when she was diagnosed with hypertension.
"I can't remember ever getting an explanation about what high blood pressure means or how it affects the body," she said. "I considered high blood pressure my normal. Hence, I didn't really try to control it."
With her condition left untreated, Turner suffered a stroke in 2013 just three weeks after she wed Bach — and that's when she learned her "kidneys didn't work that well anymore."
She began taking prescription medication to get her hypertension under control — though the pills made her "feel even worse." She took matters into her own hands and went to a homeopathic doctor in France. Later, during her next check-up, the results were shocking.
"I had not known that uncontrolled hypertension would worsen my renal disease and that I would kill my kidneys by giving up on controlling my blood pressure," she said.
"I never would have replaced my medication by the homeopathic alternatives if I had had an idea how much was at stake for me. Thanks to my naïvety I had ended up at the point where it was about life or death," she continued.
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Tina TurnerTurner died on Wednesday after a long illness in her home near Zurich in Switzerland, her publicist Bernard Doherty confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE.
"With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model," the statement read. "There will be a private funeral ceremony attended by close friends and family. Please respect the privacy of her family at this difficult time."
Since 1994 the American-born singer had been living in Switzerland with her husband, German actor and music producer Bach, earning her Swiss citizenship in 2013.
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