Christina Applegate has revealed that she was misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and that her health has only “gotten worse” in the wake of the shock news.
The actress, 54, opened up about the misdiagnosis on the MeSsy podcast which she co-hosts alongside Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who suffers from MS.
Christina Applegate has revealed she does not have MS, admitting she was misdiagnosed five years ago with no clear answers on her health. Instagram/@christinaapplegate
“You don’t get misdiagnosed and then all of the sudden I’m better,” she explained.
For Applegate, the new information on her health has made things so much worse, leaving her with more questions than answers.
“I haven’t gotten better, Jamie! If anything, I’ve gotten worse. So I’m back at square one where I don’t know what’s going on with me,” she candidly admitted.
The Dead to Me star shared the shocking news in the episode released on Tuesday US time.
“[My doctor] came into my room and said, ‘Congratulations, you don’t have MS,’” she recalled through tears.
“I was, like, not happy at all. Everybody else was so happy.”
But while everyone around her was celebrating the news, Applegate felt like nothing “magical” happened to her.
“I still have to use wheelchairs when I go to the doctor’s office. I can’t walk from the car to the room. I’m still in this. Nothing magical happened when she said, ‘You don’t have MS.’ Nothing magical happened,” she continued.
Applegate explained that despite the news about her health, things are now back to square one. nna\april.glover
The Married… with Children star was originally diagnosed with MS five years ago, but now there will be an investigation into what is causing her health struggles.
“That’s going to be an online investigation that my doctors are going to be getting into, just to find out what has been going on since 2021, why did this happen?” she explained.
Elsewhere in the podcast interview she confessed that she’s gone through “a great depression” because of her MS diagnosis and “lost everything.”
“I lost my job. I lost – I’m sorry. What do you say to someone who’s been living with this for six years – God, I’m so sorry – because it stopped my life,” she said.
Applegate confessed that she does struggle as well after losing the MS community through the misdiagnosis, which she had become a poster girl for.
One of her biggest struggles since the misdiagnosis has been losing the MS community. Getty
Applegate is pictured in 1988. Getty
The actress added that one of the hardest parts of the misdiagnosis is now she no longer has something to pinpoint her struggles on.
“I had a reason. I had a f–king reason as to why my day sucked every day. And now I don’t have a reason and it’s very unnerving and it’s very confusing for me.”
She also called the misdiagnosis a “mindf–k”.
Applegate continued: “I have every symptom of someone with MS. Every single one. Now, we both know that there are many things that mirror MS. Many different things.
Applegate is known for some major movie roles, including starring alongside Cameron Diaz (centre) and Selma Blair in The Sweetest Thing. Getty
Applegate also starred in Married With Children alongside David Faustino, Ed O’Nell, and Katy Saga Getty
“I’m sitting here having slept all day yesterday feeling like absolute crap because of the heat. My legs aren’t working. You know, all the same stuff is happening to me. And yet I have this thing of like, well, you don’t have that, so you know, maybe you’re faking it. In my head I’m like, what can I be doing differently?
“What, you know, but this is what I’m sure a lot of people start thinking when they get their misdiagnosis is like, well, what have I done wrong? What what what am I doing?”
Applegate’s return to the podcast was her first appearance on the show since March.
Applegate was initially diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in August 2021. Pictured in 2020. Getty
She had been in hospital since then, and only hinted at the lengthy hospital stay during the episode when she mentioned that she had been dealing with “some health stuff.”
Applegate didn’t publicly reveal the reason for the hospital stay or share any more updates on her health.
Applegate, who shares one daughter, Sadie, 15, with her musician husband Martyn LeNoble, was first diagnosed with MS in 2021.
“Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition,” the Dead to Me star wrote at the time.
“It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some a–hole blocks it,”
Applegate speaking onstage during thEmmy Awards in 2024. nna\jabi
“As one of my friends that has MS said, ‘We wake up and take the indicated action.’ And that’s what I do. So now I ask for privacy. As I go through this thing. Thank you xo,” Applegate added.
It’s not the first time she’s openly discussed her health struggles.
In 2008, the actress was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double masectomy.
Applegate has the BRCA1 gene mutation, which predisposes her to developing cancer – and the actress has also previously revealed her concern that her 10-year-old daughter Sadie could have the gene as well.
“The chances that my daughter is BRCA positive are very high,” she said at the time.
“I look at her and feed her the cleanest foods. I try to keep her stress levels down. I’m doing everything I can on my end knowing that in 20 years, she’ll have to start getting tested.”
In 2017, Applegate opened up about having her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to reduce her risk of cancer, saying it was “a relief” and joking that it’s “one other thing off the table” so she hoped nothing catastrophic could happen in the future.
“I had my ovaries and [fallopian] tubes removed,” she revealed. “My cousin passed away from ovarian cancer in 2008. I could prevent that. That’s how I’ve taken control of everything.”