Christina Applegate has been very open about what she thought was her battle with multiple sclerosis. But she is now facing a new chapter after learning that she was misdiagnosed. Understandably, the revelation has left the actress emotional, confused, and still searching for answers.
© GettyThe Dead to Me star, 54, shared the news during her return to the MeSsy podcast on Tuesday, October 20, reuniting with co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler after a four-month hospitalization.
Applegate explained that her doctor recently told her she does not have MS, but the symptoms that have affected her mobility and daily life have not gone away. “I was, like, not happy at all,” Applegate recalled of learning the news. “Everybody else was so happy.”
The actress first experienced numbness in her toes in January 2021, she explained, before it spread to her legs and pain began. After undergoing a series of tests, including brain and spinal MRIs and a spinal tap, she was eventually diagnosed with MS. She said she had spent years receiving infusions as part of her treatment.
But a few years ago, her doctor noticed something unexpected while monitoring her B cells after taking her off the infusions. That led to further investigation into her diagnosis, including the use of newer technology to examine her brain scans and compare them with those of other patients.
“Congratulations. You don't have MS. Congratulations,” she recalled her doctor telling her. The news left Applegate with more questions about what has been happening to her body, especially when things are only getting worse.
© Getty Images“You don't get misdiagnosed and then all of a sudden I'm better,” she told Sigler. “I haven't gotten better, Jamie. If anything, I've gotten worse in some ways.”
Applegate said she continues to experience symptoms associated with MS and is now preparing to begin another search for answers with her doctors.
She said the process feels overwhelming, especially because she doesn't know what specialists she needs or what condition they are looking for. “I'm back at square one; I don't know what's going on with me,” she said.
© Getty Images for Critics ChoiceApplegate also admitted that she sometimes feels like she let people down after speaking publicly about her MS diagnosis and connecting with others living with the disease. “I feel like I let everybody down,” she said.
Sigler, who has lived with MS for more than two decades, pushed back against that guilt, reminding her friend that their podcast was never solely about their shared diagnosis.
The show, she explained, was created to give people a place to talk honestly about the difficult and often unpredictable parts of life.
“Everything you did and shared and were and are to so many people doesn't go anywhere,” Sigler told her. “You didn't mislead anyone."
Applegate agreed and also made it clear that she intends to continue advocating for people living with MS. “I'm going to still be an MS warrior no matter what because of championing for the people that I love,” she said.
For now, Applegate is trying to give herself room to process the news while continuing to manage her physical symptoms as doctors investigate the cause of her symptoms.
© GettyImagesDespite the uncertainty, Applegate has been finding small ways to bring joy into her daily life, including wearing a flower in her hair as a reminder to keep blooming. “I'm alone 90% of the time, and I put a flower in my hair just so that I have this reminder to blossom and to bloom."
