Christina Applegate reveals multiple sclerosis diagnosis was wrong

By Dilara Hamit

ANKARA (AA) – US actor Christina Applegate revealed Tuesday that she was misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis, saying she continues to experience debilitating symptoms without knowing the cause.

Applegate, 54, announced the revised diagnosis during an emotional episode of her MeSsy podcast, which she hosts with fellow actor Jamie-Lynn Sigler.

“This may come as great news, but to me, I’m back at square one,” Applegate said through tears. “I don’t know what’s going on with me.”

She noted that a doctor entered her hospital room following a medical reassessment and told her: “Congratulations, you don’t have MS.”

Applegate said she did not feel relieved because her physical condition had not improved.

“I had every symptom of someone with MS. Every single one,” she said.

“I haven’t gotten better. 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.’”

The actor did not disclose what condition doctors now believe may be responsible for her symptoms. She said her medical team would continue investigating what had happened since 2021.

Applegate also described feeling that she had disappointed people after becoming one of the most prominent public advocates for those living with MS.

“I feel like I let everybody down,” she said. “You and I became the poster children for MS.”

“Now I don’t have a reason. It’s very unnerving, and it’s really confusing for me.”

Applegate announced in August 2021 that she had been diagnosed with MS, an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord and can cause problems with movement, balance, vision and sensation.

She later spoke extensively about the condition’s effect on her mobility, career and mental health. Her experiences also formed a central part of her memoir, You With the Sad Eyes, published in March.

Applegate largely withdrew from on-screen acting after completing the final season of the Netflix comedy-drama Dead to Me, for which she received multiple Emmy nominations.

She is also known for playing Kelly Bundy in the sitcom Married... with Children, and for films including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.

Applegate won an Emmy in 2003 for her guest appearance as Rachel Green’s sister Amy in Friends.