Christina Applegate has revealed she is being tested for conditions that share symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis (MS), after it was confirmed she had been misdiagnosed with the autoimmune disease. The Married... With Children actress had been battling a debilitating illness for several years, believing it to be MS, but recently announced she is 'back to square one' after a doctor confirmed it was not the brain and spinal cord condition.
Testing for 'sister diseases' to MS
Speaking on the latest episode of her MeSsy podcast with co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler and guest Jack Osbourne, Christina gave listeners the latest update on her health woes. 'We're going into square one, just doing some testing and going one-by-one of the sister diseases to MS,' she explained. 'You've got RA [rheumatoid arthritis], lupus, Lyme disease, all these things can kind of mimic MS. So I'm being tested for all that stuff slowly but surely.'
The 54-year-old previously revealed how she discovered the misdiagnosis, sharing on the podcast how the doctor 'came into my room and said, "Congratulations, you don't have MS".' However, she added that despite receiving this news she was 'not happy at all'.
Emotional toll of the misdiagnosis
'Everybody else was so happy. You don't get misdiagnosed and then all of a sudden I'm better,' Christina explained. 'I haven't gotten better! 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 added: 'I've gone through a great depression because of it. But I 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. I still have to use wheelchairs when I go to the doctor's office. I can't walk from the car to the room. Nothing magical happened when she said, "You don't have MS".'
MS is an incurable condition where the immune system attacks the body and causes nerve damage, targeting the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include fatigue, difficulty walking, vision problems, numbness and problems with thinking, which range in severity.
Christina has also admitted she's struggling to find her place, after becoming a 'poster child' for MS and forming a community of fellow sufferers in the wake of her diagnosis. 'It's weird because I feel like I let everybody down,' she said. 'Everything I was doing. I had a 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.'
Expert insight on misdiagnosis rates
Dr. Marwa Kaisey, associate professor with the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center department of neurology, also appeared on the podcast, saying that 20% of people told they have MS are actually misdiagnosed due to the lack of one singular test to detect the condition. 'Almost one in five of these people who'd been told they had MS, some for decades, didn't actually have it. And a majority of them were on medication to treat their MS,' she explained.
Christina previously updated her fans on her health earlier this year, following reports she had spent a prolonged amount of time in hospital. She returned to social media to show off her new hair, as well as pointing out a new 'weird spot' on her cheek.
The actress, who is also known for her roles in Anchorman and Netflix series Dead To Me, announced her retirement in 2023, saying she would be unable to continue acting due to her illness.
