Christina Applegate ‘Still in Shock’ Over MS Misdiagnosis
/By Crystal Lindell
Actress Christina Applegate told the world this week that her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis was actually a misdiagnosis.
It was an incredible act of bravery -- especially since she has become a well-known MS advocate over the last few years. Now she has no explanation for the MS-like symptoms that began in 2021.
“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 really confusing for me," Applegate said.
The 54-year old actress shared the news while hosting an episode of her podcast, which is co-hosted by actress Jamie Lynn Sigler, who has MS. The podcast is literally named after them both having MS: “MeSsy.”
Sigler had been hosting the podcast solo for seven months while Applegate dealt with her worsening health. In her return appearance, Applegate shared how a doctor told her she did not actually have MS, an autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system,
“She came into my room and she said, ‘Congratulations, you don’t have MS.’” Applegate said. “I was like, not happy at all. Everybody else was so happy.”
Sigler sympathized with her.
"I could see if that happened to me. I could see everybody around me celebrating and me being like, 'Well, what the fuck?'" she said.
Applegate conveyed just how difficult it has been to process the news, especially since losing the diagnosis did not result in her losing any of her symptoms.
"I'm back at square one," she said. "I don't know what's going on with me."
Applegate, who rose to fame playing Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom “Married... with Children,” shared that her first symptoms started with numbness in her toes. She later experienced balance issues, severe fatigue, and chronic pain. Eventually she needed a wheelchair and was hospitalized.
After numerous tests, they found almost 40 lesions on her brain, which led to the MS diagnosis.
"That was my answer. [MS] was my answer to everything that was going on,” Applegate told her co-host. "And I leaned into you. I leaned into other friends. I leaned into the community. I felt safe because I had a place to talk, which was here. I felt like, okay, I have an answer. I have an answer. What a great thing."
Applegate tried infusions as a treatment for MS, which she said wreaked havoc on her body.
That made her doctor wonder. She told Applegate, "I want to see something. I want to take you off of the infusion and I want to watch your B cells.”
When the B cells, a type of white blood cell that fights infections, didn't change, they began to study her original diagnosis. That led to the revelation that she didn’t have MS at all.
That didn’t mean she was suddenly healthy though.
"I have every symptom of someone with MS. Every single one,” Applegate said. “I'm still in shock and 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?”
She also delved into how much this has impacted her perception of herself.
"It's like I feel like I let everybody down, you know? It's this weird feeling of like I became… the poster children for MS,” Applegate shared through tears. “I mean, it's like 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 really confusing for me."
Sigler offered her comfort.
"I think this brings up an interesting point… about the labeling of things and how attached we become to them for so many reasons, right?” her co-host said. “Because it feels like there's a road map at least that you have for things. And this [misdiagnosis], we've come to learn that this is not that rare of an occurrence, especially when it comes to MS.”
Indeed, that’s maybe the most heartbreaking thing about the misdiagnosis. It’s relatively common for MS-diagnosed patients.
A 2019 study found that as many as 1 in 5 patients are misdiagnosed with MS. The researchers said the most common alternative diagnoses were migraine (16%), radiologically isolated syndrome (9%), spondylopathy (7%), and neuropathy (7%).
Most disturbing of all, the misdiagnosed group in the study had received approximately 110 patient-years of unnecessary MS disease modifying medications and infusions.
"There's a pretty damn high number of misdiagnoses with MS and that's after people have been going through the process of it with the infusions for many years," Applegate said.
Applegate said the podcast will continue despite the change in her diagnosis.
"There's so many people that listen to us who don't have MS… who have problems with parenting, who have problems with life shit, or they do have, you know, neuropathy, whatever it may be. You don't have to be ill to listen to our podcast."
Indeed, while putting a face to MS was important work, Applegate being brave enough to now put a face on being misdiagnosed may be even more important. In an already underserved and misunderstood community, they are in need of a strong advocate like her.
