Actor Christina Applegate has revealed that she was misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis, more than five years after she was first told she had the chronic condition. Applegate, 54, shared the unexpected news during a double episode of her podcast, MeSsy, which she co-hosts with Jamie-Lynn Sigler to discuss living with the condition. Applegate had recently taken a break from the podcast to process the new medical information.
Applegate explained that a few years ago, her doctor wanted to evaluate how her B cells would react to halting an infusion treatment. When her cell count remained stable without increasing or decreasing after the treatment stopped, it initiated what Applegate described as a deeper investigation into her diagnosis. Eventually, her physician delivered the surprising conclusion that she never had multiple sclerosis.
“She came into my room and said, ‘Congratulations, you don’t have MS,'” Applegate recounted on the podcast. “I was, like, not happy at all. Everybody else was so happy.”
Multiple sclerosis is a disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the central nervous system. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, symptoms vary widely from person to person, and the disease features multiple types with no known cause and unpredictable progression. Dr. Marwa Kaisey, an associate professor in the department of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, appeared on the podcast to note that misdiagnoses are “fairly common,” estimating that nearly one in five people told they have multiple sclerosis actually do not have the condition because there is no single definitive test for it.
When Applegate received her initial diagnosis, she underwent extensive testing, including MRIs and a spinal tap, with scans revealing brain lesions. Despite learning she does not have the disease, Applegate emphasized that her debilitating physical symptoms and mobility challenges continue.
“You don’t get misdiagnosed and then all of the sudden I’m better,” Applegate said. “If anything, I’ve gotten worse. So I’m back at square one where I don’t know what’s going on with me. And 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 noted that her medical team is scheduled to begin this new investigation. Applegate has previously been open about the physical toll of her health struggles, describing symptoms that include limb tingling, numbness, and a lack of balance. In a 2022 interview, she shared that she could no longer walk without a cane. During the filming of the Netflix series “Dead To Me,” she used a wheelchair, prompting production to adjust the script to accommodate her physical needs. In 2023, she indicated that her symptoms might eventually lead her to step away from on-camera acting entirely. She currently undergoes physical therapy three times a week.
Having spent years as a vocal advocate for the multiple sclerosis community following her public diagnosis, Applegate admitted that the revelation of the misdiagnosis brought a complicated emotional weight, leaving her feeling as though she had let people down.
“It’s very unnerving and it’s really confusing for me,” Applegate said.
