Beloved ‘90s star Christina Applegate made a tearful reveal on the “MeSsy” podcast on Tuesday, October 20, informing fans she had been misdiagnosed with the neurological condition multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2021, and that her health continues to decline. Now, she is desperately seeking answers.
Christina Applegate’s Despair After Misdiagnosis
A source told the Daily Mail that at the end of March, Applegate was rushed to hospital in Los Angeles in agony, which she believed was caused by MS. “She was exhausted, almost unable to move, basically immobile. And that’s when she found out that it wasn’t MS, as I understand it,” the source said. She would spend four months in hospital trying to heal.
“She went into the hospital to manage the flare-up. Corticosteroids, plasma, physical therapy. She went in with a game plan that they were going to manage this, and she came out with less answers, totally unsure,” the source added.
The actress was discharged from the hospital on August 3 and learned she had been misdiagnosed. It has left her “emotionally shattered” as medical professionals still do not know why she is so sick, and her condition is worsening.
“She’s living with this 24/7, she’s getting worse, and now she doesn’t even have a name for it. It’s horrific,” the source claims. “She is spiraling. She isn’t doing well at all.” Applegate reportedly initially chose to keep the new information about her misdiagnosis a secret, but the source claimed the “Married… with Children” sitcom star gradually started to share the update with loved ones, and eventually with the public.
In August 2023, Applegate shared her diagnosis publicly, and used her platform to advocate for MS and bring awareness to the neurological condition. She has done a great deal to raise awareness of MS. “There was fear there, because MS has become a big part of her persona. And now MS is not what she’s got,” the source told the Daily Mail.
Christina Applegate Is Not Doing Well
The source also referenced what Applegate said on the “MeSsy” podcast with co-host and friend Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and how her public admission was only a small fraction of what she is actually going through.
“What she said on the podcast is the tip of the iceberg about how she is managing things. She’s so upset; it’s so awful,” the source shared. Another insider also commented on Applegate’s feelings after learning medical professionals still do not have a diagnosis for her, and that she had been misdiagnosed for years. “The last few years of her life now feel like a nightmare. She doesn’t know how to deal with it all, and it’s exhausting having to explain to friends what she is going through,” they said.
The insider added, “It is going to be a long time for her to get over it. How can she trust any doctors anymore?”
While Applegate’s doctors and loved ones celebrated that she did not have MS, it did not feel like good news to her. “She came into my room and said, ‘Congratulations, you don’t have MS,’” the actress recalled her doctor telling her. “I was, like, not happy at all. Everybody else was so happy.” In her appearance on the podcast, she also said, “It’s weird because I feel like I let everybody down. I’m back at square one.”
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Heartbreaking New Details Emerge About Christina Applegate’s Search for Answers After Her MS Misdiagnosis