Christina Applegate says she was misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis

Actress Christina Applegate shared from Los Angeles that doctors mistakenly identified her condition as multiple sclerosis. The update leaves her searching for answers about her ongoing health issues without a clear medical cause. She spoke about the change during her podcast return.

Applegate shared the news on a two-part episode of “MeSsy.” She co-hosts the audio program with Jamie Lynn Sigler. The episode was released Tuesday.

The actress had taken time away from the show to process the update. Her doctor delivered the unexpected report directly. Applegate recalled the exact conversation.

“Congratulations, you don’t have MS.”

Applegate said she was not pleased with the reversal. She felt alone in that reaction. Others around her celebrated the news.

“I was like, not happy at all. Everybody else was happy.”

A wrong assessment happens often, according to Dr. Marwa Kaisey. Kaisey works as an associate professor at the Los Angeles facility Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the neurology department. She stated roughly 20 percent of people told they have the illness do not have it.

No single test exists to confirm the illness. Applegate still deals with difficult physical problems. The true cause of her symptoms remains unknown.

Her health has deteriorated despite the new findings. Applegate described the setback on the program.

“I haven’t gotten better, Jamie! If anything, I’ve gotten worse. So I’m back at square one where I don’t know what’s going on with me.”

Doctors will conduct an online inquiry to locate the origin. The review will examine her records back to 2021. Applegate initially revealed an illness five years ago.

She made few public outings following that original news. She attended an event in 2023. She called it her final awards show as an actor.

Applegate and Sigler previously called themselves representatives for people living with the disease. Sigler deals with relapsing multiple sclerosis. Losing the label created confusion for Applegate.

The lack of an explanation brought fresh frustration. She expressed that emotion plainly on air.

“I had a reason. I had a f, 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 stated she experienced deep depression during those years. She still relies on wheelchairs and struggles to walk. Her mobility issues continue daily.

Her physical reality did not change with the revised report. She addressed the lasting impact on her life.

“What do you say to someone who’s been living with this for six years … because it stopped my life. Nothing magical happened when [the doctor] said, ‘You don’t have MS.’ Nothing magical happened.”

Multiple sclerosis damages the protective covering around human nerves, according to the Mayo Clinic. Severe situations can eliminate a person’s ability to walk or move. The illness has no cure.

Medical teams across Los Angeles review complex neurological cases through long testing regimens. Physicians track symptom history over several years to narrow down possibilities.