Christina Applegate returned to her “MeSsy” podcast Tuesday with some shocking news: She was misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
After taking a break from podcasting for seven months due to her health, Applegate tearfully shared the revelation in a two-part episode, saying new technology led to the discovery. “This may be great news, but for me, I’m back to square one,” she said. “It’s hard to say that (my doctor) came into my room and said, ‘Congratulations, you don’t have MS.'”
Applegate said she was “not happy at all” about the news. “There’s no misdiagnosis and all of a sudden I’m better. I haven’t gotten better… On the contrary, I’ve gotten worse in some ways,” she said. “So I’m back to square one, I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
Applegate initially revealed that she was diagnosed with MS in 2021 and retired from acting following the finale of her hit series “Dead to Me” the following year. Since then, she has become a vocal advocate for people with the disease — which causes damage to the central nervous system — and launched the “MeSsy” podcast alongside “Sopranos” star Jamie-Lynn Sigler to share her experience and raise awareness.
Despite learning she had been misdiagnosed, Applegate said her symptoms persisted and her illness had now become a mystery. “I have all the symptoms of someone with MS. Every single one,” she said. “Now we both know that there are many things that reflect MS – many different things.”
She added that “there are quite a high number of misdiagnoses when it comes to MS,” so it’s not a rare occurrence. “It’s clear now that they’re discovering something different,” Applegate continued. “There’s something else going on.”
Applegate added that “it’s weird because I feel like I’m letting everyone down” after becoming such a big advocate for the MS community. She said she was still in a “state of shock”, adding: “It’s bullshit, of course.”
“It’s a strange feeling because I’ve become this: you and me, the poster children of MS,” she said. “I had a reason. I had a fucking reason why my day sucked every day. And now I don’t have a reason and it’s really annoying and it’s really confusing to me.”
In the second part of the podcast episode, Applegate reflected emotionally on the past five years and how confused she is now.
“I went through a big depression because of that. But I lost everything. I lost my job… It stopped my life,” she said. “I still have to use wheelchairs when I go to the doctor. I can’t walk from the car to the room. I’m still here. Nothing magical happened when she said, ‘You don’t have MS.’ Nothing magical happened.
Listen to full episodes of “MeSsy” below.
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