Christina Applegate has revealed that she spent five years believing she had multiple sclerosis before learning the diagnosis was wrong. The actress, recognised for her roles in Anchorman and Married... with Children, disclosed the discovery on her Messy podcast in an episode released on Tuesday, saying she was devastated by the news. According to BBC News, Applegate described being "not happy at all" and in tears when doctors informed her of the misdiagnosis.
"You don't get misdiagnosed and then all of the sudden I'm better,"Applegate said during the two-part episode, which she co-hosted with Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
"If anything, I've gotten worse."The podcast marked her return after taking time to process the information, and an investigation into the actual cause of her ongoing symptoms will begin next week.
"I'm back at square one where I don't know what's going on with me,"she explained.
How the misdiagnosis was discovered
Applegate recounted that several years ago, her doctor recommended stopping her infusion treatment for MS to observe how her body would respond. When she discontinued the medication, her physical condition did not behave in a manner consistent with MS. Following this observation, doctors re-examined her case and determined she did not have the autoimmune disease, which typically causes muscle stiffness and difficulties with movement and speech.
"She came into my room and said, 'Congratulations, you don't have MS,'"Applegate recalled.
"I was, like, not happy at all. Everybody else was so happy."
Why MS misdiagnosis is common
Dr Marwa Kaisey, who appeared as a guest on Tuesday's episode, explained that MS misdiagnoses occur frequently because symptoms vary widely between patients and no single definitive test exists. According to People magazine, nearly one in five people diagnosed with MS may not actually have the condition, and many in that group had been taking MS medication.
"It's not like we have something like a pregnancy test that says 'yes, you have it. No, you don't,'"Kaisey said.
"It's a list of criteria."
Ongoing symptoms despite the corrected diagnosis
Despite learning she does not have MS, Applegate continues to experience every symptom she previously attributed to the disease. According to ITV News, she still requires a wheelchair to move from her car to a doctor's office, indicating that her physical condition has not improved with the diagnosis correction. Fox 13 Seattle reported that new testing methods helped determine she does not have MS.
Timeline of her health journey
Applegate first received an MS diagnosis in August 2021 after experiencing symptoms for some time. At that point, she stated:
"It's been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps on going."In the years following her diagnosis, her mental health deteriorated alongside her physical condition. During a 2024 podcast episode, she described being in a
"real depression"and said
"I don't enjoy living. I don't enjoy it. I don't enjoy things anymore."She had previously told the New York Times that she could not walk without a cane and used a wheelchair while filming the Netflix series Dead to Me.
What happens next
Applegate's medical team plans to conduct a comprehensive investigation to determine what has actually caused her symptoms and what has occurred since her initial 2021 diagnosis. The investigation is scheduled to begin next week, though no specific date has been announced. Her co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who has lived with MS for more than a decade, continues to support Applegate through the podcast.
