MS misdiagnosis leaves Christina Applegate back at square one

Christina Applegate says a stunning reversal from her doctors has left her more lost than relieved. The actress, who went public with a multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2021, recently learned she does not have the disease — but the news has not brought the peace she expected. "This may come as great news, but to me, I’m back at square one," Applegate said while fighting back tears. "It’s hard to say that [my doctor] came into my room, and she said, ‘Congratulations, you don’t have MS.’" Speaking with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Applegate described her reaction to the moment. "I was, like, not happy at all," she admitted. "Everybody else was so happy … You don’t get misdiagnosed and then all of a sudden I’m better." "I haven’t gotten better, Jamie!" she continued. "If anything, I’ve gotten worse in some ways. So I’m back at square one that I don’t know what’s going on with me."

Doctors Search for Answers

According to Applegate, her medical team is now trying to pinpoint what is actually causing her ongoing health problems — and why she received an MS diagnosis in the first place. "There’s a pretty damn high number of misdiagnoses with MS," she said. "So this is not a rare occurrence. It’s clear now that they’re finding something different. Something else is going on." The update also stirred feelings of confusion and guilt. Applegate said she felt as though she had "let everybody down." "It’s this weird feeling of like … I became this — you and I, the poster children for MS," Applegate told Sigler. "And all that I did, everything I was doing. I had a reason. I had a f---ing 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," she added.

Emotional Toll on Her Life and Career

The chronic pain and mobility challenges have weighed heavily on her mental health and professional life. "I’ve gone through a great depression because of it," she said through tears. "But you know, I lost everything. I lost my job. I lost — sorry. What do you say to someone who’s been living with this for six years? God, I’m so sorry, I get really emotional because it stopped my life." Applegate stressed that the revised diagnosis has done nothing to change her physical reality. "I still have to use wheelchairs when I go to the doctor’s office," she said. "I can’t walk from the car to the room. I’m still in this. Nothing magical happened when she said, ‘You don’t have MS.’ Nothing magical happened." The Dead to Me star first shared her diagnosis on X in 2021. "Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS," she wrote at the time. "It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition." "It’s been a tough road," she continued. "But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some a--hole blocks it."

Honesty About Parenting and Daily Struggles

Applegate has spoken openly about how her health affects her role as a mother to 15-year-old daughter Sadie, whom she shares with husband Martyn LeNoble. "I want to take her [to school and activities]; it’s my favorite thing to do," Applegate previously told People. "It’s the only time we have together by ourselves. I tell myself, ‘Just get her there safely and get home so you can get back into bed.’ And that’s what I do." Her limitations have only strengthened her commitment to candor. "My life isn’t wrapped up with a bow," she said. "People’s lives, sorry for lack of a better term, f---ing suck sometimes. So I’m being as honest and raw as I possibly can." "She didn’t know this. It was like losing the mom she had to this f---ing thing," Applegate said. "And the more she’s gotten older now, I think the more it’s hurting her." "Mommy can’t do all the things that she used to be able to do, and I see it in her eyes," she added. "I see it."