Actress Christina Applegate says she was wrongly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) and is now facing fresh investigations into the cause of her debilitating symptoms.
The Anchorman and Married… with Children star revealed the news on her Messy podcast, co-hosted by Jamie-Lynn Sigler, in an episode released on Tuesday.
Applegate said she was in tears when her doctor told her she did not have the autoimmune disease, despite having lived with the diagnosis for five years. “You don’t get misdiagnosed and then all of the sudden I’m better, If anything, I’ve gotten worse.”
She said she was “not happy at all” when her doctor delivered the news, even though others around her were pleased. “She came into my room and said, ‘Congratulations, you don’t have MS,’” Applegate recalled. Everybody else was so happy.”
Applegate said her doctor had suggested stopping her MS infusion treatment a few years ago to see how her body responded.
During the break, her body did not react in a way that indicated she had MS. Doctors reviewed her case further and concluded she did not have the condition.
The actress said investigations into the cause of her daily symptoms would begin the following week. “I’m back at square one where I don’t know what’s going on with me.”
Medical experts say diagnosing multiple sclerosis can be difficult because its symptoms vary and there is no single test that confirms the disease.
Dr Marwa Kaisey, who appeared on Applegate’s podcast, said MS diagnoses rely on a set of clinical criteria rather than one definitive test.
“It’s not like we have something like a pregnancy test that says ‘yes, you have it. No, you don’t, It’s a list of criteria.”
Research suggests that about 15 to 20 per cent of people diagnosed with MS may not actually have the disease, according to Dr Elena Grebenciucova, a neuroimmunology physician at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
She said doctors typically look for lesions, or white matter spots, on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain or spinal cord.
But such spots can also occur in people with other conditions, including migraines, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high cholesterol.
A vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause neurological symptoms that resemble MS, including cognitive difficulties, tingling and balance problems.
Dr Philip De Jager, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, said diagnosing MS requires doctors to review a patient’s medical history and conduct laboratory tests to rule out other causes.
Dr Michael Kornberg, an associate professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said receiving a different diagnosis after years of believing one had a chronic illness could be deeply unsettling. “It becomes part of your identity, explaining that having a diagnosis can provide some comfort by helping people understand what is happening in their bodies.
“To live with that for five years and then to be given a different diagnosis is really unsettling.”
Dr De Jager said patients could seek second opinions because misdiagnoses were possible.
Applegate first announced her MS diagnosis in August 2021, after experiencing symptoms for some time. “It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps on going,” she said at the time.
In later years, she spoke publicly about the emotional toll of her health struggles. In a 2024 podcast episode, she said she was experiencing deep depression and struggling to enjoy life.
In an interview, Applegate also said she could not walk without a cane. She used a wheelchair while filming the Netflix series Dead to Me.
The actress has now returned to her podcast after taking a break to process the news about her diagnosis. She says she is still experiencing debilitating symptoms and does not yet know what is causing them.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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