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The good news is that after years of suffering, Christina Applegate has learned that she does not have multiple sclerosis.
The bad news is that a medical misdiagnosis is never a good thing, and unnecessary treatments can lead to tremendous pain.
Christina returned to MeSsy this week — the podcast she co-hosts with actress Jamie Lynn Sigler — and she delivered a devastating revelation about her health.
While fans may have been hoping for an encouraging update following her reported hospitalization earlier this year, Applegate instead shared news that has left her struggling to make sense of her ongoing medical problems.
According to Applegate, doctors recently informed her that she does not have multiple sclerosis (MS), despite having lived with the diagnosis since 2021.
“She came into my room and said, ‘Congratulations, you don’t have MS,’” Applegate recalled through tears.
The news didn’t bring the relief that her doctor apparently expected. Instead, the actress was left confused and upset, particularly because her physical symptoms haven’t improved.
“You don’t get misdiagnosed and then all of the sudden I’m better,” Applegate explained. “I haven’t gotten better, Jamie! If anything, I’ve gotten worse.”
The revelation means Applegate is now facing a new round of medical investigations as doctors attempt to determine what has been causing her symptoms for the past five years.
And the emotional toll has been considerable.
In a second episode released alongside her return, Applegate opened up about experiencing a deep depression while processing the news. She also revealed that her health struggles have affected her career and continue to interfere with her everyday life.
“I lost everything. I lost my job,” she said, becoming emotional as she described the reality of living with debilitating symptoms despite no longer having the diagnosis she once believed explained them.
Applegate added that she still needs a wheelchair to attend medical appointments because she cannot walk from her car to the doctor’s office.
“Nothing magical happened when she said, ‘You don’t have MS,’” she said.
The actress also admitted to feeling as though she had let people down, given the community she had built with others living with MS. She and Sigler had become prominent voices discussing the condition and the challenges that come with it.
Now, Applegate is struggling to understand where she fits into that community while also trying to find answers about her own health.
“I had a reason. I had a f—ing reason as to why my day sucked every day,” she explained. “And now I don’t have a reason and it’s very unnerving and it’s very confusing for me.”
Neurologist Dr. Marwa Kaisey joined the podcast discussion to explain that MS misdiagnoses can occur because there is no single test that definitively establishes whether someone has the condition. Instead, doctors evaluate a collection of diagnostic criteria.
Applegate said she remains in a state of shock over the news, describing the experience as deeply unsettling.
The actress first announced her MS diagnosis in August 2021 and has been candid about her health challenges ever since. Earlier this year, she reportedly spent several months hospitalized before returning home in August.
She and Sigler temporarily paused the podcast in March, with Sigler subsequently recording episodes with guest appearances while Applegate focused on her health.
Although Applegate has now learned that her original diagnosis was incorrect, the underlying problems remain unresolved. As she put it, she is facing “the same game with a different name.”
For the actress, the next chapter is less about celebrating a diagnosis being ruled out and more about finding answers to the questions that have upended her life.
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