Christina Applegate Says She Was Misdiagnosed With Multiple Sclerosis and Is ‘Back at Square One’

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 21 (TodayViralUSA) — Christina Applegate says she never had multiple sclerosis, revealing more than five years after announcing her diagnosis that doctors now believe it was wrong — and that she still does not know what is causing her debilitating symptoms.

The 54-year-old Emmy winner, known for “Married… with Children” and Netflix’s “Dead to Me,” shared the news Tuesday in a two-part episode of “MeSsy,” the podcast about life with MS that she co-hosts with actor Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Applegate had stepped away from the show for several weeks and said she used the time to process the information.

‘Congratulations, you don’t have MS’

Applegate said that a few years ago her doctor took her off an infusion treatment to see how her B cells would respond. When the count did not change, it set off a closer review of her diagnosis that ended with a surprising conclusion.

“She came into my room and said, ‘Congratulations, you don’t have MS,’” Applegate said, according to CBS News. “I was, like, not happy at all. Everybody else was so happy.”

She said her original diagnosis followed tests including a spinal tap and MRI scans that showed lesions on her brain.

Symptoms have not gone away

Applegate said she continues to struggle with mobility and daily life, and attends physical therapy three times a week. “You don’t get misdiagnosed and then all of the sudden I’m better,” she said. “If anything, I’ve gotten worse. So I’m back at square one.” She said her doctors would begin investigating the cause next week.

Since going public in 2021, Applegate has been one of the most visible advocates for people living with MS, and she said the news left her feeling “like I let everybody down.”

Dr. Marwa Kaisey, an associate professor of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said on the podcast that misdiagnosis of MS is fairly common because there is no single test for it, and that nearly one in five people told they have the disease do not actually have it.