Christina Applegate has revealed that her 13-year-old daughter has been diagnosed with POTS.
The “Dead to Me” star’s daughter Sadie spoke about his condition on Tuesday’s episode. Applegate’s “MeSsy” podcastShe said she found new common ground with her mother, who lives with multiple sclerosis.
“I have something called POTS,” Sadie says, “I have no idea what it actually is, but it has to do with the autonomic nervous system and affects the heart. When I stand up, I get really dizzy, my legs get really weak and I feel like I’m going to pass out.”
POTS, or more formally known as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, is a condition in which your heart rate suddenly increases after you stand up from a sitting or lying position. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine:.
It is a chronic disease that affects the autonomic nervous system and blood circulation and can cause tremors, nausea and fainting.
Sadie revealed that although she was only recently diagnosed, she has been living with the condition for some time.
The former “Married…With Children” star, 52, said she “hates” her daughter having to go through this chronic illness.
“My love, I’m so sorry. I’m sad,” Applegate said. “I’m sad, but I love you and I know you’re going to be OK. I’m here for you and I believe in you. Thank you for bringing this to the public and bringing awareness.”
Ms. Applegate and her husband, Martin LeNoble’s, son, Sadie, recalled sneaking out of class “multiple times a day” to visit the nurse when he was in sixth grade.
“When I stand up in class, I’m like, ‘I have to go to the nurse’s office. I can’t do this,’ and even during gym class I’m like, ‘I have to go to the nurse’,” she said.
“They were like, ‘You’re doing this to get out of class. It’s probably just anxiety. Go back to class.’ They didn’t do anything.”
“It definitely hurt me physically and mentally that they didn’t do anything,” she continued, “because I was like, ‘This is disrespectful and I feel bad and now they’re telling me to go to PE and run laps around the football field? I can’t do that.'”
Applegate, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021, admitted that she initially downplayed her daughter’s symptoms.
“My daughter wears layers of clothes even on 90-degree days and hates PE. I feel bad for the school, but she just doesn’t like PE or being physically active,” Applegate said.
“I thought, ‘Yeah, I kind of felt that way too.’ I really regret that we didn’t pay attention to it.”
“I just didn’t notice it at home, baby. It was fine at home. But we have some similarities,” Applegate continued.
“When we go out into the world, the stress and anxiety can make our symptoms much worse than when we’re in the safety and cool of our homes.”
Sadie said having some understanding of her condition has helped her “understand what my mother is going through.”
“For example, if my mom said, ‘Oh, I’m kind of hurting right now. Oh, I’m shaking,’ without this I’d probably say, ‘I don’t really care. I don’t know what you’re talking about,'” she added.
