Christina Applegate has opened up about her multiple sclerosis diagnosis.
The 53-year-old actress wasn't officially diagnosed until 2021, but she first noticed the mysterious symptoms two years ago while filming the pilot for her Netflix series Dead to Me.
Applegate spoke about her experience on Tuesday's episode. Her podcast “Messy” She co-hosts with actress Jamie Lynn Mr. Sigler also has MS. The “married…with kids” alumna revealed to close friend and “Dead to Me” author Liz Feldman that her symptoms first appeared in 2019.
However, Applegate dismissed them and postponed seeking medical assistance for a while.
The star said he fell while running in a field during a scene in the dark comedy, but now realizes it was an early sign of an autoimmune disease.
“I remember falling that day,” Applegate recalled. “Hello, this is my first sign of MS!”
Mr. Feldman also remembered the incident.
“I remember you losing your balance a few times and it was very difficult to understand,” she said. “I remember one time, it was really late at night, and we had been filming for probably 14 or 15 hours, so I thought it was natural for someone to collapse.”
But in 2021, while filming the third and final season of Dead to Me, Applegate experienced back problems, tingling, and other symptoms because MS affects the brain and nerves. , was diagnosed.
“There's no handbook for this,” Feldman said of the diagnosis. “Person A was scared and B could tell that something was wrong, something in her body wasn't working the way she wanted it to. I told her over and over again that this was just a TV show. I said, “We're making a TV show, and at the end of the day, it's so stupid!''
He added: “I knew Christina well and she's extremely professional so I knew something big had to be going on.”
Producers ended up adapting Applegate's scenes to make her more comfortable by the end of the show due to Applegate's declining motor skills.
“That wouldn't happen anywhere else,” said the TV vet. “So thank you, human beings, because you are human beings and you should love other human beings. – I can’t say that either, but that’s not a normal reaction! ”
Since contracting multiple sclerosis, Applegate has retired from acting, but hasn't ruled out a job as a narrator.
Last month, the actress spoke candidly about how the condition has affected her daily life and career in Hollywood.
“I was lying in bed screaming in sharp pain, pain, constriction,” Applegate said.
She added: “Every day of my life.”
“Sometimes I can't even pick up my phone, because now it's in my hands. So I go and get my phone, get the remote, and… They try to turn on the TV, and sometimes they can't even hold it.'' I can't open the bottle right now,'' Applegate admitted.
“When I put my foot on the ground, it hurts like crazy to the touch,” said Applegate, who previously revealed she had to use a cane to get around.
“I was like, 'Right.' I'm going to go back to bed and pee in my diaper because I don't want to walk to the bathroom.”
“Actually, I'm not going to lie here and pee in my diaper. That's just a joke. But it's like something so painful, so hard, so awkward.” “The Legend of Ron Burgundy'' star pointed out.
In March, Applegate shared her outlook on living with the disease.
“You never wake up in the morning and think, 'This is great.' But let me tell you this: That doesn't happen,” she explained to Robin Roberts. For ABC News. “I wake up and remind myself of that every day. So that's never going to happen. But maybe we can get to a place where it works a little better.”
