Christina Applegate has shared the five ‘weird’ symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) that she brushed off at first, not realizing they were signs of the condition.
The Anchorman star was diagnosed with MS back in 2021, and she often talks about her journey of living with the condition and managing its challenges.
MS is still somewhat of a mystery in terms of what causes it. The condition occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the brain and nerves, leading to a wide range of symptoms.
What is MS?
According to the NHS, MS is an incurable condition that affects the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms vary widely among individuals but often include fatigue, muscle cramps, spasms, stiffness, and even issues with memory or focus.
While MS can impact anyone, certain factors make it more likely. You might be at higher risk if you’re a woman, between the ages of 20 and 50, have close family members with the condition, smoke, or have previously contracted the Epstein-Barr virus.
‘Weird’ MS symptoms Christina Applegate experienced
During an episode of SiriusXM’s This Life of Mine with James Corden, Applegate opened up about the unusual symptoms she went through that initially puzzled her.
“For years and years and years, I’d have, like, some weird things … balance issues, speech issues,” the actress shared.
“My hands would shake sometimes, and I remember playing tennis – I played tennis a couple times a week, and my knee would go out.”
At the time, she chalked these symptoms up to things like ‘dehydration’ or thought it might just be ‘too hot’ outside.
Then, in January 2021, she started noticing that her ‘toes got numb’, which added to her concerns.
“And I ignored it,” she admitted. “and I still was hiking and then I’d be like, ‘Whoa, that’s, hmm. That’s a weird muscle spasm.'”
Things only became ‘weirder and weirder’ for Applegate, and her symptoms got progressively worse as she approached the start of filming for the final season of Dead to Me.
“By this time I was like, ‘You guys, I can’t even walk up the steps to my trailer.'”
“Please don’t tell me this”
With her symptoms building up, Applegate went in for a series of tests, including an MRI scan of her brain. She got the call from her doctor while she was at work.
“I remember saying to them, ‘I have to leave. I have to go home and be there at seven,’ and they’re like, ‘Well, we have like one more scene to do,’ and I just said, ‘I can’t. I gotta go home,'” she said.
Once she was back, she joined a video call where her doctor looked at her with a serious expression and said: “I’m so sorry.”
When shown the MRI image of her brain, she could see ‘like 30 lesions all over’, to which she responded: “No, please don’t tell me this. Please don’t tell me this.”
Applegate then contacted the production team, telling them ‘it’s fking MS’, and work on the show was paused for a week.
“That was it, and then we were just trying to figure out how to film and stuff, and we did. I mean, we finished it. It took us a long time, but we finished it. But yeah, I remember that moment like it was yesterday,” she added.
