The “Married... with Children” star battling multiple sclerosis urges podcast listeners to trust their gut and seek medical advice.
Actress Christina Applegate is getting candid about her ongoing struggle with multiple sclerosis (MS) and the toll it’s taken on her body since being
diagnosed four years ago.
During a March 18 episode of her “MeSsy”
podcast with co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler, the 53-year-old responded to listener mail on the subject of intense gastrointestinal symptoms.
“This is really important because for three years, since I was diagnosed, I’ve been in the hospital upwards of 30 times from throwing up and diarrhea and pain that is unimaginable,” Applegate said.
“They’ve done every test known to man on me, put so much radiation into my body from CT scans to everything else. And literally, just in the last month, I have figured it out. Now maybe this isn’t what’s happening, but I’m just gonna tell you this.”
According to the
Mayo Clinic, MS is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and central nervous system that can cause permanent damage or deterioration of the nerve fibers.
Symptoms vary on a case-by-case basis but the most common include fatigue, numbness or weakness, dizziness, lack of coordination, and tingling throughout the body.
“One of the things with MS is that it slows down our organs, you know, not like completely, but there is a slowing of the function of your organs,” she said while advising a listener to seek medical advice.
“I have noticed that—and I’m going to be really honest—if I have to poop, I puke ... And when I puke, I get all the pain. And then all the things happen.”
The “Married... with Children” star continues to be proactive about her health, noting she has a colonoscopy scheduled this week to further address growing issues, something her neurologist argues is “not an MS thing.”
“I’m gonna have a big conversation with the big guys and be like, ‘I know you guys are saying that I’m crazy, and I’m coming in here for no reason. And now, I’m seeing a pattern,'” she said of her doctors.
“There’s got to be a correlation here. And I’m not a doctor, so I’m not giving medical advice. I’m just saying, just think about that.”
Applegate initially
revealed her diagnosis back in 2021, after experiencing symptoms years prior to being officially diagnosed and noticing significant changes while filming the final season of “Dead to Me” on Netflix.
“It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition,” she
wrote on social media platform X at the time. “It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going.”
Meanwhile, Sigler, 43, best known for her role on the HBO series “The Sopranos,” was also
diagnosed with MS at 20 years old, keeping her illness and struggle hidden for over a decade.
Following her
diagnosis in 2018, actress Selma Blair has been vocal about her experience with MS and continues to use her
platform to raise awareness for others living with the condition.At one point, Blair, who co-starred alongside Applegate on “The Sweetest Thing,” urged her friend when she was suffering to see a doctor. They have continued to publicly support one another over the years.
