Exclusive | Christina Applegates next steps towards finding cause of worsening health issues revealed after incorrect MS diagnosis
Christina Applegate says she’s “back at square one” after more than five years of believing she had multiple sclerosis (MS) — only for a doctor to tell her she doesn’t.“‘Congratulations.You don’t have MS,’ ” the “Dead to Me” actress, 54, recalled her doctor saying.
Yet she was “not happy at all” about the revelation.“I’m back at square one, that I don’t know what’s going on with me,” she said Tuesday on her podcast, “MeSsy,” which she hosts with fellow actor Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who was diagnosed with MS in 2001.MS causes the immune system to attack the protective covering on nerve fibers, disrupting communication between the brain and the rest of the body.That disruption may become permanent, and patients can lose the ability to walk on their own or move at all.Misdiagnosis affects more people than you might think.“Up to 1 in 5 patients diagnosed with MS may not actually have MS but a different condition,” Dr.
Elena Grebenciucova, an MS and neuroimmunology physician at Northwestern Medicine, told The Post.“Symptoms of MS are not unique to MS.”A misdiagnosis doesn’t just confuse and distress patients.
Shortly after being diagnosed with MS, patients often start therapies that suppress the immune system to slow long-term disability progression.Improper treatment can cause severe injury and unnecessary health risks.“You don’t get misdiagnosed and then all of a sudden I’m better,” Applegate said.“I haven’t gotten better, Jamie.
If anything, I’ve gotten worse in some ways.”Here’s how an MS misdiagnosis can occur — and the next steps Applegate is taking to identify the correct cause of her health woes.Applegate reported first experiencing a tingling sensation in her toes in early 2021 that gradually led to “insane tingling” from her “butt down.”She also felt her leg buckling while shooting scenes for Netflix’s “Dead to Me.”She required a wheelchair during the 2021 filming and has walke...