Hollywood actress Christina Applegate has revealed that she initially ignored some warning signs that she could have Multiple Sclerosis (MS), just dismissing them as 'weird'.
According to the NHS, the condition of MS 'can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance.'
Research has found that MS is around two to three times more likely to be found in women than men, and patients usually receive a diagnosis in their 20s, 30s or 40s, but it can develop at any age.
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During an appearance on SiriusXM's This Life of Mine with James Corden, Applegate opened up about some of the odd symptoms she experienced.
The star revealed that she had suffered with balance and speech issues, having shaky hands and numb toes and also a feeling of being weak at the knees when walking or upright.
Applegate explained: "Things just started to get weirder and weirder, and before I knew it, we were about to start shooting the last season of Dead To Me and by this time I was like, 'You guys, I can't even walk up the steps to my trailer.'"
This was one of the first warning signs, with the actress sent for an MRI scan to check out what the cause could be
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She recalled as she continued the interview: "[I] opened up my Zoom, and there he was, and he just looked at me, and he goes, 'I'm so sorry.'"
She continued: "I was like, 'What do you mean?' and he goes, 'Here's a picture of your brain. Sorry,' and there's like 30 lesions all over my brain and I went, 'No, please don't tell me this. Please don't tell me this.'
"I had to call production. I said, 'You guys, it's f---ing MS,' and they're like, 'OK, we're shutting down for the week.'"
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Applegate went on to add: "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."
The star has been open about her battle with the illness, as she spoke with Vanity Fair as she said: "With the disease of MS, it’s never a good day. You just have little s***ty days."
In September, she gave a further update on her symptoms to People as she shared: "My symptoms are worse in the morning, like crazy-town bad.
"The pain and the numbness and the balance. It's horrible."
Topics: Celebrity, Health, Christina Applegate
Niamh Spence