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Featured Image Credit: (VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images/John Salangsang/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Topics: Christina Applegate, Health, Celebrity
Jen Thomas
Topics: Christina Applegate, Health, Celebrity
Christina Applegate has shared the horrific experiences she goes through living with multiple sclerosis (MS).
The star was diagnosed with the condition following advice from fellow actor Selma Blair, who she confided in about strange symptoms she was experiencing.
Now an advocate for the condition, Christina has shared what life is really like with the chronic condition.
She hosts a podcast called MeSsy with her co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
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They had a guest on called Rory Kandel, a baker who was also diagnosed with MS.
“I lie in bed screaming” revealed Christina, talking about the horrible pain she experiences every day. The ache, the squeezing—it’s like a vice grip that just won’t let go.”
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She also shared that on many days, she finds it hard to get out of bed: “I put my feet on the ground, and it’s like they’re on fire. They hurt so much just to touch,” she confessed.
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Guest Rory agreed, likening it to a stabbing pain: “I’ll wake up, and I physically can’t turn from side to side."
Christina added: “I can’t even pick up my phone sometimes. The MS has traveled into my hands, and now I’ll go to grab my phone or the remote and sometimes I can’t even hold them.”
She said half-jokingly: “I can’t open bottles anymore, so goodbye to pickle jars! It’s just so incredibly painful, awkward, and isolating.”
Applegate was diagnosed back in 2021, and a year later, she announced that her role in Dead to Me would be her last one.
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On the podcast, she also shared that she has 30 lesions on her brain.
“There are days when I just lie in bed all the time”, she said.
Co-host Jamie-Lynn praised her honesty: “You’re inspiring so many people.”
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Following her diagnosis, Applegate explained: "I found that I had MS while we were shooting on a Monday.
“I went home, and the doctor said, ‘I need to do this meeting with you’. I could feel that this Zoom was not going to be good news. It sucked, I’m not going to lie."
It all came as a shock to the star, but she has cherished the support of colleagues and friends.
Christina, Jamie-Lynn, Selma and others have been trying to raise awareness of the brutal condition, sharing the early signs of the disease which can go unnoticed.
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They have appeared in Vogue and other publications to discuss MS and the symptoms and realities, as well as appearing on red carpets using mobility aids in order to try and remove any stigma.