When was Christina Applegate diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis? Actress shares honest update amid health struggle

Actress Christina Applegate has revealed new details about her health struggles. The Married... with Children star, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, candidly spoke about living with the disease in the March 18 episode of her podcast, MeSsy.

Christina Applegate, who starred in Netflix’s Dead To Me, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021. She shared her diagnosis at the time with a post on X (then Twitter), revealing her difficult journey with her characteristic humor. Applegate wrote,

“Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some a——e blocks it.”

Multiple sclerosis, also known as MS, is a chronic autoimmune disease that impacts the patient’s nervous system and disrupts the body’s nerve signals, according to Cleveland Clinic. MS can’t be cured, and medical professionals focus on managing the patient’s symptoms through treatment.

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Christina Applegate’s candid confessions about living with MS

During the latest episode of MeSsy, Christina Applegate shared details about living her life with MS frankly.

In the episode, a fan who also suffered symptoms similar to Applegate’s after being diagnosed with SPMS revealed the toll MS takes on her body and shared an emotional message with the actress. The fan was thankful to Applegate for her podcast, which sheds light on the experiences of people suffering from MS and similar diseases.

Applegate, responding to the poignant message, revealed the toll MS takes on her body. Applegate said,

“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, okay? They've done every test known to man on me, put so much radiation into my body from CT scans to everything else.”

Sharing her experience with the fan, Applegate disclosed more details, saying,

“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. And I have noticed that, and I'm going to be really honest, if I have to p—p, I puke… It's like everyone's fighting with each other.”

Applegate and the Sopranos fame actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who also suffers from MS, started the MeSsy podcast together last year and have been co-hosting it since.

Applegate and Sigler, who got revealed her MS diagnosis in 2016, according to Today, shared blunt details of what their bodies have to undergo while dealing with MS.

In May 2024, Applegate truthfully shared her difficult journey with MS while shooting Dead To Me in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, saying,

“My symptoms had started in the early part of 2021, and it was, like, literally just tingling on my toes. And by the time we started shooting in the summer of that same year, I was being brought to set in a wheelchair. Like, I couldn't walk that far.”

Christina Applegate, who frequently appears at red carpets and events with a walking cane, received a standing ovation when she came on stage at the Emmy Awards in 2024. It suffices to say that the actress is an inspiration for her fans as well as those who struggle with MS.