Christina Applegate Faces New Testing After MS Misdiagnosis

Christina Applegate said she is struggling with the emotional fallout of learning she does not have multiple sclerosis after living with that diagnosis for nearly six years. She spoke on the November 3 episode of the MeSsy podcast, which she co-hosts with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, during a conversation with guest Jack Osbourne, who has MS.

Osbourne described feeling uneasy at times about his diagnosis because the condition has not limited him as much as it has some other people with MS. Applegate joked that she felt like a fraud too, then explained that the diagnosis had become part of how she understood herself. She said she intends to remain connected to and supportive of the MS community.

Applegate said doctors are restarting the search for what is causing her serious symptoms. She is being tested for conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and Lyme disease, which she said can resemble MS. She described the process as frustrating and said she has work to do to change how she thinks about her situation.

The diagnosis change has not eased her physical difficulties. Applegate has said she still needs a wheelchair to get from her car to medical appointments and that her condition has worsened. She previously described struggling to get out of bed and said a walker was beside her bed.