Actress Christina Applegate 51 feels that she missed the early signs of her neurological disease Multiple Sclerosis. She may be in a different place with her health right now if she recognized the signs before her diagnosis. Applegate told the New York Times in 2022 that she noticed changes such as balance in her body while filming her series “Dead to Me” on Netflix in the very first year of 2019. Balance was a problem with the dance scene and her tennis game also suffered; she thought maybe she was working hard enough. Tingling and numbness in Christina’s extremities can also be early signs of MS. Early diagnosis can be very important for MS and may determine the type of therapy needed at the beginning of the disease. Early diagnosis and treatment may also help ease the symptoms of MS before it progresses.
There is no cure for MS, only treatment to slow or stop the scarring or sclerosis of the brain and spinal cord.
In an interview in May 2023, Applegate revealed that with MS, “It’s never a good day.” Showers are unpredictable, “You can fall, you can slip, your legs can buckle,” and added “There are just certain things that people take for granted in their lives that I took for granted. Going down the stairs, carrying things you can’t do that anymore,” In her NYT interview she said “I wish I had paid attention,” about the early signs “But who was I to know?” Doctors agree that “In people who have multiple sclerosis, it is most important to look for signs of a new inflammatory relapse,” and that “Relapses are typically very obvious and would include new neurologic symptoms that are constant and last for more than 24 hours,” neurologist Dr. Paige Sutton explained, “Symptoms could include loss of vision/blurry vision in one eye, unilateral facial pain or numbness, vertigo, new weakness or sensory changes on one side or in both legs or with walking.” And added that “It is important to consider a ‘pseudo-relapse’ as the cause of symptoms if they are symptoms that have previously occurred during a relapse,” and “We recommend that our patients notify their health provider for any new symptoms lasting more than 24 hours and we can help them determine whether it is something to be worried about.”
Any new, scary symptom should be discussed with a healthcare provider, particularly if it doesn’t go away.” According to the MS Society, MS “is a disease that impacts the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves, which make up the central nervous system and controls everything we do.” Doctors know that “This change can cause unpredictable symptoms such as numbness, tingling, mood changes, memory problems, pain, fatigue, blindness, and/or paralysis. Everyone’s experience with MS is different and these symptoms may be temporary or long-lasting.” Although not “directly inherited,” having a family member with MS could be a factor.
Christina Applegate’s MS current symptoms affect her balance and she said “because she is immunocompromised, she doesn’t like to be around many people. So, friends don’t visit often.” and “I also don’t want a lot of stimulation of the nervous system because it can be a little bit too much for me.” Christina also explained that “I like to keep it as quiet and as mellow as possible,” and added “that being loud crowds” are “like 5,000 times louder for anyone who has lesions on their brains.” By the end of the third year of “Dead to Me” in 2021, Christina 49 had been diagnosed. She said that it was a “trying and taxing time.” And added, “I miss the experience of it, but at the same time, because it was such an incredible struggle this last year, I’m relieved that I no longer have to push so hard to get through my day.” Last year Applegate publicly discussed her health issues explaining her 40-pound weight gain and has a difficult time walking without assistance, mainly a cane.
We wish Christina Applegate good health wishes and endurance to fight this neurological disease that usually strikes adults 20 to 40 years old. She is not alone in her fight with this disease, Selma Blair, Jack Osbourne, Terri Garr, CNN’s John King, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Montel Williams and many others all share this immunocompromising disease.
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