Christina Applegate has opened up about her struggles living with her multiple sclerosisand signs of illness — such as numbness and a tingling sensation in the extremities — that appeared years before an official diagnosis was made.
She said during an interview with The New York Times Posted Tuesday, “But who would I know?”
Applegate remembers feeling lopsided while filming her Emmy-nominated Netflix series, “Dead To Me”, and struggling during a tennis match before receiving an official diagnosis while on her show. Production was halted for about five months as she began treatment for the disease, according to The Times.
“There was a feeling, ‘Okay, let’s get her some medicine so she’ll get better,'” the actress said. But it was fine for me. I needed to process the loss of my life, the loss of that part of me.”
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While there was a question about whether filming of “Dead To Me” could resume, Applegate insisted she push through the use of a wheelchair to get ready, and occasionally had a friend lift her legs off the camera. Some changes were made to the script to accommodate energy and stamina levels while filming.
“I’ve gained 40 pounds, and I can’t walk without a cane,” Applegate said. “I want people to know I’m fully aware of all of that.”
MS affects nearly one million adults in the United States, and it can lead to disability. MS is diagnosed in most people between the ages of 20 and 40 and the disease is more common in women than in men, to me Cleveland Clinic, a nonprofit academic medical center. Symptoms can include numbness or weakness in the extremities or the sensation of electric shock that occurs with neck movements or tremors. MS can also affect vision and speech, cause dizziness and fatigue, and in cases like Applegate’s, affect an individual’s general movement.
There is no known cure for this disease. but according to Mayo ClinicTreatments can help speed recovery after seizures.
Applegate has been transparent on Twitter about her difficulties living with MS, View photos of assistive devices She used to walk, and date Insomnia That came with her diagnosis, and even showing love to fellow Hollywood star Selma Blair, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2018.
Blair, who was a contestant on the current season of “Dancing With the Stars,” said recent MRI results prompted her to leave the show, citing “bone injury and inflammation between the lacerations and tears” that could worsen as the movement continues. Blair published a memoir delving into her illness, titled Mean Baby, earlier this year.
In 2021, Blair starred in a documentary that chronicles her deteriorating health after her diagnosis, titled Presentation, Selma Blair. Applegate praised Blair for its transparency Wrote“My daughter Selma Blair trusted the first year. It’s hard.”
“Being technically disabled is what it is,” Applegate wrote on Twitter. “I didn’t know what MS was before I had it. It changed my life forever.”
Caitlin Oaken contributed to this report.
