Christina Applegate Reassessing Health After MS Diagnosis Reversed
WHO:
CNN - Actor Christina Applegate said doctors determined that she does not have multiple sclerosis (MS), despite her diagnosis in 2021.
ABC News - Applegate, 54, revealed the misdiagnosis on the “MeSsy” podcast, which she co-hosts with actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who has MS.
NBC News - Applegate is known for “Married with Children,” “Dead to Me” and the “Anchorman” films. She has received eight Emmy nominations and won in 2003 for a guest appearance on “Friends.”
ABC News - Dr. Marwa Kaisey, an associate professor of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, discussed MS misdiagnosis on a follow-up podcast episode.
NY Post - Dr. Elena Grebenciucova said, “Up to 1 in 5 patients diagnosed with MS may not actually have MS but a different condition.”
WHAT:
The Independent - Applegate said, “It’s clear now that they’re finding something different” and “Something else is going on.”
The Independent - Applegate said, “I had a reason. I had a f*ing reason as to why my day sucked every day.”
The Independent - Applegate said, “I have every symptom of someone with MS. Every single one,” and added that “there are many things that mirror MS.”
The Independent - Applegate said she was in a “state of shock” after learning of the misdiagnosis.
The Independent - Applegate said she remains committed to taking her 15-year-old daughter, Sadie, to school and activities despite her pain, calling it her favorite thing to do and the only time they have together by themselves.
Variety - Applegate described learning of the misdiagnosis as a “mindf—.”
CNN - Applegate said her previous MS diagnosis had helped explain symptoms including tingling and numbness in her extremities, lack of coordination, balance problems and difficulty walking.
CNN - Applegate said her health had deteriorated to the point that she had to leave Netflix’s “Dead to Me,” which concluded with its third season.
ABC News - Applegate said the misdiagnosis left her feeling without a community and that she had “lost everything,” including her job.
US Magazine - Jamie-Lynn Sigler said Applegate was “so loved and appreciated and supported” and promised that she and the community would stand by her as they sought answers.
CNN - Applegate said she had spent most of her time in bed because of her illness, according to an earlier interview with People magazine.
NBC News - Applegate received a standing ovation at the 2024 Emmy Awards, where she appeared onstage with a cane.
NBC News - In a 2024 interview, Applegate said she lived “kind of in hell.”
ABC News - Applegate said she felt she had “let everybody down” after becoming a prominent public voice for MS.
ABC News - Applegate said she had not accepted her MS diagnosis in an interview with Robin Roberts in March.
ABC News - Dr. Marwa Kaisey said her research found nearly one in five people are misdiagnosed with MS.
CNN - Applegate said her doctor told her, “Congratulations, you don’t have MS.” Applegate said she was “not happy at all” and that learning the diagnosis was wrong had not improved her health.
NBC News - Applegate said, “I haven’t gotten better, Jamie. If anything, I’ve gotten worse in some ways,” and, “I’m back at square one, that I don’t know what’s going on with me.”
ABC News - Applegate said she still has “every symptom of someone with MS,” feels “very unnerving” and “really confusing,” and is experiencing depression.
ABC News - Applegate said she uses a wheelchair to get from her car to doctors’ offices and that “Nothing magical happened” when she was told she did not have MS.
CNN - Applegate said she and Sigler had become “the poster children for MS” and that she felt she had “lost everything,” including her job.
WHERE:
ABC News - The medical expert who appeared on the podcast is affiliated with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
WTNH - The report was filed from New Haven, Connecticut.
WHEN:
US Magazine - Applegate said she was doing physical therapy three times a week and planned to begin investigating the cause of her symptoms the following week.
NBC News - Applegate publicly disclosed her MS diagnosis in 2021.
ABC News - Applegate took a seven-month break from “MeSsy” to process the misdiagnosis.
ABC News - Applegate said her doctors would investigate what had happened since 2021; she said she would begin physical therapy three times a week.
WHY:
WTNH - A Hartford HealthCare doctor said multiple disorders can be referred to as having symptoms similar to MS.
ABC News - Kaisey said MS misdiagnoses can occur because there is no single test for the disease and many symptoms are common in conditions other than MS.
CNN - Kaisey described a “push and pull” in diagnosis: clinicians want to start treatment early, but must also ensure the diagnosis is accurate.
HOW:
The Independent - Applegate said she tells herself, “Just get her there safely and get home so you can get back into bed,” after taking Sadie to school.
CBS News US - CBS reported that an estimated 25 million Americans are living with a rare or undiagnosed illness.
CNN - A study of referrals to two academic centers found nearly one in five people diagnosed with MS did not fully meet the disease’s criteria and had a more likely alternative diagnosis.
CNN - Kaisey said some people had lived for years with an MS misdiagnosis and had been prescribed medication to treat it.
ABC News - MS diagnosis involves comprehensive evaluation that may include neurological exams, MRI scans and laboratory testing.
CNN - Recent testing using new technology led Applegate’s doctors to rule out MS.
ABC News - MS affects the central nervous system; symptoms can include fatigue, numbness or tingling, weakness, bladder-control problems, dizziness and vertigo. Treatment typically uses medication to reduce flares and slow disability progression; there is no known cure.
(UPDATED October 21, 2026 18:07 UTC)
Christina Applegate says doctors have ruled out multiple sclerosis, the condition she was diagnosed with in 2021, after new testing. The actor revealed the misdiagnosis on the “MeSsy” podcast, which she co-hosts with actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who has MS. Applegate said she still has symptoms, including numbness, tingling and difficulty walking, and her health has not improved; she feels confused and is now seeking answers about what is causing them. Her illness had forced her to leave “Dead to Me,” and she said the diagnosis had helped explain what she was experiencing. Applegate plans to attend physical therapy three times a week and says taking her daughter to school remains important to her. Neurologist Marwa Kaisey said MS can be difficult to diagnose because there is no single test and symptoms overlap with other conditions. Her research found nearly one in five people diagnosed with MS may have another condition.
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(UPDATED October 21, 2026 17:11 UTC)
Actor Christina Applegate says new testing has ruled out multiple sclerosis, the diagnosis she received in 2021, but she still has serious symptoms and no clear explanation for them. She revealed the news on the “MeSsy” podcast, which she co-hosts with actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who has MS. Applegate said she remains in pain, uses a wheelchair to reach doctors’ offices and has not improved; she described feeling shocked, confused and depressed. Her symptoms previously included numbness, tingling, balance problems and difficulty walking, and her health forced her to leave “Dead to Me.” Neurologist Marwa Kaisey says MS can be difficult to diagnose because there is no single test and its symptoms overlap with other conditions. Research suggests nearly one in five people diagnosed with MS may have another illness. Applegate says she plans to pursue answers while continuing physical therapy and caring for her daughter.
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(UPDATED October 21, 2026 14:04 UTC)
An estimated 25 million Americans are living with a rare or undiagnosed illness, according to CBS News. Applegate described learning of her misdiagnosis as a “mindf—.” The report did not provide further details about the misdiagnosis.
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(UPDATED October 21, 2026 13:09 UTC)
Christina Applegate said a previous multiple sclerosis diagnosis helped explain tingling and numbness in her extremities, coordination and balance problems, and difficulty walking, but she now says the diagnosis was mistaken. She said her health had deteriorated so much that she had to leave Netflix’s “Dead to Me,” which ended after three seasons, and that losing her job left her feeling she had “lost everything” and no longer had a community. Applegate said she was doing physical therapy three times a week and planned to start looking into the cause of her symptoms the following week, while Jamie-Lynn Sigler said she and their community would stand by her as they sought answers.
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(UPDATED October 21, 2026 01:24 UTC)
Research by Dr. Marwa Kaisey found that nearly one in five people referred to two academic centers with an MS diagnosis did not meet the disease’s criteria and had a more likely alternative diagnosis. Kaisey said some had lived for years with a misdiagnosis and taken medication for MS. Actress Christina Applegate has described spending much of her time in bed and feeling she had let people down as a prominent public voice for MS, and she said she had not yet accepted her diagnosis.
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(UPDATED October 21, 2026 00:22 UTC)
Actor Christina Applegate says doctors have determined she does not have multiple sclerosis, despite her diagnosis in 2021. On the “MeSsy” podcast, she said the news did not improve her health: she still has symptoms, feels confused and depressed, and uses a wheelchair to get to medical appointments. Applegate said she had taken a seven-month break from the podcast to process the misdiagnosis, and that her doctors are investigating what happened as she prepares to begin physical therapy three times a week. Neurologist Marwa Kaisey of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center says MS can be difficult to diagnose because there is no single test and its symptoms overlap with other conditions. Applegate, known for “Married with Children,” “Dead to Me” and the “Anchorman” films, says she is back at square one, unsure what is causing her symptoms.