Christina Applegate opens up about the challenges of living with multiple sclerosis, describing her struggles with muscle loss, depression, and adjusting to life with the condition.
Bollywood Fever: Christina Applegate has candidly shared her ongoing struggles with multiple sclerosis (MS), describing how the condition has transformed her life. In a recent episode of her podcast “MeSsy,” co-hosted with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, the “Dead to Me” star revealed the physical and emotional challenges she faces daily.
“I have no muscles in my legs. … I look like Humpty Dumpty. Like, my little, tiny, weird legs and then my big, menopausal belly,” Applegate, 52, confessed during the podcast. This imagery reflects the profound impact MS has had on her body, as she continues to grapple with muscle loss and other symptoms of the disease.
Applegate explained that her condition has forced her to limit physical activities, which has altered how she interacts with friends. “Everyone I know who wants to do something with me … they know it’s not gonna be a hike in the hills. That’s not gonna happen because I’m so not conditioned right now,” she said. Even simple activities like walking up a hill can leave her feeling like she’s on the verge of a heart attack due to the lack of muscle strength.
Understanding her limitations, Applegate now issues a “disclaimer” to friends before making plans, warning them that she might need to cancel at the last minute. “If I’m puking or can’t walk, you think I’m gonna go to a restaurant or go do anything? No, I’m not gonna do that,” she added, emphasizing the unpredictability of her condition.
Despite her struggles, Applegate has always been somewhat of a homebody, which has made the transition to a more home-bound lifestyle slightly easier. However, she admits that coming to terms with her new reality has been difficult since her MS diagnosis in August 2021.
“You either feel s–tty or you feel less s–tty when you have MS. There’s never like, ‘Oh my God, I’m back to who I was before all this happened!’ No. For me, no, that’s never gonna happen in my entire life. I will never be the girl I was in 2020. I will never be that person again, and that’s what I have to accept,” Applegate shared, highlighting the irreversible changes the disease has brought to her life.
Since her diagnosis, the Emmy-winning actress has been open about the harsh realities of living with MS. She’s shared stories of “falling over in the shower” while trying to shave, gaining 40 pounds, and needing to wear diapers due to the disease’s effects on her body. In June, she revealed that she doesn’t “enjoy living” after discovering 30 lesions on her brain and experiencing a loss of circulation in her legs during an MS relapse.
Applegate also spoke about the depression she’s been experiencing, describing it as a “real, f–k-it-all depression” that feels fatalistic and scary. “I’m trapped in, like, this darkness right now that I haven’t felt [in], like, I don’t even know how long, probably 20-something years,” she admitted.
While Applegate has made a few public appearances in recent years, often walking with a cane, she has mostly stayed out of the spotlight, focusing on managing her condition and adjusting to her new life with MS.
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