Christina Applegate shares her painful experiences with MS

Christina Applegate doesn't shy away from sharing the reality of living with multiple sclerosis.

The Moderator The actress, who was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease in 2021, revealed on Monday's episode of her MesSy podcast with co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler that she continues to battle painful, physical symptoms of her condition every day.

“I was lying in bed screaming,” Applegate said. “Jamie and I have different – ​​everyone has a different way of showing it. I lay in bed screaming. Like the stabbing pain, the pain, that pressing.”

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The Mayo Clinic defines multiple sclerosis (MS) as a disease that occurs when the “immune system attacks the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers, known as myelin.” It is noted that symptoms often include “numbness, weakness, difficulty walking, [and] Visual disturbances,” but these can vary depending on “the person, the location of the damage in the nervous system, and the severity of the damage to the nerve fibers.” There is currently no cure.

Applegate's symptoms came up on the podcast during her and Sigler's conversation with guest Rory Kandel, a California bakery owner who was also diagnosed with MS. The Rory's Bakehouse founder noted that her own symptoms often “manifest in pain” that feels like having “knives in the spine” that temporarily prevents her from moving.

“Is that how you feel?” she asked, to which Applegate replied, “Every single day of my life.”

The Married… with children Alum continued, “I can’t even pick up my phone sometimes because it’s gotten into my hands now. So I'll try to grab my phone or remote to turn on the TV [and] Sometimes I can't even hold her. I can’t open bottles now.”

Still, Kandel noted that no matter how painful their symptoms, they all still appear healthy to the rest of the world. Applegate added, “Because it’s the beauty of invisible illness.”

Later in her discussion, Applegate explained that she can always tell what the day is going to feel like for her by the ease with which she gets out of bed.

“Jamie knows I just lie in bed all the time. I mean, I've worked for almost 50 years, so I'm somewhat okay with that,” she said. “But when I put my feet on the ground and they hurt extraordinarily when touched, I thought, 'Yeah. I'm going to lay back in my bed and pee in my diaper because I don't feel like walking all the way to the damn toilet.'”

And before anyone says anything, Applegate clarified that her last comment was in jest. “Actually, I’m not lying here peeing in my diaper. This is just a joke,” she said. “But it’s so damn painful and so hard and so uncomfortable.”

Listen to Applegate reflect on her symptoms in the podcast above.