Christina Applegate says the multiple sclerosis diagnosis that reshaped her life for the past five years was wrong. The actress revealed on a new episode of her MS-focused podcast "MeSsY," co-hosted with Jamie Lynn Sigler, that a doctor recently told her she does not actually have the disease.

I WAS BACK TO SQUARE ONE

That's how Applegate described the moment, saying the revelation did not bring the relief most people might expect. She still has to use a wheelchair at the doctor's office and cannot walk unassisted from the car to the exam room. In a follow-up episode, she said she still suffers from debilitating pain and that the misdiagnosis "did not miraculously cure" her physical symptoms — whatever the correct underlying cause turns out to be.

Applegate originally announced her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2021, and in the years since has become one of the more visible celebrity advocates for the autoimmune disease, building community with other patients through public appearances and, eventually, the podcast she co-hosts with Sigler, who has lived with MS since 2013. That advocacy work is part of what has made the new reveal resonate so widely among fans who followed her journey.

No Clear Answers Yet

Applegate has not said publicly what doctors now believe is actually causing her symptoms, and representatives for her did not immediately detail next steps for further testing or a new diagnosis. MS is notoriously difficult to diagnose definitively, often relying on a combination of MRI imaging, spinal fluid analysis and the exclusion of other conditions that can produce overlapping symptoms, including pain, fatigue and mobility problems.

For now, Applegate's message to her audience has been one of uncertainty rather than celebration: a diagnosis being lifted hasn't lifted the symptoms that came with it. Further episodes of "MeSsY" are expected to address what, if anything, replaces the MS diagnosis as doctors continue to investigate.