Christina Applegate talks about painful experiences of living with MS

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

The Anchorman 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 deal with painful, physical symptoms of her condition every single day.

“I was laying in bed screaming,” Applegate said. “Jamie and I have different — everyone has different ways of showing it. I was laying in bed screaming. Like the sharp pain, the pain, the squeezing.”

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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 notes that symptoms can often include “numbness, weakness, difficulty walking, (and) vision changes,” but that they can vary depending on “the person, the location of the damage in the nervous system, and how bad the damage is to nerve fibers.” There is no current cure.

Applegate’s symptoms came up on the podcast as part of her and Sigler’s conversation with guest Rory Kandel, a California bakery owner who has also been diagnosed with MS. The Rory’s Bakehouse founder noted that her own symptoms often “manifest in pain” that feels like having “knives in your spine” that prevents her from moving at times.

“Do you feel it?” 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 now it’s raised in my hands. So I’ll try to get my phone or get my remote to turn on the TV (and) sometimes I can’t once hold them. I can’t open bottles now.”

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

Later in their discussion, Applegate explained that she can always tell how the day is going to feel for her based on how easy it is to get out of bed.

“Jamie knows I just lay in bed all the time. I mean, I worked for almost 50 years, so I’m kind of okay with it,” she said. “But if I put my feet on the ground and they hurt extraordinarily to the touch, I thought, ‘Yep. Gotta go back to my bed and pee in my diaper because I don’t feel like walking all the way to the damn bathroom.’

And before anyone says anything, Applegate has clarified that her last comment was made in jest. “I’m not actually lying here peeing in my nappy. It’s just a joke,” she said. “But it’s so freaking painful and so hard and so awkward.”

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