Christina Applegate says her doctor told her she was misdiagnosed with
MS
[October 21, 2026]
By MARK KENNEDY
NEW YORK (AP) — Christina Applegate, who has candidly shared raw details
about her journey with multiple sclerosis for years, revealed Monday her
doctor says she doesn't have the autoimmune disease and was
misdiagnosed.
“I’m back at square one where I don’t know what’s going on with me,” the
actor said on the latest edition of her podcast “MeSsy,” along with
co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who has been public about her own battle with
MS.
Applegate first publicly announced in 2021 that she had been diagnosed
with the disorder that causes the immune system to attack the cells in
the central nervous system.
On Monday's podcast, Applegate revealed that despite the misdiagnosis,
she still has “every symptom of someone with MS,” adding, “I still have
to use wheelchairs when I go to the doctor’s office. I can’t walk from
the car to the room.”
There is no single test for MS, and a diagnosis usually involves ruling
out other causes. It can take years and seeing multiple doctors before
one puts the clues together.
Dr. Benjamin Greenberg, a neurologist who specializes in multiple
sclerosis and autoimmune neurological disorders at the UT Southwestern
Medical Center in Dallas, said the most reputable studies put the MS
misdiagnosis rate at 10%.
“We rely on the clinical symptoms, the history, the MRI, often spinal
fluid, and then a series of tests to rule out potential mimics. And
unfortunately, those tests are not universally codified,” he said.
Greenberg said Applegate’s experience has lessons for both medical
providers and patients. For doctors, it’s a reminder to ensure a single
diagnosis doesn’t lead to a system-wide bias toward that conclusion.
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“If I put ‘multiple sclerosis’ as a diagnosis on an MRI, a radiologist
is far less likely to say, ‘Well, this isn’t multiple sclerosis. You
really should consider something else.' It can permeate the system,” he
said.
“For patients and families, my general recommendation is whenever
receiving a significant serious or chronic diagnosis, if feasible, there
is never a harm in getting second opinions.”
Applegate said the news had put her in an odd place since she and Sigler
have become prominent advocates for people with MS.
"It’s weird because I feel like I let everybody down,” she said. “It’s
very unnerving, and it’s really confusing for me.”
Most autoimmune diseases, especially in adults, aren’t caused by a
specific gene defect. Instead, a variety of genes that affect immune
functions can make people susceptible. Scientists say it then takes an
“environmental” trigger, such as an infection, smoking or pollutants, to
set the disease in motion.
On the podcast and earlier this year while promoting her memoir, "You
with the Sad Eyes,” the Emmy-winning Applegate has been candid about
unpredictable symptoms that have forced her to use diapers and scoot
down stairs on her butt.
“My life has in some ways shrunk to the size of my California king,” she
writes in her book.
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