Christina Applegate has opened up about the multiple sclerosis symptoms she overlooked before her 2021 diagnosis.
The Death to me star, 50, reflected on the warning signs of her diagnosis with the autoimmune disease during an interview with The New York Timeswhere she said she wished she had paid more attention.
According to Applegate, one of the first indicators that something was wrong occurred when she was filming a dance sequence for season one of the Netflix show, when she found herself off balance. The actress said she then found herself struggling to play tennis.
But instead of recognizing the falls as signs of a possible health problem, Applegate said she just pushed herself harder.
“I wish I had paid attention,” she told the news agency. “But who would I know?”
Signs and symptoms of MS, a disease that affects the central nervous system, can vary from person to person and over the course of the disease. However, the Mayo Clinic notes that symptoms often affect movement and can cause feelings of numbness or weakness in the arms and legs, or “electrical shock sensations” that occur with certain neck movements. The disease can also affect balance and cause “tremors, lack of coordination or unsteady gait”.
Applegate’s symptoms eventually became more severe, with the actor recalling how the “tingling and numbness” in her extremities began to worsen. She was diagnosed with MS in the summer of 2021.
“Hey friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS,” Applegate wrote on Twitter on August 10, 2021. “It’s been a strange journey. But I’ve had so much support from people I know who also have this condition. “
After diagnosis, production of Death to me was paused when the actor started the treatment. According to Applegate, the time was good for her, as it allowed her to “process” the loss of her life as she felt it.
“There was a sense of, ‘Well, let’s give her some medicine so she can get better,'” she recalled. “And there’s nothing better. But it was good for me. I needed to process my loss of my life, my loss of that part of me. So I needed that time.”
But while admitting she needed time to process, she said that doesn’t mean she has come to terms with the potentially disabling illness, as she revealed she will “never accept this”.
“Even though it’s not like I came out the other side of it, like, ‘Woohoo, I’m totally fine,'” she continued. “Approval? No. I will never accept this. I’m cursed.”
While speaking with the outlet, Applegate also explained that she wanted to do the interview before the release of the final season of Dead to Me, which will premiere on Netflix on November 17, because it’s “the first time anyone will see me the way I am “.
“I put on 40 pounds; I can’t walk without a cane. I want people to know that I’m very aware of all that,” she says.
Ahead of press appearances for the latest season, Applegate shared a photo of her walking sticks on Twitter, admitting that they are now part of her “new normal.”
“I have a very important ceremony coming up. This will be my first time out since being diagnosed with MS. Walking sticks are now part of my new normal,” she wrote along with a photo of several walking sticks on October 27.
Although production of the show was halted, Applegate eventually returned to finish the show. She told The times that she did so because she felt an “obligation” to the show’s creator Liz Feldman, her co-star Linda Cardellini, and to “the story.”
It wasn’t without its challenges though, as she admitted she couldn’t work as long or as hard, and was taken to a wheelchair. According to Applegate, who said ending the series was the hardest thing she’s ever done, there were also times when a crew member and friends held up her leg out of camera range.
As for whether she plans to watch the final season, which revolves around illness, Applegate said she doesn’t think so, as she finds it too painful.
However, she hopes that viewers will be able to get past her illness and “enjoy the ride”.
“If people hate it, if people love it, if all they can concentrate on is, ‘Oh, look at the cripple,’ that’s not up to me,” she said. “I’m sure people will be, like, ‘I can’t get past that.’
“Okay, don’t go past it then. But hopefully people Can move past it and just enjoy the ride and say goodbye to these two girls.”
Since revealing her diagnosis, Applegate has been candid about the battle she faces with the autoimmune disease. In November, the actor celebrated her 50th birthday while admitting it had been a “difficult one”.
“Yup. I turned 50 today. And I have MS. It’s been hard,” she wrote. “Sending you all so much love this day. Many are hurting today, and I am thinking of you. May we find the strength to lift our heads. Mine is currently on my pillow. But I’m trying.”
#Christina #Applegate #remembers #signs #overlooked #diagnosis