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Christina Applegate has been one of the most visible faces of multiple sclerosis since her 2021 diagnosis. On Tuesday, the 54-year-old actress told listeners of her "MeSsy" podcast that her doctor had given her startling news: she doesn't have MS after all. "I'm back at square one," she said through tears — still sick, still using a wheelchair for doctor visits, but no longer with the diagnosis that defined the last five years of her life.
What happened
According to People's account of the back-to-back podcast episodes — recorded with co-host Jamie Lynn Sigler after a seven-month hiatus — Applegate described her doctor walking into the room with unexpected congratulations. But she wasn't celebrating. Her symptoms haven't improved; if anything, she says, they've gotten worse. She spoke of losing her job and falling into depression, and of the strange guilt of feeling she'd let down the MS community she and Sigler had become "poster children" for. Her doctors are now, in her words, playing "the same game with a different name" — searching for what she actually has.
How common is MS misdiagnosis?
More common than most people think. CBS News reports that studies suggest up to 20% of MS diagnoses turn out to be wrong, and Scientific American has examined why the condition is so frequently misdiagnosed. The core problem, as neurologist Dr. Marwa Kaisey of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center explains, is that there is no single definitive test for MS — no simple yes-or-no blood test. Diagnosis rests on a list of clinical criteria, and many other conditions can mimic MS symptoms. That uncertainty cuts both ways: some people are told they have MS when they don't, and others wait years for a diagnosis they do need.
What patients should take from this
Applegate's story isn't an argument against trusting doctors — it's an argument for second opinions and for medicine's honesty about uncertainty, especially with criteria-based diagnoses. Diagnostic criteria evolve, and a fresh review of an old diagnosis can change everything. If a diagnosis doesn't match your experience of your own body, asking for it to be revisited is not defiance; it's good healthcare. (This article is general information only and is not medical advice — talk to your own doctor about any health concerns.) For more on how patients relate to medical authority, see our piece on why patients distrust AI medical advice.
This article is general information only and is not medical advice.
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