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Christina Applegate Reveals The One MS Side Effect That Has Affected Her ‘More Than The Disease’
Actress Christina Applegate has revealed the one side effect of multiple sclerosis (MS) that has affected her ‘more than the disease’ itself.
Christina Applegate, 54, has opened up about her MS diagnosis after battling the disease for the last five years.
The star received the life-altering diagnosis in the summer of 2021, and has been very candid about her journey in order to help raise awareness of the condition.
She rose to fame in 1988 as Kelly Bundy on sitcom Married… with Children, highlighting her comedic talent from a young age.
She later moved into film, appearing in comedies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and The Sweetest Thing, as well as starring in TV shows such as Samantha Who?
But her MS diagnosis wasn’t the first time during her career that she had experienced ill health.
Christina Applegate’s cancer battle
The actress was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, when she was just 36.
She had a family history of the disease, as her mother had battled breast cancer twice.
Because of this, Applegate began regular breast screenings at an earlier age than most, and her cancer was detected during a routine MRI.
It revealed a tumor in her right breast, despite having not experienced any symptoms beforehand.
After considering the treatment options available to her, the star opted for a double mastectomy.
Speaking on Dax Shepard’s ‘Armchair Expert’ podcast about her decision, she said: “I didn’t want to go back to the doctors every four months for testing and squishing and everything.
“I just wanted to kind of be rid of this whole thing for me. This was the choice that I made, and it was a tough one.”
She added: “I don’t have nipples. That’s not something I talk about. I don’t have nipples. It’s weird.”
What is multiple sclerosis?
Several years later, she has opened up about her most recent battle with MS – a chronic disease in which the immune system attacks the protective covering of nerve fibers, disrupting communication between the brain and the body.
When the damage disrupts nerve signals, it causes symptoms such as fatigue, numbness, vision problems, and mobility issues, as per Mayo Clinic.
Heartbreakingly for those suffering, there is currently no cure.
However, some treatments (disease-modifying therapies) are available to manage symptoms, reduce relapses, and slow disease progression.
MS is generally not a fatal disease, and most people with it have a normal or near-normal life expectancy.
However it is a lifelong, progressive condition that can cause severe disability.
The side effect that affected her ‘more than the disease’
Applegate’s new book, titled You With the Sad Eyes: A Memoir by Christina Applegate, details a little more about her experiences with MS, and how it impacted her body image – the side effect she struggled with the most.
She wrote: “My relationship with food is so much better than it ever was, but it took a long time to improve.
“When the MS hit, the stability I’d fought so hard for went haywire. I had to take 15 hours of steroid infusions, and immediately everything just went like a f***ing blob.”
The 54-year-old added: “I want to throw up when I think of the pictures that are out there of me. I look sad and embarrassed.
“Because all I can think is: everyone is staring. Once, people stared at my boobs.
“But now I knew they were staring not only because I was disabled; they were staring because I was fat, forever an unacceptable fate for women in Hollywood.”
The star opened up about how quite often during her battle with the disease, the way she saw herself affected her more than the illness itself.
“Sometimes the weight bothered me more than the disease,” Applegate candidly explained.
“I didn’t look in the mirror for a year. Then I was put on a clear‑liquid diet because of my stomach issues, and all of a sudden, everything just dropped off of me.
“Within seven months, all of it was gone, and I was down by 50 pounds or more.”
The star writes that her ‘relationship with food’ is now in a much healthier place.
“This is the sickness,” she said, “but she’s not going to win.”
Related Article: Selma Blair Tells Christina Applegate To Get Tested For MS Because Of One Symptom
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