Christina Applegate Experiences First Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis in ‘Die To Me’ Pilot

Christina Applegate was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021 – but the actress revealed she first noticed mysterious symptoms more than two years earlier, while filming the pilot episode of i die.

The actress, 55, recounted her experience on her podcast, dirtywhich she hosts together with a fellow actress and multiple sclerosis patient Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Applegate was in conversation with her close friend, i die creator Liz Feldman When she revealed her symptoms first started appearing in 2019 – but she dismissed them for quite some time before seeking medical help.

Applegate said she unexpectedly collapsed while running in a field during a scene of the award-nominated Netflix dark comedy-drama series — and now realizes it was an early sign of the autoimmune condition. “I remember falling that day,” she said. “Hey, first sign of multiple sclerosis!”

Feldman also remembers the moment. “I remember you losing your balance a few times but it was very hard to understand,” she said. “I remember one time it was really late at night, we probably shot for 14 or 15 hours, it seemed perfectly reasonable that someone would collapse.”

It was only in 2021, during the filming of the third and final season of i dieShappelgate was diagnosed after experiencing back problems, tingling and other symptoms. Feldman quickly assured the actress that her health was a priority on the show. “There’s no manual for this,” Feldman said. “I could just feel that A, she was scared and B, that something was wrong, something in her body wasn’t working the way she wanted it to. I told her so many times that it’s just a TV show; we’re doing a TV show and it’s so stupid, you know, in the end day!” She added: “I knew Christina well enough to know that something important had to happen because she is an extreme professional.”

The support that Applegate received from Feldman and the other companies i die The cast and crew continued right through the end of the show, with producers adjusting her scenes to make her more comfortable as her mobility deteriorated. “This wouldn’t have happened anywhere else,” Applegate said. “So my gratitude to you for being human—because you have to be human and love other human beings!—is, like, I can’t even tell you, that’s not the normal reaction!”

related: Christina Applegate says her ‘sick sense of humor’ keeps her going

Christina Applegate thinks laughter is the best medicine in her battle with multiple sclerosis. Applegate, 52, who announced her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2021, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday, March 18, and joked about a funny entrance to the show. “I thought it wouldn’t be funny if I went out and I (…)

Since her diagnosis, Applegate has retired from acting, but has not ruled out voiceover work. in a previous episode of the Messy podcast, she shared with Sigler that she’s in pain “every single day.” “I was lying in bed screaming,” she said. “Like, the sharp pains, the pain, the pressure.”