Bravely Battling MS, Actress Christina Applegate, 51, Says It Can Be Frightening to Take a Shower

In a recent conversation with Vanity Fair, Applegate talked about how she’s been faring as of late.

“With the disease of MS, it’s never a good day,” she said. “You just have little sh—y days.”

She went on to explain that even seemingly simple tasks like showering have become so much more difficult – both physically and emotionally – with MS.

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“People are like, ‘Well, why don’t you take more showers?’ Well, because getting in the shower is frightening,” she explained. “You can fall, you can slip, your legs can buckle. Especially because I have a glass shower. It’s frightening to me to get in there.

“There are just certain things that people take for granted in their lives that I took for granted. Going down the stairs, carrying things — you can’t do that anymore. It f*cking sucks. I can still drive my car short distances. I can bring up food to my kid. Up, never down.”

Christina Applegate’s MS Journey

Christina Applegate, who also survived breast cancer, first began noticing symptoms of her MS during filming for season one of “Dead to Me.” She was having trouble balancing during a dance sequence, but, like the dedicated actress she is, she shrugged it off and decided she simply needed to work harder.

“I wish I had paid attention,” she told The New York Times. “But who was I to know?”

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Over the course of several years, more signs appeared: her tennis skills weren’t what they had been, her extremities suffered from tingling and numbness.

It was only a matter of time before Applegate finally received her diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. The news came while filming the last season of “Dead to Me,” so production shut down for almost half a year while Applegate started treatment.

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“There was the sense of, ‘Well, let’s get her some medicine so she can get better,’” Applegate said.

“And there is no 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.”

Applegate bravely returned to work to finish out filming for the show, but it was a struggle. To this day, she’s only watched parts of the final season because it was hard to relive that time period.

“I miss the experience of it, but at the same time, because it was such an incredible struggle this last year, I’m relieved that I no longer have to push so hard to get through my day,” she told Vanity Fair.

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She’s since said the series could mark her last on-screen appearance. Prior to her attendance of the Screen Actors Guild Awards as a nominee accompanied by her daughter Sadie Grace LeNoble, she talked about her future as an actress.

She did not win at the award show, but she did make quite a statement with her cane which was covered with stickers reading “FU MS.”

“It’s my last awards show as an actor probably, so it’s kind of a big deal,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “Right now, I couldn’t imagine getting up at 5 a.m. and spending 12 to 14 hours on a set; I don’t have that in me at this moment.”

MS is a part of everyday life for Applegate now, but, thankfully, she knows she’s not alone. Fellow actress and friend Selma Blair, 50 – who’s also currently living with the disease – has been a part of Applegate’s support system.

“We check in all the time,” Blair told People. “We live right by each other. Our kids were best friends. It’s just wild that one of your closest people gets the same supposedly incurable disease as you. It’s truly been a really strange, magical time, for lack of a better word.”

Understanding Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, is a disease of the brain and spinal cord – otherwise known as the central nervous system – that can be disabling.

In people with MS, the immune system attacks the protective layer of nerve fibers called myelin. This, in turn, can cause communication issues between your brain and the rest of your body. The disease can lead to permanent damage of the nerve fibers as it progresses.

According to the Mayo Clinic, signs and symptoms of MS can vary widely depending on the location and severity of a patient’s nerve fiber damage. The symptoms can also change over time.

Below is a list of common symptoms:

• Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs – this usually occurs on one side of your body at a time
• Tingling
• Electric-shock sensations that happen with certain neck movements like bending the neck forward (Lhermitte sign)
• Coordination issues
• Trouble or the inability to walk
• Partial or complete vision loss – typically in one eye at a time, often with pain when the eye moves
• Prolonged double vision
• Blurry vision
• Vertigo
• Sexual/bowel/bladder issues
• Fatigue
• Slurred speech
• Cognitive issues
• Mood disturbances

These symptoms are not exclusive to MS, but it’s important to talk to your doctor if any change’s to your health occur.

It’s common for MS warriors to experience periods of new symptoms, or relapses, followed by quieter periods of disease remission. The length of these relapses can vary, as well as the periods of remission. Some people even see periods of remission that last for years.

If you’re an MS warrior in need of inspiration, check out SurvivorNet’s Multiple Sclerosis page for moving content including films about other MS warriors like Christina Applegate.

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