‘I Don’t Work Around This’: Actress Jamie Lynn Sigler, 44, Explains Multiple Sclerosis Made Her Feel Like She Was Always Hiding Something, But She Now Feels Empowered to No Longer Hide

 

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“I want to be in this body and accept it. I know that will allow me to do my best work and show up in the ways I’ve always wanted to, because even before I had MS, there was something I was always hiding. Something was always holding me back from being truly authentic and truly present,” Sigler added.

Sigler publicly revealed her diagnosis ten years ago, though she told the “Today Show” she had actually been living with MS much earlier, since 2002.

 

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“A decade ago, exactly, I told you I have MS. Now, 10 years later, I get to share the journey it put me on — one of self-discovery and remembering. It was painful and beautiful, exhausting and exhilarating… just like life is supposed to be.”

The actress and mother of two now co-hosts the podcast “So Messy” with fellow actress and MS survivor Christina Applegate. The duo often discusses the daily ups and downs of living with MS.

“With something like MS, you lose control over things you once had, and it’s slowly taken away from you,” Sigler told “Today.”

“That can chip away at your self-worth and leave you feeling less than.”

Accepting her diagnosis, she says, has been a long process, but a transformative one.

“Being able to accept that MS is part of my life but doesn’t define me, and doesn’t take away my talents or my value as a human being and as an actress, took time. But I’m proud that I’ve come out on the other side of that.”

Jamie-Lynn’s Continued MS Journey

Just before Sigler learned she had multiple sclerosis, Lyme disease, a tick-borne infection, was suspected as the culprit of her problems. Antibiotics brought temporary relief, but before long, she sensed something was still wrong.

“I started to feel this heaviness and tingling in my legs,” she told People in an earlier interview.

She was filming “The Sopranos” when the real answer finally came.

“I remember we were in my apartment in New York, and the doctor called my dad,” she recalled. “He said, ‘Your daughter has MS. But there’s no reason to believe she can’t live a perfectly happy, healthy life.'”

The diagnosis stunned her. “I didn’t feel sick. My ideas of MS were limited. I thought it meant ‘wheelchair.’ I thought it meant your life was over.”

“I knew nothing about the disease, to be honest. I fortunately had a doctor who told me right away that as long as I stayed on treatment, there was no reason I couldn’t live a full life,” Sigler explained to “Today.”

Over the years, Sigler has experienced stretches where her symptoms ease, but she’s honest about the ongoing challenges.

“I feel myself leveling up and moving forward as a human being, but my body is not following me… that’s my struggle now. You feel like it should be aligned, and it’s not.”

Sigler admits she wishes she had taken her diagnosis more seriously when she was younger.

“I wish that I had almost treated it as a life-altering moment as opposed to just sort of this diagnosis that I’m going to keep a secret and try not to even think about,” Sigler explained.

Amid the uncertainty, motherhood became a grounding force. She and her husband, Cutter Dykstra, welcomed their first son, Beau, in 2013 and their second, Jack, in 2018. Pregnancy, she says, brought an unexpected sense of peace.

“A lot of people feel better during pregnancy, and during my first pregnancy, that was the case,” she said. “I was taking longer walks than I had in years… it was a glorious time.”

Living with Incurable Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis causes the immune system to attack cells that form the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers in the spinal cord. The disruption leads to communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body.

Once the protective barrier is damaged, the spinal cord struggles to communicate with the body’s arms, legs, and other parts to function normally.

WATCH: SurvivorNetTV Presents: Defying All Odds – A World-Renowned Doctor’s Incredible Journey Through MS

There is no cure for M.S., but M.S. warriors battling the disease do have methods to manage their symptoms.

Common tools M.S. patients use to improve their quality of life include wheelchairs, canes, leg braces, and some medical treatments called disease-modifying therapies (DMTs).

A study in American Family Physician found that DMTs “have been shown to slow disease progression and disability; options include injectable agents, infusions, and oral medications targeting different sites in the inflammatory pathway.”

Research published in Frontiers in Neurology last year says autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) (also called bone marrow transplantation, with autologous meaning a patient’s own cells) used for multiple sclerosis therapy helps “reset the immune system.” Several studies and clinical trials using AHSCT have shown promise.

“In a meta-analysis of published studies using AHSCT for M.S. treatment, the pooled estimated transplant-related mortality was 2.1%, the two-year disease progression rate was 17.1%, the five-year progression rate of 23.3%, and a pooled 83% of patients had no evidence of disease activity at two years. Patients who had the most benefit and the least mortality rate were patients with relapsing-remitting M.S. (RRMS).”

Additional research published by NEJM Journal Watch says that AHSCT helps MS patients reduce relapses better than other forms of MS treatment.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society outlines the different types of multiple sclerosis:

• Clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) is when an individual experiences a single neurological episode lasting 24 hours or less. CIS is what M.S. is diagnosed as until there is a second episode.
• Relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS): The most common M.S. among the million people battling the disease in the U.S., RRMS is marked by sudden flare-ups, new symptoms, or worsening of symptoms and cognitive function. The condition will then go into remission for some time before reemerging with no known warning signs.
• Primary progressive M.S. (PPMS): These individuals have no flare-ups or remission, just a steady decline with progressively worse symptoms and an increasing loss of cognitive and body functions.
• Secondary progressive M.S. (SPMS): This is an almost transitional form of M.S. that progresses from RRMS to PPMS.

Why Some Multiple Sclerosis Patients Are Turning to Cannabis for Symptom Relief?

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society says, “Some [people living with multiple sclerosis] use non-inhaled cannabis products to manage symptoms. Although the FDA has not approved any cannabis-based medications to treat MS symptoms, you and your healthcare provider may consider medical cannabis for symptom management.”

WATCH: Does Smoking Marijuana Cause Lung Cancer?

Research published in May 2022 in the peer-reviewed journal “Life” that studied The Efficacy of Cannabis on Multiple Sclerosis-Related Symptoms found that, “indications that cannabis will support the efficacy of cannabinoids, namely through an oromucosal spray (mouth spray) and orally, in the treatment of pain and spasticity, which are the most common symptoms in MS patients.”

Additional published research released in December 2022 in the peer-reviewed “International Journal of MS Care” found that within its own study involving 141 patients with multiple sclerosis, “Patients experienced extensive MS symptom improvement after initiation of MC, with alleviation of pain (72% of patients) and spasticity (48% of patients) and improvement in sleep (40% of patients) the most common.”

Although some experts disagree with cannabis use, SurvivorNet understands it is legal in parts of the country, and there are some medicinal uses for it. If you are using cannabis, Dr. Brian Berman, professor of family community medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, says users should tell their doctor about their smoking habits.

“I think that you should always tell whichever therapy we’re talking about, you should always inform your oncologist and your physician, this is (using cannabis) what you’re doing,” Dr. Berman tells SurvivorNet.

Each state has its own requirements for obtaining a medical marijuana card. If you live in a state where medical marijuana use is legal and you think it might be the right treatment for you, start by talking to your doctor.

WATCH: Using Cannabis to Manage Symptoms

“Medical cannabis, if you think about it, is the only botanical medicine that can help nausea, increase appetite, decrease pain, and elevate mood,” Dr. Junella Chin, an integrative cannabis physician in New York, tells SurvivorNet.

The cancer risks associated with smoking cigarettes are well-documented. However, some experts believe with conviction that cancer risks extend to smoking cannabis as well. Dr. Raja Flores, who is the Chairman of the Department of Thoracic Surgery for Mount Sinai Health System, is among those who believe cannabis fuels cancer risks.

“Smoking marijuana likely causes lung cancer independent of cigarette smoking status,” Dr. Flores told SurvivorNet.

“As someone on the front lines, who sees this every day, I’ve seen lung cancer caused by marijuana that is incredibly aggressive,” Dr. Flores previously told SurvivorNet.

“There is no really good population-based study that looks at marijuana smoking, and that has had enough time elapsed to show it’s associated with lung cancer, [but] I’ve seen it. I’ve seen multiple cases of it. I see it every day,” he added.

Questions for Your Doctor

If you are diagnosed with MS or are concerned you have the chronic disease due to symptoms you’re experiencing, consider asking your doctor the following questions.

SurvivorNet’s proprietary AI tool, “My Health Questions,” is also supported by physicians and can help further inform you as you continue your health journey.

• Although there’s no cure for MS, which treatment option do you recommend to manage my symptoms?
• Are there any potential side effects of MS treatment?
• What if the treatment to manage symptoms doesn’t work?
• Will exercise or therapy help my symptoms?
• Are there any MS support groups you recommend to help me cope

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.