Christina Applegate says her doctor told her she never had multiple sclerosis

Christina Applegate has stunning health news. The actress says she does not have multiple sclerosis after all.

Back on the mic

Applegate returned Tuesday to "MeSsy," the podcast she hosts with Jamie-Lynn Sigler. She had stepped away from the show in March.

In the first of two new episodes she explained why. Her doctor had told her she did not have MS. She said she needed time away to take that in.

Not tears of joy

She recalled her doctor walking in and congratulating her. Applegate said she cried but felt furious. Everyone around her was thrilled. She said she was anything but happy.

Applegate revealed her diagnosis in August 2021. She had likely been dealing with symptoms for years before that. Sigler was diagnosed with MS in 2001 and the two often talked about the illness on the show.

Why it happens

Neurologist Dr. Marwa Kaisey of Cedars-Sinai joined the second episode. She said misdiagnosis is "fairly common" since no single test confirms MS. Doctors work from a set of criteria instead. About one in five people with an MS diagnosis turn out not to have it, she said.

Applegate said her symptoms are still real. She says they have grown worse over time.

Her late-March stay in a Los Angeles hospital was never explained publicly. She went home in August after nearly four months of care.