Christina Applegate opens up about one of the MS side effects she says has affected her “more than the disease” itself.
A landmark study funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society found that nearly 1 million people in the U.S. are living with multiple sclerosis, or MS. The disease “causes breakdown of the protective covering of nerves.” This leads to “numbness, weakness, trouble walking, vision changes and other symptoms,” according to the Mayo Clinic.
Symptoms can vary from person to person.
“Some people lose the ability to walk on their own or move at all. Others may have long periods between attacks without any new symptoms, called remission. The course of the disease varies depending on the type of MS,” the Mayo Clinic notes.
Christina Applegate shared her experiences with Multiple sclerosis
Actress Christina Applegate has openly shared her experiences with MS since her diagnosis, speaking candidly about her health struggles to help raise awareness of the condition.
In her new book, “You With the Sad Eyes: A Memoir by Christina Applegate,” she details how MS affected her battle with body dysmorphia. For Applegate, the disease brought a range of struggles—changes to her weight, muscle mass, and eating habits that she says sometimes bothered her more than the disease itself.
“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*cking blob,” she explains, according to Tyla.
She adds: “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 good is followed by the bad”
Applegate emphasizes that it wasn’t necessarily about being “bigger,” but about how “the girl who had control all her life no longer had that control.”
“Sometimes the weight bothered me more than the disease. 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. These days, my legs are tinier than they’ve ever been.”
The condition prevents Applegate from eating the foods she enjoys, and she struggles with “serious stomach issues.” Even so, she says she has reached a healthier relationship with food today.
“So once again, the good is followed by the bad: I’ve managed to create a much healthier place when it comes to my relationship with food, only to get out of the shower and see legs that are scary‑looking.
“I have no muscles – just sticks. It’s dangerous to be walking around with zero muscles on my body: it means my bones aren’t protected if I fall, and it scares me. But there’s still that little voice in my head saying, ‘You’re really skinny. You have the legs you always wanted. Good for you.’ This is the sickness. But she’s not going to win.”
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