Christina Applegate Hospitalized 30 Times With ‘Unimaginable’ Pain Amid MS Struggle

Actress Christina Applegate has revealed startling details about her three-year battle with multiple sclerosis, including approximately 30 hospitalizations due to severe gastrointestinal issues that her doctors initially failed to connect to her condition.

The 53-year-old Dead to Me star shared these challenging experiences during the March 18 episode of MesSy, the podcast she co-hosts with fellow actress and MS patient Jamie-Lynn Sigler. While responding to a listener’s message about similar digestive problems, Applegate opened up about her own ongoing health struggles.

“This is really important because for three years, since I was diagnosed, I’ve been in the hospital upwards of 30 times from throwing up and diarrhea and pain that is unimaginable,” Applegate disclosed. “They’ve done every test known to man on me, put so much radiation into my body from CT scans to everything else. And literally, just in the last month, I have figured it out.”

Applegate believes her symptoms may be related to how MS affects organ function, specifically what medical professionals call “motility issues.” The Emmy-winning actress explained her personal theory: “One of the things with MS is that it slows down our organs — not, like, completely, but it there is a slowing of the function of your organs.”

She described a particularly distressing symptom pattern that has plagued her for years. “I have noticed that —and I’m gonna be really honest — if I have to poop, I puke. And when I puke, I get all the pain, and then all the things happen,” Applegate said candidly. The actress refers to this internal havoc as “The Fight Club,” explaining, “Everyone’s fighting with each other,” in reference to her body’s simultaneous reactions.

What makes her situation more frustrating is that medical professionals have been dismissive of connecting these symptoms directly to her MS diagnosis. “I’m gonna have a big conversation with the big guys and be like, ‘I know you guys are saying that I’m crazy, and I’m coming in here for no reason. And now I’m seeing a pattern,’” Applegate said about an upcoming colonoscopy appointment.

While symptoms of MS typically include fatigue, memory difficulties, mobility issues, and vision impairment, as listed by the National MS Society, severe gastrointestinal distress, as Applegate describes, isn’t commonly associated with the disease. The organization notes that constipation is more frequently reported than diarrhea among MS patients.

Despite this medical consensus, Applegate remains convinced there’s a connection based on her personal experience and that of other MS patients like her podcast listener. “I’m sorry [but] there’s gotta be a correlation here, and I’m not a doctor, so I’m not giving medical advice,” she emphasized.

The actress, who first revealed her MS diagnosis in 2021, has been increasingly open about her health journey. She told ABC News on March 13 that she may have experienced symptoms for up to seven years before receiving her diagnosis, including instances where her legs would give out while filming Dead to Me.

Throughout the podcast discussion, Applegate maintained her characteristic humor despite the serious subject matter, even offering practical advice for fellow sufferers: “Always have a little trash can next to your toilet, so you can do both without it being messy.”