Overview
- On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Applegate told listeners on her MeSsy podcast that doctors had concluded she was misdiagnosed with MS after new tests and that she was shocked and distressed by the result.
- She says the change in diagnosis has not eased her condition and that she still has severe symptoms, in some respects worse than before, including reliance on a wheelchair for medical visits.
- Applegate and her medical team have launched further testing and a review of her prior workups to identify what has been causing her symptoms since 2021.
- Dr. Marwa Kaisey of Cedars‑Sinai told the podcast that MS has no single definitive test and that research suggests roughly one in five people labeled with MS may later be found not to meet full diagnostic criteria.
- The reversal raises questions about prior evaluations and treatments and shifts Applegate’s focus from managing a known disease to finding an accurate diagnosis while she copes with the emotional and practical fallout of losing a long‑held identity as an MS advocate.