Overview
- Applegate disclosed on her MeSsy podcast that doctors told her she does not have multiple sclerosis after recent testing with newer technology that prompted a formal reassessment.
- She said the change did not improve her condition and that she continues to have debilitating symptoms, including mobility problems that have required a wheelchair for some appointments.
- Applegate described deep emotional fallout from the reversal, saying the five years since her 2021 diagnosis brought depression, lost work and a public role as an MS advocate that now feels uncertain.
- Her medical team has begun fresh investigations to identify what has been causing her symptoms since 2021 and to test alternative explanations for the white-matter changes seen on earlier scans.
- Experts on the podcast noted that MS is diagnosed by a set of clinical criteria rather than a single test and cited studies finding roughly 15–20% of prior MS diagnoses may be incorrect, with conditions such as small-vessel disease, migraine changes or vitamin deficiencies able to mimic MS.