Christina Applegate is exploring all possibilities as she seeks answers after learning she was misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
The 54-year-old "Dead to Me" star is looking into whether breast implant illness could explain why she "hurts all over" and experiences chronic fatigue, she told cohost Jamie-Lynn Sigler on the Nov. 10 episode of their "MeSsy" podcast. Her suspicions were reinforced when someone recently sent her what she described as a study about breast implant illness "presenting as MS."
"I swear, over the last five years I thought, 'What if they're leaking and they're poisoning me?'" Applegate said. "So that's one that I will be looking into, because it's something I've thought about."
Following an early-stage breast cancer diagnosis
in 2008, she underwent a double mastectomy, followed by breast reconstruction. Applegate, who was found to have the BRCA1 gene mutation that increases breast cancer risk, said she is "way overdue for having [the implants] replaced."
Though the "Married… with Children" alumna had previously attributed her symptoms to MS, the autoimmune disease with which she was diagnosed in 2021, she shared in her Oct. 20 podcast episode that a doctor recently told her, "Congratulations, you don't have MS."
MS, a chronic neurological disorder, is characterized by the immune system mistakenly attacking healthy cells, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
While some MS patients might have "mild symptoms," others can experience "symptoms that will lead to increased disability over time." Most have "short periods of symptoms that resolve fully or partially."
What is breast implant illness?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has, in recent years, warned patients about the potential risks of breast implants, which include capsular contracture – scar tissue that squeezes an implant – potential rupture of the implant, cancer of the immune system and breast implant illness.
Symptoms of BII include "fatigue, problems with memory or concentration ("brain fog"), joint and muscle pain, hair loss, weight changes, anxiety, and depression," according to the FDA.
However, BII is not a formal medical diagnosis, and "there are no specific tests or recognized criteria to define or characterize it."
Christina Applegate's symptoms: 'Can't move my right shoulder at all'
Applegate expressed frustration with the impact that her mystery illness has on her life and described difficulty with various movements.
"I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with me; of course I know about these things," she said about people sending her messages with advice and diagnoses. "It's overwhelming because there's so many different things that could be going on, and this pain stuff – I don't know what's going on in my joints, but I can't move my right shoulder at all now. I can't lift my arm."
She added, "It takes me 10 minutes, at least, to even sit up and get out of my bed because I just hurt all over. And I don't know if I'm doing that to myself by sleeping too much – am I doing that?"
In the prior week's episode, Applegate said she is undergoing additional testing for "the sister diseases to MS," including autoimmune conditions rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, as well as Lyme disease.
Other celebrities have spoken publicly about complications associated with breast implants, including SZA and Denise Richards.
In 2024, SZA said she got her implants removed due to a spike in excess tissue that started growing in her breasts after undergoing augmentation. Richards said she had to get the procedure "redone" after her implants ruptured while doing extreme stunts on the Fox show "Special Forces: World's Toughest Test."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Christina Applegate questions if breast implants led to MS-like symptoms
