Christina Applegate Shares A Heartbreaking Update On Her Multiple Sclerosis

Christina Applegate was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) earlier this year, and the "Married... with Children" star marked her 50th birthday by giving her fans an update on how she's been feeling.

In August, Applegate took to Twitter to share her MS diagnosis, which she had decided to keep private for "a few months." She revealed that living with MS would require a great deal of perseverance, but she ended her tweet on a humorous note, writing, "It's been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some a**hole blocks it."

In a follow-up tweet, Applegate asked her fans to respect her privacy. However, she has remained active on Twitter since then, and she interacts with her fans sporadically. When detailing her experience with MS, she's open and honest about how it has affected her physically, emotionally, and mentally. "I'm not a strong woman. I'm a person with MS. I'm sad about it all the time. But I hope one day I will be a fighter," she tweeted in October. That same month, she wrote, "How awesome that my cancer was the least of my worries," in reference to her breast cancer diagnosis in 2008. Per Oprah.com, Applegate opted to have a double mastectomy after a gene test found that she was at risk for the cancer to recur or spread in the future. Per Mayo Clinic, MS has "no cure," but Applegate has discovered a way to alleviate one of her symptoms.

The thoughtful gift that keeps Christina Applegate a little more comfortable

On November 25, Christina Applegate shared a heartbreaking update about how she was spending her 50th birthday due to a multiple sclerosis (MS) flareup. "It's been a hard one. Sending so much love to all of you this day," she tweeted. "Many are hurting today, and I am thinking of you. May we find that strength to lift our heads up. Mine currently is on my pillow. But I try."

Applegate received an outpouring of support from her followers. One person wrote that they were lying in bed underneath a cooling blanket to alleviate their MS symptoms, and Applegate revealed that she was doing the same. A month prior, she had sung the blanket's praises on Twitter, calling it "amazing" and revealing that it was gifted to her by one of her children's preschool teachers. One Twitter user responded by saying that they use their weighted cooling blanket "for sensory issues in the feet and legs," and Applegate replied, "My legs hurt as well as the tingling."

On Twitter, Applegate often shares her advice for others with MS. She has also recommended the Theragun massage gun and advised her followers to watch the documentary "Introducing, Selma Blair," which is about actor Selma Blair's own experiences living with MS. When sharing a photo of the tag attached to her cooling blanket, Applegate thanked her fans for conversing with her about MS. "It's good to not feel so alone," she wrote.