Christina Applegate, 52, and her daughter Sadie, 13, are supporting each other through their health battles.
Applegate was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021, and now the family is sharing that Sadie is suffering from POTS.
Sadie joined her mom’s “MeSsy” podcast this week to talk about what she’s going through.
“I have something called POTS,” Sadie said. “I have no clue what it actually is, but it’s something to do with the autonomic nervous system and it affects my heart. When I stand up, I get really, really dizzy and my legs get really weak and I feel like I’m going to pass out.”
Christina, who shares Sadie with husband Martyn LeNoble, told her, “I hate it for you, my darling. I really hate it for you. I’m sad. But I love you and I know you’re going to be okay. And I’m here for you and I believe you. And thank you for bringing this to light and awareness.”
The Cleveland Clinic explains, “Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a condition that causes your heart to beat faster than normal when you transition from sitting or lying down to standing up… If you have POTS, your body can’t coordinate the balancing act of blood vessel constriction (squeezing) and heart rate response. This means that your body can’t keep your blood pressure steady and stable.”
The syndrome can cause a long list of symptoms, including, dizziness, fainting, heart palpitations, fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain and feeling sick.
Looking back at sixth grade, Sadie recalled asking to go to the nurse’s office “multiple times a day” because she felt like she was “going to pass out,” but her symptoms weren’t taken seriously.
“In class, if I were to stand up then, I would be like, ‘I have to go to the nurse. I can’t do this.’ Or I’ll be in PE, and I’ll be like, ‘I have to go to the nurse,'” she explained.
Sadie continued, “They were like, ‘You’re doing this to get out of class. It’s probably just anxiety. Go back to class.’ They wouldn’t do anything for it.”
“Them not doing anything about it definitely hurt me physically and emotionally,” she recalled. “Because I was just like, ‘This is rude, and I feel sick and you’re telling me to go to PE and run laps around the football field. I can’t do that.’”
Christina admitted she was dismissive too, telling her daughter, “I just didn’t see it at home, babe. At home you were fine. But it’s kind of like us. We get out in the world, and the stresses and the anxiety of the world bring upon our symptoms much worse than they would be if we were in the safety and the coolness of our own homes.”
Through her journey, Sadie said she now has a greater understanding of “what my mom’s going through.”
“Like, when my mom’s like, ‘Oh, I’m kind of in pain right now. Oh, I’m having tremors.’ If I didn’t have this, I probably would be like, ‘I don’t really care. I don’t know what you’re talking about,’” she shared.
Back in March, Christina opened up about her struggles with MS with “Good Morning America’s” Robin Roberts.
Applegate was joined by friend and “MeSsy” co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler, 42, who was diagnosed with MS at 20 years old.
Christina told Roberts, “I live kind of in hell. I’m not out a lot, so this is a little difficult, just for my system. But of course, the support is wonderful and I’m really grateful.”
Applegate explained, “I’m never going to wake up and go, ‘This is awesome.’ I’m just going to tell you that. Like, it’s not going to happen. I wake up and I’m reminded of it every day… But I might get to a place where I function a little bit better. Right now, I’m isolating, and that’s kind of how I’m dealing with it is by not going anywhere because I don’t want to do it. It’s hard.”
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