Her experience, while not the norm, is far from unusual, experts say.
Applegate disclosed the revelation on an episode of her podcast with Jamie Lynn Sigler, MeSsy, which centers on their lives with MS. (Sigler disclosed that she has relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, or RRMS, in 2016.) “In January of 2021, I had numbness in my toes, and that numbness grew to all of my legs,” Applegate recalled on the podcast. “And then the pain started.”
There’s no treatment that restores function, but there are numerous treatments that slow or even stop disease progression with MS, which are much better than what was an available 15-20 years ago. A diagnosis at least gives hope of some ability to mitigate worsening symptoms.
Yeah, I know two people with MS, one has been diagnosed for a decade and a half and with medication she’s doing okay, one was diagnosed earlier this year, but is already receiving treatment intended to slow/stop progression.
There is no treatment that stops MS.
Not that reliably stops it for all patients or for unlimited time, but the current mainstream treatments are way more effective than what was generally available 15-20 years ago. I’ve been on my current twice-annual infusion for more than 8 years now with no relapses or new lesions. That is a halted disease progression, and though it may not last indefinitely, for the time being, for me, it is effectively stopped, and the same is true for countless others.