Christina Applegate Battles Painful Kidney Infection Amid Ongoing MS Struggle
Riley Carter here – okay, but like… why is this a thing? Christina Applegate has landed back in a Los Angeles hospital thanks to a kidney infection that has now spread to both kidneys, all while she continues her fight against multiple sclerosis.
On the latest episode of her podcast MeSsy with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Applegate, 53, described how a routine family trip to Europe took a sudden turn. She first felt off while visiting relatives overseas, then boarded a long flight home only to wake up writhing in pain and convinced her appendix was about to burst. “I’m screaming,” she told Sigler, “and my brain’s like, ‘Oh, my appendix is bursting.’”
Soon after touching down, the Emmy winner insisted on staying in the hospital so doctors could run every test imaginable. When pain radiated from her back to her stomach, medical staff ordered an emergency CT scan at 2 AM. That scan confirmed the worst: a severe kidney infection that not only hit her right side but had jumped to her left kidney, too.
As of Tuesday, Applegate remains admitted and is receiving round-the-clock intravenous antibiotics. She shared the blunt update on air, noting, “I’m just gonna be here because of this kidney infection.” Even in the thick of it, the actress managed a laugh when recalling an early misdiagnosis. A doctor initially chalked her pain up to a urinary tract infection and even questioned her personal hygiene. “Like, what am I back-wiping? I’m 53,” she quipped, adding that she has “the cleanest vagina” in Hollywood.
Still, Christina admitted she’s holding back tears behind hospital curtains. “I’m holding in a bag o’ tears right now,” she confessed, and occasionally melts into a nurse’s arms when the pain and emotions collide. This hospital stint is just the latest in a series of health scares since her 2021 MS diagnosis—a condition she’s said has led to more than 30 hospitalizations for vomiting and diarrhea.
Applegate has been open about how MS slows internal functions, urging listeners to discuss motility issues with their doctors. “If I have to poop, I puke,” she revealed earlier this year, highlighting the often unseen digestive struggles MS patients face. The star also spoke candidly about her daughter Sadie, 14, whom she credits as her daily motivation. In a heartbreaking moment on the Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast with Kelly Ripa, Sadie admitted she misses the mom she knew before all the sickness. Applegate choked up, saying, “That is a knife to the heart because I miss who I was before I got sick, too.”
Through pained laughter and tears, Christina Applegate’s recent ordeal underscores the unpredictable nature of chronic illness. Her transparency on MeSsy provides insight into the physical and emotional toll of juggling serious medical battles in the public eye. Keep an eye on Applegate’s updates to see how her treatment progresses and how she continues to raise awareness for MS and related complications.
Okay cool, so like, yeah, that happened.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and New York Post, MeSsy Podcast, Let’s Talk Off Camera Podcast
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
