Christina Applegate has revealed that her 13-year-old daughter has been diagnosed with POTS.
The “Dead to Me” star’s daughter, Sadie, opened up about her condition on Tuesday’s episode of Applegate’s “MeSsy” podcast, saying she has newfound common ground with her mom, who is living with multiple sclerosis.
“I have something called POTS,” Sadie shared. “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.”
POTS — formally known as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome — is when your heart rate increases quickly after getting up from sitting or lying down, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
It’s a chronic disorder that affects the autonomic nervous system and blood circulation and could lead to tremors, nausea, and fainting.
Sadie revealed that while she only recently received her diagnosis, she’s been living with the condition for a while.
The “Married…With Children” alum, 52, said she “hates” that her daughter has to experience the chronic disorder.
“I hate it for you my darling. I really hate it for you,” Applegate said. “I’m sad. But I love you and I know you’re going to be OK. And I’m here for you and I believe you. And thank you for bringing this to light and awareness.”
Sadie — whom Applegate shares with her husband, Martyn LeNoble — recalled leaving her sixth-grade classes to visit the nurse “multiple times a day.”
“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 said.
“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 continued. “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.’”
Applegate — who was diagnosed with MS in 2021 — admitted that she was initially dismissive of her daughter’s symptoms.
“She wears layers of clothes on 90-degree days and she hates PE — sorry school, not a big fan of PE or physical things,” Applegate said.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I kind of felt that way too.’ I feel so horrible that we didn’t pay attention to it.”
“I just didn’t see it at home, babe. At home you were fine. But it’s kind of like us,” Applegate went on.
“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.”
After gaining some clarity on her condition, Sadie said it’s helped her to “understand 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 added.
