Christina Applegate has found some common ground with her daughter, Sadie, who was recently diagnosed with POTS.
The “Married… With Children” star’s daughter, 13, talked about her diagnosis on the Tuesday episode of Applegate’s “MeSsy” podcast, noting she now has a new understanding of her mom’s battle 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.”
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, POTS — formally known as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome — is a chronic disorder that affects the autonomic nervous system and blood circulation.
People with POTS will experience a rapid increase in heart rate when standing up from sitting or lying down; and can experience lightheadedness, brain fog, fatigue, intolerance of exercise, headache, blurry vision, palpitations, tremors and nausea. They can also experience fainting.
During the episode, Sadie explained that she had been suffering from her symptoms for a very long time but was often dismissed.
“I hate it for you my darling. I really hate it for you,” Applegate said in response. “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 — who Applegate shares with her husband, Martyn LeNoble — recalled leaving her sixth-grade classes and visiting the nurse “multiple times a day” because she “always felt like [she] was going to pass out.”
“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 — said she was also dismissive of her daughter’s symptoms out of ignorance of the disease.
“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.
She continued, “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 said. “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.”
Despite the debilitating symptoms, Sadie explained that her diagnosis has made it easier “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.’”
