Actress Selma Blair has explained her Multiple Sclerosis symptoms, some of which aren’t known by many. She even shared how she was initially misdiagnosed before learning she had MS.
The disease affects almost 1 million in the US
Multiple Sclerosis affects almost 1 million people in the US, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
The disease is a chronic autoimmune condition which manifests in different levels of pain for different people.
It can leave some unable to walk
Some of those affected, like Blair, 53, end up losing their ability to walk or even talk if the symptoms get too much.
She recently spoke about her experience with MS in an episode of the British variety show, This Morning.
Blair has had a certain symptom since childhood
The Legally Blonde actress explained to hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shepherd that there’s a certain overlooked symptom of MS that she’s been struggling with since she was a child.
“I’ve had symptoms for as young as I can remember with my eyesight,” she said.
She had never got it diagnosed
“I had optical neuritis and we never really diagnosed it. [They] just said ‘Oh, it’s turned into a lazy eye,” Blair explained.
Optical neuritis is defined by the Mayo Clinic as swelling that damages the optic nerve, which is practically what gives a person their vision.
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The pressure on her eye can get too painful
“It can be painful in the eye, pressure, and the eye nerve gets quite inflamed, so you can accrue damage the longer that stays,” Blaire said, but added that with relapsing, it can also remit.
“It can go away, so it can be tricky, I think with doctors, especially when you’re young and quite capable.”
She was misdiagnosed at first
As well as the issues that arise with her vision the actress shared that she also suffered from chronic headaches and fever in her youth in addition to a drop leg and even ticks.
“But I did spend my entire life with doctors really trying to find out why I was so tired, but it was really misdiagnosed as depression,” she told the hosts.
Doctors told her it was depression
Blair added, “I guess extreme fatigue can also seem like depression, so I just went that way and figured ‘Oh god, I guess it’s all in my head’.”
The Cruel Intentions actress said in a different interview with Today that she’d been offered a new drug by a doctor which improved her symptoms in recent years.
Her symptoms have gotten better since then
“I really wanted to do as much as I can in my life while I have this great time being relapse-free,” Blaire said.
“I want to try as much as I can, and I want to show people too, that just because you get a hard diagnosis, it doesn’t always… mean a death sentence, that there are ways to lighten the load.”
She added, “And if I can help lighten the load for other people or for their parents or anyone, then I’m so happy to be able to do that in any way.”
