Christina Applegate’s 13-year-old daughter, Sadie Grace Applegate LeNoble, recently discussed her and her mother’s health challenges on the actress’ “MeSsy” podcast. Sadie revealed she has been diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a condition affecting her heart and causing severe dizziness and fainting when she stands up.
“It affects my heart, and so 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,” Sadie explained. “I have fainted before, and I have gone unconscious.” She noted that she received her diagnosis a few months ago but had been experiencing symptoms for a long time, often visiting the school nurse multiple times a day due to her persistent dizziness.
Sadie shared that her symptoms were not initially taken seriously in school. “Every time I went to the nurse, they thought I was lying,” 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, and that definitely was hard, because I genuinely felt so sick, and I was in a lot of pain.”
POTS, according to the Cleveland Clinic, causes the heart to beat faster than normal when a person transitions from sitting or lying down to standing up. Symptoms include dizziness, fainting, brain fog, heart palpitations, and exhaustion. It affects between one and three million people in the United States and is not life-threatening.
Christina Applegate admitted she felt “horrible” for not initially understanding what was happening with her daughter. Sadie mentioned she had been aware of her symptoms since she was nine and had researched the condition. Last fall, she and her best friend told their parents they believed they had POTS. Currently, Applegate and Sadie are seeking a second opinion on the best medication for her condition.
In addition to POTS, Sadie also suffers from misophonia, a condition causing a decreased tolerance to certain sounds. She described it as “one of my worst struggles in life,” noting she “cannot deal” with the sound of her own breathing and chewing. As a result, Sadie wears noise-canceling headphones at school.
Sadie also spoke about the difficulty of watching her mother battle multiple sclerosis (MS). “It was hard seeing my mom lose a lot of the abilities she used to have in my childhood,” she said. “It’s definitely hard seeing my mom struggle with this.” Despite the challenges, she finds comfort in being able to support her mother.
Applegate, who was diagnosed with MS in 2021, has been open about her struggles, recently stating on the podcast that she doesn’t “enjoy living.” However, she introduced Sadie as “the reason that I get up in the morning,” highlighting the strong bond between mother and daughter as they navigate their health challenges together.