Christina Applegate's daughter on finding common ground with mom after POTS

Christina Applegate and her daughter Sadie claim to have found common ground after the teen's diagnosis with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) — a chronic disorder that affects the autonomic nervous system and blood circulation.

The mother-daughter duo recently reflected on Sadie's difficulties before her diagnosis and the initial neglect at home and school during a recent episode of Applegate’s MeSsy podcast.

Sadie, 13, recalled how she had been suffering from her symptoms for a long time but was often dismissed.

She described her frequent visits to the school nurse for feeling close to fainting whenever she stood up in class or during physical education.

“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.

Sadie also held her school responsible for not taking her symptoms seriously and branding them as mere anxiety and excuses to get out of class.

"They wouldn’t do anything for it,” she added.

“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 herself was diagnosed with MS in 2021 — confessed that she was also dismissive of her daughter’s symptoms due to her unfamiliarity with POTS.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I kind of felt that way too.’ I feel so horrible that we didn’t pay attention to it,” said The Married… With Children star, further adding, "I just didn’t see it at home, babe. At home you were fine. But it’s kind of like us.”

“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,” Applegate added.

However, the two agreed on finding a middle ground when specifically the teen admitted the disease got 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.’”

Sadie said she now has a better understanding of her mom’s battle with multiple sclerosis.