The Dead to Me actress’ 13-year-old daughter, Sadie Grace, whom she shares with her husband, Martin LeNoble, has candidly spoken about her postural orthostatic tachycardiasyndrome diagnosis.
The syndrome, also known as POTS, is described by WebMD as an illness resulting in a large majority of your blood residing in your lower body meaning when you stand up, your heart is strained.
Symptoms of the syndrome include dizziness, a feeling of faintness and or lightheadedness. It also causes your blood pressure to drop.
Christina Applegate and Sadie Grace LeNoble have become closer since their respective diagnoses. Photo / Getty Images
Appearing on the MeSsy podcast earlier this week, Sadie opened up about her diagnosis, admitting she has “no clue what it is” but that when she stands, she gets “really, really dizzy”, her legs get “really weak”, and she feels as though she is going to “pass out”.
Sadie also shared on the podcast - hosted by her mum and actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, that she doesn’t “usually” faint or go unconscious, but when she has, it’s happened on “really bad days when it’s hot out”.
Sadie went public with her diagnosis earlier this year, however she received it last year.
“Last year, in 6th grade, I would go to the nurse multiple times a day for it because I always felt like I was going to pass out,” she said. “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.’”
At first, the teen received little to no help from nurses who claimed she was “lying” about her symptoms.
“Them not doing anything about it definitely hurt me physically and emotionally,” she said. “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 then jumped in claiming she felt “very guilty” because she didn’t understand what her daughter was going through and thought she was just being a typical teenager who didn’t like PE class.
Sadie said while her diagnosis has been difficult, there is a silver lining in that she feels she can understand her mother’s diagnosis better.
“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.’”
Applegate pointed out that if she weren’t laughing, she’d be crying all the time, and the late-night host added: “You probably do a little bit of that, I’m sure.”
