Selma Blair reveals MS symptoms doctors missed…
For years, Selma Blair battled unexplained pain and crippling fatigue while doctors dismissed her symptoms.
Blair revealed that despite experiencing symptoms since childhood, her a number of sclerosis (MS) wasn’t recognized until she was in her 40s.
“I was diagnosed with relapsing [remitting] MS in 2018. It turned out I probably had juvenile MS as my first optical neuritis was when I was about seven, which left me with a lazy eye from nerve damage. But there were a lot of things missed my whole life,” Blair said at the Flow Space Women’s Health Summit, according to Variety.
She described years of excruciating pain and numerous hospital stays, while doctors disregarded her symptoms.
“I had CAT scans as a kid, and I had doctor visits, and I stayed in hospitals for weeks at a time,” Blair recalled. “I’d have fevers, I have pain, endless, bone-crushing fatigue that I still do have. And my mom would say, why can’t you give her an MRI?”
Blair recalled the double normal she confronted growing up, saying, “And they’re like, ‘Oh, she doesn’t need it. She’s probably getting her period.’ But then a boy would come in from my class who had a headache and they gave him an MRI the first thing. Now, they’re not wrong for doing that for him, but it’s like, What? Because I appeared OK, even though I had headaches all the time.”
Selma Blair attends the 2025 Environmental Media Awards Gala at Radford Studio Center in Studio City, Calif. on Oct. 11, 2025. Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency / BACKGRID
Selma Blair with her canine, Scout, at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit at the Lincoln Center in New York City, on Sept. 10, 2025. John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock
The delayed diagnosis finally explained years of symptoms often dismissed by doctors as mere “growing pains.” Blair described how sharing her expertise publicly grew to become a source of consolation and connection for many dwelling with chronic sickness.
“I just put it on my Instagram to thank people on a set who were helping me stay at my job, because I couldn’t use my hands well, I couldn’t take my clothes off. I still sometimes struggle with dystonia and with speech and movement, even though I’m relapse-free right now,” Blair continued.
Blair described years of excruciating pain and numerous hospital stays, while doctors disregarded her symptoms. Getty Images
“But when I did post I saw that there was a whole world that was that felt seen or a part of being seen or could relate to someone having chronic health issues. I realized that was a comfort to a lot of people. And there weren’t a lot of resources out about MS at the time. There was so much I needed to learn. I’m still learning as I live with it, but I did see that it was much bigger than me … It felt good. It felt good knowing people were feeling some comfort.”
The 53-year-old actress, who first announced her MS diagnosis in 2018, revealed in April she is “truly relapse-free” from symptoms of the chronic autoimmune disease.
“I am doing amazingly well. I’ve been feeling great for about a year,” the “Legally Blonde” star told People at the time. “But I am finally well enough to really, genuinely … I always try to feel my best, but now that I actually have stamina and energy and going out isn’t so scary.”
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