Selma Blair has revealed she is in constant pain as she gave fans an update on her health amid her battles with multiple sclerosis and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
The actress, 51, who was diagnosed with MS in 2018 and went into remission three years later, said she ‘hurts all the time’ but is trying to remain positive in a candid chat on her Instagram this week.
Multiple sclerosis (known as MS) is a condition in which the immune system attacks the body and causes nerve damage to the brain and spinal cord. It is an incurable, lifelong condition.
While Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is the name for a group of rare inherited conditions that affects the body’s connective tissue.
Selma said: ‘I hurt all the time. I say that for you people that hurt also. Like, I get it. And for all of us just aging, it hurts.
Selma Blair has revealed she is in constant pain as she gave fans an update on her health amid her battles with multiple sclerosis and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
‘So, the Ehlers-Danlos will make me really, really, really stiff.”
‘So, I get some injuries, but this is nothing that’s like horrible, scary stuff or anything.
‘It’s one of those extra things that turns into a chronic thing and you have to watch because people think stretching’s so good for you. And I’m technically not allowed to stretch.
‘But I am doing well. I’m doing well. Tired. When people say, ‘What do you want to do with your life?’ It still makes me sad that I just want to sleep.
‘There’s no complaining. But I don’t know if I’ll ever have the coordination or balance or stamina that I want to.
‘Still lucky. Still grateful. Still okay. But it’s still a bummer.’
Giving an update on her MS, she said: ‘I’m still in remission. I’m due for another MRI and blood work, but I seem to be doing fine.’
Blair announced that she had officially been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in an Instagram post that was shared in August of 2018.
Selma said: ‘I hurt all the time. I say that for you people that hurt also. Like, I get it. And for all of us just aging, it hurts. ‘So, the Ehlers-Danlos will make me really, really, really stiff’
Blair announced that she had officially been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in an Instagram post that was shared in August of 2018 – pictured November 2023
Blair shares son Arthur with ex Jason Bleick who she dated from 2010 until 2012. In 2019 she praised him and said he’s ‘shown up in a big way’ since her MS diagnosis; seen in 2015
The actress revealed that she had been suffering from symptoms in line with the disease for over four decades during an interview with British Vogue that was released earlier this year.
The performer also spoke openly about living with multiple sclerosis in her memoir Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up, which was published last May.
In her book, Blair discussed effectively becoming a spokesperson for individuals living with the disease and embracing her new role in life.
She wrote via The Guardian: ‘I became a kind of face for the disease, an advocate for something that matters to me. Though it’s a role I never thought I would play, it has become who I am.’
‘I think it’s important to talk about it. When it comes to chronic illnesses, there’s a lot of shame in disclosing one’s experiences,’ she added.
In an interview with Glamour Magazine in November 2023, she reflected on transitioning from ‘blissful pregnancy to utter devastation’ after giving birth in 2011.
‘The MS flared very obviously, when I was in labor,’ she explained. ‘My body started going through distress as bodies can, and, of course, I didn’t know I had it.
‘And so the moment Arthur was born, I went from this kind of blissful pregnancy to utter devastation,’ she continued.
Blair added: ‘Everything was too overwhelming. I couldn’t be in a relationship. There was nothing I could do except be a mother. And I was brutally tired and I didn’t have a support system. I didn’t know how to set one up.’
‘So even though I’m sociable and friendly, I’m alone for everything. And this child automatically became my biggest responsibility, my biggest love, but it was a very, very hard adjustment for me. Very hard.’