Selma Blair shares health update, says she's in pain 'all the time' amid MS remission

Selma Blair is feeling "lucky" as her multiple sclerosis remains in remission, though the actress says she continues to experience constant pain and stiffness.

The "Cruel Intentions" star gave fans and followers a health update in a new Instagram video posted this week, telling fans she is "doing well" as she addressed the camera from bed while undergoing intravenous immunoglobulin therapy, or IVIG.

"I hurt all the time," she said. "I say that only for you people that hurt also. I get it."

According to the National Institute of Health, IVIG is a "pooled antibody, and a biological agent used to manage various immunodeficiency states and a plethora of other conditions, including including autoimmune, infectious, and inflammatory states. The ultimate goal of this therapy is to normalize a compromised immune system."

Blair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018, and in 2021, she revealed that her MS was in remission. In her recent update video, the actress shared that she remains in remission, although she continues to suffer from dystonia, a condition that causes involuntary muscle movements.

She has noticed that she moves and walks better when she is by herself versus when she is in public, she explained. "When I go out, it's still very pronounced when I go into different rooms, hallways or meeting new people, or even focusing on talking about it," Blair said.

"I kind of don't mind talking about how strange that is because I know it can look weird, and when I didn't talk to anyone else that had MS or other things that might be like this, some neurological or other chronic things, I didn't know that it could come and go like that," she added.

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Blair also noted that her body still gets "really, really, really stiff" due to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which according to the Mayo Clinic is a group of disorders affecting connective tissues in the body, primarily the skin, joints and blood vessel walls. "I'll pull my muscles too easily, and then they're like slack and sit there," she said. "So I get some injuries."

But Blair said that while she still experiences fatigue and is "stiff all the time," she seems to be "doing fine," and she is due for another MRI and more blood work.

Blair, who has also starred in "Hellboy" and "Legally Blonde," first revealed her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2018, writing on Instagram at the time, "I have MS and I am ok. But if you see me, dropping crap all over the street, feel free to help me pick it up." She documented her battle with MS in the documentary "Introducing, Selma Blair."

In 2021, the actress announced that her MS was in remission after she underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. "Some people wake up two years later and they’re like, 'I'm healed! Colors are brighter!" she told Self in 2023. "But I never had that moment. I just stopped having regression."

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While Blair said she is not "complaining" because she is doing "really well," she reflected that she isn't sure that she will "ever have the coordination or balance or stamina" that she wants to.

"Still lucky," she said. "Still grateful. Still okay. But still a bummer."

In October, Blair appeared with President Biden at a White House event to celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, where she shared, "Although I'd had symptoms since the age of 7, it took a lifetime of self-advocacy to finally lead me to a diagnosis at age 46, after living most of my life in pain and self-doubt."

Contributing: Will Weissert, The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Selma Blair shares health update amid multiple sclerosis remission