Jamie-Lynn Sigler has been battling multiple sclerosis privately for 15 years

Actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler has revealed for the first time publicly that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 20 years old.

The 34-year-old Sopranos alum told People, “I’m at a point in my life with my son, with my new marriage, it’s a new me. I don’t want to hold a secret where it feels like I have something to be ashamed of or have something to hide. It’s part of me, but it’s not who I am.”

Sigler, who married baseball player Cutter Dykstra Saturday, emphasized how their two-year-old son Beau was a motivating factor to speak the truth publicly. “I didn’t want him to get to an age where he felt like he had to keep this secret for me as well. I wanted to be an example to him of strength and courage,” she said.

Sigler went symptom-free for a long period of time, but the disease “reared its ugly head” over the last decade. She can’t run and she’s unable to walk for long periods of time without having to rest. “When I walk, I have to think about every single step, which is annoying and frustrating,” she added.

Sigler tweeted the story and wrote, “This is a hard but liberating day for me, and I hope together we can help others and fight on.”

Via the National Multiple Sclerosis Society: “Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.”