6/17/2025- My asthma is scaring me tonigh
I'm like 90% sure this is irrational but tonight i'm just really having trouble getting to sleep because i'm scared i'll have an asthma aattack while i'm sleeping. I've lost my inhaler and i've been sick all week but today i've basically been having a coughing fit that's lasted multiple hours and every time i think it's done or i've worn it out it comes back and i've tried pills i've tried honey i've tried cough drops nothing has worked, i even took whiskey hoping it would help and it didn't.
i've already coughed so hard i gave myself a nosebleed and the subsequent coughing up of blood that came from that. my head and chest are hurting so much and i'm scared the second i get to sleep i'm just gonna start coughing again. lord i've already gotten into so many fits just writing this. i've checked myself with my peak flow meter and i'm doing just below average, which is to be expected when you're sick but i'm just so scared about it, like something is gonna happen while i'm unconscious from Marley
Hii! Thank you for reaching out, it can take a lot of courage, so it's beyond appreciated. It must be very difficult to talk about the situation you're dealing with, and I hope you know how strong you are to not only be willing and open to talk about your struggles with asthma but your worries as well. Being sick is hard enough as it is, and I can imagine dealing with the weight of a looming asthma attack can make it even more difficult to let yourself heal. The anxiety you're feeling regarding your asthma is MORE than valid, when I was younger, I used to have trouble breathing whenever I got allergies and it was always heart stopping to wake up wheezing. For a long time, it was a big fear of mine and so I greatly sympathize with whatever you're feeling now. Dealing with asthma can be a struggle and can feel like an inconvenience sometimes but I hope you know that your courage means more than you might think. I know you mentioned some things you've already tried but if you're still open to any suggestions something that's worked for me in the past was running a hot shower and breathing in the steam, it doesn't always work but sometimes it can help to clear your airways even the slightest which might be a nice short-term relief. Anyhow, I hope this ends up finding you well and in good spirits. You are stronger than you think, and if you ever need a shoulder to lean on other volunteers and I are always here for you with open arms and ears! - Marley! :) from eric
Thank you for reaching out, I am so sorry to hear that you're going through this. Your feelings don't seem irrational to me at all. I would try getting a new inhaler as a main priority, and definitely don't drink alcohol to try and help the situation. I'm not a doctor, so I don't really know how to help, I would suggest calling your doctor, or even going to urgent care if you need to, in order to find a solution. At the very least, they will tell you will be okay when you sleep. I hope things get better and you're able to find a healthy solution. -Eric from dahlia
Hello, I'm Dahlia from Teentalk. Your worries are valid; I understand asthma is uncomfortable, and when your symptoms get bad, you may think the worst case scenario. However, remember how much your body tries to protect you. When you have an asthma attack, doesn't your body send you signs that something is wrong? Even if there is a possibility of getting hurt from an asthma attack in your sleep, I think your body would wake you up due to the asthma symptoms. Even now, your body is telling you that you need something to help you breathe. However the above methods are not effective asthma treatment as far as I know. You should get a new inhaler immediately and discuss with a doctor what you should do in case you end up losing an inhaler again in the future. You should also ask if there are other asthma treatments that can work as a back-up plan for you other than the inhaler. And I'm very sorry you had an uncomfortable night. You deserve a good nights rest without any worries. The first step in achieving help is to see a doctor who can evaluate your symptoms and tell you what to do. I hope your asthma symptoms will settle down soon, so that you don't have to feel anxious and can sleep well. from May
Hi! I'm May. I'm sorry you're dealing with this; it sounds really scary and uncomfortable. I understand why you're scared, and your feeling are totally valid no matter how irrational you feel that they are. One thing I would suggest is to try not to get too anxious. When you're anxious you might feel extra tense which doesn't help your symptoms, so I think it would be great to do something relaxing. Some things I like to do to relax are take a hot shower, watch a TV show I like (that specifically is a good distraction), play with my pets, talk to friends, read, do something creative like draw or paint, or listen to music. I also want to encourage you to talk to your parents or your doctor about your symptoms. I know it would be good to get a new inhaler since you lost yours, and there may be other things your doctor could suggest something to help other than your inhaler. I'm so glad you reached out to us and I really hope you can find a solution to this! Feel free to contact us again if you want to talk more :) -May from kit
I’m so sorry that you’ve been having to go through this, that sounds really scary. I don’t think it’s irrational to be stressed or anxious because of this, especially since your inhaler is lost. It sounds likely you tried everything you could so that really sucks it wasn’t able to help in any way. I don’t have much knowledge on asthma so I’m sorry that I don’t have much information or help to give. I think in this case it really would be best to tell your medical provider, if you are able, about all these things you’ve written about. They might be able to give you tips for right now as well as for if this happens in the future. I really wish I had all the answers to make this better and take away the pain from your asthma. If you ever want to talk about this or anything else you can leave another ask peppy or text/call teen talk. -Kit 7/22/2024- I had a failed medical procedure and it's really weighing on me
The other day, I had a failed medical procedure. Nothing bad, it was just an IUD insertion. It was just too painful even after taking the recommended doses of painkillers. It just hurts to much and I had to back out of the procedure last minute. I talked to some other people who had the same procedure, and they told me that it may have been medical malpractice on the doctors end, but I mostly just feel as if it's my fault for not having a high enough pain tolerance. I don't exactly know what to do now.
from Emma
Hey there, thank you for writing to us it take a lot of courage! It seems that you are feeling down about something that is not in your control. I don't know much about IUD insertion, but I feel like you shouldn't blame yourself for it. Our body are all different there so we all have different reaction and tolerant to certain stuff. It is not your fault that the procedure didn't went through. If your body are going through that much of pain then it is a sign that your body are not suitable for it, it is not your fault. The pain tolerance is like a warning sign of our body, it is your body that is trying to protect you from damaging yourself, it is your body telling you that you shouldn't went through this it gonna damage you even more. So don't blame yourself, you are very strong going through all of this and know where your limited is at, not only strong but you are also very brave of this! If you want to see why does your body react like this, you can ask the doctor about it, they will absolutely help you to understand it. Their number one priorities keeping you safe and healthy, talking to them can help you know about your body more. I hope this can help you in any way but I wish you all the best and finally you are very strong!
from jen
Thank you for writing in and sharing about what’s been on your mind. I’m sorry that it ended up being really painful for you. It is definitely not your fault for not having a high enough pain tolerance especially if there was medical malpractice on the doctors end. Being in pain is not your fault it’s just a response your body makes and it could have been your body trying to protect you from something it felt was not right with the procedure. Pain is important for us and pain tolerance does not make someone weaker or stronger. It’s just a bodily reaction and response to your body being injured or in danger of injury. Your body was looking out for you so please don’t feel guilty for that. You can always try again if you feel up to it at a later time or choose not to if it is a procedure you can go without. It can also help to maybe do some research and watch videos to explain the process and how to be prepared so your body is more relaxed if you do try again. It could bee that your body was reacting to an unfamiliar sensation that triggered it to panic and send signals to your brain making you feel pain. I’ve never had an IUD insertion but I’ve known people who did. Some say it was not too bad whereas others almost passed out. Not only do peoples bodies react differently but we are all unique and so not every body is exactly the same which can make the insertion more or less painful depending on your body and any variation at the site of insertion. I’m no expert but I hope this was helpful. I’m Jen and there are a whole lot of awesome volunteers at teen talk who might have other great advice to give. I hope you are able to find more peace about not having procedure and please know it is not your fault. You are strong and pain does not make you any less weak. I wish you the best <3 Jen 05/14/2023 - I love sports but they make me crY
I'm in cross country at my middle school and I am always last in the race. We go against other middle schools but its not a competitive sport, even tho no one wins or loses it still hurts being last place everytime. My coaches and team mates tell me all that matters is that I finish the race and I always do but I still want to get better. My legs always hurt from the running and I'm trying to stretch constantly but I'm still slower and in pain. I also wanna do track next year and wrestling for my first year of high-school but those r competitive and if I cry from jog-running races with no winning or loses, how will I be able to do track and wrestling? I just wish I was tough and more in shape and knew how to box and wrestle because I love sports they r fun but it puts me down when I see everyone better at it than me. Being in a race and watching all the other girls get slowly farther and farther away from me and then looking back and seeing no one there hurts. It's also embarrassing sometimes. I've been doing this sport since April 10th, a whole month and I still don't see much difference. But before this I haven't done sports since 4th grade.
FROM MIA
Hey! Thank you for reaching out to us. I understand how you feel when you say you want to do better in sports. I’ve gone through something similar to you. It’s really important to not let yourself start hating something you love. You seem to really enjoy running and playing sports and you should continue that even if you don’t play as well as you wished. Have you practiced out side of school like going on runs yourself? That might make you feel more comfortable and help you get in the practice you want and not feel bad about it! No matter what, don’t quit something you genuinely enjoy. If you work hard towards a goal, who knows what you may achieve? Feel free to reach out to us! We’d love to hear from you! FROM AMELIA
Hi there, my name is Amelia and I wanted to thank you for reaching out to us here at TeenTalk. I can see how this can be upsetting, but middle school is a time for you to find your passions and discover what makes you unique. What I would recommend would be to set individual goals for yourself. Maybe every few weeks or every race you can have a goal that is reachable so you can feel accomplished at the end of it. Comparing yourself to other people is never a true measure of your own growth and you shouldn't look past all this hard work you've been doing. And just remember that progress takes time an you should be proud of yourself. You'll find your groove and that finish line will look better than ever! - Amelia FROM BRI
Oh my goodness I feel the same way sometimes! I never did sports till I started high school and my first year I was *so* bad at sports. It can be really hard to be slower than other people, an I can really relate to that. I think it is so amazing how you finish every race. I think PR's (personal records) are always so important. I definitely experienced how difficult it can feel working so hard and then still not being the best. I think at least for me, I think my coaches really appreciated that I showed up. Some of the people who were better at sports did come to practice as often and while I was the slowest, I feel like people really appreciated that I always came and had fun and did my best. I had a friend once at varsity who was actually really upset that they didn't get put on C-team because I made it look more fun than the people who were taking it super seriously. That always stood out to me because I always assumed being better at sports meant that they were like in some exclusive club that meant that they were having more fun. I think you should absolutely try out in high school, doing your best is always important and I think you would really enjoy it. It is so much fun making memories and meeting new people. I think fitness is such a journey and my favorite quote is "Next year you will have wished that you started today." And I feel like that is so true! You've got this and I absolutely bee-leaf in you!
Photo credit: @chibird on Facebook and @chibirdart on Instagram
FROM DAVID
I'm really sorry to hear that. It is important to finish and I think that it's really cool that you still finish even if you didn't beat the other girls. I am also bad at sports and dislike seeing others run away in front of me or beat me at scoring goals but I try and enjoy it still and if you try really hard I think you can make it fun. You can also try and practice to get better at it and also try eating a better diet or also talk to your coach about his recommendations. I think you'll be great at sports at the high school level and you will also find your place in a team or sport that you enjoy. From personal experience sometimes a good team is better than being good since a good team still supports you. I do hope you keep doing the sports you enjoy and continue them in high school! From Leslie
hi! i'm not a sports person but i can totally see how not being the best at your passion can be painful :( i will say, as it sounds like you're still in middle school, your body is definitely still developing and change will come in time! people can get results in very varying times and it may take a little longer than a month to see a big difference in your times or stamina levels. i think you should stick with it and keep training throughout the summer, you'll most likely see a difference once school starts and that could also help build your confidence for more competitive sports! |
