What are some symptoms I should be looking out for with my asthma?

@sarah826 I can understand why you’re not ready to call CPS but is there any adult outside of your family that you can talk to about this? Dizziness does not sound good, nor does being short of breath.

@janbb – Well, there’s my brother. He’s 21 and getting married in July. But there’s nothing that he can really do about it, is there?

And if he talked to my parents about it, that would be terrible. There would be a near family feud.

@sarah826 I’m still thinking that CPS would be your best bet. They are non-family who can see that you’re taken care of. I really am concerned that you’re getting dizzy (are you eating correctly though? Not a symptom of low blood sugar or anything?) and if that’s connected to your breathing and not getting enough air then you do need to have access at least to your inhaler that they won’t get filled.

@avvooooooo They never got the prescription filled. I never have had an inhaler.

@avvooooooo If I call, I will get put in foster care.They’ll come, and my mom won’t get the inhaler. She thinks it’ll kill me!

@sarah826 There are many steps before foster care. Even if kids are removed from the home, generally they look for a relative to place them with before sending them to foster care.

OK well that’s what I meant by “foster care”. I would probably get placed with my brother who lives an hour from my house.

Either that, or my cousins who live near him.

@sarah826 I hate to advise you over the internet as to what to do, but I think maybe you should talk to your brother. You need an adult to help you with this.

I am 33 and have had severe asthma since the age of 2. Are you yawning or actually gasping for breath? how many breaths are you taking per minute? have you been near anyone with a cold, infection or that was sick? are you coughing at all? not only do i have severe asthma but my mom and stepdad are childrens’ lung docs.

@janbb You don’t know what you’re saying. Seriously, that might make my situation even worse.
@madsmom1030 I don’t know what to call it. It seems somewhere between trying to yawn and gasping for breath. I just watched my watch and took about 7 yawns/gasps/whatever you wanna call them in a minute. But I was thinking about it, and that probably affected it. So it was probably more like 4.

@sarah826 That’s why I hesitated. I will bow out at this point.

For me I always have my rescue inhaler and a back-up- there is always one in my purse and the extra one is in my bedside drawer. If you are having an attack Asthma can get very bad very quickly- i have been hospitalized around 27 times for it- intubated and put on a respirator two times and had a severe attack right when my daughter started kindergarten because she came home with a cold. In my later teens it did get alot better until age 27 when i got pregnant with my daughter and now it seems to be back to stay. You know your body best and if you feel that you are struggling to breathe I would do something- whether it be someone taking you to an ER or CPS but I also sense you don’t want to tear your family apart. keep in mind also that asthma can be bothered by stress and anxiety- mine can really get bad if i am under lots of stress. there are breathing exercises you can do to calm it down. if you are having to take many shallow rapid breaths then that is something that requires medical attention. 7 isn’t bad but each person is different.

@madsmom1030 – I really don’t think it could get that bad any time soon. By the time that happens, I will at least have a driver’s license.
Isn’t it interesting how no one has answered my question yet? Could you please tell me what to be watching out for?

@sarah826 Please don’t tell me you would then be planning on driving yourself to the ER while having an asthma attack.

I don’t have asthma, but I dare say that if you notice your breathing getting worse (its bad enough now), if you find yourself gasping, if your chest feels tighter than normal then you need to be more concerned. I think you might want to mention to some adult at your next homeschool thing that you don’t feel like you can breathe and you should have an inhaler, but your parents won’t get you one. Let that adult be the adult and do whatever they feel moved to do.

@sarah826 – if you have a serious attack you do not need to be driving yourself to the ER.

The way you are describing your breathing now isn’t good. you shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not you might be on your way to an attack- that can make it worse. If you start to wheeze when you breathe, if your chest feels tight, some people have weird warning signs- if i am on the verge of a serious attack my chin starts to itch really bad. cause really if running, exercising is bothering your asthma then you need to have the inhaler so that you can pre-medicate yourself and avoid having an attack.

@avvooooooo and @madsmom1030 No, no, no…....I mean as soon as possible, once I have the driver’s license, I’ll go into town and get myself an inhaler if it’s at all possible.

Sweetie, you’ll still need parental permission unless you get emancipated.

Ya that’s what I’m afraid of. And I really don’t think I’ll be getting emancipated. A guy I know was thinking about it last fall, and I heard all about it from him. Not happening. And, really. What’s the point of getting out of the house 2 years early, when the process itself takes 6–8 months?

Which is why you need to seek assistance from CPS.

I think you guys are right. I’ve been having an especially hard time breathing ever since last night around 9:30. It was really bad last night until about 11:30, and then it got better so that I could atleast fall asleep. It’s gotten better, but it’s still worse than my usual. Is this an attack? or just extra bad short-of-breath-ness?

It can be either. But if you really feel like you can’t breathe, if you need to get your parents to take you to the ER. As a last resort, you could call 911, but that might be “worse” than calling CPS.

OK good to know.