My Severe Asthma Made Me Afraid to Live

Useful takeaways from this story.

As told to Erica Rimlinger I was 19 years old when my first asthma symptoms appeared, but I didn't know that's what they were.

As children, we didn't find it scary because we didn't know how dangerous asthma was.

As an adult, I knew what was going on, and I panicked because I couldn't breathe.

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The useful part

As told to Erica Rimlinger I was 19 years old when my first asthma symptoms appeared, but I didn't know that's what they were. As children, we didn't find it scary because we didn't know how dangerous asthma was. As an adult, I knew what was going on, and I panicked because I couldn't breathe.

How it works

I would end up in the ER a few times per year and was admitted to the hospital for symptoms at least once a year.
I tried half a dozen inhalers, at least, and any new treatment I was offered.
Sometimes the medications would hold back my symptoms for a short time, but I always ended up back on prednisone, which is supposed to be a short-term medication.
I didn't know it at the time, but I'd be on prednisone nearly continuously for almost 20 years.
Prednisone has a lot of <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/prednisone-oral-route/de...

What to take from it

The problem was my symptoms never stayed away for long.

Details worth keeping

I thought I just couldn't get rid of a bad cold. I felt tightness in my chest and shortness of breath, and I was wheezing. I was a healthy kid growing up, but my dad and my brother both had asthma.

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