Sarah Hyland Doesn't Remember Filming Some of Modern Family as She Was 'Exhausted' Ahead of Kidney Transplant

Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Sarah Hyland is opening up about how her health challenges impacted her experience working on Modern Family.

The actress, 31, who played Haley on the long-running ABC sitcom appeared on Monday's episode of the podcast Quitters, during which she spoke about the grueling days leading up to her first kidney transplant.

"There are some episodes of Modern Family where I do not remember filming because I was asleep. Dead-a– asleep," Hyland said to podcast host and her former TV mom Julie Bowen, plus Chad Sanders.

Peter "Hopper" Stone/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

RELATED: Sarah Hyland on Valuing Her Health More Than Ever During COVID: 'I'm Alive Today Because of Science'

Hyland, who has a chronic kidney condition called kidney dysplasia, has had two kidney transplants. Before her first transplant, Hyland said she has no recollection of filming the Modern Family episode in which "Haley asked [Luke for] money," explaining, "The entire episode I was asleep."

The actress then explained "how kidney transplants work," telling the hosts, "You have to be a certain level of sick in order to receive a transplant. I was reaching that certain level of sick."

"I was not able to be awake for eight hours at a time," she said. "I was so exhausted all the time. I would be on set and would be filming, and I would be dead asleep, my head on the table."

When she heard the words "and, action," Hyland said she would lift her head up, but right when the director yelled "cut," she said she would put her head back down.

RELATED: Sarah Hyland Got Her Third COVID Vaccine Booster Shot: 'Stay Healthy and Trust Science'

Earlier in the episode, Hyland explained what it was like for her to work as a professional actress while battling chronic pain.

"When you have grown up your entire life having health issues and always essentially being in pain, you have to learn how to have thick skin, put on a show, put on a smile in front of everybody," she said. "Because otherwise, you're just going to be looked at as a really weak and pathetic and sad person. I don't like to victimize myself. I don't like other people to victimize me."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Bowen, 52, who starred alongside Hyland all 11 years Modern Family was on air, recalled "times on set" when her TV daughter was "doubled over" in pain. In one instance, the film crew needed one more take of a scene, and "like a robot," Hyland was ready to film again, Bowen said.

"She [was] in a lot of pain," she recalled. "But you'd always turn it on when you needed to take care of business."

Hyland agreed, admitting, "I never really said no," before Bowen chimed in, "You never really said no until you were in the hospital!"

Bowen later apologized for what Hyland went through on set, telling her, "You had to climb a mountain. Sorry about that."