Kathy wrote:
Interesting. Two friends have recently asked if I have asthma, one when I
was doing nothing more strenuous then sitting in a pub drinking coke! The
other has asthma so, like you, should know what she is talking about. Also,
Mum developed asthma in her 50's, but she was a smoker. If it hasn't
cleared up by Christmas, I'll go badger the Doc about it.

I am in no way saying don't see a doctor - go get checked out as soon as
you can. But in the meantime, you may like to consider some gentle kind
of yoga - I do a weekly Hatha Yoga class, which I didn't expect to do
much for me, but I've found amongst other things that it seems to have
improved my general breathing. (And you can get lots of different classes
aimed at different levels, or Hatha is more aimed at all but advanced
level with variations on moves)