Asthma developing as an adult?

[EmpressSoleil]

I'm in my 50s and never had asthma before but I'm finding increasingly that when I laugh, if it's for more than a second or so, I start to struggle for breath. I've actually also had a couple of really scary episodes (that also happened when I laughed too much) where I literally couldn't breathe for maybe 30-60 seconds (although it felt a lot longer!). Dr Google suggests asthma but does it just start like that? After so many years of never having it? Anything else it might be?

I (according to the doctor) developed asthma in my late 50s after a bout of bronchitis. The odd thing about that is that after a couple of years it seemed to sort itself out (don't have an inhaler but do have a not very good lung function). So it could be asthma, it could be something else and it's worth getting checked out, esp if you're unable to breathe for a minute. That's seriously scary.