It's less of a torture device when one isn't hacking up a lung; hopefully that's reassuring. :-) I wouldn't worry about finding your old list of baselines; do one now, especially since you're not too worried about your breathing (yet).

Other asthma stuff: is your inhaler Albuterol or steroid? (the steroid ones always seem to be small and orange, while Albuterol and its ilk are larger and blue, or occasionally very light brown.) If you're using an Albuterol inhaler everyday, talk to your doc about using a steroid inhaler for a couple of weeks until things stabilize. The Albuterol is good for a quick improvement, but doesn't change anything deep down; the steroid inhaler might help with that.

Also, I am not a doctor I just play one on TV, I'm just an asthmatic who's been dealing with this shit for 25 years or so. :-p YMMV, natch. :-)