Asthma symptoms

I'm 24 years old and smoked both ciggarettes and cloves for three years.  I quit two months ago when I started having a very hard time breathing.  I went to a doctor on campus who diagnosed me with asthma and gave me albuterol.  The albuterol has helped a great deal, but I'm having trouble figuring out exactly what the symptoms of asthma are.

There are times when my chest doesn't feel *tight* per se, but I feel like I'm not pulling in enough air with each breath.  Sometimes I have sharp pains in different parts of my chest.  I have never made the classic asthma noises, like wheezing or grunting while trying to breath, but my trouble breathing does normally respond to albuterol.  Are those normal asthma symptoms, or could something else be going on?  Should I request a chest x-ray?

Also, where can I go to find out more information about asthma?

[National Jewish]

The most common asthma symptoms are coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing.  Some have any one of these or in any combination.  It is fairly easy to make a diagnosis of asthma.  It is done with a spirometry test (lung function) where you blow into a machine before and after taking the albuterol.  The best source for information about asthma is the National Jewish Medical and Research Center website.  Please read our asthma information at http://www.nationaljewish.org/disease-info/diseases/asthma/index.aspx to learn more and then speak to your physician.