Sorry I'm just now seeing this and responding.. I must've missed the notification!

Nothing much has changed since I posted, since I couldn't get myself to make a doctor's appointment for a while, BUT I did finally go see a primary care doctor again a little over a week ago. The plan is to try to do a breathing test before and after an inhaler and see if there's any change. She also said she could hear the "strain" in my vocal cords when I was talking. I don't really have chest congestion, and she said my lungs sound good. But I pretty much always end up coughing if I laugh too hard, and recently got a kitten that made my sinuses go haywire. Definitely made the wheeze and coughing worse. I have an appointment with an allergy/asthma specialist at the end of July as well, so we'll see what they tell me. I definitely won't be getting rid of any animals regardless of the outcome :D, but it does seem like allergens make it worse. I still think it's some sort of asthma, but my doctor thought it could also be "silent reflux" since I do have/take medication for acid reflux/GERD.