Varieties of asthma and COPD "attacks"?

[Stephen Tashiro]

A question for asthma or COPD sufferers - do you have "attacks" that don't have obvious outward symptoms?

I have a friend who has asthma and COPD and gets medical treatment for both. There are times when he complains of "the asthma" and doesn't want to talk or eat or exert himself. However during such an "attack", medical personnel say they don't detect any obvious symptoms. He doesn't wheeze, they don't hear sounds in his lungs with a stethoscope and he doesn't cough up phlegm. His blood oxygen level remains in the 90's.

[Jim Matthews]

My 7 year old son is suffering through childhood asthma, and describes a "weight" on his chest.

During an attack, he can't speak and looks panicked.
I'm not clear how someone with COPD could tease out the difference - the symptoms are similar.
http://www.asthma.partners.org/newfiles/hmstakingcontrolofasthmachapter1.html

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I don't have asthma, but have been blessed with several other lung issues periodically. I can assure you, the patient can feel something very wrong before the tests show it. In my experience, by the time the tests start to show low O2 levels, the symptoms actually start to feel slightly less dire. I think it's because it affects your mind, and you get to the coping phase, rather than the panic. I sure empathize with someone suffering from either copd or asthma, it's a scary thing to not be able to breathe.