Hi 23deedee66,
By the sounds of it, you have a lot of risk factors that could be contributing to your condition. It sounds as though you may have gotten a lot of second-hand smoke from your mother, which does put you at increased risk of chronic bronchitis and COPD - these can cause breathlessness and chronic cough where you bring up phlegm.
You mentioned that you have been diagnosed with anaemia in the past. If this is not monitored and controlled, anaemia can lead to breathlessness, because your blood isn't able to carry oxygen in it as well as it should.
You mentioned also that you've had multiple PEs - pulmonary emboli - in the past. Pulmonary emboli block off blood vessels in the lung, and can kill off small areas of lung tissue. This can be quite concerning, as multiple small pulmonary emboli over time can lead to a condition called 'pulmonary hypertension', where the blood pressure in the lungs is very high, because so many of the small blood vessels have been 'shut off' by the emboli (blockages). Pulmonary hypertension is a very serious condition, and can lead to other complications - such as heart problems, which may be evidenced by swelling in the ankles, for instance.
The lung problems involved in pulmonary hypertension can also lead to breathlessness, because not enough of the lung is functioning properly, so you need to breathe faster in order to get the amount of oxygen that your bosy needs.
Asthma is always a possibility, however, if you are taking a salbutamol inhaler, this should help with it. However, sometimes asthma can get so bad that it no longer responds adequately to salbutamol alone, which is when doctors introduce a 'preventer' inhaler - an inhaler than reduces the 'inflammation' of the airways, helps to settle down mucous production, and reduce any swelling in the air tubes. This makes it easier for the salbutamol to do its job of properly opening up your airways, and making it easier to breathe.
Essentially, your spirometry results will not be an accurate reflection of your lung function, because you had to use your inhaler so much before taking the test. You should definitely discuss this with you GP as soon as possible to arrange for a repeat spirometry without inhalers before hand. This may take some organisation from you GP, as it doesn't sound like you can get around easily without them.
If your GP has said they will refer you to respiratory specialist, this is good, as this is definitely what you need. Unfortunately for you, the wait is quite long...
Other parts of your lifestyle should also be taken into account - how old are you? what is your weight? what do you / did you do for a living? Exposure to any pollutants can cause lung problems, being overweight can make lung problems worse, and your age can give a good indication about what conditions are more or less likely to be affecting you.
Essentially, I would not trust your condition to be fixed by any spot diagnoses conducted over the internet, and I am certainly concerned about the extent to which your breathlessness is effective your life. It is always a warning sign that things are getting quite bad when you start to get breathless with minimal / no physical activity.
Your first point of call is to see your GP, or a new GP, and request a repeat spirometry. They will need to arrange it in such a way that enables you to take the test without using your inhalers first. Good luck.