When am I supposed to start coughing??

[~kerri]

I have smoked for 35 years or so anywhere from 2 packs a day to more recently, 10 rollies a day.
started vaping in late Feb. and had my last smoke on 4/11/09.
everyone told me I would cough up "stuff" as part of my lungs healing... ummm, I'm still not coughing. not in the morning even.
should this be worrisome?
Sadly not noticing any increase in lung capacity yet and still get winded easily as well. hard to be excited about quitting when nothing seems to be different.

[linnx]

When we smoke and for all the years that we smoked each and every puff on a cigarette destroyed the cilia, or tiny little hair-like projections lining our respiratory tract. These cilia are responsible for filtering out all the impurities we breathe on a daily basis. They line our nose and reach all the way down into our lungs. When we quit smoking, the first thing, essentially to start repairing itself, is the respiratory tract......and as soon as we take the last puff, the cilia start to regenerate themselves. In some people these cilia grow back faster than others.

Coughing is a natural byproduct of the reemerging cilia. It makes no difference how long or how much you smoked, the rate of regrowth can and is different in most of us. The faster the cilia grow, the more likely we are to cough lots in the first weeks of a quit. Our bodies are healing and our lungs are clearing themselves of all the toxins and impurities.

But whether your cilia grow back rapidly and we cough lots or slowly and we cough little....any cough lasting more that a few weeks and is persistant and is accompanied by pain and or fever, should be checked by a qualified physcian. The body heals remarkedly fast but smoking often covers a variety of other illnesses and conditions and a lingering cough should not always be associated with quitting smoking. It's a great idea for any of us quitting to have our lungs checked out afterwards. It really does help with peace of mind.

[LuckySevens4U]

I'm almost 50 days now, smoked a pack a day for 20 years and I haven't coughed up anything ever. Weird.

[~kerri]

I'm almost 50 days now, smoked a pack a day for 20 years and I haven't coughed up anything ever. Weird.

Hate to say it but I'm glad it's not just me

[~kerri]

linnx- thanks for the response & infos!

[Monie]

I'm almost 50 days now, smoked a pack a day for 20 years and I haven't coughed up anything ever. Weird.

Same here....21 yr smoker, quit 94 days now, no coughing

[surbitonPete]

I have been vaping since December after over 40 years of heavy smoking and I 'was' coughing all the time before I started vaping but I haven't coughed since....I certainly haven't coughed any 'gunk' up from my lungs.....but there is no doubt at all that my lung capacity is improving quite a lot..I can really tell because of my cycling.

[ramblingrose]

40 years of 3 packs/day here. I'm not yet 100% off analogs - a couple of triggers still get me. So far I only coughed up gunk a few times; the first was on day 4 of mostly digital. But I am definitely feeling better. I'm breathing more deeply, and now that I've got my nic intake at a good, low level, can tell that my heart rate is staying nice and steady at a much slower rate.

[booboo]

I have smoked for 35 years or so anywhere from 2 packs a day to more recently, 10 rollies a day.
started vaping in late Feb. and had my last smoke on 4/11/09.
everyone told me I would cough up "stuff" as part of my lungs healing... ummm, I'm still not coughing. not in the morning even.
should this be worrisome?
Sadly not noticing any increase in lung capacity yet and still get winded easily as well. hard to be excited about quitting when nothing seems to be different.

didya cough as a smoker? I guess people are different. I'm still coughing up junk 4 months later, definitely didn't have to wait for it to start. I used to cough every day so long and hard I couldn't breathe and would start throwing up.....that stopped right after I quit smoking; but I think vaping loosens thing up, because now I just cough once or twice and the offender comes out or gets outta the way!

[mamu]

The first thing I noticed was that my cough simply disappeared. I am one of the lucky ones in that once I started vaping I never went back to analogs - didn't feel the need to. I was a 2-3 pack per day for 30+ years of menthol lights. I started with 18 mg strength and am still vaping 18 mg. I'm not stressing over reducing the nicotine at this point. I feel better, I breathe better, and I don't get short of breath like before. So I'm just coasting right now.

BTW: everyone in the house has a cold - except me! Imagine that!