Dropping in to say and ask a question

[Papillon61]

Hi, this is my first post on the forum but I have been lurking and reading for a few days.
I'm a 61 year old female who has been smoking since I was 16 - you do the math. For quite some time I was a 2 PAD smoke - mostly Rothmans lights (red pack). For the past 10 years or so though I brought that down to around 20 a day. Monday I decided to quite and sent for a Green Smoke starter pack which I must say travelled from Slovakia to Malta in less than 48 hours - so I really am very pleased with that. I like the Green Smoke cartomizers - they are sweet and smooth. I'm vaping 1.2 mg. A relative gave me a small bottle of Dekang 100% PG, 1.8,mg strawberry flavour which I have been using to refill my spent GM carts and though I like it to some extent I find that, compared to the GM carts, it is rather harsh on the mouth.

Since Wednesday 18th March 2015 at around noon I have smoked only one analogue at the end of day two - not because I craved it but just to see how they would taste now and I found them to be obnoxious.

But anyway, now that I've said hello and put you in the picture - here's my question. Is it normal to start coughing up brown stuff as early as day 2 on the journey? I know quitting smoking does start healing your lungs but I thought that bringing up the tar would start at a somewhat later stage. The phlegm I am coughing up occasionally - maybe 4 to 6 times a day - is clear mucus with brown bits and it tastes like something dead. I mean I'm a couple of weeks out of a bout of bronchitis when I was coughing up some awful stuff but it never tasted this bad. I just wanted to make sure it's not the vaping itself that is causing this,

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Have a great Sunday... mine is almost over.

 

[supertrunker]

Sounds about right to me. Is vaping causing it? Unlikely. Given a rest from smoking your lungs will purge themselves, gross as it is!

T

 

[realcleverscience]

I can't say for sure, but it might well be your body clearing out crap. I'd give it some more time and don't get too worried. That said, do wanna read what the others are gonna say.
also, your taste buds might be healing, so you're tasting more clearly now... crappy tastes will taste.. well... crappier.

best of luck!

 

[Sir2fyablyNutz]

Hello Papillion and welcome to the forum. Yes it is normal to cough up phlegm. Read about it here : http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...hen-quitting-tobacco-changing-ecigarette.html Congrats on quitting the stinkys !

 

[Shirtbloke]

You might find this thread useful - a list of the things you might suffer when giving up smoking.....
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...hen-quitting-tobacco-changing-ecigarette.html

 

[Mellowbuzz]

Sounds about right. It's your body's funny little way of saying "thank you"!

Congratulations on quitting the FDA approved cancer sticks. Probably the best thing you've done in a really long time. Hang in there, it gets easier.

 

[Papillon61]

Thanks everyone - for the welcome and the responses.

Yes, I did read that thread and of course I am aware that all the gung will have to come out sooner or later.... I just didn't expect it to happen so fast. I did quit cold turkey for about 10 days around 8 years ago and I don't recall this happening.

Still I can't imagine it could be anything else. I don't know what's inside the GS cartos but the other liquid I am sometimes using is totally clear.

Thanks again

 

[WillyZee]

welcome Papillon61 ... it's not the vaping

it's the quitting smoking ... congrats.

 

[djsvapour]

Welcome Papillon

You're going to be OK, I feel sure. The early stages are a bit of a shock to the system.

If you can find a way to refill those Greensmoke, all the better... it's a very expensive system. The fact you are not smoking is a miracle, especially on 12mg (1.2%) liquid.

I used a similar system with 24mg liquid. After a few months and $800 wasted on a most unsatisfactory vape system, I decided to go full refillable. Then, and only then was I able to quit smoking. I smoked 15 hand rolled per day.

So - be strong - I'm impressed you have come this far.

 

[Thrasher]

2 pad for 30+ years,

for about a month I was gaggin up some nasty lookin stuff the pg/VG is a moisturizer and will help loosen and soften the crud, and of course your lungs won't like this stuff rolling around in there.

Give it time, it may even be painful at times how hard you cough it out.but when its done you start to feel pretty awesome, your like wow so that's what its like to breath again!

 

[Papillon61]

Thank you djsvapour. I myself am totally floored. I have tried to quit before but never succeeded, not even with gum, or patches or inhalator. I have been (don't know maybe still am) an inveterate smoker. Suffice it to say I was in hospital for three weeks around this time 10 years ago and I still somehow managed to find a way to have a few puffs every few hours. That long hospital stay eventuality led to a quadruple bypass and even so I never really stopped smoking... I would hide from my family and still take a few drags in the garden or somewhere every few hours.

This time - at least so far - it has been so easy I keep going round and asking people does this mean I have really quit? So let me ask you all too - does vaping mean quitting? Somehow I can't quit wrap my mind around this fact. It just seems too goo to be true.

 

[Shirtbloke]

Some people pick up an ecig and never smoke again, and some of us taper off over weeks or months. But yes it can mean an end to smoking and it can be relatively painless - even if you've smoked for decades (that was me). Persevere and I'm sure it'll work for you.

 

[jseah]

Papillon, as far as I'm concerned, if you're not smoking (some people vape and continue smoking at the same time), then you have quit.

 

[Sir2fyablyNutz]

Papillion I was in shock for about 2 weeks on how easy it was for me. I struggled for about 12 days till I found my nicotine level and once I hit that I never looked back. I sleep better, my taste has improved, I am actually losing weight (no sweet impulse now), I can smell and my sinuses have improved tremendously. It only gets better and I am just over 2 months in. I have even started to lower my nicotine level. I know exactly how you feel. The best is yet to come.

 

[Papillon61]

Give it time, it may even be painful at times how hard you cough it out.but when its done you start to feel pretty awesome, your like wow so that's what its like to breath again!

Thankfully the cough is not painful at all - not as yet anyway. It does taste like death resurrected though. One reason I wanted to quit for real this time was the fact that since the end of August I have had four bouts of bronchitis. This last one which ended about a week ago was probably the worse. I didn't sleep for nights on end. just coughing my guts out and gasping for breath in between. Quite horrific. By comparison - this occasional coughing is almost pleasant!!

 

[jseah]

2 pad for 30+ years,

for about a month I was gaggin up some nasty lookin stuff the pg/VG is a moisturizer and will help loosen and soften the crud, and of course your lungs won't like this stuff rolling around in there.

Give it time, it may even be painful at times how hard you cough it out.but when its done you start to feel pretty awesome, your like wow so that's what its like to breath again!

Thrasher,

I've been a PAD smoker for over 30 years. I quit 2-1/2 months ago. Is it bad if I'm not coughing and not expelling a bunch of phlegm?

 

[Thrasher]

Not really, everyone is different. I personally smoked cigs to the filter, they never sat in an ashtray lit. I was a pretty good poster child for chain smoking t if it was burning i was making sure i was smoking all of it,
hen add in that " other" thing I used to smoke and there were days it felt like pencils stabbed into my chest. Before I even sat up in bed I already had a couple cigs down and started everyday with a good 10 minute gag session, what a horrible way to live.......

 

[Lessifer]

Wanted to say hello and welcome to ECF! Congratulations on making the switch! As others have said, the coughing up gunk is normal, though of course if it concerns you, see a doctor.

Yes, you really have quit smoking. Some will tell you that you've just changed habits, and that is somewhat true, but I think of it this way, it's like you gave up eating cheeseburgers and started eating salad. Yes, you're still eating, and you may even have some really great dressing that tastes amazing, maybe even some bacon bits, but you're not eating cheeseburgers.

You may also slip up and have the occasional cigarette, or even go back to smoking a few a day, or you may not. Just remember that every cigarette that you don't have is a plus, you're doing great and you found this place, if you ever have questions there is always someone here willing to help out.

 

[Lessifer]

Thrasher,

I've been a PAD smoker for over 30 years. I quit 2-1/2 months ago. Is it bad if I'm not coughing and not expelling a bunch of phlegm?

I smoked half a PAD for the last 10 years of my 20 year habit, and while I was smoking I would cough up little balls of gunk every few hours. When I started vaping I stopped coughing this stuff up, I never really went through coughing up a bunch of it, so it's a little different for everyone I think.

 

[Papillon61]

you're doing great and you found this place, if you ever have questions there is always someone here willing to help out.

Thank you so much. The moment I decided to send for the starter pack I started Googling and found this forum and loved it immediately. Have been reading around for four days and I already feel like an expert all thanks to you guys.