Last analog was over 2 months ago. This is my third cold...

[ncolwell]

I know that it's normal for your lungs to purge themselves of all the gunk and disgusting stuff in them after you quit smoking. My first "cold" when this happened almost two months ago was pretty severe. It was complete with lots of coughing, sneezing, nose-blowing and even the achiness and lethargy you'd associate with a cold.

The second cold was much more short-lived, but it still seemed kind of severe with more of the same symptoms, but less achiness.

This cold is producing a nasty cough and a lot of phlegm. It's nowhere near as severe, and I think it might actually be on its way out after only three days.

I'm wondering if anyone else had quit smoking "colds" like I'm describing. It makes me think that the gunk in our lungs is actually in there in layers or something. Like your body has to purge one layer of grime at a time, then rest, then purge another layer. In between these colds, I've never felt better as far as being able to breathe better and the cough just about disappearing.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

 

[crxess]

Nope, though in the past 18 months I think I've had maybe 2. The last given to me by my grandson via my wife.

Smoking/not smoking/body purging/vaping/etc. have nothing to do with catching a cold. Exposure to the virus generally evolves. The most healthy among us can and do become infected.

 

[Asbestos4004]

Nope...no colds here after a year. Coughed up some junk at first but without any other symptoms. You should wash your hands more often.

 

[ncolwell]

I do wash my hands fairly often. My kids go to a small private school, and the kids there aren't sick very often. Maybe my issue is my equipment. What's the best way to keep the drip tip clean? How much cleaning is necessary for all of the other parts of it? I also work from home, so I'm not in an office all day where germs are spread around easily.

 

[NC_Fog]

I know a few former very heavy smokers(including myself)that went through this. Mine lasted off and on for about 6 months. In between each bout my lungs were very sore feeling. Each time it got easier to deal with and shorter in duration. Some folks call it quitters flu. The good new is I haven't had a real cold in about 3 years. Good luck, it will get better.

 

[ncolwell]

Quitters flu. That sounds about right. I'm feeling much better today, and the coughing seems to have gotten quite a bit better. I'm guessing by tomorrow it'll be gone completely. Either way, it's worth it to get all of that junk out of my lungs.

 

[Myrany]

At 15 months in I can honestly say I have had a whole lot less of the colds kind of thing. That said this is a REALLY bad allergy year for me. Seems like everything is blooming all at once down here. Life in Louisiana when you are allergic to Crepe Myrtle and Magnolia can be rough in the spring.

 

[rico942]

At least four times that I can recall in the past year (one year vaper), I have gone to bed with early cold symptoms. Sore throat, body aches, runny nose, etc ...

In each case, by morning the symptoms disappeared ...

I work in a sealed building, a Petri dish of disease, with co-workers raised by wolves. I have literally walked through the clouds of bacteria left by sick fools who sneeze openly and repeatedly in every direction, sharing their misery ...

I've really begun to wonder if the PG is giving me some level of immunity ?

 

[NoBicNeeded]

After I quit analogs I was coughing up loads of gunk. All the way from sticky to pretty liquidy. No other symptoms. I do feel like I get more headaches though.

 

[MorpheusPA]

I do wash my hands fairly often. My kids go to a small private school, and the kids there aren't sick very often. Maybe my issue is my equipment. What's the best way to keep the drip tip clean? How much cleaning is necessary for all of the other parts of it? I also work from home, so I'm not in an office all day where germs are spread around easily.

My doctor, who is a noted clean freak, suggested wiping the tip with an alcohol swab "after every use." By which she means "session of use," not puff.

I'd go through about forty alcohol swabs per day if I did that, so it's not happening.

I wash the tip and body of my clearo every time I use it, wipe dry, refill, and put back (I have several so I rotate).

So far, I've had...one cold, I think, since I quit 19 months ago, and I know who gave me that.

All that having been said, "Cold-Like Symptoms" are common when people quit smoking. Your system suddenly realizes that it's gunked up, and that it now has the ability to remove the gunk. So it does.

 

[MorpheusPA]

I work in a sealed building, a Petri dish of disease, with co-workers raised by wolves.

I was unaware you worked in the cubicle next to me.

I've really begun to wonder if the PG is giving me some level of immunity ?

I'm beginning to think so. I used to get sick fairly often. Since I quit? One cold, one sinus infection (from the cold), and that's it.

 

[NC_Fog]

After I quit analogs I was coughing up loads of gunk. All the way from sticky to pretty liquidy. No other symptoms. I do feel like I get more headaches though.

Very good point. I was getting these dull annoying headaches also. My neighbor(a nurse) suggested the Neti-Pot to clean out my sinuses. Much to my surprise it worked instantly. The saline mixture is quite soothing. I couldn't believe the gunk that years of smoking did to them. Like the lungs, they also have to purge and heal.

 

[Merryhellion]

The grime is not just in your lungs, it is everywhere the smoke was in your body. Joint aches are quit common to go with your respiratory system cleaning itself out and replacing the contaminated cells with healthy ones. Sinus discomfort and drainage can go along with this process, as well as the drainage giving you a sore throat. Healthy tissues will soon take over where the ones in distress were living, and you won't be suffering the complications any more. Pollen season will make the discomfort all that much more pronounced!

I went through a lot of these symptoms myself, and while they were frustrating, each time I felt a bit better after the cycle of healing up turned. At 5+ months out from quitting cigs, the allergy season is both good and bad; stronger with each new allergen than before, easing shortly as my system adjusts with newer, healthier tissues than it had in the past.

You are doing well, if your body is cleaning itself out this strongly! Hang in there, help it out with just oodles of water and vitamin c, eat a balanced diet so it has lots of fuel for the transformation, and you will come out of the healing a happier and stronger person.

 

[Forkeh]

Are you sure you're getting sick? Maybe you're allergic to PG?

 

[JB Goode]

I have chronic bronctitis but I can honestly say that vaping has definitely shortened the amount of time of each attack. That also applies to the chest/rib/coughing pain that accompanies the bouts.

 

[ncolwell]

Are you sure you're getting sick? Maybe you're allergic to PG?

Well...I guess I don't know. When I started, I was using a 50/50, then took the PG up to 70/30. I can't remember what I'm using right now, to be honest with you. I just ordered a 50/50 Creme Brulee from Nicoticket because I thought I remembered feeling a bit better with the 50/50 for the most part. I attributed that first bout of cold symptoms to the cleaning out of all of the junk in my body. The second and third bouts might have been PG sensitivity. I guess we'll see?