Umm...Nasty lung discharge

[Laz777]

Hey folks,

I've been vaping now for three weeks straight and my lungs are beginning to heal up. The extreme wheezing I used to experience (a doctor told me I had emphysema) is almost completely gone. What I'm wondering about is the black and brown discharge contained in my phlegm. Specifically, how long does it generally take until all of the polluted phlegm has been expelled from the lungs? I know it's tough to gauge since we all heal differently but how long, generally, does it take for the the black and brown discharge to taper off and then disappear completely?

I'd like to hear responses from everyone, those who just started vaping and those who have been vaping for over a year. Some days I won't cough anything up at all while on other days, sudden like, I'll cough up moderate amounts of tainted phlegm, almost black in appearance. I know this is a disgusting subject but I think it's important.

Regardless if the jury is out concerning E-cig safety (at least as it concerns those who are more scientifically minded and need to see "certified" test results) I think they are definitely safer then analog cigarettes. My own experiences have shown me that vaping is positive, not negative.

Thanks everyone,

-Laz.

 

[Belletrist]

As far as I can tell, there's really no 'typical' amount of time. For me it took about two months.

 

[skotsour]

The first few weeks were very gross for me. After about a month or so the 'gross' phlegm was replaced by more 'normal' phlegm. After roughly two months, I am still coughing up phlegm I would more associate with a cold or allergies, but the really gross brown/black stuff is rarely coughed up.

 

[Trish342]

I am going on four months and have not coughed up anything. I dont know what that means.... but I do feel better. I was not sick with any kind of lung problems before, so maybe that is why. I smoked for about 35/36 years.

 

[Adrenalynn]

I posted something related a while back:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/vapor4life/56560-about-hacking-up-stuff.html#post849597

 

[Laz777]

Hmm? That's odd Trish, usually when a smoker quits smoking the body expels all foreign material within the lungs. It may be a long process or a short process, depending on the individual, but I've never heard of a smoker quitting and not coughing up the tar and other nasty bits trapped inside the lungs. It just goes to show how different people's experiences can be from one another. black/brown phlegm should be present in any smokers lungs, that is odd. I quit smoking for about five months (no illnesses) and I went through the same process (coughing up the tar and other nasty things). Maybe you're blessed somehow? I wish I could say the same.

-Laz.

 

[Laz777]

Thanks Adrenalynn, useful link.

I didn't care for the bit about never being 100% again, but hey! The truth usually does hurt a bit!

-Laz.

 

[KuiHiggins]

The first few weeks were very gross for me. After about a month or so the 'gross' phlegm was replaced by more 'normal' phlegm. After roughly two months the really gross brown/black stuff is rarely coughed up.

Very similar experience here.

 

[LudaCura]

Never coughed up discolored phlegm - and I smoke almost a pack and a half a day for ten years before switching over to vaping in February. But for the first month and a half my skin was breaking out all over the place, so the toxins were predominantly coming out through the epidermic. So yes, every body is different in how it deals with the removal of toxins. Hope it ends for you soon!

 

[Laz777]

I'm surprised so many long-time smokers (after quitting) aren't going through the natural process of expelling foreign materials from their lungs. It's baffling to me, oh well. Like you and I and others have said, we're all different and each body seems to deal with expelling toxins in different ways. Maybe it has something to do with efficiency? Maybe the easiest way for my body to get rid of these toxins is to cough them up while for your body it is to release them through the skin? Interesting to think about anyway. I don't mind it too much (coughing up black phlegm). It makes me feel better actually. I look at it like direct evidence that proves my body is going through the natural healing process. I'd be more concerned if I wasn't cough this crap up.

Thank you,

-Laz.

 

[Jeff78]

I coughed up stuff about 2 weeks after and it is still going on now, and it has been a little over 2 months, but it has slowed way down. I feel great now, and I am so full of energy!!

 

[mmcall12]

When that gets over, the taste bud will make the food flavor come to life, never thught food could taste so good,,

 

[Laz777]

I'm noticing positive results also. I can walk farther without loosing my breath and feel better overall also. I think I'll be coughing up black stuff for a couple of months at least. It takes time for the lungs to expel the tar that is hidden deep inside the tissue. The lungs aren't like balloons, they have many little chambers where things like this can hide. They're kind of like English muffins, knooks and crannies everywhere!

-Laz.

 

[LudaCura]

I'm surprised so many long-time smokers (after quitting) aren't going through the natural process of expelling foreign materials from their lungs. It's baffling to me, oh well. Like you and I and others have said, we're all different and each body seems to deal with expelling toxins in different ways. Maybe it has something to do with efficiency? Maybe the easiest way for my body to get rid of these toxins is to cough them up while for your body it is to release them through the skin? Interesting to think about anyway. I don't mind it too much (coughing up black phlegm). It makes me feel better actually. I look at it like direct evidence that proves my body is going through the natural healing process. I'd be more concerned if I wasn't cough this crap up.

Thank you,

-Laz.

I wish I could trade the bad skin with the phelgmy lungs... I would weirdly enjoy visual evidence of all the evil stuff in my lungs coming out.

But yeah... other than that, I feel mounds better... I moved into a fifth story walk-up apartment in January, and at first it was torture getting up after a long day's work...but since I started vaping, it's become literally nothing... I can run up all five flights with no effort at all. And my skin, after its few weeks of tumult, has turned to become the clearest it ever was since I was 12 years old (I'm guessing by the time my teen acne ended, I replaced it with pore-clogging smoking at age 19, so I've always had bad skin - it just got pretty bad right after starting vaping). So yeah, I definitely see some improvements in health since I started vaping!

 

[msroulette]

After 30 years of smoking...my Gunky stuff looks more like miniscule brown/black paint chips suspended in regular colored phlegm...today is ONE MONTH anniversary of being smoke free...I haven't actually had to expel any phlegm for..probably a week now...I don't expect it's over yet, maybe just the calm before the storm. I do, however FEEL loads better and breath so much easier. I have even fought off two colds within a day of getting symptoms...THIS is incredible to me!

 

[dale1962]

I smoked for 34 years about a half pack to pack a day and I didn't really cough up anything either.

 

[Laz777]

I wish I could trade the bad skin with the phelgmy lungs... I would weirdly enjoy visual evidence of all the evil stuff in my lungs coming out.

Hehe! You're a freak! (We all are but most of us won't admit it!) I can't wait until I can run up five flights of stairs like its nothing!

And my skin, after its few weeks of tumult, has turned to become the clearest it ever was

Is it still silver? I was born with gold skin but I have since lost it. My mother said it had something to do with pirates but I can never remember how the story really goes.

I'm glad to hear you feel healthier. Hopefully I'll feel the same way in two or three more months.

-Laz.

 

[Laz777]

msroulette,

I've had sort of the same experience, sometimes it's light or normal with particles suspended in the phlegm. Other times it's all one mass of black nastiness. And sometimes I won't cough up anything for days. I think the really hidden stuff must be deep down inside the lung and takes some time before it works itself out of the lung.

-Laz.

 

[bobbysox10]

I have been having a small productive cough but its light yellow or clear. looks like 7years of smoking didn't kill me as much as I thought. lol.

 

[jebey29]

I am going on four months and have not coughed up anything. I dont know what that means.... but I do feel better. I was not sick with any kind of lung problems before, so maybe that is why. I smoked for about 35/36 years.

Im on 4 months also and i met with my doctor last week. Told him that i had not coughed up in nasty stuff that former smokers report about after quitting. He said great....that means you never had the build up to begin with. He said something about even smokers inhaled differently and for some they never really got a full lung inhale to create the tar and other nasty stuff build up in the lungs. So i would say count your blessings. I know I am !