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!

 

[Wildsky]

I've been coughing, not alot but its there for sure... yesterday, twice it felt like I was going to throw up and I had to go drink water!

 

[Ozwest]

I have smoked for the exact amount of years and the same amounts as yourself.

I quit New Years, and was waiting for the same side-effects you mentioned.

My previous business of 15 years involved me traveling with my younger, mostly smoking crew.

I was amazed at the coughing and spluttering that occurred in the mornings from younger lungs than mine.

Perhaps some of us are born lucky.

Still, I am amazed by the ease I'm sliding into these e-cigs on day one.

Never look a Gift-Horse in the mouth.

 

[DMacRae]

I was a pack-and-a-halfer for 35 years. Since beginning vaping on April 1, I have had no analogs and no coughing at all. Magic!

 

[LuckySevens4U]

It seems that most people that have quit analogs completely and are just vaping, they are not coughing up stuff and for the ones that are stilll sneaking a few analogs here and there, are still coughing, so that tells me the coughing you are still getting is directly from the analogs not vaping. It is strange that after quitting analogs after all these years that most of us are not coughing up stuff and cleaning out. I just wonder why. Strange.

 

[Wildsky]

It seems that most people that have quit analogs completely and are just vaping, they are not coughing up stuff and for the ones that are stilll sneaking a few analogs here and there, are still coughing, so that tells me the coughing you are still getting is directly from the analogs not vaping. It is strange that after quitting analogs after all these years that most of us are not coughing up stuff and cleaning out. I just wonder why. Strange.

I only started the odd coughing when I stopped analogs totally - I did vape and smoke for a couple of months....
I was sick a few weeks ago - perhaps its that, and my daughter has a snotty nose.

 

[~kerri]

snip...It is strange that after quitting analogs after all these years that most of us are not coughing up stuff and cleaning out. I just wonder why. Strange.

Exactly why I started this thread. i think it's strange too. I never did cough when I smoked- just got winded (still do)when lugging groceries up 3 flights of stairs. even when I still smoked a few a day while vaping primarily- no cough.
I played the flute for 15-ish years (yes while being a smoker) so maybe my lungs are somehow "in shape" (thinking of workout wise-weight lifting lungs anyone?) even up to a few years ago my doctor was impressed at my lung capacity as a long term heavy smoker (not for the past 2 years-hence the quitting of a habit I did not want to give up) Harumph.

 

[booboo]

It seems that most people that have quit analogs completely and are just vaping, they are not coughing up stuff and for the ones that are stilll sneaking a few analogs here and there, are still coughing, so that tells me the coughing you are still getting is directly from the analogs not vaping. It is strange that after quitting analogs after all these years that most of us are not coughing up stuff and cleaning out. I just wonder why. Strange.

I take offense to that....I have not been sneaking any analogs for 4 months and still cough up junk. Lung tissue does not regenerate, so if it's already dead or damaged, it's not going to heal. Not trying to scare anyone, but be realistic. You know if you have damage or not. And some people do appear to be luckier. My aunt has copd after smoking 30+ years and after quitting for 2 years, her lungs aren't much better. She was told it would only keep them from getting worse they will not heal or get better (and she still coughs, though less, and nothing comes out). If you can breathe great and are not coughing, count your lucky stars. If you are not coughing and feel like sh*t anyway, get checked out.

 

[Idahojo]

I smoked for 36 years, 2-3 packs a day. Didn't cough when I smoked analogs and haven't started coughing since quitting almost 7 weeks ago. But my shortness of breath has not improved. Hoping it gets better but figure maybe the damage has been done. Time will tell.

 

[~kerri]

I take offense to that....I have not been sneaking any analogs for 4 months and still cough up junk. Lung tissue does not regenerate, so if it's already dead or damaged, it's not going to heal. Not trying to scare anyone, but be realistic. You know if you have damage or not. And some people do appear to be luckier. My aunt has copd after smoking 30+ years and after quitting for 2 years, her lungs aren't much better. She was told it would only keep them from getting worse they will not heal or get better (and she still coughs, though less, and nothing comes out). If you can breathe great and are not coughing, count your lucky stars. If you are not coughing and feel like sh*t anyway, get checked out.

Odd, i had always heard that after 10 years of not smoking your lungs were back to pink and healthy...bummer if that's not the case.

 

[jcoppers]

I am not a doctor, but I play one when the girls let me. Seriously though I wonder if the reason some coughand some dont is if the body is just absorbing the crap and eliminating it through the liver or such? When I stopped analogs i coughed a bit (less than when I was smoking real cigs) but it has pretty much went away. I definitely feel better though. Just my thoughts.