Hi guys,

I need some GB wisdom. Son has made it 3 1/2 weeks without smoking but he is still coughing up yukky stuff. He has asked me several times how long he should expect that to go on, but I never smoked and have no idea.

Hubby quit quite a few years back, so he doesn't remember. I assume the answer will be specific to each individual, but I do think there is a general guideline. I just don't know what it is.

Do any of you guys who quit remember how long it took with you (or perhaps you never did cough up phlem)?

Thanks

I think it could depend on the strength of the ciggies he smoked and how many a day

well done him

It depends on how much tar is on the cilias (sp). It can take months to get it all out as they clean up. After he stops coughing it all up he will notice a drastic improvement in lung function. Kudos to him for quitting.

Ana

What Ana said... he won't stop coughing it all up until it's gone. Plus, his cilia are getting used to working properly again instead of being coated with tar.

Ghostlady has a Facebook page with a lot of information and links on it which she created when she quit smoking after 40 years. I don't know if it addresses this issue, but I know there is a lot of good information there.

Facebook How I Quit Smoking

Indeed, kudos to him for quitting!

Thanks guys will pass that on to him. I don't really know how much he smoked as he never smoked in my presence, and I didn't buy his cigarettes for him. I'll pass on the info though. He doesn't want to have pneumonia and not go to the doctor because he thought his coughing was from stopping smoking, or not go if he should. Sounds like it's normal.

It is definitely normal. My husband complained to me for 6 months that he felt worse quitting and that he was going to start again because of all the coughing. I did not cough and I was a heavy smoker, hubby smoked less than me and coughed a lot.

This too shall pass!

Ana

Thanks, that will help to set his mind at ease

The link in Ghostlady's Facebook page said to expect coughing - if present - for 1 week to 3 months.

I quit 40 years ago and I can't remember, but it does not matter how long it takes, he will always be glad that he quit.
Good luck to him.

Thanks, peoples experiences are helpful.

I quit 5 1/2 months ago and am still coughing and still not feeling any benefits of quitting.

oldbroad, hang in there. Doing some cardio workouts will help clear it out.

Ana

Awwww Oldbroad, I hope you start feeling the benefits soon. I know they are there. Son finds he is hungrier now.

Oh, I see where GL said that when you change a habit or create a new good habit to replace an old bad habit, it creates a new brain wave. How does this work?


And I've heard of people that have an explosive disorder (intermittent explosive disorder) when their shrink orders an EEG test on them (done with flashing strobe lamp) their brain waves are at first normal during the test, but then their brain waves start going abnormal - and I believe this explosive disorder is just another bad habit like smoking, and both of them are dangerous, one can kill you (cancer) and one can ruin your life (jailbird, police record, jail time history), so if the person with the explosive disorder changes how they respond to events/control their emotions (like quitting smoking) does anyone know how their abnormal brainwaves will change into normal brainwaves?

Cruise, I believe that one learns to control certain things. For instance, my son was diagnosed with OPD when he was younger, which to me meant "I want what I want when I want it."

Now as an adult, he has learned that exploding about every little thing is counterproductive to having a roof over his head and being able to provide for his children. So he doesn't explode any more. But that was a choice He had to make. No amount of reasoning could make it for him.

So I believe that when you practice new ways of looking at things and reactions to things, the brain rewrites itself (like new code for a computer.)

This is an interesting thread. I quit in May and haven't coughed much at at all. I smoked organic cigs and probably about 1/2 pack a day til toward the end when I really ramped it up and made myself sick on them. I think that helped make it easier to quit. I still want one Bad when stressed/upset but it really isn't the smoke I want it is the effect. I fight it off and get over that hump and am okay again. It will be worth it!!!! Good luck to your son L4L, tell him not to give up!

Thanks Lotus, he is doing well with it. He has had several major stress events since he started not smoking. Normally, he'd just go back to smoking but this time he has not. And to you.

I quit back in May was at least 5 to 6 weeks before I quit coughing and hacking junk up.

Thanks Smitty, I will pass that along to him. And for you!

For some of the more stressful times, I pretend smoke. Deep inhales of air. Calms you down.

I haven't had to quit smoking but I have gone thru seminars about on-the-job stress reduction. The only 2 things that stayed with me are the deep breathing one you mentioned OldBroad and the one about visualizing something that makes you happy.

I had to think for a moment about what always put a smile on my face and then I remembered the comedian Gallagher. It just gave me so much pleasure when he would take a big old mallet and pound a watermelon into smithereens. Must have been the warrior within me.