Why do I keeping coughing up stuff?

January 23, 2006 3:45 PM

I quit smoking like 12 months ago, but I am coughing up more phlegm then I ever did. The gunk is clear and not colored in any fashion. Is this information I googled up accurate?
posted by the giant pill to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Well, this UK smoking cessation site says something similar. It sounds plausible to me that it's just your lungs repairing themselves. Congrats on quitting.

If you have shortness of breath too, go see your doctor.
posted by selfmedicating at 7:01 PM on January 23, 2006

I quit smoking for a new years resolution 2 years ago (2 packs a day cold turkey.) I had all kinds lung irritation for I'm guessing what was about a year. My physician told me that after 6 years of 2 packs a day it would take a while for my lungs to heal and that this wasn't uncommon. I seem fine now... good luck dude...
posted by meta x zen at 7:55 PM on January 23, 2006

Ditto. Been going on for months now for me, too.
posted by ChasFile at 9:23 PM on January 23, 2006

Normal or not, it's been happening to me as well.
posted by I Love Tacos at 12:11 AM on January 24, 2006

Yep, and me. I've been treating it as evidence of what damage I was doing to my lungs - it's actually strengthening my resolve.
posted by blag at 6:05 AM on January 24, 2006

You may have been one of the many people who was treating their obstructive lung disease (asthma, usually) with nicotine. But there's no way to tell over the internet. If this is really bugging you, see a doctor.
posted by ikkyu2 at 8:20 AM on January 24, 2006

I've quit for 18 months (almost to the day) and I still cough stuff up. Not as much as in the few months after I quit, but it still happens. Like blag I take it as a positive sign. I mean I used to hack-up mucus when I smoked, now I do it much less and I can run. Oh, and I don't smell like an ashtray...
posted by ob at 9:37 AM on January 24, 2006