50 days no smoking and nasty side effect emerges

[madwill]

Mar 29, 2013 10:13:49 GMT zeldamum said:

Boo I would be concerned that you haven't coughed anything up, unless you were a really light smoker.

I was a heavy smoker and didn't cough anything up when i switched to vaping, i think i did enough coughing while i was smoking to keep my lungs clear and always had an almost constant cough for the last few years of smoking 40+ a day coughing brown crap up every morning ,i had a lung xray not long before i stopped smoking as i was hospitalized due to a severe chest infection, it was all clear so deffo nothing wrong with them, now i dont cough at all, its amazing seems the doctors were right my inability to breath constant coughs and chest infections was in fact caused by smoking lol
As for black stuff ,id say doctors asap ,i would sh*t myself if anything black came out of my mouth/lungs.

[andy01424]

missus suffered with black/brown residue round her mouth first think in the morning yup did the oh yeah syndrome lol turned out it was her lungs kicking the crap out and basicaly, she was told this by her consultant,but do get it checked out ,pretty sure you will be fine but as saying goes better safe than sorry ....oh good luck with getting an appointment!! we all know whats thats like lol

[leciageorge]

The ugly truth about cigarettes is that you are likely to die from continual use. 1 in 5 of all the deaths in the US are from tobacco or smoking, even second hand smoke can cause fatal complications for the people around you. Health risks such as cancer, heart attacks and strokes all rise dramatically from smoking. People think cigarette smoke stinks, and you spend more time away from the buzz of activity as you huddle up in the rain, sleet and snow for one more drag. Within 15 years of the day you throw away your last pack, you can halt the damage and return to a normal risk range.

[padiho]

We'll be frightening the poor man to death at this rate
Johnny dont spoil your Easter worrying, there will be a simple explanation I'm sure. If it helps this is apparently not uncommon in people who have or do use the "weed " or so I'm informed by an MS sufferer. I'm not implying that you do or have used at any time, just trying to point out that it is not that unusual.
The doc will soon put your mind at rest.

[johnny10hands]

Well, other half was distracted by the dog trying to jump up and nick her pasty! Phew, that was close.

Sorry if I seem a little...Blase, I apply humour when troubled. (which in the last 12 months have been 'troubled' by many unrelated issues, but not getting too maudling - yet

OK I'm not too worried at the moment because I am on a course of very expensive anti TNF drugs to combat advanced arthiritis. Due to the cost of these I had to jump through many medical hoops to a) prove it was bad enough and b) prove that I was otherwise medically fit. For the latter I had a chest xray last November which at first showed 'potential issues' so pre-Christmas, waiting for the appointment I had already resigned myself to the probability I had Lung Cancer. Luckily I didnt have to wait too long for my follow up appointment and after more X-rays, they discovered the area of concern had cleared up and showed no signs of any issues and put it down to a heavy cold that I had recently had. Effectively giving me the all clear.

Me and the missus sat in the hospital car park and started to cry and hug each other and its at moments like that which makes you stop and think. I mean really stop and think. After losing my dear Dad when I was 17 due to a smoking related disease, I had already been smoking since I was 14 and had decided at the time that I didn't need cigarettes any more and tried to stop. I then discovered WHY my Dad could not stop until his dying day. Like him, I was hooked. Addicted to a consumer product that I could NOT live without. Pathetic I know but as I hate self failure I found myself rising to all the other life's challenges with an over-compensated need to succeed.

Subsequently, I got my head down, got on with life, got in to Engineering and a senior manager's role which I'm doing quite well at. Im an Engineering Projects Manager, a problem solver and its extremely rare that I outwardly bask or brag, but deep down, I know I'm good at what I do. However there has always been, in the background, that crutch to get me through the day. Since my Dad died, I have hated cigarettes with a passion. Have spent a small personal fortune over the years trying to give up with traditional NRT products (this was even before the NHS decided to free issue them). Even hypnotherapy lasted a mere 8 hours and at £90, worked out at nearly £12 per hour. I even recall going to bed one night with 6 (yes 6) patches stuck to me. Nothing worked. The more I tried and failed the more I would get frustrated, and the more I would smoke. Every other problem in my personal life or work life had a solution. I always find the solution so why couldn't I solve this one!

Sigh...... I had effectively resigned myself to the same fate my Father had.

Back to the Hospital car-park and despite the fact that I realised my little girl was about to turn 17, I had an epiphany. Just like that scene where Luke Skywalker is about to take his Fathers place at the Emporer's side and he realised that he had to stop the inevitable. (sorry, humour again)

So you know what I did.....

I lit a f#*king fag!!!!!

Sorry for the long and depressive story. I suppose it helps me to get it off my chest (pun intended!)

For me, the day it all changed was the 5th February 2013 at 06:40..... I lit my last cigarette. Having tried my first e-lite the night before and thinking about it - even when I should have been sleeping - I had decided to leave my 'crutch' at home and just take my little e-lite. I have not had an analogue since.

I accept that I have NOT beaten my addiction to nicotine and short of being stranded on a dessert island, I never will. I do however have the option of choosing a safer delivery method.

I am sure that you can all appreciate that I have a deep seated loathing of tobacco companies and in light of what these companies / pharma / EU want to do with MY SAFER SOLUTION. I will be doing all that I can to rattle some cages and putting my story across, in an articulated way, in every possible forum, to ensure that me, you and everyone who has a story to tell gets the message across. But in the meantime, I have a bit of making up to do with my lungs.

Thanks for reading

My very best.

[oscar]

Hi Johnny. I'm sure it will be fine. Black tar can happen as you described and be smoking related when you cough the crap up. Not everyone gets this. I haven't personally, but in some ways that's probably worse as all the crap is still in my body. I have a long term terminal illness. I'm not popping off anytime soon but I can't smoke as my odds at getting cancer are massive. Thank god for this alternative that works.

[djs]

Mar 29, 2013 14:00:20 GMT leciageorge said:

The ugly truth about cigarettes is that you are likely to die from continual use. 1 in 5 of all the deaths in the US are from tobacco or smoking, even second hand smoke can cause fatal complications for the people around you. Health risks such as cancer, heart attacks and strokes all rise dramatically from smoking. People think cigarette smoke stinks, and you spend more time away from the buzz of activity as you huddle up in the rain, sleet and snow for one more drag. Within 15 years of the day you throw away your last pack, you can halt the damage and return to a normal risk range.

15 years? are you sure.

[johnny10hands]

Well, just a little update for you....

Really did shit myself when the black tar turned to red blood. Got myself to Doctors who said that this was not uncommon! A little relief there and looking back through previous results he wasn't too concerned. However he did pick up that I have quite a nasty chest infection so have some strong anti-biotics. To be on the safe side he also sent me for another chest x-ray, which I should have the results in about 10 days.

The Anti-biotics appear to be doing the trick and the black tar like substance (and other gunk) has subsided, but whilst Googling, I did bump into this:

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1226461/Why-ALL-smokers-test---theyre-brave-enough.html

Although from 2009, it does appear to indicate that the tar residues can hang around for a very long time.

Now if someone could just invent a micro dyson for your lungs

[davess]

That would explain why I'm still full of catarrh after almost three months than.

[johnny10hands]

6 months.... 6 Agonising months it took for a so called 'Rapid lung diagnosis' to reach its conclusion. Finally, after all the 'could be cancer' speeches from various Doctor's, Consultants and the like, they have finally decided that after 4 x-rays, 2 CT scans, 1 Bronchoscopy and 1 lung biopsy, I have been finally declared cancer free.

Oh, my god, have I experienced some challenging NHS moments.

But the good news finally broke... And I STILL am off the fags!

[Bluefish]

Brilliant news johnny, bet that's a relief for all of you?

[Village idiot formerly tjlumle]

I smoked 20 a day for about 14 years and 10 a day for the five before that since vaping I have coughed up a little but nothing black but not much at all. I would definately go to the quacks and get checked out just in case if it doesn't calm down in a day or so

[toots]

Nov 23, 2013 22:30:24 GMT johnny10hands said:

6 months.... 6 Agonising months it took for a so called 'Rapid lung diagnosis' to reach its conclusion. Finally, after all the 'could be cancer' speeches from various Doctor's, Consultants and the like, they have finally decided that after 4 x-rays, 2 CT scans, 1 Bronchoscopy and 1 lung biopsy, I have been finally declared cancer free.

Oh, my god, have I experienced some challenging NHS moments.

But the good news finally broke... And I STILL am off the fags!

Just read this whole thread, didn't realise at first it was from ages ago and has just been updated.

Anyway johnny10hands just wanted to say on your good news.

[dreamylittledream]

Mar 29, 2013 10:13:49 GMT zeldamum said:

Boo I would be concerned that you haven't coughed anything up, unless you were a really light smoker.

To be fair I was far from the lightest smoker in the world (10-15 Marly lights daily for 15 years or so) and I never really coughed anything up when I switched (been five months now since the last analogue).  To be fair I never really coughed much up as a smoker, or had the cough for that matter

Makes you wonder where it went if it aint surfacing now really...

[ginge7289]

Nov 23, 2013 22:30:24 GMT johnny10hands said:

6 months.... 6 Agonising months it took for a so called 'Rapid lung diagnosis' to reach its conclusion. Finally, after all the 'could be cancer' speeches from various Doctor's, Consultants and the like, they have finally decided that after 4 x-rays, 2 CT scans, 1 Bronchoscopy and 1 lung biopsy, I have been finally declared cancer free.

Oh, my god, have I experienced some challenging NHS moments.

But the good news finally broke... And I STILL am off the fags!

Thats really good news, shame it took so long but at least you now have the answer.

I have not really coughed anything up since I started vaping. I think it is a little strange as I used to smoke 30 a day. Good knows where all the tar and crap is