proud to say its been over a month since my last death stick, but NORMALLY wouldn't an ex smoker cough up all of the residue as the lungs come back to life? if so then I find it really odd that I haven't experienced this, I haven't been able to fully work out to see where my lung capacity stands so the only baseline that I have is that when I did smoke I of course was sucking wind trying to keep any pace.
As others have said, not necessarily. Depends on how much damage was done, how much has accumulated, and how well your lungs' drainage systems work... ...the thing is, what actually gets hacked up, even for people who hack up a lot, is only a portion of what ultimately comes out. Your lungs are constantly working to clear any fluids or build-up out. It's a process that's constantly taking place with each breath that you take. Smoking inhibits it. Once it starts working like its supposed to, it stands to reason that there should be nothing that has to be expelled by coughing.
When you're coughing stuff up, that's a sign that your lungs aren't able to self-clean properly. With nothing inhibiting that process, anything that's not supposed to be there should naturally be able to make its way out without you forcefully hacking it all up.
I can tell you that I hacked up an abnormal amount of brown mucus and clear fluid, but I was a very heavy smoker and it was normal for me to be hacking up fluid anyway... ...I was at a point where my lung function was so impaired that they couldn't clear themselves anymore. I think physical activity was playing a role in clearance as well. I was putting my lungs to work doing an hour of moderate cardio almost every day. I was also drinking a lot of water. Always had stuff churning up in my chest.
I'd say its about time to put your lungs to the test! Go out for a jog or hop on a bike and see where your limit is! That will tell you for sure where you're at clearance-wise. If you've still got a ways to go, you'll surely know it by the time you're done.
....but my mom quit 3 years ago (no vape, just quit) after smoking for about 55 years and never coughed up anything. I thought that was weird.
