I seem to be the exception, or maybe I just had too-high expectations of how much my asthma might improve once I stopped smoking. My asthma was always very mild; so mild that when I smoked, I didn't need Advair at all, just used my albuterol my prescribed 8 puffs a day. But since I switched to vaping, I've had to go on Advair, and I find that even with Advair, I'm now using my albuterol about 10 puffs a day (shh, don't tell my doctor!).
I attribute this to a couple of different things. 1) cigarette tobacco actually contains both bronchodilators and topical anesthetics, to make it possible to inhale hot smoke all day and not feel like one is inhaling fire; now that I'm not getting extra bronchodilators, and the topical anesthetics are gone from my lungs, it might be that my asthma isn't *actually* worse, but now I can perceive it much more clearly; 2) humidity has always made my asthma worse -- humid summer weather, even too-hot showers, and I'm sucking on the albuterol, and vapor, of course, is moist; and 3) the lack of all the "tar" in my lungs, and the hygroscopic nature of PG/VG, dries out my lungs so much that coughing-up has become very difficult; when I had a lot of phlegm in my lungs, I coughed constantly, but it was easier, it *moved* -- now moving it, getting rid of it, requires a lot more effort, so I'm not coughing-up as much stuff, but I have to cough just as much if not more, to get rid of what little congestion there is. I've been suffering a mild cold for a week or so, and this does seem to be the case -- with the congestion from the cold, I'm coughing-up a lot, but it's easier, just because there's more in there.
It may also be the case that I simply smoked for so long, 39 of my now-55 yrs, that I have a lot of healing to do before I reach any sort of real wellness, as an ex-smoker. I can't help but think that smoking for 3/4 of one's life is a really good way to damage one's lungs, perhaps permanently. And it's certainly true that I'll always be an asthmatic, no matter how long I abstain from smoking. And maybe I'm simply more aware of what my lungs are doing, now that I'm no longer in smoker's denial of the damaging effects of smoking.
Andria
