So sid... hopefully you will help me out with this.

I am considering making a doctor's appt, but I hate to show up at the doctor and have him basically tell me there is nothing wrong.

I quit smoking about a month and a half ago. I was smoking about a pack a day for a year and I know that I was having some trouble breathing, coughing and wheezing issues when I was smoking. Which is why I quit again. I smoked for 13 years 2 years prior to starting up again.

I now seem to have trouble breathing in the evenings. I feel like I can't get enough air into my lungs so I have to take a bunch of deep breaths repeatedly. I thought this would get better but it really doesn't seem to be improving.

I also have a reaction when I run - after about 15 minutes I get rapid production of phlegm and start gagging. I used to be pretty athletic and don't consider myself that far out of shape so I know this is different than just regular shortness of breath. After a couple minutes the phlegm stops and I can breathe better but it's kind of scary for a minute.

I'm sitting at work now and they are drywall sanding around me and I'm having some difficulty breathing - same deal - can't get enough air so I'm taking these deep gasping breaths.

From what I've read it sounds like I have asthma... does that sound right? And since it's not that horrible should I get it treated? I am kind of scared that my doc will give me an inhaler or something. I had asthmatic bronchitis once and had to use an inhaler and it was just horrible... it caused me to lose sleep and made me very jumpy.

This isn't the first time I've quit smoking for an extended period of time. This past time that I was smoking was only for a year and I was really active before that - coaching soccer, running, etc... I didn't have anything like this before so I'm worried that I really messed myself up this time.

Thanks for your input sid. I don't have any problem going to the doctor but I really don't like getting there, waiting and then finding out that I should just wait and see how things go... or that I'm just being a hypochondriac.

it sounds like it's worth a trip to the doctor. Don't quote me on this, but I vaguely recall that in some smokers, the airways are hyper-reactive for awhile after quitting, which might be what's going on. You probably have some degree of chronic bronchitis from the smoking as well, and getting rid of the junk is a good thing; again, I think sometimes after quitting there are mechanisms by which it's easier to do so: the cilia (hair-like organs in the bronchial cells) get somewhat paralyzed with smoking and come back to life with quitting: cilial action helps get the junk up and out. So presumably the symptoms you are experiencing will improve with time. But it seems worth having it checked to be sure what's going on.

Thanks sid. It's probably a good time to go talk to my doctor anyway... my endocrynologist just decided to move out to your neck of the woods, so now that I think of it, I do have some things to talk to my general practicioner about.

I found a web page that nicely illustrates what Sid mentioned about effects on the cilia: here.

I'd worry about breathing all that drywall dust. Do they have to sand it during working hours? You need a space suit.

Reminds me that our Grade Nine science teacher taught us about the cilia, and their role in keeping our airways tidy.

He also told us that smoking damaged them, leading to bronchial problems.

That was in 1950. When I hear of people today, suing the tobacco companies for millions, on the grounds that they didn't know that smoking was harmful, I have to think:

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!"

Not that I lose any sleep worrying about the tobacco companies. I just like people to take responsibility, that's all. It's good for us.