Expert: Michael Dean - 2/2/2009

Question
Hi there, I am 33 and quit smoking just over three months ago.  I had been smoking a  pack a day for 17 years.  I can hardly walk anywhere in the house without wheezing terrible, I  wake up in the middle of the night full of mucus and it is hard to cough it up even though it feels like I am coughing up a lung, hardly anything comes up, what does come up is a white and thick.  I am exhausted from sleeping only a few hours a night and am mortified by the fact that I can hardly walk to my kitchen from my bedroom with out gasping for air.  This has only started the last three weeks  after quitting.  I am a healthy person that never had this problem of not being able to walk a short distance. Is this just side effects from quitting smoking or might there be something else wrong. I never want to smoke again after what I have gone through.  Please help.

Answer
Dear Stephanie,

Congratulations on quitting. This is best in the long run.

I would see a doctor. The lungs do take awhile to recover, but since this started in the last 3 weeks it could be an infection.

Let me know what happens. All the best,
Michael