throat clearing

hello all, during the last year of my smoking life i began to constantly have to clear my throat. it was partly for this reason that i quit about six weeks ago. i have been hoping that at some point during my quit i will lose this constant need to clear my throat. has anyone else encountered this, and if so did it go away at some point after you quit?
thx in advance stephen

I think that the throat clearing is phlegm being cleared out, but i will ask my doctor.
thx for the response

If your throat-clearing is accompanied by a more than usual swallowing, see your GP and ask him to set you up with an appointment for a video x-ray of your throat area while swallowing a liquid barium meal. You might have an obstruction there, and fund holding GPs don't always recommend these expensive procedures if they can get away with it.

"Smoking inhibits and ultimately destroys cilia, after which coughing is the only means of preventing mucus from accumulating in the lungs. For this reason, smokers with respiratory congestion should avoid medications that inhibit the cough reflex." (Human AP, Marieb)

Therefore, I suspect your throat clearing is a protective measure as a result of your paralyzed cilia.
http://groups.msn.com/FreedomFromTobaccoQuitSmokingNow/ favoritestrings.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0& amp;ID_Message=79370

has a good explanation. Generally, cilia can regrow within 1-9 months.

I didn't ever have to constantly clear my throat but i did have to clear my throat quite a bit.
I also had a chronic smokers cough to compliment the throat clearing. Both went away pretty fast after I quit never to return (approximately 6-8weeks if i remember correctly)
Congrats on making it this far. Keep it up.

I haven't encountered this, so I can't be of much help other than to say
BIG congratulations on your life-saving decision to quit smoking! Hang in there!

It could be allergies popping up, now that you have use of your immune system again. I have been getting a lot of congestion and drainage since I quit. Sometimes it makes it difficult to sleep. I take Claritin when it gets bad.

Speaking of an immune system, I used to catch colds from my kids all the time. The kids would get over the colds in a day or two and I would be sick for two weeks! Now, I'm catching fewer colds, and when I do get sick, I get better in a day or two. In and of itself, that made quitting worthwhile.