Backache?

[Kit]

You joint pains might well be from e-smoking. Propylene glycol is the carrier for the nicotine in our solutions; it's 80% of the e-liquid. In the lungs, the PG breaks down to lactic acid, which the body absorbs and ultimately eliminates in your urine. But lactic acid is the same stuff that sore muscles produce. It can cause leg cramps, for sure, and might be the cause of your joint pain.

The dry throat is very common and is definitely caused by PG. PG is a humectant, meaning it draws moisture to itself. Put it on your skin and it takes moisture from the air, making for softer skin. If the air is dry, however, it draws moisture from the skin. That's happening in your throat as you sleep. You've coated it with PG and the air conditioned air you're sucking in with each snore is drier than the throat surface. Moisture moves OUT of your throat, courtesy of the PG. You awaken with a dry, sore throat.

Drink fluid before you go to bed. Drink as much fluid as you can during the day. Gargle before going to bed if that's your habit. Clean the PG out of your throat and see if you don't wake up with a normal -- yuck! -- morning mouth.

Would gargling with mouth wash have the same effect?

[TropicalBob]

Likely true, Kit. The idea to get the PG coating out of your mouth before going to sleep. Gargling is recommended by some.

[TropicalBob]

Back from the doctor: He says my shoulder-arm pain is likely bursitis. I can see a specialist if I bring big bags of money, or I can take pain killers. I'll take pain killers and do moderate exercise.

His real excitement, however, was that I've been off cigarettes for almost 14 months. I've not inhaled one lung full of tobacco smoke in that time. I showed him my Janty Kissbox and a minicigarette model and explained e-smoking and the liquid contents. I showed him the snus I use, the Stonewall dissolvable tobacco pieces and the pipe I carry with me.

Nothing phased him. "These are a million times safer than cigarette smoking," he said with a wave of his hand over my stuff. "But nicotine ...", I began. "It's smoking that's the big problem," he answered. I told him I likely use more nicotine now than I did when smoking 30 cigarettes a day. It didn't phase him. Cigarette smoking is the killer, not nicotine.

So I exited a happy e-camper. Next week come blood tests to make sure my cholesterol and lipids are in order. I asked for a blood PH check, so I can measure if lactic acid is building up in my bloodstream. That will be done with the other tests.

All in all .. a good morning for e-smoking.

[Ruby]

That bodes well TropicalBob. It's great to get a doctors perspective.
I get loads of labs done regularly - might ask for a ph one too after a while of doing this.

Hope you feel a lot better soon.

[ted26]

Back from the doctor: He says my shoulder-arm pain is likely bursitis. I can see a specialist if I bring big bags of money, or I can take pain killers. I'll take pain killers and do moderate exercise.

His real excitement, however, was that I've been off cigarettes for almost 14 months. I've not inhaled one lung full of tobacco smoke in that time. I showed him my Janty Kissbox and a minicigarette model and explained e-smoking and the liquid contents. I showed him the snus I use, the Stonewall dissolvable tobacco pieces and the pipe I carry with me.

Nothing phased him. "These are a million times safer than cigarette smoking," he said with a wave of his hand over my stuff. "But nicotine ...", I began. "It's smoking that's the big problem," he answered. I told him I likely use more nicotine now than I did when smoking 30 cigarettes a day. It didn't phase him. Cigarette smoking is the killer, not nicotine.

So I exited a happy e-camper. Next week come blood tests to make sure my cholesterol and lipids are in order. I asked for a blood PH check, so I can measure if lactic acid is building up in my bloodstream. That will be done with the other tests.

All in all .. a good morning for e-smoking.

So you been back yet tb and if so are your results looking good?

[M55]

hi folks I'm newly registered but have been viewing this forum since buying a mini e-cigarette 5 months ago, I've experienced all the joint aches, the cold/flue symptoms and the general feeling of bad health since I started with my e-cig, I kept on with it because it was great and did the job, I'm in an office for 10 hours a day and my e-cig got me through easlily, the alternative was to get a mini bus (it's a big site) that takes 5 mins to get to the gate to get out to have a fag and then back again, it was a real pain and when raining, a miserable way to have a smoke, e-cig was my dream come true, I work at an oil terminal and there is absolutley no smoking allowed on site, I've stopped using my e-cig because I can't stand the pain in my joints anymore, I'm 53 and started to have a menstrual bleed, the first for 4 years, maybe somthing or nothing to do with the e-cig but it worries me, I'll keep my cig and use it when I've no alternative, but as for regular use.......nah, it hurts to much. I've never had so many bodily ill's before so I'll keep reading about what's happening with it and hope something comes right, It's a truly brilliant idea and a perfect solution to those like me that just like a fag without the reek.

[BettyRedondo]

Hi M55, sorry to hear of your problems Have you tried vaping with VG based liquids. I know some people are having problems with JC juice but I have been using the VG one with no problems for over a month now, and find it lot better vs the PG, it is just a thought. As for the bleed you should really go to your GP any abnormal bleeding should be checked out, which im sure you know, good luck

[TropicalBob]

I'm still awaiting blood test results. But the joint pain remains. I can't sleep without pain killers two hours before bed. Maybe a coincidence. Maybe PG.

I tried some new flavored PG cartridges three days ago and got that "throat hit" that some covet (but I emphatically do not; I want smooooth). Each deep inhalation brought a barking cough. That night I coughed into my pillow (to muffle the sound) for a half-hour. This is exactly what I did as a cigarette smoker of long duration and the very reason I quit cigarettes.

I blamed the new PG stuff.

So I switched to my own VG-based liquid. And did not cough the next night. Coincidence? It could be. A problem with e-smoking is that normal aches or ills might be attributed incorrectly to our new habit. We don't know. Being a guinea pig, however, I'll continue to test PG and VG mixes until I nail it. Right now, I think my future is VG mixes, even if I end up making the mixes myself.

[TropicalBob]

Just so as not to leave this hanging ... blood test results came back and my blood PH was in the "normal" range, but only one point from slipping into "high". So I don't think PG is causing a serious problem with lactic acid in my blood. PG is not likely the cause of my joint pain.

But my cholesterol was awful and I'm being put back on meds. A year ago, it was perfect -- and I was off cigarettes and hadn't taken up e-smoking. I know that a lot of what ails us might be coincidental and not causal, but I'm convinced it is nicotine's impact that skews my good HDL. It's not "smoking"; it's nicotine. And I haven't a clue what to do about it, since I'm a hard-core nicotine addict.

[Kate]

I've heard that people who eat a lot of mushrooms tend to have low cholesterol levels.

What is it like for you if you don't get high levels of nicotine TBob? Are the psychological symptoms worse than the physical withdrawal symptoms for you? I don't physically miss nic so much when I don't get it but it makes me miserable and that's hard to bear.

I read somewhere that over a certain level of nicotine our bodies doesn't register effects until we get to overdose. I can't remember what the optimum level was but if you're getting more than that theoretically you could cut back without symptoms.