Diagnosis: Near Bronchitis

[Wes]

Went to Dr. today, said I had a severe respiatory infection "near bronchitis" - a guy I work with got sick the weekend he went to Bonnaroo and I might have caught it from him. (bonnaroo was probably a f*ing A-bomb of infection with all those dirty hippies rubbing against eachother)

I have been using ecigs since mid March, started with nJoy and a little over a month ago moved to a Yeti

A few things concern me after seeing the Dr.

1) emedicinehealth says under bronchitis causes:

Bronchitis also can occur when you inhale irritating fumes or dusts. Chemical solvents and smoke, including tobacco smoke, have been linked to acute bronchitis.

So I am hoping its from a virus or some other pathagen and not from vaping.

2) I have been using PG based liquid, mostly at 18 - 24mg, I started to notice some irritation of my nasal passages a couple weeks ago (and finally went to the dr. today from trouble swallowing, soar throat and sinus irritation)- I have dropped down to 11mg and it seems to be less harsh on my throat, but I am worried that the inflammation and congestion are from vaping. I havent been using it much the past couple days because my throat and sinuses are RAW and I have a ton of drainage in my throat.

I am taking an antibiotic so i should know in a few days if its infection or vapor - I don't know if the vapor irritating my throat made me more suceptable to infection? I havent had a respiratory infection in years.

I have read a lot of threads that recommend VG instead of PG but I haven't seen any sites that mention this in the ingredients. Does anyone know a good place to get VG liquid as opposed to PG?
I am hoping this will go away soon because I really enjoy vapor...

[Niniane]

http://www.juicyliquid.com/ has unflavored non-PG if you are willing to do DiY flavors. Peeking at a few more links, I'll add more if I find any.

http://www.eliquidplanet.com/VG_eliquid.html

[Moonflame]

I had bronchitis when I got my first e-cig. It usually takes me months to get over due to Fibromyalgia and Lupus. Within 2 days of switching from analogs to the 901 (PG based Liquid) I was starting to feel better and within 5 days I was pretty much totally better. I'm sure it's a combination of getting off the evil stuff and the antimicrobial properties of PG.

[Wes]

the weird thing is I have been using my e-cig for over two months - I was only smoking analogs very very rarely (like a few every two or three weeks if I went for a cocktail) other than that I have basically been on the patch for like... man, like almost 10 years :X

I think there was like a year in there where I didnt smoke and wasnt on the patch at all, but everytime I would have a couple drinks I would be like, screw it I want a smoke and end up smoking a few.

Anyway, since I got the ecig I been totally analog free since about March 20th - so 3 months daily vaping with no problem then all of a sudden like two weeks ago I started getting sore throat, etc.

I would think that if it were a reaction to the PG that it would have happened sooner - I did up my nicotine level though, I was using 16-18mg and then i bought some 24mg and i did notice that it seemed to hurt my throat more, I wonder if the increased nicotine could be the problem?

I ordered some VG from vaporstix, J creek looks like they got some good priced liquid - I may have to switch (and throw away about 75ml worth of 24mg PG )

I just hope this crap goes away, I was so happy to get the ecig, after fighting with the patch and gum and pills and every freaking thing in the world and still ending up smoking for so many years I was really really happy to find the ecig and now I am really really bumming because my throat is totally raw...

[Niniane]

If you were using PG all that time with no problem, it seems less likely that your current problems are being caused by that, but who knows. I know when I used to smoke while sick it was torture. I did it anyway of course. I haven't been sick since I switched (which now that I think about it is impressive considering I used to have sinus and "cold" symptoms almost all the time when I smoked), so dunno how it will feel using my PV when unwell. If you do find you need to switch to VG, you could try to sell or swap your PG liquid in the forum classifieds. Just throwing it out would be a shame!

[karenwest1961]

The PG will for sure make your chest feel dryer than it already is if you have bronchitis....so you're gonna feel miserable enough to be concerned about it. It sucks, I know. I dealt with bronchitis too, and it was a virus. So, while you're healing, back off the e-cig some and drink more water. And of course, take your antibiotics as directed. You'll be back to vaping the way you were in no time.

[tomzgreat]

Actually I had the reverse effect. WhenI had a severe cough and went on Antibiotics my lungs would feel better while I was vaping.

I think it depends on the person.

[ladyraj]

Bronchitis usually is due to a viral or bacterial infection. The irritation from inhaling substances/chemicals you refer to from emedicinehealth pertains to acute bronchitis and would not be applicable to an individual who used the e-cig for 3 months. If e-cigs were the impetus for bronchitis you would have become sick within a 2 week period, not months later. A case can be made for chronic bronchitis, or COPD, if you have experienced recurrent episodes annually from any type of smoking or airborne substance exposure. Pulmonary lung function tests could assess if you have COPD. Again this scenario would not be indicative of the e-cig as the source of your troubles but it could irritate a pre-existing condition. The soreness in your throat may be reduced via a cough drop and increasing your fluid intake. I wish you all the best.

[Kate51]

Of course, you can get bronchitis if you don't smoke at all, so take some comfort there. BUT: smokers' do aggravate any bronchial infection, making it chronic and hard to get rid of or treat. I suspect though that with vaping with either PG or VG would not be exactly the same thing, with both of those substances being anti-bacterial. However, PG can be more drying (it's a humectant) to your mucous membranes, maybe that made your sore throat feel worse. Try to think what else you may have exposed yourself to, just a chance.
Everyone is supposed to drink more water to off-set dryness from PG. I also had a bad reaction to PG after vaping a couple months. My throat was very sore, dry hacking cough, and vaping really made it worse and worse. So, just as an experiment I switched to my same flavor juice (Johnson Creek Original tobacco, or Tennessee Cured) only in non-PG or Vegetable Glycerin (VG). That did the trick, it was an almost instant relief. To my knowledge Johnson Creek Juice is the only one that offers their flavors in PG or VG. Just to make sure, I vaped a cartful+ of PG one day, the soreness came back with a vengeance, I felt like I was being strangled. Went back to VG, symptoms disappeared again. So I'm pretty sure that was the trouble. You're right to question why it took 2 months of vaping to show up, I can't answer that, but the same thing happened to me, so something does it. ?? After about 2 months on VG it hasn't re-curred. Knock on Wood!! I use 24mg/ml strength. I also try to use juice flavored with bare minimum of ingredients, as well, just on the odd chance something other than tobacco flavorings would be irritating. I have a long history of bronchitis, allergies, shortness of breath, sinus infections, probably I am a walking case of COPD, not diagnosed. But I have also been exposed to many many caustic and hazardous substances and fibers from a lifetime of re-finishing and/or re-upholstering furniture, and 44 years of smoking. I have to use electronic air-cleaners all the time now. Still have bouts of shortness of breath, not nearly as bad as when I smoked cigarettes, BY FAR!

[Kula]

Just be aware that Johnson Creek now do not offer a NPG version anymore They now only offer reduced PG.

I switched to VG based liquids because of sensitivity to PG.

Kula.