Lungs, Emphysema and breathing.

[ladyraj]

Thanks Kate...I love the hazmat warning sign!

[Kate51]

My husband thinks I could hurt myself!!

[samysam1313]

I'm relieved that you've researched this avenue thoroughly! OCD therapy typically centers around breaking associations with the target behavior and relieving anxiety versus replacing them with an alternative. But I'm sure you already know this..

I do know this. Thank you. Anxiety levels are usually pretty high aleady. I think for me it is more the physical and psychological aspects of smoking that are the hardest to overcome. I don't think my nicotine addiction would be as difficult as I do not inhale anymore. I do plan on weaning myself off of the nicotine. For me it is more of a stress reliever. Plus 40 years of a habit makes it pretty hard to break.

I'm left to wonder if we smokers/vaporers tend to rationalize anything that allows us to continue in our behavior patterns that were developed over time.

I think so. Isn't that human nature? We all look for reasons to condon our behavours. Especially if we are doing something we know is bad for us.

Thus, the psychological addiction is the battlefield versus the physiological hold of nicotine. But eliminating smoke from any source could only be interpreted as a good thing with positive outcomes.

That is exactly how I look at it. Eliminating the smoke is my main concern. I'm just looking for a healthier alternative. I enjoy smoking and that makes it harder to leave it behind.

Keep us posted, I'd love to see this work out for you!

I will keep you all posted. I figure I have nothing to loose by trying this. It has to be a better alternative.

I do so appreciate your comments. I am continuing my research. My OCD is pretty bad and I do know it would be better to just not smoke anything at all. However, I am only human and it is such a struggle for me where smoking is concerned. I also have Depression, PST, and General Anxiety Disorder. All that makes it more difficult. Lots of stress as well. You seem to be pretty well informed ladyraj. I Know I've gotten a bit personal here, but I have nothing to hide or be ashamed about. I haven't found very much concerning vaping and health issues, especially concerning lung and breathing problems. I am sure there are others who have some of the same issues as me and I think the more information we have the better. If my sharing my story with others can be of benefit, then I have no qualms about sharing it.

[samysam1313]

Vaping is better than smoking, but I hate to agree: Emphysema is a whole different problem then what I was having. If you gave up analogs, I'd think long and hard before taking up vaping.

I haven't given up analogs. But I need to. I just stated that I do not inhale anymore. If I had given up analogs, I would not be considering vaping either. My main goal is get rid of the "smoke" altogether.

[samysam1313]

I smoked for 44 years 2-3 packs the last few. I do upholstery here at home, and we have pickups and deliveries, anything from foot stools to couches.
For the last 5 years or so, my breathing went into the basement. I was having issues with chronic bronchitis, asthma symptoms, severe bouts of hyperventilation, and the last couch my husband and I delivered in February I thought was going to be the last thing I ever did. I of course kept all this as hidden as I could, but was coughing constantly, short of breath (I probably do have a 'COPD' type of condition going on) but the day it took over an hour for me to stop shaking and trying to suck enough air to keep from fainting. Of course, I never went to the doctor, I knew what they'd tell me right off the bat! Not stupid! right! I'd done pursed-lip breathing, diligently, about 12 times a day, and that did help, but the attacks would come on so fast I knew it was just a matter of time. Then, I'd have to go have a cigarette, you know, that did help. Ya. My fatherinlaw had COPD for years, was a light smoker, but they always called his 'farmer's lung' which of course could have meant almost anything. Could it also be hypertension...nasty stuff, that. I was nearly at the point of being non-functioning, all I wanted to do was sit and smoke. That's about all I had the energy for.
So I told my daughter the nurse, I had ordered an electronic cigarette, and what I hoped it would accomplish. That was end of February. On March 9th, '09, my NPro arrived. The juice tasted awful, I puffed too hard and got it in my mouth, did everything wrong. But I got a few good puffs, enough to know 'hey, this could work!'. After 3 hours, I had to recharge a battery, so went for a RYO. My God, that tasted worse than that stupid e-cig, I took a couple puffs and put it out, that thing STUNK!! It was my last cigarette. That was 6 months+ ago. My coughing stopped, my energy soared, my lungs started clearing, my 'smeller' came back, and my taste buds woke up again. I still have an occasional bout of hyperventilatin, a wake up, 'oh yes, I forget to do my breathing excercise the last couple days..' see, when you're not thinking about your next breath all the time you forget! So DO remember to breath in through the nose, out through pursed lips, several times a day, make it work not wimpy. It will expand your lung capacity, tighten your core muscles, very important, and get that diaphram flexible and useful again.
This summer I was out doing yard work, push mower on a side hill, and enjoying the heck out of that workout every week! More energy than I know what to do with, feeling 1000X BETTER! Broken capillaries in my face are also nearly gone, the "coon" mask. My haggard, gray looking skin looks better, my hair grows fast and healthy again!

I'm using 18 mg/ml juice, down from 24mg, and vaping less, so am really getting a handle on this vaping thing, loving it!! It saved my life.
And Ladyraj is exactly right about liquid ingredients, I do a "DIY" with Vegetable Glycerin, PG too harsh, and a very light, mild, sweet VG with just a hint of real tobacco, nutty caramel, and that's it! There are four ingredients in my juice. If one happens to irritate, I can leave it out if needed. Don't try to see how many flavors you can find, my theory is KISS!! Keep it Simple Stupid. Throat hit? I don't see the benefit to irritating my throat, I want mild. I just need to feel I'm doing no further harm, but yes, damage does not go away. But you can sure improve what you have left!! BEST OF LUCK!!

Thanks for sharing that Kate. I don't expect any miracles myself, but figure like you do. Do no further damage. I know my lung damage will always be there, but I do want to protect what I have left. As a side note. I notice that when I sleep a very long time and I am not smoking, that my breathing is better. Obviously even though I do not inhale, the smoke is still doing damage. Reason I want to get off the real cigs.

[samysam1313]

AdikTed, that's a good point...I'm using ECOpure as well, the Krystal or K36mg/ml, for mixing my own nic liquids...it's very clean vaping and I really like it way more than the generic nic VG...some "Glycerins" are really petro products, or what they term as 'synthetic', others are made with animal fats, so was really glad when this came out. Just what the Doc ordered, a reliable source of good true Vegetable Glycerin, and lab tested batches. They do sell more flavors now, also, but I still like my recipe for the "old" Johnson Creek Original. Which is no longer made in VG and 'real' tobacco flavor. Loved that stuff!

Can I ask where you get your VG? Is ECOpure a brand name?

[thewomenfolk]

samysam1313,

I understand exactly what you're saying. I've been there....about 3 weeks ago. Let me just say that I think you're going to be sooooo pleasantly surprised! For one thing, right now just lighting up a cigarette 'hurts' so bad when your lungs have been damaged already. And you say to yourself, 'I must be out of my mind...but I've got to do this anyway and I don't really know why!' And you continue to do it....and don't really know why. So did I.

And then a miracle happens, you discover that you can actually inhale a PV's vapor without thinking this time you might just die from it. And it doesn't hurt. And it smells and tastes fresh. And hours pass and you can't believe this is happening, that you don't even desire a cigarette any more! Instead, the very thought repulses you. As soon as the next day you can't believe how much better you feel, and every day after that is an adventure in rediscovering how good it feels to breathe, and not cough, no tickles in the throat, or noises in the lungs. And you have real energy again! You even look better. And you can lay on your back and watch TV, breathing comfortably. Indeed it's all a miracle.

Give yourself time to learn to use the PV (get a 510, very consistent little device). And take your time deciding if you want to cut down on the Nicotine. You probably were not getting any from cigarettes if you had trouble inhaling....so cutting the Nic shouldn't be too hard. Learn to make juice, have fun.

Soooo, I can't wait to hear about your progress, day to day, week to week. Don't worry, be happy, you've got hope now!

[Darkest]

I wanted to mention something that happened to me. It's been a few days over a year for me now on the e-cig. I was a 24 year smoker of 1.75 to 2 pack a day Camel unfiltered who wheezed all the time and was just about to weak to do anything useful. I would wheeze and cough myself to sleep every night, it was f'ing pathetic. I didn't even feel the air in my lungs when I inhaled it anymore. They did a scan on my lungs (Because they thought I had cancer) however they stated I had advanced emphysema in my left lung and heavy "Smoke damage" to the rest. I knew this and would wake up every morning and light a cig and HATE myself for it but I just couldn't stop (I even considered getting myself arrested because you can't smoke in jail).

Anyway, I digress. As I said it's been about a year now, I feel so much better there are no words. I actually want to go out and do stuff, I kinda enjoy cutting the lawn. I can jog short distances. I feel like I got my life back. As Kate said, I feel like it saved my life. About a week ago I was doing some intense physical labor and was winded and breathing heavy and it felt like something in my lungs snapped, it was the weirdest feeling and on my next breath on my inhale it felt like was able to inhale to my full lung capacity. Like my lungs filled ALL the way up with air. It was THE BEST FEELING I have had in years. It was wonderful, I didn't think I would ever be able to do that again.

I just thought I'd share that. I figured after a year it was as good as it was going to get, then it got better

[Kate51]

Can I ask where you get your VG? Is ECOpure a brand name?

Yes, and yes!

Cignot your Midwest Electronic Cigarette store.

Terri will help you find whatever you need and she can, and she's the fastest shipper ever.....ECOpure is brand of IntellicigUK, and there is another vendor I believe Innovapor will go look for that link as well, many people are using it now, and the thing all say is how 'clean' it is, and I say very atomizer friendly 'clean'. Some people don't care for the very ellusive flavors, they are very mild and you don't really 'catch' the hint of flavor right away. Most people want a 'throat hit', whatever that is, to me it sounds painful! For some reason right now there are a lot of vendors who are selling both VG and PG, for awhile VG flavors were pretty scarce. But I highly recommend ECOpure. Look for them in the heading above (sponsoring suppliers), you can talk to them here and find the web sites also.
Note to one of you other statements, about inhaling: it's been proven through testing that vaporized liquid does not carry nicotine to the lung very well. Absorbtion of nicotine is mainly through mouth nose and throat. Particles in vapor are too large for the lungs to absorb, unlike combustion of tobacco. So inhaling of VG or PG vapor has not been proven detrimental to lung tissue, and because it is a humectant, it may be a little drying. PG, moreso. So they are more readily excreted from the lung either through metabolism or normal lung function. These substances have been in use and tested heavily for over 40 years. Testing took a lot of mice!!! Poor buggers.
Drinking plenty of water to keep your tissues well hydrated is important, especially to folks with lung damage from disease, along with deep breathing sessions to further increase lung capacity. Hydration also helps the cilia in the lungs in the areas where it can recover do their jobs more effectively, cleaning the lungs! Most of us are lacking as far as drinking enough H2O, not coffee, soda, etc..H2O!

[Kate51]

Darkest, you sound like me for sure, it is an awesome thing to think that maybe we've happened onto something here, this vaping! I know from emphysema there can be a lot of scarring, so perhaps something opened up along with the reasonable expectation your lungs are expanding more....here's hoping your next Dr visit will be enlightening.
Just look at what's going on with jj2 That's really incredible. My signature seems to be coming true!! Smokers have more choices than just quitting or dying