My tale of PG sensitivity (Acne, Throat problems, Shortness of breath)

[LadyPhoenix]

Ok well, I started breaking out on my face within just a few days of vaping. I started with PG 24 mg. This made me very unhappy because when I was in my mid 20s I developed cystic acne and it made me feel like a monster for a year. I had to go on a treatment of Accutane to get rid of it. Since then I have striven to keep my face clear of acne. Anyway, I read lots of articles on the internet and there are a great many claims that quitting smoking causes acne. I don't doubt this. However, there are also a lot of posts from vapors complaining of acne. So as of EIGHT MONTHS of vaping, I still had terrible acne. This lead me to believe that it's not from quitting smoking, because surely by now the 'toxins' would have been purged from my skin.

I went to a dermatologist after 5 months of this and started a treatment of antibiotics and topical acne medication. ZERO improvement. In fact, as of last week my skin was so bad I went back to the dermatologist for an 'emergency' appointment because the cluster of pimples/inflammation on my forehead was so bad it didn't look like acne anymore, but something more serious.

So some of the other symptoms I experienced from vaping PG was a feeling of closing of the throat. This totally freaks me out. I hate that feeling. I don't even like to swallow big pills. Nevertheless, I thought it was better than smoking so I continued on. Another symptom was a feeling of shortness of breath, or tightening of the chest. You know that feeling you get the next day when you smoked too much the night before because you were at a party or rock concert, etc, and chain-smoked? Well I would get that feeling, but it wasn't because I was vaping too much or any more than the day before. I should also mention that I am a singer, and since vaping PG I was not able to sing a song without breaking into a coughing fit. This was also frustrating and depressing for me.

So finally I said you know what, let me switch to VG. I don't know why I was hesitant to do this, I guess I'd read some posts about VG that made me think it was terrible. But I ordered some, and it's been about a week on VG and already my skin is clearing up. And I mean significantly. Also since I've been vaping VG I haven't had the feeling of my throat closing up, nor the tightness in my chest.

I guess the point of my post is, if you are experiencing these same symptoms and you haven't tried VG yet, please consider doing so. I don't even care now that I have tons of PG juice left over, I was spending extra money on prescription meds and acne treatments so now even though my PG liquid will be unused I'll save money in the long run. I am enjoying the VG liquid I am using now. It does taste slightly different, but by that I mean I find it tastes better, less chemical after-taste. And there are many more suppliers now that offer 100% VG made in the USA. Here is a link to a list of them:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...g-based-e-liquid-suppliers-6.html#post1215838

I plan on trying most of them and then writing a review in the future. Hope this post helps someone.

 

[Rosco]

Gosh LP, that sounds pretty terrible. I'm sorry you had this happen. You try to quit smoking, start vaping, and Bam, all heck comes into your life. I'm really glad to hear that switching to VG appears to have calmed those conditons a lot. I'm glad any of us have this option...to switch if need be, to VG.
Hope you are back to that smooth skinned singing Beauty real soon.
Glad your feeling better inside and out. It really does a body good.

Congratulations on several fronts....to quit smoking for any of us is fantastic.

 

[DaveP]

LadyPhoenix, you might want to have an allergy scratch test done and inform the doctor about your thoughts that you might be allergic to PG. PG is also used in tobacco cigarettes, as well as your toothpaste, and scores of foods and other products that you rub on and consume daily. You might find that it's something else that is affecting you. That would be a good thing!

If you haven't ever had an allergy test, it's pretty simple. They use a washable marker to create a matrix of dots on your inner forearms, then they bring out a tray with tiny test tubes containing little things that look like plastic toothpicks. They use the little plastic toothpick type things to put a tiny scratch mark on each dot. You wait for about 15 minutes and they come back to see which ones turn pink or make a little mosquito bite type small whelp. They index the reactions to a chart that tells them which reaction corresponds to which test tube and give you advice on what you are allergic to and how allergic you are in terms of mild to severe.

That might be very informative and useful info for you to have. Then, you would know what to avoid to live without reactions.

 

[LadyPhoenix]

DaveP,

I think you are right and this is something of a revelation to me, being allergic or just sensitive to PG. As it so happens, since I had cystic acne in the past I had already switched to skin, hair, and makeup products for sensitive skin (non-comedogenic), and most of them do not contain PG (Cetaphil for example). However now I am going to switch toothpaste as well. Just have to find one without PG. I thought Tom's was free of PG but that's not what I am reading on their website right now.

 

[DaveP]

I've had friends who found that they were allergic to pine oil and pollen, chicken, and a myriad of other things. A test is not a bad thing to have.