Advice from asthma sufferers

[reikoshea]

I'd like to say I'm not trying to be a fear monger here, just wanted to see if my situation is common.

So I've had asthma since I was a little kid. Historically it's been pet (cat and dog) induced, but since I quit smoking and switched to the e-cig, I've had more asthma attacks than I can ever remember.

When I was smoking cigarettes, I might have had one attack a month, and each time they were quite serious. Now 8 out of the last 10 days I've had an asthma attack. Granted these are very minor in comparison to what my asthma attacks used to be like, but it is scary none the less.

I'm not planning on making vaping a permanent hobby, simply using it in place of a patch/gum, but I'm curious to know if anyone else had this issue and if perhaps it's just a reaction to my newly found lung capacity or something.

I've been smoking nearly 10 years now, and this is the first time I've been without a cigarette more than 3 days (1 month clean today). I'd just hate for this to be the thing that knocks me off the quitting wagon, especially when I'm so close.

 

[DrewGrimey]

Usually after quiting analogs, you tend to produce more phlegm due to the cila in your lungs growing back and moving all the excess tar out, that may be the cause. I have asthma and my asthma is alot better now that I smoke e-cigs over real cigs, but I was not a heavy smoker

 

[tc1]

Could be the pg/vg ratio ...
Could be the flavoring ...
Could be a temperorary adjustment ...

Hard to really say but hopefully someone here has had a similar experience and can share some thoughts on this.

Best of luck in limiting those dang attacks.

 

[Faylool]

Allergic to something can cause attacks. But you know that I'm sure. Try not inhaling for a couple weeks. Puffing gets fun. Igot of a 10 year nicorette gum habit. Much nicer now. You get more nicotine thru the mouth and nose then the lungs they say. I don't know what the percentage is. I'd like to know though

 

[zenoland]

After smoking for 40 years, I started vaping. My first juice did not bother me, but I could never find out what the PG/VG mixture was. Then I went to 50/50 and all of a sudden, I could not breath. Eventually I figured out that the VG bothers me. I do best with 90/10 or 80/20 PG/VG and my breathing is fine again.

Start experimenting with your PG/VG mix. Some folks are bothered by PG, others by VG.

 

[tnt56]

I have severe COPD and also have to use a high pg ratio. At least 70%pg.

 

[dragonbone]

Could be your particular ejuice. Try upping your PG ratio and see if that helps (or visa versa). Try to work out if it is vaping in general, or one particular juice you have. Maybe a little vape diary could help.

Of course everyone is completely different and has different triggers. I have suffered from severe asthma since moving to Japan 13 years ago. The doctors said that is was due to the dry winters and the trees. It got worse and worse every winter and I found myself in the emergency room with severe attacks, more and more frequently in recent years.

But my asthma has improved dramatically since quitting cigs and vaping full time. The change was not immediate though and I rememember being disappointed when it didn't seem to improve, but after forgetting to watch out, one day I suddenly realized that I hadn't used my pump in months.

My lungs seem much stronger and healthier and I haven't had a chest cold, flu or bronchitis since I quit smoking!

Good luck!

 

[AttyPops]

Just a curiosity question:

Did you change the form of your liquid consumption since you started vaping? (Thinking caffeine).....

 

[nnote]

I dont have juice issues, but I certainly notice the difference in my lungs when I went from silica wicks to SS wicks. With the silica I was getting some breathing issues immediatly after vaping, that dropped dramaticly when I went to SS wicks.

 

[reikoshea]

So to answer some questions. I've been using 70/30 PG/VG juice for the most part, and it's been the same flavor (FLuX blueberry colada) the entire time. I found something I really liked right off the bat and have been using it since.

I'm wondering if the two things aren't related, it's just now cooling off where I live, so it might just be the temperature change causing my issue as well, and it's just exacerbated by the e-cig.

I think I might try to make my own juice from now on since I got a gigantic bottle of PG from CVS. I'm not really into the vapor production aspect, so it might be best if I just make my own 100% PG juice and see if that fixes the issue.

As for the liquid consumption, actually I consume a lot less liquid per day than I used to. I used to drink about 8-10 12oz cans of soda per day, a 16oz Rockstar each day, and usually 1-2 beers. Now I consume about 2-3 cans of soda and the same energy drink and the same beers.

I know primatine tablets have ephedrine in them, and the old inhaler was epinephrine. My rescue inhaler is albuterol, which is also a stimulant. I wonder if the fact that I was previously so hyped on caffeine was fending off my attacks....seems odd, but who knows, i do have drastically less of most stimulants in my body. I'm also vaping 6mg and 11mg back and forth rather than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, also causing, what I'd imagine, is less nicotine intake.

An interesting thought.

Thanks for the advice folks, really quite helpful.

 

[nnote]

As for the liquid consumption, actually I consume a lot less liquid per day than I used to. I used to drink about 8-10 12oz cans of soda per day, a 16oz Rockstar each day, and usually 1-2 beers. Now I consume about 2-3 cans of soda and the same energy drink and the same beers.

I know primatine tablets have ephedrine in them, and the old inhaler was epinephrine. My rescue inhaler is albuterol, which is also a stimulant..

Not like Im all inocent but you might try throwing some plain water in to that heavy mix... oh and throw out those primatine tablets, those things do alot of damage in many ways.

 

[AttyPops]

Just to be clear, I'm not recommending using caffeine instead of doctor's recommended advice/meds.... but I do thing it has an effect. That's why I asked. People start doing the "Drink lots of water" thing and reduce caffeine. lol.

If you look at your inhaler, it probably has PG in it. Anyway, that's not an excuse....there's no asthma meds in e-cig vapor and PG is also an irritant. The meds in the inhaler probably offset any negative PG effect.

Then there's the nic, VG, flavors....

So you'll have to factor all that together when trying stuff and talking to your doctor.

All non-medical opinion, guesses.

Remember that it's not a sin to use nic lozenges and gum and whatever too (non-inhaled stuff) and use the e-cig "if you have to". Still better than smoking, IMO.

 

[sandhillcrane]

I am a Respiratory Therapist and also suffer from asthma. As a previous post stated, more mucous is produced and is not uncommon. Most smokers who quit feel worse before finally getting better. Are you on asthma meds? Drink tons of water and consider decongestants. A good natural one can be found at any health food store. It's called NAC,but if you are allergic to sulfur don't use it. good luck and good health!

 

[reikoshea]

Not like Im all inocent but you might try throwing some plain water in to that heavy mix... oh and throw out those primatine tablets, those things do alot of damage in many ways.

Ephedrine does damage if used incorrectly. If used as directed (meaning read the warning label) it's no more harmful than epinephrine, caffeine or nicotine.

I am a Respiratory Therapist and also suffer from asthma. As a previous post stated, more mucous is produced and is not uncommon. Most smokers who quit feel worse before finally getting better. Are you on asthma meds? Drink tons of water and consider decongestants. A good natural one can be found at any health food store. It's called NAC,but if you are allergic to sulfur don't use it. good luck and good health!

I am on albuterol only as a rescue inhaler. I'm not on any steroids or anything like that (I was for a long time, but my asthma never responded to any of the treatments). I'm not allergic to sulfur, so I'l look into NAC to see if it may help.


PS. So far so good today.