Acid Reflux/Stomach Pain

[jplanet]

I have seen several threads get started talking about acid reflux and stomach pain with vaping, but the threads just seem to die off without anyone getting to the bottom of it.

After a lot of trial and error, I have found that anything containing tart flavoring, especially fruit flavors, will trigger extremely severe burning acid pain in my stomach. It tends to happen after several hours of vaping the same flavor, and once it gets bad, it is extremely difficult to relieve the pain - I have to guzzle lots of Pepto just to take the edge off.

I've written to several vendors about this, and even though they are all extremely helpful and concerned, it is difficult to pinpoint the problem, as even the best vendors use flavorings that already have a number of ingredients.

I suspect that the culprit may be malic acid, which occurs naturally in many fruits, and is used as a tartness additive in many flavorings. Of course, it does not seem to have this effect when consumed in foods, so perhaps vaping allows it to come into contact and accumulate in areas of the digestive system that it does not affect when consumed.

Anyway, I would be very interested in hearing from others who might have this issue.

 

[nansc]

This happened to me too when I vaped a lot of Hypno (grapefruit).The acid was boiling up in my throat and I take a prescription for Acid Reflux so it's not just you.

 

[tigerlily]

It's definitely not just you. I don't believe vaping these flavors actually causes the problems, but they can definitely exasperate any preexisting conditions you may have. I had occasional flareups of acid reflux for years before I quit smoking, but didn't think anything of it. I just blamed it on the foods I ate. When I started vaping (especially cinnamon flavors) the flareups became quite severe. It turns out I have a hiatal hernia, which is most likely hereditary. Vaping didn't cause the medical issue, but certain liquids can make it much worse just like some foods can. BTW, the doctor put me on Omeprazole(Prilosec) which is available over the counter. I take 40mg every day on an empty stomach. This has helped tremendously in controlling the acid. It doesn't help the reflux, but I can live with that. I also avoid liquids that have caused problems.

 

[jplanet]

I completely agree, tigerlily, as far as exacerbating a preexisting condition. I also have a hiatal hernia, and had major reflux issues after having my gallbladder removed.

On a separate note, in case it's helpful to anyone else, I was able to finally get off of Prilosec/Omeprazone once I starting taking digestive enzymes with every meal (Super Digestaway) - I had been taking PPI's like Prilosec and Nexium for almost 10 years.

So, I guess any flavor that can make reflux worse as a food has the same potential as a vapor...

 

[rival11]

I can tell you this....I never had any acid reflux problems until I started vaping - so bad to the point where even after I got it controlled .....the meds (priolsec, prevacid) weren't even helping.....what saved me? Getting off the China PG - I know this was the cause because the first day I went e-cig free...I barely had any reflux at all (and I did NOT take nay meds that day either - was basically experimenting) so yes....I know first hand that vaping alone can cause major acid reflux.

 

[edotman]

Just wanna chime in and say all I've been vaping is 16mg RY4 and I'm getting some stomach pain, its less of a dull acid reflux burning but just a general discomfort in my esophagus and the pit of my stomach, I am 100% convinced this is a side effect of the higher concentrations of nicotine present in vapour, when vaping the nicotine permeates your saliva, finding its way down the esophagus and into the stomach, think about what it does when you spill it on your skin, then apply that to it being mixed with your saliva which you then swallow.

I used to chew nicotine gum and this gave me the exact same feeling but worse, all I can recommend is maybe lowering your nicotine concentration and seeing if that helps, although we're all different so thought my stomach pain may be caused by nicotine it could be something totally different for you

good luck!

 

[jplanet]

Thanks for sharing your experience with this!

Definitely not a nicotine issue for me, as I noted in my original post, only some very specific flavors trigger it. I've been vaping tobacco and vanilla flavors for months with zero problems - but as soon as I had a little bit of cherry, the pain kicked in BIG time...

 

[edotman]

Thanks for sharing your experience with this!

Definitely not a nicotine issue for me, as I noted in my original post, only some very specific flavors trigger it. I've been vaping tobacco and vanilla flavors for months with zero problems - but as soon as I had a little bit of cherry, the pain kicked in BIG time...

Yeah that sucks man, I've heard of certain juices also easily cracking Vision Ego Stardust cartomisers, clearly e-liquids from different manufacturs and different flavours contain their own specific molecules, the only thing I can say is keep experimenting with different juices and see what causes these pains, as soon as you find one make a mental note of it and avoid it all costs haha

 

[jplanet]

That's exactly what I do! The biggest issue for me is in feeling free to try new flavors. I know that, generally, I'm ok if I stay away from fruits, cinnamon, menthol, coffee. But, every once in a while, I find issue with flavors that are otherwise safe. For instance, Ikenvape's RY4 does it, and some of Clouds of Vapor's tobaccos.

It would just be great if I could write to a vendor and ask, does your juice have any of this in it? I would feel so much more free to order samples from vendors if I could do that. For now, I buy samples very cautiously, and when I find something that works AND that I enjoy, I order big bottles of it!

 

[Dana A]

Wow I had this problem a few times as well.

 

[jplanet]

Wow I had this problem a few times as well.

What flavors did you have problems with?

 

[Starspecks]

I have definitely had this problem and been the creator of a thread about it that died off. I can't do menthols/mints at all. Cinnamon causes no heart burn but from what I read I stay away just for caution (even though I love it). Other than that I sip chamomile tea if I know I will be vaping a lot (like sitting at the computer). Also a big thing I realized was I was drinking too much water (to ease the heartburn) and causing an imbalance in my salts. I drink a powerade/gatorade/pedialyte every now and then to counter act. My tummy has been much happier since these changes.