I may have to quit vaping - waaaaaaaaa!

[Pammers]

I'm not saying that vaping is the culprit and I'm not saying it's not, I just don't know. I'm home after spending 7 days in the hospital, 4 of them in ICU, due to atrial fibrillation and pneumonia. I wasn't able to vape in the hospital. Now, after being home and vaping for a few days, I can feel my chest tightening up again.

I've tried different juices, all with a 50/50 blend because that's all I have. Maybe it's a reaction to the PG? Maybe it has nothing to do with the vaping and I would have gotten sick anyway. I haven't told my family that I'm feeling worse again because they will immediately blame the vaping and push me to quit. I want to be sure first. It doesn't really make sense to me that I suffered no effects from vaping, other than dry mouth and nose, for 5 months and now it's suddenly a problem.

I know that some people get immediately defensive when vaping is associated with any type of illness but, please, understand that what I'm trying to do is rule out vaping as a cause. I'm not really sure what my reasons are for even making this post, possibly for assurance that vaping isn't making me sick, or maybe so we can have an honest dialog about potential side effects of vaping and how to avoid them.

 

[Sdh]

Maybe a mod can move this to the health section. With that being said it is hard to armchair diagnose. (Not saying that to be mean.) Things to consider: your prior medical history. Do you have a history of copd? Your age? How long have you smoked prior to vaping? What mg of nicotine are you vaping. I could possibly come up with a million questions...well maybe not a million.

What type of E-liquid are you using? Maybe change and vape some unflavored from a reputable vendor/store. Another suggestion would be not to inhale into the lungs. Maybe just french inhale and see how that goes.


BTW-I have had some adverse effects from e-liquid. My experience is different. Flavorings may be your culprit or not? Have you used the same e-liquid from the start?

 

[juicejunky]

So sorry to hear that. You must be happy to be out of the hospital. 5 months is a pretty long time with no problems to end up in the hospital. A-fib is pretty serious, so please follow your doc's advice.

Not sure what you're using as a PV, but make sure it is clean and maybe avoid anything with polyfil or loose silica wick fibers. Other option might be: 1) Try dripping on a brand new dewicked/debridged atty if isolating PG and VG doesn't solve the problem. 2)Try flavorless nic too. 3)An air cleaner for your bedroom may also help if you're getting something funky in your air like mold. 4) Don't inhale into your lungs, vape like a cigar smoker and you'll still get the nic but it won't hit the lungs so hard.


I hope it clears up and has nothing to do with vaping. Keep well and maybe start reading up on snus.

 

[Pammers]

Maybe a mod can move this to the health section. With that being said it is hard to armchair diagnose. (Not saying that to be mean.) Things to consider: your prior medical history. Do you have a history of copd? Your age? How long have you smoked prior to vaping? What mg of nicotine are you vaping. I could possibly come up with a million questions...well maybe not a million.

What type of E-liquid are you using? Maybe change and vape some unflavored from a reputable vendor/store. Another suggestion would be not to inhale into the lungs. Maybe just french inhale and see how that goes.


BTW-I have had some adverse effects from e-liquid. My experience is different. Flavorings may be your culprit or not? Have you used the same e-liquid from the start?

I'm constantly switching between different flavor liquids from different vendors, mostly Gourmet Vapor or Vapor Bomb. I was vaping cinnamon flavors almost exclusively for a long time but stopped them completely about a month before I got sick.

I have no history of COPD or lung problems, other than a bout of pneumonia about 10 years ago. I'm 52, smoked for about 35 years.

 

[Pammers]

So sorry to hear that. You must be happy to be out of the hospital. 5 months is a pretty long time with no problems to end up in the hospital. A-fib is pretty serious, so please follow your doc's advice.

Not sure what you're using as a PV, but make sure it is clean and maybe avoid anything with polyfil or loose silica wick fibers. Other option might be: 1) Try dripping on a brand new dewicked/debridged atty if isolating PG and VG doesn't solve the problem. 2)Try flavorless nic too. 3)An air cleaner for your bedroom may also help if you're getting something funky in your air like mold. 4) Don't inhale into your lungs, vape like a cigar smoker and you'll still get the nic but it won't hit the lungs so hard.


I hope it clears up and has nothing to do with vaping. Keep well and maybe start reading up on snus.

I generally use an Ego with CE2 cartomizers. I really believe I've beaten the nicotine thing -- had absolutely no withdrawal symptoms in the hospital -- so I won't switch to snus, but I really hate to give up vaping. I plan to someday, but hopefully that day is still way far in the future. I'll order some straight VG and straight PG juice to try out, and also stock up on cartos so I can toss them more frequently without cleaning and reusing.

Thanks for the good health wishes, and YES, I am very happy to be home.

 

[Sdh]

I have tried both vendors. Remember I am replying to help you though my experience. I found both vendors to be unacceptable with their pre-mixed liquid. I found myself hacking up copious amounts of mucous. Cinnamon is known to be a irritant. I had another vendors mix that induced coughing. Really I would suggest making your own....just to see.

I do use Box Elder nicotine so I know the experience from Gourmet vapor was not related to the nicotine.

PM me I can send you a sample of unflavored nicotine.

 

[Natalia]

Sorry to hear of your problems.

What nicotine level are you vaping?
Nicotine is a cardiovascular stimulant and can cause arrhythmia. Google "nicotine and atrial fibrillation".

 

[Pammers]

Sorry to hear of your problems.

What nicotine level are you vaping?
Nicotine is a cardiovascular stimulant and can cause arrhythmia. Google "nicotine and atrial fibrillation".

Usually I vape 12ml or less. I smoked 2 packs a day of full strength Salem 100s up until 5 months ago.

 

[Natalia]

I hope it's not vaping related, but you never know. Possibly a component in the liquid or it could just be you can't tolerate the nicotine.
Please keep us up to date, and take care of yourself. I know I would hate to give up vaping and do understand how upsetting this must be for you.

 

[beckah54]

I'm sorry to hear of your health problems, Pammers. I wouldn't even venture a guess as to the cause of the problems, but please do take care of yourself. If you feel in any way that vaping is causing them, please stop immediately.

Does your doctor offer any wisdom regarding ecigs and if/how they contributed to your health problems?

 

[Pammers]

I have tried both vendors. Remember I am replying to help you though my experience. I found both vendors to be unacceptable with their pre-mixed liquid. I found myself hacking up copious amounts of mucous. Cinnamon is known to be a irritant. I had another vendors mix that induced coughing. Really I would suggest making your own....just to see.

I do use Box Elder nicotine so I know the experience from Gourmet vapor was not related to the nicotine.

PM me I can send you a sample of unflavored nicotine.

PM sent, thank you very much. I think trying the unflavored is a good starting point. If I have no more problems I'll add in flavorings one at a time and see what happens. I don't know what Box Elder nicotine is. Google, here I come.

 

[Pammers]

I'm sorry to hear of your health problems, Pammers. I wouldn't even venture a guess as to the cause of the problems, but please do take care of yourself. If you feel in any way that vaping is causing them, please stop immediately.

Does your doctor offer any wisdom regarding ecigs and if/how they contributed to your health problems?

I had a team of doctors including a heart specialist and a lung specialist. Neither of them expressed a concern about vaping. The "Hospitalist" who oversaw my case said I should quit but she didn't directly say that it was the cause of my health issues.

 

[calico21]

pnemonia can reek havoc on any person, your lungs most likely are still trying to heal and adding an irritant to it welll....it just isn't gonna go easy. I know even when I had a cold it sucked to smoke(haven't had to try it vaping after a cold yet). Even though vaping has less harmful things it's still a foreign object to your lungs that haven't had to deal with it since your hospital stay.

 

[XBoNeSX]

Try 100% VG ... PG does same for me if it ..sore chest/lungs ..cough alot ... feels like have really bad chest infection ... try using tanks too if ya don't...

 

[Numanoid]

I also may need to quit...

Not a fan of that thought as I really enjoy it. After what has been months of tests and waiting, I think today that I was officially diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Yep, you read that right! Since I'm nearly 38, it's obviously a very minor case, since I'm several years past the life expectancy of the "classic" CF case that affect children.

I need to undergo even more tests to determine if I have any real lung or pancreatic symptoms (if I do, they are minor, since I don't have asthma or COPD or anything right now) and I'll be sure to ask a LOT of questions to the doctors there about vaping.

After reading several threads in this forum and seeing people who currently are diagnosed with COPD getting the green light from doctors to vape, I'm more confused than ever. Is this stuff a pollutant to the lungs? Does the PG have positive or negative effects on bacteria or mucus production? Do flavorings cause the biggest issues?

So many questions that should have answers. At least there should be studies on them.

If anyone has experience with minor cases of CF and vaping, I'd love to hear them. I'm not quitting until all tests come back and have a chance to talk with doctors on this. I may also consult with a lung specialist to get their take on it as well.

 

[Huffelpuff]

Glad to hear you are out of the hospital. Try not to fret too much about the choices that you have to make and take good care of yourself. In my non-medical opinion, stress can do as much damage as any illness. Take care of yourself, relax, and make the best decision that you can for this moment. That's all any of us can do.

 

[simply me]

It might not be the pg. If I vape more than 20% vg my chest feels like its going to explode. It tightens up. If I stick with mostly pg I'm fine. Just try different mixes and see what happens. Hope you can still vape.

 

[Sdh]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001167/

 

[Pammers]

I also may need to quit...

Not a fan of that thought as I really enjoy it. After what has been months of tests and waiting, I think today that I was officially diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Yep, you read that right! Since I'm nearly 38, it's obviously a very minor case, since I'm several years past the life expectancy of the "classic" CF case that affect children.

I need to undergo even more tests to determine if I have any real lung or pancreatic symptoms (if I do, they are minor, since I don't have asthma or COPD or anything right now) and I'll be sure to ask a LOT of questions to the doctors there about vaping.

After reading several threads in this forum and seeing people who currently are diagnosed with COPD getting the green light from doctors to vape, I'm more confused than ever. Is this stuff a pollutant to the lungs? Does the PG have positive or negative effects on bacteria or mucus production? Do flavorings cause the biggest issues?

So many questions that should have answers. At least there should be studies on them.

If anyone has experience with minor cases of CF and vaping, I'd love to hear them. I'm not quitting until all tests come back and have a chance to talk with doctors on this. I may also consult with a lung specialist to get their take on it as well.

I'm very sorry to hear that, Numanoid. I'm wondering what symptoms of CF you're experiencing. The reason I'm asking is because the link Sdh posted says thick sticky mucus is one of the symptoms of CF. That's one of the things I'm experiencing that I feel could be a result of vaping. The mucus in my chest was so thick and sticky that I couldn't cough any up, even with breathing treatments and expectorants at the hospital.

I agree, studies need to be done. If there are side effects from vaping people need to be made aware and solutions need to be found.

 

[SammySweetheart]

Good Luck Pammy. You have lots of support here. Hope you find a solution. I may have to give up vaping as well.

I am grateful that at least 2 people on this forum are attempting to help and advise me.

Glass half full. My thoughts are with you.