Hi! I am new and need some advice. Last year around September, I started vaping. I LOVED it!. I started with 60/40 VG/PG 10mg nicotine, and went down to 70/30 VG/PG and 3mg nicotine. The coughing was horrible (the local juice guy said the cough would subside...never did) and between that time and January 2017, I battled 5 chest infections finishing up being in the hospital with pneumonia. I have since quit vaping and I haven't been sick once. I went to an allergist, and she came up with some food allergies (nuts being one of them) along with a few others. I'm trying to decide if should try vaping again b/c I loved the taste and it was less expensive. My question is, which of, if not both, am I allergic to? How can I figure it out? Any help, suggestions, comments would be appreciated!! Thanks so much!
Allergy to PG or VG? Which is it?
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Since none of us are your physician, there's no concrete way of saying what you are allergic to. Bodies can be a strange thing. I can tell you what I've experienced, and what I've seen others go through, and maybe that might help.
First, the local juice guy was right when he said the coughing would subside... I have seen this time and again, but it takes about 6 months. I was a smoker of 20 years, and when I started vaping, the coughing got worse. I did some research, and found out that a new vaper coughs for two reasons... 1) the vapor is denser. and 2) Your lungs start to heal, and that mucus has to go somewhere. It didn't take long for me to get used to the denser vapor, but the coughing got worse, and I was always clearing my throat.. this lasted for about 6 months for me. In the last two years however, I have rarely had the need to clear my throat or had excess mucus. my breathing is clear.
Now, as far as the allergy part... There's no telling what you're allergic to unless you go get an expensive allergy test. technically, you could be allergic to anything. However, I have noticed that more people are allergic to PG than any other ingredient. most of the allergies were slight swelling of the throat, and increased coughing. Most people would switch to a pure VG juice. It could also be some of the flavors you're allergic to. If I had to give advice as to how to best figure out what, is to try just VG and nicotine with no flavor. Try that for the first month. It won't taste as good since it has no flavoring.. it should just be a slight sweet taste, but it's definitely better than smoking. Of course you will still cough more due to your lungs healing, but that's the only way to find out. Also, try a different "juice guy". If you find that VG and Nicotine (Unflavored pure VG juice) are fine, then start introducing flavors if you'd like.
Welcome.
You never told us what kind of vaping you were doing. I coughed for the first few months, then it subsided, then I made it to vaping at 9w after about a year.
It could be something, it could be nothing, but not everyone can tolerate vaping regardless of issues with PG and/or VG. I was thinking I had a PG allergy at times but I didn't really...I was just not so quick to get used to it.
Sorry to hear about your trouble... I guess you went back to smoking then? (poor you...)
You never told us what kind of vaping you were doing. I coughed for the first few months, then it subsided, then I made it to vaping at 9w after about a year.
It could be something, it could be nothing, but not everyone can tolerate vaping regardless of issues with PG and/or VG. I was thinking I had a PG allergy at times but I didn't really...I was just not so quick to get used to it.
Sorry to hear about your trouble... I guess you went back to smoking then? (poor you...)
I'll echo the 'it could be anything'. Consider:
Sorry your first go at vaping didn't work out. It sounds like it definitely wasn't healthier for you. I hope you and your doctor can figure out what the problem is.
- A fair number of people are allergic/have bad reactions to PG.
- Other people don't react well to high VG. The common symptoms are tightness or heaviness in the chest and coughing.
- Still other people (me, for instance) can tolerate PG and VG but react badly to certain flavours. After a few minutes vaping problem flavours I get a tickle and cough occasionally. If I'm stupid enough to keep going, my chest gets tight and wheezy and I develop a chronic cough that doesn't stop when I'm not vaping.
Sorry your first go at vaping didn't work out. It sounds like it definitely wasn't healthier for you. I hope you and your doctor can figure out what the problem is.
How about asking the allergist? They can do sensitivity skin testing for both PG and VG to see if you have any sort of allergic response. THat's really far more accurate info than you can find here. Good luck!
PG makes me cough so I always go Max VG but what you described is far more than just a cough. I take it that when you were being tested for allergies you didn't ask them to test the juice you were vaping? With the chest infections and the pneumonia you really need to be addressing these questions to a doctor.
If your allergic to pg, other things will become a problem too; anesthesia, vaseline type ointments, it's in everything. The easiest way to test is vape unflavored vg. That's what I did and it helped a lot. Most allergy identification is challenge testing anymore and that's what your doing vaping just vg.
Anyone quitting can discover underlying respiratory illness that was masked by smoking. I know a lot of people prescribed with inhalers after they quit. They usually get sick 3-6 months after quitting. This is without vaping. Vaping doesn't seem to change that. It can take a year before that eases up again. The lungs have an amazing ability to heal themselves so it's worth it.
The comment above was right that a few people report vg leads to chest tightness and feels heavy.
What I did in the beginning was hold it in my mouth and exhale through my nose. Those membranes are good at absorbing nic anyway. A lung inhale is not required. Regardless, you should contact your dr. and get a work up on your lungs / breathing when you experience illness. Smoking maybe masking an illness.
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Anyone quitting can discover underlying respiratory illness that was masked by smoking. I know a lot of people prescribed with inhalers after they quit. They usually get sick 3-6 months after quitting. This is without vaping. Vaping doesn't seem to change that. It can take a year before that eases up again. The lungs have an amazing ability to heal themselves so it's worth it.
The comment above was right that a few people report vg leads to chest tightness and feels heavy.
What I did in the beginning was hold it in my mouth and exhale through my nose. Those membranes are good at absorbing nic anyway. A lung inhale is not required. Regardless, you should contact your dr. and get a work up on your lungs / breathing when you experience illness. Smoking maybe masking an illness.
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I had to get a allergy test done to verify that it was pg that kept giving me the hives. Your dr will have to test you. I wish you the best.
when I started vaping I was doing a PG/VG mix and had issues with breathing ... went to 100 VG and no issues since...
In my opinion since you were Hospitalized with Pneumonia and had 5 chest infections, using the internet for a diagnosis is very dangerous and you should get a trained Medical Opinion.
Welcome and glad you joined. As been said, we all are different and react differently.
Might like to read:
A list of symptoms when quitting tobacco and changing to an ecigarette
Yes, I started smoking again...I am going to try vaping again though..I may have been having all the issues because I had the chest infection that wouldn't go away, along with not smoking, it may have been too much at once. I'm excited to start again! Thank you for your support!!
First, I'm not using the internet for a diagnosis, thank you. I have a diagnosis of Asthma and severe allergies. I was asking for opinions....My doctor said I am now fine, but a lot of people had the "funk" last year that wouldn't go away. Thank you for your imput
Thank you for your thoughts! I'm thinking that I started "vaping" b/c I was sick to begin with...that probably wasn't the best choice. Also, I didn't realize that a new vape cough could last up to 6 months or more...I probably wasn't able to distinguish between the two. So I am excited to give this a try again! I hope I can kick the habit this time around!!
Hello! I told the Allergist I was vaping, but she didn't seem too concerned nor did she as about testing the juice. She just told me to watch for my symptoms and if I felt I was allergic/sensitive to something, that I could bring her some of that item and she could test me. I'm going to give vaping another go around. If my symptoms return, I will most certainly speak with my Allergist!
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