Anxiety from vaping

[Pinapple]

I recently went from being a half pack a day smoker to a full time vaper and the transition was smoother then I expected. However I've started to feel a little chest tightness(which I heard was normal) and the normal quitting symptoms(flu, phlegm, etc). The thing is that I've started to feel really anxious for no reason, anybody know more about this?

 

[Boyz-Mom]

If you are like me you are vaping more then you smoked and getting too much nicotine. Try buying some lower nicotine juice.

 

[Pinapple]

Additional info: I dont drink coffee, so it wouldnt have anything to do with caffeine.

 

[yaypudding]

what level of nicotine juice are you using, i might step it down.

 

[Boyz-Mom]

I was having a really hard time sleeping. I started way too high. I bought some 0 nic juice and mix it in. Now all is well with the world.

 

[Roncgizmo]

That's normal when you quit.. At least for me it was last time I did.. Also how many MG of Nic are you using?
That could be part of it as well.

 

[cags]

you might want to do a search in this section:

Health, Safety and E-Smoking

 

[Pinapple]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm currently vaping 9-12mg juices.

 

[Arnie H]

Anxiety can be a symptom when you quit cigs. That's why I think vaping groups and quit smoking support groups can be helpful and prevent people from relapsing.

Extra anxiety is specially a concern for those of us who suffer from anxiety disorders. OCD in my case.

But most of these withdrawal symptom(s) will pass. No need to worry!

What is odd is there seems to be some question about absorption of nictotine when you vape vs smoking. I have read that you don't get as much as you did when you smoked analogs. I am vaping 16-18 mg juices, but I often feel like I need more, so I'm gonna make some at 21 (which I think is a good balance between the standard 24 and 18 mg strength juices).

I was a half pack a day smoker as well.

 

[jazon1]

when you switch to vaping you loose all the MAOI's that are in ciggs,so very common to get anxiety,as far as the tightness goes you might want to try some 50/50 vg/pg or 100%pg or 100%vg to see what your more comfortable with.

 

[Cavediver]

I started to feel some anxiety when I dropped from 18mg to 9/12mg e-liquids (about one month after I started vaping). I stepped most of them back up to 18mg, and it went away. I guess it was a bit too soon to drop the level that much.

 

[hvac999]

My experience has been that anxiety alone is from TOO LOW mg of nic, NOT too much. Too much will give stomach problems among other things. When I started I started with 36mg. When I went down to 24mg of nic I experienced anxiety and it improved when I went back to 36mg.

 

[lilmrsyeti]

I've been vaping for 4 months now..I've noticed that my heart beats really fast and hard now since I'm off Cigs. Just sitting here in my chair, my heart will get to beating so fast, it feels like its about to burst through my chest. I can be VERY sleeping, but when I go to lay down, my heart won't let me go to sleep..its beating so hard in my chest, it keeps me awake. Maybe its the PG or could be the VG...don't know..but, I won't go back to Cigs...my heart is just going to have to deal with it.

Edit to add..I've always had a some what fast heart beat...I can deal with that...but its just how hard it beats now....If I'm trying to relax, it just beats so hard...when I'm up doing something, I can't seem to tell its doing it all that much.

 

[bstrang6]

I get some tightness in my chest for sure. I am also a bit over weight and have been smoking a pack of harsh cigs a day for a long time, so I am used to being a little winded lol. Im sure it will pass.

 

[Bill's Magic Vapor]

The symptoms for nicotine withdrawal and nicotine OD are very similar. Anxiety happens to be a symptom of both withdrawal and too much nic. My bet would be that you're not getting enough nicotine. Not only is the absorption way lower on vaping, the method of action is entirely different and affects the brain with much less "satisfaction" than smoking did. When just quitting, your body is craving those big dopamine/serotonin dumps that you really don't quite get with vaping. And since smoking nicotine is one of the best anti-anxiety drugs on the planet, nicotine withdrawal actually enhances anxiety in a big way. There are many, many threads on this forum about the symptoms you are experiencing, and you should check those out. Best to you.

P.S. For those that think you can get way too much nicotine from vaping, there isn't a single case on record of anyone getting nicotine poisoning from vaping nicotine. For the same reasons (method of action), the patch isn't even considered addictive by science/medicine.

 

[3percenter]

Only anxiety I have is that the unit will die or run out of battery when I get a craving. That is why I bought additional batteries and juice, and two additional units from diff manufactures just to be safe. Carry all 3 at all times. I'll take the paranoia over a relapse.

 

[Arnie H]

I've been vaping for 4 months now..I've noticed that my heart beats really fast and hard now since I'm off Cigs. Just sitting here in my chair, my heart will get to beating so fast, it feels like its about to burst through my chest. I can be VERY sleeping, but when I go to lay down, my heart won't let me go to sleep..its beating so hard in my chest, it keeps me awake. Maybe its the PG or could be the VG...don't know..but, I won't go back to Cigs...my heart is just going to have to deal with it.

Edit to add..I've always had a some what fast heart beat...I can deal with that...but its just how hard it beats now....If I'm trying to relax, it just beats so hard...when I'm up doing something, I can't seem to tell its doing it all that much.

Love your banner sig. But what you are talking about concerns me. Have you consulted a physican?

 

[Myk]

I recently went from being a half pack a day smoker to a full time vaper and the transition was smoother then I expected. However I've started to feel a little chest tightness(which I heard was normal) and the normal quitting symptoms(flu, phlegm, etc). The thing is that I've started to feel really anxious for no reason, anybody know more about this?

I had that in '09. I blamed the nicotine and quickly cut it, and cut it until there was no more nicotine. The panic continued.
When I started up again in '12 I'd read about people with PG issues. I tried my old 0mg PG, almost instant panic. Got PG free and not a problem since.

I've since started DIY and PG free flavorings are hard to come by. I seem to do OK as long as the flavor percentages are kept below 10%. But that is with switching up to some PG free. If I have a heavy day of using my DIY at 10%-15% I'll be panicky the next day.

"Not a problem since", isn't completely true. When I started again I was cutting out nicotine. As I cut nicotine an undiagnosed Ulcerative Colitis flare that drove me to switch again kept getting worse. That was causing panic as were all the doctor's visits and tests. I stayed at 5mg-0mg through the summer while they tested because nicotine is bad for Crohn's Disease but good for UC.
After my diagnosis and new found awareness I've discovered that much of my panic is driven by gastro issues (likewise some of my gastro issues are driven by panic issues).
Note that vaping or no nicotine didn't cause UC, smoking was hiding it, I've probably had it since I was a baby (my first hospital visit for gastro issues).
I don't know if it's the PG link for me but if you read around the forums you'll see gastro distress is reported by some as their PG or VG issue.

 

[Vapo Marx]

I think I'm having the opposite problem. I've been off cigarettes for about a month and I've been vaping like a fiend all day. I found that if I vape a lot of 18mg/ml juice, I start to feel foggy and lazy, but if I cut the nicotine down I perk up again. On the other hand, too much nic was giving me weird dreams and restlessness at night and that problem was greatly reduced when I started vaping lower-nic liquid before bed. Go figure.

 

[Ex30YearAnalog]

My thoughts are to stay with vaping & try different pg/VG ratios. I had a similar experience while at the gym. While in the treadmill doing my regular routine I found I couldn't catch my breath & I started to panic. This is the 1st time I've ever experienced this. I started vaping 5/30/13 but still smoked analogs about twice a week. I'm going to try to be 100% analog free & see if the tightness in my chest & the feeling of not catching my breath goes away. I've read a lot of threads saying that your body is working hard to adjust not having 4,000 chemicals hitting it 20 times a day & for me - over a period of 30 years. So each time I smoked an analog twice a week - I just took 10 steps backwards & confused my body's healing process. You didn't mention in your post if you had an occasional analog or 2. I am just posting my thoughts - I am a true believer that vaping is the way to go. I just have to leave my old friend behind & let go of my cancer sticks. Good luck to you on being smoke free!