Brand New Vaper w/ Health Questions! Pls Help!

[sweetums4620]

Hi all,
I was going to post this in the Health section of the forum but apparently I need to start here...hopefully someone can help! Apologies in advance because this is going to be long but I'm really confused and don't know what to do.

I had done a LOT of research on e-cigs prior to deciding I'd like to try them to help quit analogs. I borrowed a coworker's (he didn't remember what model it was and it was unlabeled - I *think* it was a M-series but don't really know). I used that and his e-juice to drip (24mg Menthol from puresmokers) for just under a week before ordering my own "supplies." I got a Joye 510 from Cignot, some 24mg juice (PG based) and some 0mg PG/VG (80/20) liquid to dilute with.


Timeline:

1. Got my coworker's e-cig and started vaping last Monday (April 12). I didn't vape a LOT but enough to decide that I wanted to get my own and go from there.
2. Saturday night (April 17) I noticed some minor heartburn - took a couple Tums, which didn't help, and passed it off as being due to the pizza I'd had for dinner.
3. My Joye 501 arrived from Cignot on Monday (April 19) and I immediately switched over to that. After my initial "break in" vapes with the 0mg juice to get rid of the primer, I used an empty cart and vaped by dripping 1 drop of the 24mg juice + 1 drop of the 0mg juice.

The heartburn has not gone away since it began Saturday night. It got significantly worse on Monday and Tuesday. I cut out my caffeine and have been very careful on the foots I've been eating. None of the anti-acid meds have helped (tried Gaviscon and Zantac, neither with any noticeable improvement). Throughout this I was still smoking a few analogs a day - significantly less than my previous pack a day, and it seems doubtful that this could indicate a nic OD.

On the chance that it's an issue with the PG, I haven't vaped at all since Tuesday night and am still having the heartburn. It's at the point where I have a hard time eating or drinking anything but water (even that is still painful). Today is mildly better than the last few days but it's certainly not gone.

So - I've read a lot about people who are intolerant of PG and saw a few mentions of heartburn but mostly references to itching, rashes, etc. I have no other symptoms. Does this sound like it could still be a reaction to the PG? Is it likely to have that kind of a delayed reaction (5 days after I started vaping I noticed issues, and after 2 days of NOT vaping I'm seeing only minor improvement)? I wondered if it were the brand of juice, but since it didn't go away when I switched to a different brand and strength, I doubt that. I know it could be something entirely different going on but the timing just seems to be too coincidental, and I've never experienced heartburn like this.

Any ideas? Sorry again for the lengthy post...just wondered if anyone had any insight before I call my doctor. Thanks guys!

 

[crmartin]

I would call my doctor asap. Persistent heart burn can be a sign of heart problems, I would get it checked out.

 

[Rosa]

That's exactly what happened to me when I tried to quit using the patch. I'm just trying to figure out what could cause it. I hope someone more knowledgeable chimes in for you soon.

When I tried the patch, I figured it was because smoking helps with digestion and therefor, quitting would hinder it. I tried googling "quitting smoking and heartburn", but everything said that smoking causes heartburn. That wasn't the case for me, you either, I guess. Sorry I don't have much help.

Maybe you just need to up your liquids intake? PG and VG will suck the juice right out of your digestive track.

 

[HelltoHeaven]

Hi sweetums, heart burn can be just as simple as an acute gastritis, but too can be serious as an ischeamic heart disease. So first thing to know is whether u a female or male and your age. From the way you describe your problems, it seems that you are chronically having gastritis problems, right? If thats so ( and if you are under 50 y/o, female), then ur problem could be just your recurrent gastritis may or may not associated with the pg or vg. H

 

[UntamedRose]

If only we had all freaked out over every health issue when we started smoking analogs........Not a bash at OP, lot of folks do this when starting up and it's some what amusing to me.

No I dont think vaping is whats causing the issue, but you do need to go speak with a doc.

 

[sweetums4620]

Hi guys, thanks for the responses. I'm a 28 year old female in pretty good health. The only other time I have ever experienced heartburn lasting more than about 30 minutes (which in itself is rare for me) was while I was pregnant with my son a few years ago. This time it has come out of nowhere, is more severe than I have ever experienced, and has lasted for almost 6 days with no relief.

The main reason I wondered if it might be connected with vaping is that almost every other time I've experienced heartburn it's been when I was using the nic gum to quit analogs. That's part of what made me want to try e-cigs - the patch makes me dizzy and the gum gives me mild heartburn and hiccups. I was hoping to find fewer side effects from vaping and make it more likely for me to finally quit these things.

I made an appointment with my doctor for later today, but was just hoping for some opinions from more experienced vapers than myself as I doubt my doc will know a lot about e-cigs and vaping.

Thanks again all!

 

[HelltoHeaven]

Hi, I'm a medical doctor, as far as I know, for such a young age is unlikely to be associated with any heart problem.
Dont worry. I'm still thinking that u are having another episode of acute gastritis which sometimes is not just can be treated by a gaviscon and zantac. But go visit your doc anyway. Hope this help.

HtH

 

[Vapingmachine]

Hi, I'm a medical doctor, as far as I know, for such a young age is unlikely to be associated with any heart problem.
Dont worry. I'm still thinking that u are having another episode of acute gastritis which sometimes is not just can be treated by a gaviscon and zantac. But go visit your doc anyway. Hope this help.

HtH

I would agree

 

[Vapingmachine]

I would call my doctor asap. Persistent heart burn can be a sign of heart problems, I would get it checked out.

Consulting a doctor is always a plus. However, it is strictly all in how you feel at the moment.

 

[mick11]

I'm not a medical doctor....I don't even play one on TV

I am however a habitual ECF reader and a two month- burning weed-free very proud VAPER

Your problems certainly ARE typical for nicotine OD. I would wonder how much and what type of analogs you are used to smoking? Keep in mind that two people smoking the exact same brand and number of cigarettes can be getting greatly varying amounts of nicotine in their system by virtue of the different way that we all smoke. Likewise, nicotine consumption from vaping can vary as well, again even given the same juice/amount of juice.

If you are still having symptoms even after not vaping for a couple days, certainly a Dr's visit would be in order. But I think most importantly, DO NOT GIVE UP on vaping. It sounds like you may be way off on what and how often you should be vaping, but rest assured, there is an answer out there for you.

Since you had similar problems with the gum, I suspect that maybe you aren't getting as much nicotine from smoking as you may think, and therefore your attempts at quitting are actually providing you with too much "replacement" nicotine. If doctor visit checks out ok, I would recommend starting over with some very low nic juice and see how that affects you.

Best of luck with the heartburn and our common fight to eliminate cigarettes from our life.

 

[Hoosier]

With the reactions you had to gum & patches, I'd say it is probably related to nicotine. Vapor seems to be released to the system in a time delayed manner like patches & gum do.

I'd recommend making a doctor's appointment and ordering some 6mg juice, one PG and on VG, to try in the near future. Listen to the doc and try out some much lower nic juice, maybe even cutting it like you've been doing, and get well.

 

[Victor Frankenstein]

A question for the OP. Did you get heartburn when you tried your friends e-cig?

If not, what is this friend using? How strong of a nicotine dose is in their e-cigs and are they using PG or VG?

 

[sweetums4620]

A question for the OP. Did you get heartburn when you tried your friends e-cig?

If not, what is this friend using? How strong of a nicotine dose is in their e-cigs and are they using PG or VG?

That's the strangest part of it - the heartburn started on his e-cig and continued after i switched to mine. My friend's juice was 24mg, and I had nothing to cut it with. One or two drips on the atty of the 24mg, and that's it. I used his e-cig from Monday thru Sunday, and the heartburn started Saturday night.

He had two bottles of juice - both labeled puresmokers.com, 1 said Menthol 24mg and the other said France Pipe 24mg. I used the Menthol the first 3 or 4 days and then tried the France Pipe on Friday and Saturday. I don't know whether they are PG or VG - the bottles don't say. I tried looking on their site and didn't see anything about PG/VG (and couldn't even FIND the France Pipe juice - maybe that's been replaced with the Marlb juice?). I assume they are all PG.

My 510 showed up Monday and I haven't used my friend's e-cig or juice since. My juice was PG, 26mg, from Cignot, but I had already started on the heartburn before mine showed up.

Previously I was smoking about a pack a day, typically Camel Crush or Marlboro Menthol Lights. I never even considered the WAY I smoked might actually be giving me less nic than I thought.... Now I'm really curious.

I REALLY want this to work. I really want to quit smoking, and I need to work my way off the nic one way or another. I just really, REALLY enjoy smoking - I can really see myself being happy just vaping 0mg juice once i can wean myself off it.

I was able to get a doc appt for about an hour from now. Hopefully I will get some more answers, but I wouldn't be surprised if the doc just tells me to quit smoking and not to mess with vaping (she's kind of, um, conservative, when it comes to atypical or alternative treatments). Granted, if she says that but can't give me a real reason NOT to vape, it'll likely be time for a 2nd professional opinion and some trial and error to find what works for me.

Not giving up on this yet.... Thanks all!

 

[jdandison]

I get heartburn occasionally smoking regular cigs - it seems to be related to what I've had to eat as well. Typically, I eat a Tum and everything is ok.

I will say, however, that sometimes it's really awful, and it seems to happen right after a cig, and I have to take two tums - but for the most part, one does the trick. If regular smoking didn't cause you much issue, I would see the doctor.

 

[sweetums4620]

Ugh...the doc had no real answers but sent me home with a couple prescriptions and a stack of lab orders and referrals for all kinds of tests. She said she's fairly certain the e-cig did not cause this and thinks there is something else going on. She did mention that the e-cig may have exacerbated whatever is going on, but she didn't get into specifics because she wants to see how test results come out first.

In any case, she said not to use e-cigs until we have answers - maybe a week to two weeks. Bummer!!

Oh well, I'd rather get a fresh start knowing that the e-cig wasn't the issue. And maybe I can still use the PG juice I bought, since I didn't have any other signs of intolerance.

Wish me luck! Hopefully I'll be back on soon to rave about my 510 vaping experiences! Thanks again for all your input.

 

[stover.p]

Please keep us posted on your results! Hope all tests are good news for you

 

[Elendil]

Moving to Health forum..........

 

[CJsKee]

Good luck, Sweetums...definitely keep us posted on how you're doing!

 

[Badass45]

Hey hun,

I was smoking 3 packs a day for 32 years and found that anthing over 18mg gives me a very strong nic buzz and other issues so now I'm vaping all my juce cut down to 6mg and all is well. (I just vape constantly)

So I don't think that the nic intake can really be judged by how much you smoked as I feel it all depends on the person.

 

[Giz's Mom]

I think everyone who starts vaping should read this first:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/ecf-library/69310-understanding-your-symptoms-while-adjusting-vaping.html