Breathing Issues

[dave180]

I'm posting this here since the health forum is so buried and ignored and I'm really hoping for some sort of answer or knowledge from someone who has experienced a similar situation to mine.

Been cigarette free since May of this year and exclusively vaping. I first discovered a PG allergy/intolerance (tingly lips and a tight throat, tight lungs) and switched exclusively to VG. I was still having issues with my lungs feeling tight and heavy but figured it was just my body repairing itself as I was ALWAYS coughing up mucus (clear).

It has continued to get progressively worse, to the point where I feel I am literally not getting enough oxygen and I find myself gasping and struggling to take in full deep breaths. I inhale as deep as I can, but I just can't inhale all the way (I'm sure you know the feeling where you can't get a good breath of air). I can't fully inhale, and it doesn't feel like my lungs are actually taking in oxygen. Contantly get light headed and exhausted and breathing seems to no longer be automatic. As an FYI, I'm into bodybuilding and also play soccer competitively, so I'm not in poor shape at all.

I finally decided (sadly) it had to be from vaping. I've put down my multiple eGos and closed off my drawer of liquids. Within 24 hours of not vaping, I can finally breathe again, and I haven't had to clear my throat or cough up any mucus once.

So please, help! I don't want to stop vaping, and I don't want to go back to cigarettes. I need my nicotine .

 

[mooreted]

First, ask a doctor.

If you have asthma or any other lung issues, anything can set it off. You might consider Snus.





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[BardicDruid]

Check out snus, the Swedish type, not american dip.
SnusOn Snus Forum & Community - SnusOn Snus and Smokeless Tobacco Forum

 

[TreVader]

It sounds like you have a respiratory infection or TB... maybe bronchitis. It's probably exacerbated by vaping... but it isn't the cause you're sick man. Go to a doctor...

 

[redeyes24321]

Try getting your nic from holding the vape in your mouth, very shallow inhale, and out through your nose. I've heard of a lot of people vaping this way and actually getting better nic fixes from it.

 

[dave180]

First, ask a doctor.

If you have asthma or any other lung issues, anything can set it off. You might consider Snus.

Sent from my easy-chair using brain waves

Check out snus, the Swedish type, not american dip.
SnusOn Snus Forum & Community - SnusOn Snus and Smokeless Tobacco Forum

Like dip? I don't want to be dipping and spitting either!

It sounds like you have a respiratory infection or TB... maybe bronchitis. It's probably exacerbated by vaping... but it isn't the cause you're sick man. Go to a doctor...

I can assure you I am very very healthy at the moment. Although I do generally have a wimpy immune system, I'm very healthy currently.

Try getting your nic from holding the vape in your mouth, very shallow inhale, and out through your nose. I've heard of a lot of people vaping this way and actually getting better nic fixes from it.

I've heard this as well and have done this a few times to get a quick bit of nicotine. I'm only using 5mg currently, and if I hold it in my mouth a few seconds and blow it out without inhaling, it doesn't bother me too much. I get a rough feeling in my soft palate when I do this, and I get a post-nasal drip type feeling, without the actual post-nasal drip.

 

[Pstarsr]

I did read from some info on this site in the FAQ I think, that it isn't completely necessary to inhale the vapor to get the nicotine delivered.

Go to a doctor though, you sound young and shouldn't have breathing issues.


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[*RJ*]

I too have a PG sensitivity. Keep in mind that some flavorings still have PG in them. Even with the small amount of PG in the flavorings my sensitivity flares up. You may want to research vendors with pure VG. Heather's Heavenly Vapes has a purity line. And some vendors I'm sure use alcohol based flavorings with no PG. Also, are you sure your allergy is PG...could it be the VG causing it? I've heard of both. Good luck!

 

[patkin]

Ditto what redeye said. I have bad allergies and seasonal (mostly) asthma. You can have allergies for a whole lot of years before you hit an overload point and show symptoms of it. I'm not saying you could have an allergy to something you're vaping, though you could, but you could be showing new symptoms to almost anything... house dust, pets, plants, dairy products, etc... in other words, in the air you breath or food you eat. Vaping, especially VG for some reason, will make mine worse as far as the mucus my lungs produce to wall off and expel the allergens. Most people think allergies only show in runny/clogged nose, itchy red eyes, etc. They don't. Some only hit the lungs. That's my case. As for dairy... stay away from it if you already have congestion. It will thicken the mucus making lungs feel heavy and it could be so thick you don't even know you have mucus as in wheezing/coughing but diminishes the lung capacity needed for oxygen. If you're not allergic to it and already have something causing mucus, it will thicken that mucus. If you don't already have mucus but are allergic to it, it will create mucus. So, either way, if you're having trouble breathing stay away from dairy until you get to a doctor. You will see it on the label of most foods "Contains milk" for instance or "made in a dairy-free facility" because allergies to dairy are so common. Most people don't know they have one by the way. And, btw, lactose-free does not mean dairy-free. Allergy to dairy is to the protein not the sugar which is lactose.

Anyway, I've gone on here but will summarize with it may not be vaping causing your problem but it sure can aggravate an existing condition. If you love your cheese, use creamer in your coffee, love that ranch dressing, etc.... your cough might always have been from dairy. If you're into body building/athletics and drink proteins.... know that whey in them is dairy as is casein. But.. as others have said... see a doctor.

 

[amp79423]

Like dip? I don't want to be dipping and spitting either!

No sir! Snus, for whatever reason that could be better explained by a far smarter person than I, doesn't require spitting because it doesn't generate the same level of saliva in the mouth. I highly recommend you to go to the snus forum on here, linked above, and do some reading. It is supposedly much safer than american dip. I use the general minis or camel snus when I can't find general. I prefer vaping as it is very much like my old smoking habit, but snus is what got me off the cigs in the first place. I was using it pretty heavy (8 or so portions a day) and smoking socially (pack or so a weekend) when I picked up vaping. Now I just use snus when I can't vape.



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[*RJ*]

One more thing, vaping cinnamon also makes it hard to breathe. My very first vape was 80/20 PG/VG cinnamon bun. Yep...I almost called 911 that night.

 

[dave180]

Quick update in case others somehow stumble on this page via Google.

Vaping and asthma may not play well has been the determination.

I was diagnosed as asthmatic when I was younger and never had much of a problem with it, continued playing sports, starting smoking, kept playing sports so on so forth. Quitting smoking tends to reveal underlying issues which had been masked by the smoking, so asthmatics may be welcomed back to a life they forgot they had.

Vaping can also irritate asthmatics who's lungs are already full of thinner airways. Irritate a small airway and it becomes smaller, no good.

 

[Asbestos4004]

Based on the symptoms you've described, any advice other than get your ... to a doctor is downright scary! Just go see a doctor.

 

[dave180]

Based on the symptoms you've described, any advice other than get your ... to a doctor is downright scary! Just go see a doctor.

The previous post was based upon a doctor visit. Asthma and vaping can not play well together. Which is quite annoying because doing a search on 'asthma and vaping' leads to countless Yahoo Answers questions with people giving answers out such as "it can't be worse than smoking" "I don't have asthma but it can't hurt" "I have asthma and I'm fine so you'll be fine."

So I'll be the post that leads the contrary charge, I have asthma and had to give up vaping due to complications. But, I don't smoke anymore either, vaping got me off cigarettes, and allowed me to taper off nicotine, so there's that!

 

[RBBR]

This is valuable information. Thanks for coming back and telling us what happened.

 

[AprilRain]

I have asthma and sometimes I feel like vaping can be irritating. I'm on Advair to help control it. Honestly, if it wasn't for vaping, I KNOW FOR A FACT I would continue smoking until it killed me. I've been practicing the shallow hits and have been working my nicotine down very slowly. The ultimate goal is to wean myself off completely. It's taken me 3 years to get to this point, so I'll keep plugging at it until I get there. If I end up with pneumonia or bronchitis again, it might make me hurry up. Otherwise, I'm taking my time. Cinnamon & mints I absolutely have to avoid. I'm sticking with fruits and they don't seem to bother me as much.

 

[kittypie]

When I had a bad case of bronchitis in January, I could not vape. To get my nic fix, I would put a couple of drops of juice under my tongue every now and then. You might want to give it a try, unless you find the taste of straight juice to be icky.

 

[finance87]

My brother had the same problem, he had just vaping for 3 day, then I got a call saying my brother had been admitted to hospital because of vaping. Its was unbelievable to me, it was his lungs can't take the vapor @ nic @ whatever. He had stop vaping since.

 

[zymox]

Think about it, Vaping nor smoking is anything but healthy. Both contains substances that is not intend to go down the lungs so if you feel ill or bad about it go and see a doctor. It's not a game when the oxygen level drops even a few percent due to malfunction in the lungs or with breathing. Also an allergic shock can cause serious problems so the same goes for this - go and see the doc. Not everyone can vape nor smoke and this is something that has to be taken for real. If he says quit vaping and smoking then you seriously should consider this because, what was the point of seeing him/her if you ain't listening to the advice. Most likely they give the advice from whats best for you.

About Snus I can tell you that this can give you a lot of other issues. It can cause cancer in the mouth and it can also cause problems with your teethes. Also you will get a bit more saliva but this is normally swallowed if you use Swedish snus in the form of general. It is also harder to quit from snus than ciggs from what my friends experienced. I have tried Snus but it was not for me, here in Sweden I can get in different tastes and liquorice was a favorite until my gum started to bleed and my stomach acid flooded. The dentist warned me that if I didn't quit with snus I would most likely would to loose my teethes.

 

[aikanae1]

Quick update in case others somehow stumble on this page via Google.

Vaping and asthma may not play well has been the determination.

I was diagnosed as asthmatic when I was younger and never had much of a problem with it, continued playing sports, starting smoking, kept playing sports so on so forth. Quitting smoking tends to reveal underlying issues which had been masked by the smoking, so asthmatics may be welcomed back to a life they forgot they had.

Vaping can also irritate asthmatics who's lungs are already full of thinner airways. Irritate a small airway and it becomes smaller, no good.

I have asthma and have had 3-4 bouts with broncitus since I started vaping 6 months ago - and my O2 level has dropped / unresponsive to meds. I agree that quitting can reveal underlying issues because cigs contain ingredients intended to deaden fibers and tissues in your lungs so that you don't notice problems. When your lungs start waking up again, they appear.

So I'm not totally in agreement with the statement that asthma and vaping don't mix. These problems already existed and they'd be revealed upon quitting as well. Besides, if I could "just quit" I would have done it long before now.

With vaping, ideally the bulk of my nicotine is administered through my mouth and nose anyway, rather than inhaling deep into my lungs. Currenty I am eliminating as much as possible as an irritant by vaping 100% VG unflavored nic. Not as fun, but a heck of a lot better for me than thousands of chemicals in cig smoke.