Chest pain? Nah, I'm coughing TOO hard!!

[Ripshod]

Woke up Wednesday with bad pains in my chest, like someone had kicked me in the sternum. Breathing was difficult, as was bending, stretching and lifting. I didn't worry too much and made a normal appointment with my family doc.

The doctor straight away ran a 12 lead ECG and found nothing abnormal. So a visit to the hospital for chest x-rays also showed nothing out of the ordinary, other than a few TB scars which was upsetting, but quite a relief given what I was expecting.

A revisit to the doctor yesterday for his opinion and, I'm coughing too hard, so much so I've damaged ligaments in my chest wall, and was advised to keep taking the anti-inflamatories (ibuprofen and paracetamol in combo) til it passes.

And there I was thinking my road to quitting was easy, sheesh!! Anyone else come up against this??

 

[Hulamoon]

What's your PG/VG ration Rip? If you're vaping it may well be the PG is too high and is irritating that cough. Did for me anyway - I had a really hard cough and difficulty catching my breath. Others have irritated gums and sores in their mouth. There are 100% VG juices available (including the base flavoring) if PG sensitivity is really bad. I can tolerate an occasional 30/70 (pg/vg) juice occasionally, but not all the time.

 

[flowerpots]

+1 for checking your PG ratio. Many have difficulties with high PG juices.

Also, when you quit smoking, your body is going to try to expel the toxins, and this lasts a while. You may cough a lot, have phlegm, have headaches, generally not feel well. This will pass. Drink a LOT of water, get plenty of sleep, and realize your body is purging.

Also, what nicotine level are you vaping?

 

[Ripshod]

100% PG was soooo bad I went straight to mixing my own 70/30 pg/vg and this morning I've gone 50/50. The vapor itself doesn't seem to irritate at all tbh. These pains have only started since I started coughing the crud up. doc said there was no outward signs of sensitivity to any of the ingredients I use (simple pg, vg and flavor). If it was down to the liquids I'd be the first patient to show any bad signs from vaping.

I do believe it's down to the crap I'm coughing up, I was smoking 2.5 PAD for at least 30 years. Also I can just touch my sternum for a reminder of the pain, so I don't think it's any irritation.

 

[flowerpots]

100% PG was soooo bad I went straight to mixing my own 70/30 pg/vg and this morning I've gone 50/50. The vapor itself doesn't seem to irritate at all tbh. These pains have only started since I started coughing the crud up. doc said there was no outward signs of sensitivity to any of the ingredients I use (simple pg, vg and flavor). If it was down to the liquids I'd be the first patient to show any bad signs from vaping.

I do believe it's down to the crap I'm coughing up, I was smoking 2.5 PAD for at least 30 years. Also I can just touch my sternum for a reminder of the pain, so I don't think it's any irritation.

Okay, yeah, you need to go to at least 50pg/50vg, or even a lower ratio of pg, like 30pg/70vg. At this ratio, your juice flavors may be muted and thicker, but you will should notice an improvement.

If you were smoking that much for that long, then you will have some serious stuff to cough up and your probably won't feel great for a few weeks. The water thing is really important - it helps your body flush all the toxins out. So drink water until you think your eyeballs are going to float.

 

[Hulamoon]

yes, there will be coughing fallout (eeeewwww, we've been there) for a while as your body reacts to not smoking anymore - and possibly your gums will too (they get de-sensitized with smoking and that goes away when you stop). If you have vg, just vape it and see how you feel. I only stress this because difficulty breathing/catching my breath was a problem I had with PG. Overall, you're going in the right direction though. Keep experimenting till you get the ratio right. At 2.5 pad, 24 mg shouldn't be a problem, less if you can manage it, and at night time so you can sleep good. All the best!

 

[Rat2chat2]

It's sort of funny but my friend who had copd started vaping and she quit coughing and stopped using her inhalers. I had her on 50/50 pg/vg. Maybe people are just different but I'm glad you went to the doctor and had it checked out. Sure hope you cough gets better. Allergies seem to be really bad this year too. Good luck to ya and I hope to hear how you are doing.

 

[Hulamoon]

That's interesting - I think they use PG in asthma inhalers - maybe that had a medicinal use for her too! And plus 1 on R2c2's comment too - Doctor first is always the best course of action.

Glad to hear that you're all OK on that point OP!

 

[Nermal]

So a visit to the hospital for chest x-rays also showed nothing out of the ordinary, other than a few TB scars which was upsetting, but quite a relief given what I was expecting.

Not on your real topic, but I had a similar experience with the TB scars. An x-ray for an unrelated issue showed some sort of shadows in the right lung. CT scan showed scarring probably related to TB. Gee, who knew you could have that without knowing, only to have it go away. Like you, it was a relief and somewhat upsetting at the same time.

 

[Hulamoon]

Wow - perhaps many of us have old TB scars, but the scans have never really been as sophisticated before in identifying them? I remember as a little girl that my wonderful loving grandmother had TB on her death certificate along with other things. While I had a TB injection, I showed up positive on US exams, because I had the UK injection which reacts a different way.

I agree it is rather unnerving however.

 

[LondonGirl]

I've pulled muscles from coughing before. That was bad enough, but yours sounds really nasty! Hope it eases up soon.

I don't know if a cough suppressant would be helpful or harmful, but might be worth asking about. Codeine is a popular one and is in a lot of OTC cough medicines, or cocodamol which is an OTC painkiller consisting of codeine and paracetamol, and would help with the pain as well.

I take it you didn't know you'd had TB. Must have been a surprise!

 

[Ripshod]

As most people in the UK, I was innoculated against TB while I was at school. However this was after travelling half the world with my father and his regiment. so Singapore maybe?? I dunno.

Would be worth investigating whether PG is actually used in inhalers. Maybe a medical breakthrough?? Slightly off topic but an old friend of mine got more benefit smoking an analog than using his athsma inhaler.

I'm on paracetamol and ibuprofen in combo, seems to have eased it a load.

I've also learned that coughing while laid on my back is defo not advised lol. Sitting forward is the way.

 

[Strangebrew]

I started coughing three week past. I recently kicking the PG up from 65% to 85% and I'm sleeping sound again. Was under the assumption the VG, being thick like how it collects on the interior glass of the ride, is coating my lungs.
Will continue to vape higher PG.

 

[Hulamoon]

Generally VG sensitivity will make you feel all clogged up, PG sesnsitivity = a hard hacking cough and sore throat, difficulty catching breath probably in both cases.

OP - how are you doing?

 

[Ripshod]

I'm doing really well actually, thank you for asking.

I haven't changed anything other than stopping the anti-inflamatories. As the coughing has reduced, almost totally died off, I'm not irritating the injuries any more and I'm feeling 100%.

I learned my lesson and I'm sitting straight up in the morning in case I need a cough, which is now totally unnecessary.
No cough, breathing is fine, chest is clear and I'm loving life again.

 

[Hulamoon]

That's Happy News!

 

[chawk]

It happened to my son when he was a teenager. He had an upper respiratory infection that was super bad. He coughed and coughed. Then he had chest pains, so I dragged him to the hospital. He had coughed so bad he inflamed the muscles and the support system(ligaments I guess?) of his lungs. So yeah, coughing is stressful. And no, he never smoked. Just got super sick. I'm glad you feel better!

 

[jdrewry]

Not sure how long it's been since you quit the analogs, but...

What Happens When You Quit Smoking Timeline: 14 Surprising Facts

The thing missing here is the "vapor's tongue" references. Also, many people go through a period where they're coughing up a lot of junk; that's your body purging all the bad stuff that cigs put in you...

 

[roadkill46]

i get the coughing fits with too much VG. makes me feel like i'm drowning! i only use 70/30 now, 50/50 sometimes if that's all the B&M has when i run out of 70/30. I find the PG dries up my sinus's during allergy season and i get none of the sore throat, cough, etc, et al that other's get with PG.
I do drink water by the gallon every day. thank God for MIO and Walmart generic MIO!!