Chest pain & Panic Attack

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jrw360

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Dec 16, 2013
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Alabama
I switched from smoking to dipping throughout my life. A few years ago, when I switched back to dipping again I started to get extreme tightness in my chest. It would last anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour. When it would happen, I'd get a panic attack as well. Not being able to breath all the sudden is pretty scarey. I went to the docs after it happened a few times, and he said it was acid induced asthma. I never had asthma in my life. I didn't know it was the dip that was causing it either. A couple of months of dealing with it, my sister (who is a hypochondriac, and has probably googled every disease etc that there is lol) told me she thought the dip was causing it. I didn't think it was. But the next time it happened I tossed the dip, and bought some smokes. That was the last time it happened, until I started vaping. The same thing is happening in the evenings. Not every evening, and not near as bad. I don't even mind it. It's not that bad. I drink a bunch of water and that almost cures it. But I do think this is what's happening to a lot of vapors. I'm no doctor, but this is just my opinion. Also I think the reason it might have been happening when I was dipping is because I was always spitting, instead of swallowing. I have also read that vaping dries you out a lot. I dunno, but maybe there's a link.
 

Papajohns

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Oct 22, 2013
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I switched from smoking to dipping throughout my life. A few years ago, when I switched back to dipping again I started to get extreme tightness in my chest. It would last anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour. When it would happen, I'd get a panic attack as well. Not being able to breath all the sudden is pretty scarey. I went to the docs after it happened a few times, and he said it was acid induced asthma. I never had asthma in my life. I didn't know it was the dip that was causing it either. A couple of months of dealing with it, my sister (who is a hypochondriac, and has probably googled every disease etc that there is lol) told me she thought the dip was causing it. I didn't think it was. But the next time it happened I tossed the dip, and bought some smokes. That was the last time it happened, until I started vaping. The same thing is happening in the evenings. Not every evening, and not near as bad. I don't even mind it. It's not that bad. I drink a bunch of water and that almost cures it. But I do think this is what's happening to a lot of vapors. I'm no doctor, but this is just my opinion. Also I think the reason it might have been happening when I was dipping is because I was always spitting, instead of swallowing. I have also read that vaping dries you out a lot. I dunno, but maybe there's a link.

I was getting them in the evenings as well. I could vape all morning with no problem, but if I tried at night, I would instantly get the anxiety feelings again. I don't think it's dehydration, I've always been pretty careful about keeping up on my fluids when vaping.
 

patkin

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Nov 6, 2012
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I know for a fact that too much nic will cause acid drip in the stomach enough to feel it. I used to take Prilosec every day (sometimes twice a day) so I could smoke 2 PAD of full strengths... yeh, shhhh... what lengths some of us won't go to to keep smoking. Cutting down to lights helped some but not enough to risk being without Prilosec. Anyway, the acid reflux (which can't always be felt) asthma makes sense to me. It also makes sense that with some it might only be in the evening when they get the symptoms as it takes that long overdoing for the acid overload in the stomach to reach that point.
 

Papajohns

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Oct 22, 2013
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So, I went 2 days without the vape, had 1 minor attack that lasted about 5 minutes.

Vaped a little last night, had an attack that lasted about 20 minutes. Maybe it is psychological, and I got it because I was expecting it, but I'm going to try a few different things.

Just ordered 100% VG with 0mg nicotine. I will try it in a new tank as well, and will update in a few days.
 

Papajohns

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Oct 22, 2013
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I have suffered panic attacks all my adult life. I refuse to take meds for them and have learned to control them thru breathing. Try taking full calming breaths. Don''t hyperventilate. Just nice slow breaths.

The first attack was the worst, I didn't know what it was or how to stop it. I have gotten 2 other attacks since, I managed to get rid of both through steady breathing. The thing that alarms me, is that I've never had these problems before, and they are being triggered by the e cig. Hopefully it stops when I get my 0mg juice, but I will not be smoking until then.
 

yesbedabest

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Mar 13, 2013
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I have mild asthma and vaping in the evening, especially when it is humid outside, can cause my asthma to kick in. This can feel like/cause a panic attack. If I stop vaping right then and take deep breaths and chill out, everything returns to normal. If I keep trying to vape, the symptoms get worse. I don't know if this sounds similar to what you are experiencing, but I thought I would offer up my experiences. I can vape 95% of the time and be fine, but when I get that feeling I have to stop for the night. I hope you figure out what's going on and can continue to vape without any problems!
 
My opinion on the situation is this, you start to get symptoms of nicotine od, which then makes you nervous and leads to a panic attack. The reason i'm saying this is because I have experienced the same thing, but once I found out the symptoms and realized that they we're normal and not me having a heart attack(which is what I thought was happening at first) I then was able to keep calm about the situation and the panic attacks stopped happening. Just my opinion, hope it helps.
 
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blakhani

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Dec 26, 2013
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Toronto, ON
www.vapemoshi.com
I had something similar a week into vaping. A tightness in the chest. I must say, it was pretty scarry.. it lasted about 5 mins.

I read some threads on the forums and others said they had experienced the same thing. I think it was related to getting off analogs. It's never happened since then and I've been vaping for about a year now. When I was on the analogs I did get tightness in the chest from time to time but never as bad as that one time.

What one of the other posters said makes sense though, since you're concerned vaping caused you a panic attack you can possibly associate the two and get a panic attack from even thinking about vaping. Especially since you've posted here, it shows you are concerned.

Hope you figure out what it is
 

Natas956

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Jan 12, 2014
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Had something similar happen to me yesterday while signing a check. Had been vaping all morning though like it was going out of style. I credited it to being analog free for 3 weeks and vaping too much. Doing 60/40 @ 18mg. Ordering another batch @ 12mg. I think for a lot people who just started vaping our bodies are just getting used to not having all the extra crap in a regular cigarette. I also think that having a good tasting e-juice can be a bad thing as I am constantly vaping my favorite juice because of the flavor not realizing I'm still inhaling 18mg nicotine. That's what I credited for my panic attack. I am a sugar junkie as well. 3 cups of black coffee with sugar in the morning, 24fl oz of Monster throughout the day, and vaping all day will probably give anyone a panic attack. I hope everything works out for you.
 

B1sh0p

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Aug 30, 2013
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So, I went 2 days without the vape, had 1 minor attack that lasted about 5 minutes.

Vaped a little last night, had an attack that lasted about 20 minutes. Maybe it is psychological, and I got it because I was expecting it, but I'm going to try a few different things.

Just ordered 100% VG with 0mg nicotine. I will try it in a new tank as well, and will update in a few days.

It's completely psychological. If you think vaping is related, you're already losing the battle. I had anxiety related heart palpitations, which triggered panic attacks, for about 6 months. I had them until I was able to identify the cause, work related stress. I quit my job immediately and have been anxiety free.

Your issues have nothing to do with vaping, but since you've already decided its a catalyst, it will be.
 

Free6413

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Dec 29, 2013
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I have had panic attacks while I was smoking. It actually wasn't on for days. I couldn't shake it so I thought I was having a heart attack. Being over 40 it scared the crap out of me. Heart issues run common in my family history so I felt I was just following suit. I went to the ER and was put on an EKG to see what was going on. Within 3 minutes a Cardiologist was standing beside my bed. My heart was racing and beating irregularly. I just knew it was serious since in the ER nothing happens that fast. They transported me to another hospital for a HEART CATHETER!! Really scared s..less at this point. Heart cath was negative. After the Dr administered a sedative in the lab, my heart settled down and everything came back to normal. Afterwards the final findings were listed as stress related and all negative for any heart malfunctions. I discussed this with my regular Dr. and he attributed the scenario to excessive stress at work. I realized at that point that I had to settle down and not take everything so seriously and personally. After all, it is just a job. I take pride in what I do but there is a definite difference in being good at what you do and going overboard with having to control everything. I guess what I am trying to say is relax more, watch what goes into your body and try to recognize when you are getting to the point of over doing the thought thing. The real message is that whatever you are getting anxious about wont matter if you pop the cork! I hope it works out for you and we are here to help! Keep after it and VAPE ON!:headbang:
 

gypsymage777

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Jan 10, 2011
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I've had the same, but it started before vaping. Analogs would make me do it and usually in the morning. Chest tightness and anxiety attack are separate symptoms, but they can be related (I am sure that was my case also). I also had asthma when I was a child and wonder if it could be asthma related since it can progress to shortness of breath. I started exercising, got into mountain biking for cardio, that helped my lungs a lot. I did start getting treatment for my anxiety and that helped a lot also.
 

03FXDWG

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Jul 22, 2013
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I have had panic attacks, dizzy spells & seeing white spots/flashes all my adult life. Stress & low blood sugar cause mine. Just because you're not at work when it happens doesn't mean it's still not work related stress. I had to quit one job many years ago because I had panic attacks really bad on Sundays--every Sunday for 6 weeks. I thought it was an allergy to something in the laundry room since that is the only common thing I would do every Sunday. Getting ready to go to work on Monday was the real common thing. The low blood sugar problem is even sneakier when certain medications are added to the mix.

I am going to have to look up the pleurisy & dehydration connection though. I had pleurisy once and it took forever to get rid of. I don't want to risk that one again, ever. Lack of oxygen was not fun at all! I literally forgot my own name.
 

Papajohns

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Oct 22, 2013
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Thank you guys for all the answers. Seriously, you're awesome. I've been experimenting these last few days and I've concluded that I'm much more sensitive to nicotine at night. I can vape my regular juices during the day, but at night I have to smoke 0mg or I get the symptoms again. The e-cig was acting as the trigger but, of course, it could be from caffeine, stress, diet, lack of analogs or all of the above. All I can do now is try to live a healthier lifestyle. I already quit smoking so, I think I'm heading in the right direction. :2cool:
 

derecola

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Jan 5, 2014
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As someone who has dealt with panic attacks for more than a decade, I'll say that it's likely you'll have a panic attack tonight when you try to vape. Not because of the ecig, but because you're convinced that's what caused the last one.

For example, I get panic attacks when I'm on the highway. The car/highway is not causing my panic attacks. I am. Because I had a panic attack on the highway, I freak myself out everytime I'm there now - anticipating the attack.

I've only been vaping for a few months, and have gotten a racing heart when I had too much nicotine. Which freaked me out and spiraled into a panic attack. But other than that, no ill effects on my anxiety.

I can't say for sure that vaping did or did not cause this to happen to you. But I have a feeling that it's more psychological (as the majority of anxiety is) than anything.

Anything can make my anxiety worse - from surging hormones (sorry, boys) to too little sleep to too much stress. What I'm doing at the time of the attack isn't always the cause of it.

Having said that, if you're convinced this caused your attack, then maybe you should think about quitting. You said you've been 2 days without...maybe you could just keep going?

If you want to chat, feel free to PM me. I feel for you, I really do. Anxiety SUCKS.

I get the same way,its most likely in your head. The brain is a powerful thing.
 
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