Chest pain?

[zeromisfit999]

I am a 24 year old male, a smoker of about 15 cigarettes a day for the past ten years. I haven't quite quit yet, but I've noticed vaping has been giving me this odd chest pain right near my heart. I suffer from anxiety a bit, so anything health related becomes a bit of a cause for concern. I've checked my heart rate, and it's about where it would be when smoking while vaping, actually slightly lower (I attribute this is likely to the lack of other chemicals being ingested/the way the nicotine is absorbed while vaping vs smoking) Is this a normal occurrence? It has nothing to do with the liquid as I've tried 100% vg and i still get the same. It's a sharp yet dull achy pain that generally only lasts for about 20 minutes. The amount I vape doesn't matter, it just happens rather randomly. Someone set my mind at ease

 

[HawkeyeFLA]

Only a doctor can truly set your mind at ease when it comes to chest pains. That being said, acid reflux tends to be a common side effect of either quitting smoking, or taking up vaping. I used Prevacid myself and it seemed to help. But again, only a MD can be the true final answer.

 

[DaveP]

There are all sorts of things that can cause chest pain, most of them benign. Still, you should check with a doctor to find out what causes yours. If it gets worse with exercise, go immediately and get checked out. If it's tied to after a meal or associated with flatulence or frequent burping, it may be gastric.

I get that sort of left side "gas bubble" feeling, too. Lots of us have discussed similar symptoms. I talked with my doctor about it, he ran an EKG which was normal, and explained to me that it was most likely due to trapped gas.

 

[Ellie_onVG]

I am a 24 year old male, a smoker of about 15 cigarettes a day for the past ten years. I haven't quite quit yet, but I've noticed vaping has been giving me this odd chest pain right near my heart. I suffer from anxiety a bit, so anything health related becomes a bit of a cause for concern. I've checked my heart rate, and it's about where it would be when smoking while vaping, actually slightly lower (I attribute this is likely to the lack of other chemicals being ingested/the way the nicotine is absorbed while vaping vs smoking) Is this a normal occurrence? It has nothing to do with the liquid as I've tried 100% vg and i still get the same. It's a sharp yet dull achy pain that generally only lasts for about 20 minutes. The amount I vape doesn't matter, it just happens rather randomly. Someone set my mind at ease

Of course, see a doctor first and be honest about your smoking/vaping. Anxiety can cause chest pain or tightness. Or a sour stomach can cause chest pain which then causes anxiety which will only increases the pain. Only your doc knows. If it's all from anxiety, there's lots you can do to calm yourself. Music, showers, breathing exercises, etc. etc. Not taking pulse or measuring blood pressure too often because it will only increase anxiety. Yeah, I live with someone who battles anxiety .. I know it's no fun. And we've made a couple of trips to the ER fearing it was the heart. I wish you luck and hope you get to the bottom of it all.

 

[Berylanna]

I am a 24 year old male, a smoker of about 15 cigarettes a day for the past ten years. I haven't quite quit yet, but I've noticed vaping has been giving me this odd chest pain right near my heart. I suffer from anxiety a bit, so anything health related becomes a bit of a cause for concern. I've checked my heart rate, and it's about where it would be when smoking while vaping, actually slightly lower (I attribute this is likely to the lack of other chemicals being ingested/the way the nicotine is absorbed while vaping vs smoking) Is this a normal occurrence? It has nothing to do with the liquid as I've tried 100% vg and i still get the same. It's a sharp yet dull achy pain that generally only lasts for about 20 minutes. The amount I vape doesn't matter, it just happens rather randomly. Someone set my mind at ease

Like everybody said, FIRST see a doctor. I am not a doctor, I am a little (ok, big) old lady so I've had a lot of attempts to quit smoking during which I've garnered some additional quit-smoking hints.

If your Dr. clears you for heart problems she might still give you a pamphlet and/or meds regarding acid reflux.
Or you could still be getting some airway tightening from vaping -- the question would be how much compared to smoking -- or is it enough that you have to quit both?

I can think of some more things, but these are ALL for AFTER your doctor has cleared you!

1. Cigarettes taste very bitter, which causes your liver and gall bladder to release bile. Addiction to smoking teaches your body to STOP producing enough bile at meals because your body is sure you're going to smoke after the meal. So then, to avoid indigestion, some people need to get herbal bitters (like dandelion extract) and you put a drop or two on the web of your thumb-to-forefinger after the meal (when you would have smoked) and lick it off. If you also vape nicotine after that, you'd get the enzymes from the liver and the peristalsis from the stimulant properties of nicotine, then that helps you transit from digesting-like-a-smoker to digesting-like-a-nonsmoker with less indigestion in between. (But the bitters help even if you're going cold turkey.)

2. If you are pulling longer when vaping than you did when smoking, dunno if you might also be creating a little vacuum in your esophagus -- you might want to eat smaller meals and be standing up when you have after-meal vapes.

3. Look up reflux online if your Dr. doesn't have a pamphlet.

4. The only time I went in for a cardiogram for chest pain, I passed with flying colors, then got home, tripped on a brick, caught myself with a jarring effect on my whole body, and emitted a heroic burp, heard 1/4 mile away, and the pain went away. (Notice this was pain not tightness.) I suspect sometimes we swallow smoke/air/vapor when inhaling in addition to maybe getting a stuffy nose, which can make us swallow air just from eating/drinking. Now when I get that sensation, I go jump up and down on that brick.

Good luck and SEE YOUR DOCTOR FIRST! If you don't have insurance, be aware that urgent-care clinics are an order of magnitude cheaper than emergency rooms, but you have to pay AT THE TIME. It cost us $100 to get an infected spider bite cared for last year, not good but not horrible. (They are for sports or gardening injuries and stuffy noses, they are not set up to save lives in crisis situations.)

 

[Myk]

PG seems to give me lung pain and increases my panic greatly. I switched to 100% PG free and have been fine since.

As a panic disorder person I'm not going to freak out and tell you to rush to a doctor, that is your choice and I figure you're experienced enough to know the difference between your normal anxiety chest pains and something else. I ignore so many panic chest pains I figure one day I'm going to have a heart attack and take a Xanax.

 

[Ellie_onVG]

1. Cigarettes taste very bitter, which causes your liver and gall bladder to release bile. Addiction to smoking teaches your body to STOP producing enough bile at meals because your body is sure you're going to smoke after the meal. So then, to avoid indigestion, some people need to get herbal bitters (like dandelion extract) and you put a drop or two on the web of your thumb-to-forefinger after the meal (when you would have smoked) and lick it off. If you also vape nicotine after that, you'd get the enzymes from the liver and the peristalsis from the stimulant properties of nicotine, then that helps you transit from digesting-like-a-smoker to digesting-like-a-nonsmoker with less indigestion in between. (But the bitters help even if you're going cold turkey.)

That explains it! Thank you so much, Berylanna. In the distant past, when I quit cigs for a few years here and there, I always went through digestive hell, I really did. Even now, vaping, I sometimes have some discomfort after a meal. I've been taking teaspoons of Vodka (to make it look like meds, lol) after a meal, but now I'm getting bitters from the health food store. I bet it's all I need. Your explanation makes total sense to me, just wish I'd known this years ago. Saved and printed ... and thanks again for sharing.

 

[Berylanna]

That explains it! Thank you so much, Berylanna. In the distant past, when I quit cigs for a few years here and there, I always went through digestive hell, I really did. Even now, vaping, I sometimes have some discomfort after a meal. I've been taking teaspoons of Vodka (to make it look like meds, lol) after a meal, but now I'm getting bitters from the health food store. I bet it's all I need. Your explanation makes total sense to me, just wish I'd known this years ago. Saved and printed ... and thanks again for sharing.

You're welcome.

But as I was eating a gourmet olive after lunch today I realized -- that would work too, just as well! Not the typical American olives but the Mediterranean kinds that are bitter-ish, but still food.

I bet a lot of old-world habits like that are for digestion.

 

[Hottody]

Man...hard to give good advise, as it may be that your chest pain has nothing to do with vaping! Sometimes it's easy to make an assumption that may not be true! I certainly would contact a doctor! Good luck...please let us know how it goes!

 

[Motoman101]

Go run to see a doctor. Not something to mess around with

 

[Kurt]

I concur entirely with the above posts: see a doctor. Chest pain could be heart, lung, muscle, esophagus or stomach. If you have switched to VG and it is not less, than it is not likely vaping. You may have a long-term smoking disease which often does not solve itself after swiching to vaping, or you could have any one of many possible pain-inducing maladies that have nothing to do with smoking or nicotine. Please get some professional attention.