Does Anyone Here Have COPD?

[Lissakp54]

I was diagnosed with COPD on Feb 4th. That was the day I was admitted to the hospital and I quit smoking for good. Haven't gone back since. Do any of you have COPD and Vape? What does your Dr say if he/she knows you vape? My Dr said vaping was way better than smoking analogs so go for it! Has vaping affected you in an adverse way? Just curious. Had a bad breathing day today and I'm just praying it's not from vaping! I love vaping! Thanks!

 

[oplholik]

I quit smoking almost 2 years ago now, and after 55 years of smoking, I have mild COPD. My doctor told me this last Jan. during my physical, that it's a good thing I quit when I did. She doesn't know much about ecigs, but as long as I'm not smoking, she is happy.

 

[DC2]

There have been a number of people here who have/had COPD and started vaping.
I've never seen any of them have anything but good results.

Hang tight, and hopefully some of them will find this thread.
But they ARE kind of few and far between.

 

[bigbells]

I was diagnosed with COPD 5 or 6 years ago. This past July, my right lung collapsed spontaneously while I was sleeping. Believe me, it woke me up, which beats the alternative.

For years my doctor's been telling me that smoking was killing me. He'd say: "you're going to quit, right?" and I'd say "when they pull my last cigarette from my cold dead hand."

My doctor doesn't know yet that I had my last cigarette 25 days ago and am now vaping. I'm sure he'll be quite happy it.

 

[billo]

I have COPD, diagnosed about 6 months ago. My lung doctor (pulmonologist) has no objections to vaping. In fact, he tried to get me to convert his receptionist, who is a smoker.....but she wasn't interested.

I asked him if this was a terminal illness, and he said "yes, if you keep smoking." (I was down to only two cigarettes a day at the time.)

Since then, I quit smoking totally. I guess that comment did it.

 

[tj99959]

After smoking for almost 60 years of course I have COPD.
After vaping for almost 2 years, at least my lung function hasn't gotten worse.
Do I have the lung function of a 20 year old that never smoked? ..... HELL NO .... that would be asking a bit much, don't you think?

I like to look at it realistically, I am far better off today than I would be if I had continued to smoke, but there is a lot of damage to my lungs that isn't going to go away.

 

[HK-47]

The body has an incredible capacity to heal and repair tissue. Damaged enough time over a long enough length of time though anything will break down and lose the ability to reconstruct. Some permanent damage is pretty much unavoidable.

I've read several stories on here about longtime smokers who have noticed improved lung function after taking up vaping and putting down the analogs, so keep up the hope! Either way, even if there are some ill effects to vaping (which I haven't seen much if any real evidence of by the MANY posts I've read) it certainly seems to be FAR safer than smoking analogs.

Be advised though to exercise caution. If you have a breathing dysfunction from emphysema or COPD, search and read the medical information on this site. There are advisories about breathing in vapor (still better than smoke, likely) that you'll want to be aware of.

It's not necessary to inhale the vapor to still get your nicotine from it. Take a slow draw, let the vapor linger, exhale through the nose. You'll still absorb the nicotine and not inhale much if any vapor.

 

[Lissakp54]

Thanks for the replies and the advise. I have a very mild COPD but scared nonetheless. I will do a lot of research hoping that I'm doing the right thing. I know it's way better for me that having even one analog a day... Thanks again!

 

[Ken_A]

I was starting to get symptoms beginning about 5 years ago... Shortness of breath, etc. about the same time I found out about vaping. It took 5 years to get to the point where I could find an e-pipe I would try. for the past year, I was waking myself up with the wheezing and I would have to sit up and cough really hard to clear my breathing passages. Since I started vaping my lungs have cleared and I don't wake up in the middle of the night. I no longer have the shortness of breath either. I think I dodged a bullet there. No telling what the long term damage of smoking will be. but I did smoke filter-less pipes for 30 years.

 

[Lissakp54]

Shortness of breath is horrible Kena! Having problems with it....I've only been vaping for 5 1/2 weeks, no analogs, so there hasn't been too much time to notice a big difference. Hopefully it will come!

 

[Tankman77]

Congrats to all of you!!! I know how difficult it must be to quit a life long habit!!!
I watched it in my Grandmother who suffered for years with breathing difficulties related to smoking and she was never able to quit!!
Unfortunatey, she finally succumbed to her health problems.
Be proud of your accomplishments and know that you have made a "healthier" choice to living with COPD.
As HK has previouly stated, there are still dangers to inhaling vapor with compromised lung function, so please do some research on your own and as always consult your MD for guidance and advice.
Nicotine is readily absorbed in the mouth, pharynx, oropharynx and nasal passages, so one does NOT need to inhale the vapor to achieve its effects.

 

[OLDER71]

I have been diagnosed with COPD for the last dozen or so Years. I didn't give up the cigarettes and pipe until I had to go on oxygen while sleeping. I did enjoy My pipe and I also smoked about 1-1/2 packs of ciggies a day for 55 Years plus. I had taken up vaping in November of 2010 in an effort to curtail My tobacco intake. It didn't really work for Me. In May of 2011, I quit all of it, including the vaping.

I of course added a lot of weight as usually happens. I also still missed My "fix" of nicotine. In February of this Year, I decided to take up vaping again. I CANNOT inhale, but I do really enjoy the taste and smell of several juices.

Hang in there, You will be much better off NOT SMOKING. I haven't seen My Pulmoligist since re-taking up the vaping, but from comments He made before, I'm sure He would say it has to be better than smoking

 

[Dougiestyle]

My Mom was diagnosed and I converted her. She can laugh, now, without hacking up a yuck nugget.

Your breathing will improve. You'll feel better and smell better.

 

[trishdadish]

my father has severe copd, and was never able to quit smoking even though he was on oxygen 24-7.I got him vaping in September of last year. He likes that he doesn't have to inhale to get his nicotine fix, and that he diesnt have to go outside anymore! (He lives in a nursing home in a very cold climate).His doctor has noticed an improvement. He has gotten a severe lung infection every year in October, for the past 5 yesrs. This year it came a few months later, and was less severe. Coincidence? The fact is we don't know what this vaping is doing to us, so listen to your body, and judge by how you feel.

 

[tA71ana]

I was diagnosed with COPD many years ago myself. I smoked for 40 years before quitting via vaping almost a year ago. I don't fully inhale into my lungs...I inhale to the bottom of my throat because I like the throat hit and the vapor and can get both without having to inhale deeply into both lobes. My doc was thrilled that I started vaping and was amazed that I was able to quit ciggys in one day.
It is so nice to be able to sleep through the night without waking up gasping for breath, and I don't miss the frequent trips to the hospital for breathing treatments.
The COPD will never go away, but at least I'm not smoking which would have done nothing but make my COPD worse.
Vaping was the best decision that I have ever made.

 

[patkin]

I don't have COPD, no diagnosed anyway, and I'm not a doc but I am an x-2 PAD smoker who was frequently out of breath even talking too fast. My lungs have vastly improved with vaping but, for me, I have to stay far away from high VG ratios. I've read others with the same problem say that VG coats the lungs so that's something you may want to think about. My ADV is 67/33 and I do okay with that but 50/50 is too much VG for me.

 

[aikanae1]

I've dealt with COPD since I was 15 (decades). There are breathing excercises and activities that help; swimming, running, biking or just breathing very deep in the shower, singing. So the dx is not a death sentence but you do have to take care of your lungs and excercise - breathing very deeply. Most people are shallow breathers. I catch myself holding my breath when I concentrate intensly and I think smoking actually reminded me to take a breath.

I've quit a lot of times. I'm really good at quitting. I'm not so good at staying quit. One thing that helps me stay quit is adding an activity where I notice that I'm breathing better, even if it's taking very deep breaths in the shower. Lungs are amazing. I usually will notice a difference within the first 2 weeks. It's can be hard to notice the progress on a daily basis, but it's there.

 

[Soberrider]

My Doc recently told me that if a person has any wheezing it means COPD/emphysema. So since I at least have the beginning symptoms (if thats an accurate description) I know it was only gonna get worse. The only thing he said about using e-cigs is that some research shows the flavorings have toxins and I may want to use only unflavored. I'm not too worried about it unless in the future I find out there are real concerns with e-cigs and their flavorings. But then again, I was into allot of bad things for many years and have put them all down, so I'm pleased with myself as is for now. I just hope the ignorant lunatics of the world don't make vaping really expensive and its necessities hard to acquire for us.

 

[patkin]

I'm not disagreeing with your doc.... only giving my own personal experience. I wheezed badly and all the time but worst whenever I laid down to the point of it sending me into such a bad coughing attack it ruptured a disk in my neck... and I had copious amounts of mucus. That was all gone after two to three weeks vaping and it hasn't returned.... not even with allergies which I took (before vaping) loratidine and mucinex every day for. I quit taking that after just a week of vaping. I was a 2 PAD smoker and wheezed for 10 years and have been vaping for six months now with no more wheezing, cough or mucus. This is, for sure, JMHO but I think diagnoses keep changing to sell more drugs. One example is the recommended cholesterol levels that keep dropping lower and lower to get people on more and more stuff like lipitor... I could name others but might go into a rant so I'll quit now.

 

[Soberrider]

Oh I'm the suspicious type too when it comes to the big drug makers. I surely don't claim to know all the facts on Lung health. I'm just glad to have e-cigs, and to feel better about myself for giving up tobacco.