Dr recommends ecig to me

[Kay1959]

I just wanted to share with everyone my experience yesterday.
I went in to have a colonoscopy screening yesterday, and was talking to the Dr (Gastroentrologist) before he
performed the test on me. He said that smoking can cause polyps to form in your intestine (which I already knew)
and that those who smoked had a larger chance of getting colon cancer than a non-smoker. I told him that while I
do smoke on occassion, I'm getting closer to getting off of them. HE asked me if I have ever heard of the ecig. He said that there were several people (health care professionals) who have been able to get off cigarettes using the ecig. (And he waved his hand around the room, so I'm guessing he was talking about some of those who were helping him at that time) He said he was AMAZED at the number of people who have been able to give up cigarettes using the ecig. I told him that I had just started using it and that so far it was working well for me. He was very encouraging. Just wanted to share that fact with everyone that a Dr suggested the ecig. I think that's good news for the vaping community.

 

[TamiP]

That's awesome. I love reading those types of incidents.

 

[DaveP]

Doctors who are unbiased about alternatives are eager for their patients to switch from cigarettes to vaping. My doctor immediately realized the benefit after I showed him his first ecig in person. He even let me demonstrate it in his examining room. His first comment was that he didn't smell cigarette smoke!

I gave him some links and a copy of an article about how ecigs work. Two weeks later, he had a pamphlet station in his waiting room for patients who were looking for a way to quit smoking.

 

[jtieri]

Well I had a Doctors appointment last week and I was excited to tell him I quit smoking. So when he asked how things are going and I told him I quit smoking cigarettes and my last one was on New Years Eve, he said congrats. Then he asked how I did it and I told him with an e-cig. He gave me a little dirty look and said well that's not really quitting then. He said, and I quote "well you may be using a product that has LESS poison in it, it's still poison. And as a health care professional, I cannot recommend any type of a tobacco replacement". I told him there isn't any tobacco in an e-cig. I asked him if he's every seen one or used one. Of course he said no. So I told him, then how in the hell could you recommend the patch, chantix, the gum, or any other .... that never worked for me. He had no comment. Here I was happy to tell him and now he just got me ...... off. So I left by telling him to continue his education by educating himself with e-cigs. It's helped me and I'm proud of myself for quitting analogs!! THANK YOU VAPING WORLD!!!!!

 

[tonyorion]

My doctor told me the same thing when I went in for my annual oil change and tune up. She was not too keen on giving me a patch or Chantix.

There are some doctors who are more progressive.

 

[Kay1959]

Awesome Dave! It's funny you should mention vaping in a Dr's office, because the other day I took my hubby (who smokes those YUCKY analogs) to one of his Drs, and while we were waiting in the room (you all know what that's like) I vaped while we waited. When the Dr came in he did not say one word about any type of smell. I pointed that out to my hubby, whom I'm trying hard to convert! lol! I also vaped in the Sears store that day with no incidents. I'm discreet about my vaping, I'm not an 'in your face' type person, but if some one had said anything I would have either tried to convert them, explain it to them, or stopped vaping, depending on the reaction.

 

[Kay1959]

Well I had a Doctors appointment last week and I was excited to tell him I quit smoking. So when he asked how things are going and I told him I quit smoking cigarettes and my last one was on New Years Eve, he said congrats. Then he asked how I did it and I told him with an e-cig. He gave me a little dirty look and said well that's not really quitting then. He said, and I quote "well you may be using a product that has LESS poison in it, it's still poison. And as a health care professional, I cannot recommend any type of a tobacco replacement". I told him there isn't any tobacco in an e-cig. I asked him if he's every seen one or used one. Of course he said no. So I told him, then how in the hell could you recommend the patch, chantix, the gum, or any other .... that never worked for me. He had no comment. Here I was happy to tell him and now he just got me ...... off. So I left by telling him to continue his education by educating himself with e-cigs. It's helped me and I'm proud of myself for quitting analogs!! THANK YOU VAPING WORLD!!!!!

Don't get ..........they can't help it that their ignorant! But seriously, alot of them are still ignorant of what ecigs are and how they work and if they really work or not. I'm pretty sure that as time goes on and they keep hearing progressive reports from their patients, more and more will start converting over to this option as well.

 

[DaveP]

Awesome Dave! It's funny you should mention vaping in a Dr's office, because the other day I took my hubby (who smokes those YUCKY analogs) to one of his Drs, and while we were waiting in the room (you all know what that's like) I vaped while we waited. When the Dr came in he did not say one word about any type of smell. I pointed that out to my hubby, whom I'm trying hard to convert! lol! I also vaped in the Sears store that day with no incidents. I'm discreet about my vaping, I'm not an 'in your face' type person, but if some one had said anything I would have either tried to convert them, explain it to them, or stopped vaping, depending on the reaction.

It's all in how you approach them, and some are so dead set against tobacco that they won't listen with an open mind. Once you explain what's in the liquid, how PG is used in medical fog treatments to deliver meds to the lungs, and is also used in hospitals as a vapor additive in HVAC systems to capture airborne bacteria and weight it down to the floor, they perk up.

Nicotine is in all vegetables in the nightshade variety, such as tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, hot peppers, etc. PG is in cosmetics, toothpaste, foods, and scores of other store products we eat and rub on our skin. The rest of the ingredients of ecig juice are food flavorings that we use in pies, cakes, and general cooking. Then, there's water in ecig juice, which we all drink and breathe the vapor from in cooking.

 

[nansc]

I don't know how my doctor will react so I am afraid to tell him I think vaping is great but I'm not too sure about him.He's not very progressive.

 

[DaveP]

I don't know how my doctor will react so I am afraid to tell him I think vaping is great but I'm not too sure about him.He's not very progressive.

Doctors are funny like that. I just went through a process with my doctor who had tried various blood pressure meds to drop my BP. After a year of try this, try that, with me reading everything I could find on the condition, including medical data sheets and studies, I finally realized that I get BP spikes after salty meals, which are rampantly available anywhere fast food is sold.

I made an appointment and talked him into putting me on a diuretic (water pill), and allowing me to drop my dosage of the other BP med as my BP dropped from the diuretic. Within two days, I was able to get off the BP med and I'm fixed. That was 7 days ago. He would have had me on the med that made me feel 90 years old and grouchy for the rest of my life just because it kind of worked. You have to be informed and proactive with the medical profession. You are the one who lives inside the body in question.

I'm sure he wouldn't agree that going back to cigarettes is a good alternative.

 

[Rickajho]

Don't get ..........they can't help it that their ignorant! But seriously, alot of them are still ignorant of what ecigs are and how they work and if they really work or not. I'm pretty sure that as time goes on and they keep hearing progressive reports from their patients, more and more will start converting over to this option as well.

Exactly - the "ignorant" part. And that's what really bothers me about MD's who jump right on the "really didn't quit" band wagon regarding e-cigs.

DON'T be afraid to find out your MD's view point on e-cigs! Because if you find a rigid and biased attitude here, who knows what else your MD is also rigid and biased about regarding other health care issues. Why it's almost enough to make one consider changing health care professionals! Think about it...

 

[Kay1959]

I have to agree with Rick, I wouldn't be afraid to tell my Dr that I'm vaping now instead of smoking. I don't see why someone would be afraid to really, I mean what is he going to do? disown you as one of his patients? And the more positive they hear about vaping over smoking, the better off the vaping community will be. (In my humble opition)

 

[LittleLuLu]

That is awesome Kay1959!!
I also have an encouraging report. Last Thursday I had my first follow-up appointment after being released from the hospital for a severe COPD exacerbation. My doctor asked how the wuitting was going. I told her pretty good - not perfect - I still cheat a few smokes a day - BUT I had my lozenges and an electronic cigarette. She beamed at me, saying that was great and nodding approvingly LOL - I was so shocked that she didn't question me about the ecig - I think she was already on board

 

[markfm]

My GP is fine with my using a PV -- I let her know about it in early 2011, after I had stopped smoking for a half year, I do an hour of aerobic activity a day without any shortness of breath, which directly correlates to getting rid of a PAD habit.

 

[egodzilla]

Well you must understand that a doc can not confirm or dismiss something he has no idea about ... Beside we are at the dawn of the medical vaping research, so if I was a doc I would't not easily express a opinion based on nothing that I could be called upon later either ...

Of course the truth is that medical community should look closer at it as it clearly is the only "replacement" that works in a big percentage ...

 

[Homedude]

I went to the doc today for my 6 month physical and checkup. It's been 3 months since my last analog and I've been vaping non-stop that entire time. He was thrilled that I was off the cigarettes and didn't feel like I was headed for a relapse. He said that the nicotine addiction, while not a good thing, is much easier to deal with and eliminate than the full-on addiction to cigarettes. He agreed that my plan to slowly taper down the nic level was a good idea but he encouraged me to do it at my bodies own pace and not to force it. The most important thing is to not light up another cigarette... even if that means temporarily increasing my nic intake. My BP was in great shape and much improved and he suggested that we may be able to start lowing the dosage of my BP meds in the next couple of months. My weight was down a little bit (good thing) and he noted that my general health was improved as well as my outlook and attitude. I agreed to let him run a bit more comprehensive lab work this time just check everything out and make sure there wasn't anything weird going on in the background.

Overall, it was the best Dr. visit that I've had in years !

 

[rothenbj]

"He said that the nicotine addiction, while not a good thing, is much easier to deal with and eliminate than the full-on addiction to cigarettes. He agreed that my plan to slowly taper down the nic level was a good idea but he encouraged me to do it at my bodies own pace and not to force it."

I agree with that approach. I figure in the next 30 or 40 years I'll taper off nicotine completely or be dead.

 

[Kay1959]

Kudos to you 'homedude'!! BTW, are you a Shriner? I think I recognize that fuzzy litle hat...my step-father was a Shriner..and I can remember playing with his hat when he got it out to go to meetings and work at the Shriner's Circus.
Brings back memories for me!

 

[Homedude]

Kudos to you 'homedude'!! BTW, are you a Shriner? I think I recognize that fuzzy litle hat...my step-father was a Shriner..and I can remember playing with his hat when he got it out to go to meetings and work at the Shriner's Circus.
Brings back memories for me!

Much respect to the Shriners but I'm more of a Shiner guy...
Thats a Modern Drunkard fez on the handsome fellow in my avatar.

 

[kittypie]

I went to the doc today for my 6 month physical and checkup. It's been 3 months since my last analog and I've been vaping non-stop that entire time. He was thrilled that I was off the cigarettes and didn't feel like I was headed for a relapse. He said that the nicotine addiction, while not a good thing, is much easier to deal with and eliminate than the full-on addiction to cigarettes. He agreed that my plan to slowly taper down the nic level was a good idea but he encouraged me to do it at my bodies own pace and not to force it. The most important thing is to not light up another cigarette... even if that means temporarily increasing my nic intake. My BP was in great shape and much improved and he suggested that we may be able to start lowing the dosage of my BP meds in the next couple of months. My weight was down a little bit (good thing) and he noted that my general health was improved as well as my outlook and attitude. I agreed to let him run a bit more comprehensive lab work this time just check everything out and make sure there wasn't anything weird going on in the background.

Overall, it was the best Dr. visit that I've had in years !

Just as an encouragement, my super hardcore smoking sister quit a year ago with e- cigs, and has gone down from 24 mg to 0 mg in a year, and she loves vaping even more without the nic