Andria, thats what i was thinking, and i do have a cough. But its ultimately extremely dry and unproductive. Which i wouldnt really expect. Will post more when I know more. Will probably post xrays and any tests i get done.
Health and Vaping
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Andria, thats what i was thinking, and i do have a cough. But its ultimately extremely dry and unproductive. Which i wouldnt really expect. Will post more when I know more. Will probably post xrays and any tests i get done.
I'm sure you already know about guaifenesin and forcing fluids, for a dry cough. When I smoked, that was the only way I could survive a cold -- get that crap out of there!
If I let it stay dry and unproductive, I'd *always* get a bronchial infection; once I actually strained the intracostal muscles, coughing. Very painful.Andria
I'm sure you already know about guaifenesin and forcing fluids, for a dry cough. When I smoked, that was the only way I could survive a cold -- get that crap out of there!
Andria
Thanks Andria, youve been a big help. Just took Mucinex now and am forcing fluids. Sucks your body can only absorb so much fluid at a time!
I struggled badly with hydration and electrolytes when I first started vaping; the only thing I ever found to fix it was coconut water; I drink about 6-8oz daily, mixed with pineapple juice to hide the taste, and my ankles stay their usual slender selves. At one point they were as fat as my calves! and my feet were terribly lumpy and painful. Now, if I get the slightest bit of soreness in the bottom of my feet, I really push the coconut water and it clears right up. If you want to get super-hydrated, coconut water is an excellent way to do it.
Andria
I smoked for 27 years and thought I was pretty healthy considering... I was able to run,swim,workout and do just about anything physically demanding as a non smoker would. I had always wanted to quit smoking so once I found out about vaping I was sure to give it a try. I absolutely loved it from day one. Cigarettes became very horrible tasting compared to my great tasting juices! I was hooked and so happy for my new found quitting success. I also decided to get into the vaping business because I was sure this was going to be huge (which it is)
I vaped for 3 months from August to October and into my third month began having shortness of breath and a very bad dry cough. I never had any type of cough while smoking and I haven't been sick in at least 7 years prior. Not even a cold. Now I have this severe dry hacking cough and I could barely breathe correctly. I couldn't even take a puff of vape without going into a major coughing fit....So unfortunately I had to go back to regular cigs in November of 2013.
I smoked regular cigs again until the end of January 2014 and was somewhat back to feeling normal. I was however upset with myself for smoking again so I decided to try 100% VG juice. I admit I liked the vanilla custard desert type flavors but being in business I had everything available to me all varieties of tanks, mods, ect. ect. and so I also liked the fruit flavors as well. I rotated juices heavily in my few months time vaping.
So anyway...I started vaping again on February 1st 2014 - strictly 100% VG because I had read about folks having trouble with PG based blends. I used an organic butterscotch (not going to mention the vendor) I was happy...it tasted great and seemed to be smoother. I had no cigarettes and vaped the entire month of February 2014 on March 3rd I became extremely short of breath to the point I could not walk 10 feet without hyperventilating. I had to take an ambulance to the hospital. I was given a Prednisone shot and a breathing treatment. Sent home with a script for a Z-pack, albuterol and a prednisone taper. That helped and I thought I was going to be ok... Nope... Two weeks later the same thing. I was able to drive to the emergency room this time but was hyperventilating badly all the way there.
Same outcome...same scripts. Doc says I might have COPD. I am in shock because I was perfectly healthy just a few months prior to vaping. So I go home take the meds and feel somewhat better but not fully. I carry on for another month before having to go again to the emergency room. This time I get clarithromycin (spelling?) asmanex and nebulizer albuterol.
It helps me make it through the summer and I feel ok but not 100% I make appointment to see pulmonologist and got checked out, got more meds. Tried Spiriva...didn't work...got advair HFA and it helps.
14 months later, haven't smoked a thing. Completely quit everything. Lost my vape business due to illness had to sell out and ...here I am, still not 100% but I manage to breathe with the help of the meds.
So approx..4 months of vaping has all but totally disabled me.
I may just be an unlucky person that caught some type of virus/bug from a bad juice or something but people beware. This stuff is potentially dangerous. And I know cigarettes are bad too but 4 months vaping compared to 27 years smoking is a stretch!
Vaping certainly isn't helping your lungs. Quit vaping and see if you can breathe better.
Of course...I quit vaping 14 months ago on March 3rd 2014 after my second bout of not being able to breathe.
I still have to take Advair and albuterol breathing treatments daily 14 months later.
I don't hyperventilate anymore but I do still wheeze and have trouble when doing anything physical. I am about 50% better than I was in the beginning but still nowhere near "normal" like when I smoked real cigs. In the beginning I was literally close to dying on several occasions when I could not catch my breath. Something in the juice I was using has seriously damaged my lungs and I have read threads of several others on this message board and other boards from people that have had similar problems.
As bad as real cigarettes are I have never heard of anyone struggling to breathe after only a few months smoking.
Bottom line is...breathing anything other than air is just plain stupid and unfortunately we ALL defend our addictions until it's too late.
I have nobody to blame but myself. I willingly inhaled liquid that could have been made in a toilet for all I knew. Anyone can open up a juice site and start selling juices and nobody will ever really know what is in those juices, where they were made, who actually made them, what bacteria may be in them, yet we are all inhaling this crap into our lungs.
I don't hyperventilate anymore but I do still wheeze and have trouble when doing anything physical. I am about 50% better than I was in the beginning but still nowhere near "normal" like when I smoked real cigs. In the beginning I was literally close to dying on several occasions when I could not catch my breath. Something in the juice I was using has seriously damaged my lungs and I have read threads of several others on this message board and other boards from people that have had similar problems.
As bad as real cigarettes are I have never heard of anyone struggling to breathe after only a few months smoking.
Bottom line is...breathing anything other than air is just plain stupid and unfortunately we ALL defend our addictions until it's too late.
I have nobody to blame but myself. I willingly inhaled liquid that could have been made in a toilet for all I knew. Anyone can open up a juice site and start selling juices and nobody will ever really know what is in those juices, where they were made, who actually made them, what bacteria may be in them, yet we are all inhaling this crap into our lungs.
Sounds like the OP has very similar problems to mine.
It is amazing how long this lasts too. I laugh when I read people say..." you should be fine in a couple weeks after quitting the e-cig "
Lol 14 months of a very healthy lifestyle, taking vitamins, eating healthy, exercising, ect. ect. and I am still having difficulties breathing!
I felt perfectly healthy when I smoked real cigarettes then BOOM 4 months of vaping and I am almost crippled. I can't shovel snow, can barely cut the grass and have to stop several times and rest just taking the groceries in.
Doctors have no answers because everything appears normal but it isn't. I have seen a specialist and 3 GP's had x-rays ect. ect. and still none of them have any guesses as to what happened. They all agree e-cigs are BAD because we don't know what's in them. My pulmonologist said she expected to see more people in the future with problems like mine from e cigs.
It is amazing how long this lasts too. I laugh when I read people say..." you should be fine in a couple weeks after quitting the e-cig "
Lol 14 months of a very healthy lifestyle, taking vitamins, eating healthy, exercising, ect. ect. and I am still having difficulties breathing!
I felt perfectly healthy when I smoked real cigarettes then BOOM 4 months of vaping and I am almost crippled. I can't shovel snow, can barely cut the grass and have to stop several times and rest just taking the groceries in.
Doctors have no answers because everything appears normal but it isn't. I have seen a specialist and 3 GP's had x-rays ect. ect. and still none of them have any guesses as to what happened. They all agree e-cigs are BAD because we don't know what's in them. My pulmonologist said she expected to see more people in the future with problems like mine from e cigs.
You know that the chemicals in cigarettes open the lungs, right? Perhaps you've had this lung ailment since before you gave up smoking only the cigarettes masked it? I have COPD and since I quit smoking I often feel more shortness of breath. But, I can stand up longer now than I could before I stopped smoking. But still, it often feels like my breathing is worse.
I hope you'll get well soon.
If I had to pick a cause for whatever you're having now, I'd definitely chose the "27 years of smoking" over "4 months of vaping" It sounds like you have COPD, and the episodes of severe breathlessness you had probably were due to acute bronchoconstriction. I know you first had the symptoms after switching to vaping, but this is not really significant as this chronic disease develops over years and years and thus you can't really link it to your most recent inhalational exposure. It's good that you quit smoking as this the best thing to slow down COPD. Vaping is not good for you either since changes in humidity of inhaled air can precipitate acute bronchoconstriction. PG and VG are humectants, i.e. drying.
Yes I did find out cigs have bronchdilators in them and was pretty surprised but I am not sure if that was the problem because I had been vaping for 3 solid months with no cigs and was doing fine until the end of that 3rd month. Went back to cigs got better and then quit cigs again and went back to vaping for the one more month until got severely sick. Never smoked another thing since.
I was never short of breath while smoking real cigs. I could run, swim and play sports. Of course I am no expert and for all I know cigs could be to blame. It is just weird I had no ill effects while smoking until I started vaping. It's a big mystery to me ??
However the OP here had only smoked for 7 years and he is going through what sounds like my situation and I have read of others who never smoked cigs having the same issues with vaping. So I don't know. I am just happy I was able to quit everything but I wish I felt healthy Like I thought I would after quitting smoking.
Well doctors say I don't have COPD according to their tests and x-rays ?? I sure feel like I do but they say it wouldn't come on so sudden and I would have felt some effects beforehand. People don't go from perfectly healthy, running around playing football in one month and then go to stage 4 COPD within 4 months.
They said I have no lung scarring and my PFT came out normal for my age. The only thing they could say is I do have some sort of lung / bronchial inflammation with a possible asthma component. I never had asthma in my life so I don't know?
COPD and asthma are both obstructive diseases. The difference is that in Asthma the obstruction is totally reversible. So you'll have attacks but can be completely normal at times. The obstruction in COPD is only partially reversible ( the asthma component, i.e. the acute severe attacks), but you'll have lower grade obstruction at all times.
The more common form of COPD is called chronic bronchitis. Maybe you need to talk to your docs again to clarify things, but the explanation they gave sounds like just that.
The more common form of COPD is called chronic bronchitis. Maybe you need to talk to your docs again to clarify things, but the explanation they gave sounds like just that.
One of the reasons asthma is reverisble is because it is often caused by allergies. If I were having trouble breathing my nexxt stop would be a really good immunologist, and I would start getting tested for food allergies.
The food has changed,esp. w/so much processsed foods, more chemicals, and as people age, they also develop sensitivities to substances that they never had before.
@Manic: Swollen lymph nodes, dry cough.
Have you been checked for reflux/GERD? My brother was diagnosed with asthma turns out it wasnt:
"Many nerves are in the lower esophagus. Some of these nerves are stimulated by the refluxed acid, and this stimulation results in pain (usually heartburn). Other nerves that are stimulated do not produce pain. Instead, they stimulate yet other nerves that provoke coughing. In this way, refluxed liquid can cause coughing without ever reaching the throat! In a similar manner, reflux into the lower esophagus can stimulate esophageal nerves that connect to and can stimulate nerves going to the lungs. These nerves to the lungs then can cause the smaller breathing tubes to narrow, resulting in an attack of asthma." WebMD
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