Heart Palpitations

[KerryJane]

Hi. My husband starting vaping about 3 months ago and has been doing great, he's only bought 3 packs of cigarettes since he started after smoking sometimes 2 packs a day for probably 15 years.
Here's my question, he was using liquid with 12mg of nicotine which he loves. He decided to try a different brand which is 9mg that he's been using for about 2 weeks.
In the past couple of days he said his heart has been racing everytime he has used it. As an experiment he got a pack of cigarettes and smoked them with no issues. He cleaned his tank and everything really well and tried the old liquid again but his heart was racing again. He's been doing so well so I would hate to see him have to go back to cigarettes.
I've done some research and I'm seeing that it could be anything from nicotine overdose to dehydration. Has anyone else had this issue? It's crazy to think that the "healthier" alternative is giving him bad side effects.

 

[SVInc]

It may have more nicotine than the bottle says it has. There are many things that could make a difference. Is it the same VG/PG ratio? You should definitely stop using it if there are problems!

 

[justinlm24]

How much and how often is he using it before he has this affect? I know I was playing around with my tanks and trying new flavors a few days ago so I was chain vaping for a good 30-40 min. I only use 3mg nic juice and I do full lung hits and I got lightheaded and sick to my stomach a bit Afterwards. There are a lot of factors here. His style of vaping. Like full lung hits, mouth to lung, etc. Frequency of use Etc. I have never had this affect over the course of my normal daily use which is maybe 5 min of vaping every hour or so. If he is Chain vaping, especially with that high nic content he could certainly have adverse reactions to it.

 

[bitablood]

try the old liquid he is accustomed to and see what happens. try another premium brand, the nic levels are more reliable.
I vape 6mg nic. I started at 18 mg. if I go back to 18 mg my heart races and I sweat.
so definitely it could be the nic.

 

[AndriaD]

When I tried the patch, it always gave me terrible palpitations. That's true that the bottle that says 9mg might actually be higher, because it does sound like maybe more nicotine that he's accustomed to. On the other hand, nicotine can have some really weird effects, both too much and too little of it -- the stress of withdrawal symptoms could also bring on palpitations. Or there could be some kind of allergy or sensitivity to PG or VG or anything in the flavors. Best idea is, just don't vape that juice anymore, though it would probably be a good idea to try and find out/figure out what's causing the palpitations.

Andria

 

[Sir2fyablyNutz]

Is it a new tank or the same one he has used for the past 3 months? The reason I ask is most people drastically cut their nicotine levels when they move to sub ohm tanks. It sounds to me like too high a nicotine level.

You might also browse here : Health, Safety and Vaping | E-Cigarette Forum

 

[Bunnykiller]

just maybe he is feeling better and you get him excited

 

[djsvapour]

I would guess at an incorrect Nicotine level or something in the liquid.
I've had this. Mildly worrying, just keep experimenting.

 

[XUSN]

I've had this happen once or twice in the past several days, but I just got a slightly upgraded setup that delivers more vapor and I've been using it more because the flavor is so much better. Although I'm certainly not a doctor, I know my symptoms came from the increased nicotine.

I too use 12mg, but have just placed a couple of orders for some 6mg juice.

The others have made some great suggestions, but I suspect the nic level is the cause... either too much or too little. More than likely too much.

 

[WhiskeyTango]

It could also be that since he lowered his nicotine level, he is vaping more frequently to reach the same "fix" and is just overdoing it. I never have any issues with my Nautilus or similar tanks with 16mg nicotine but literally every single time I sub ohm with 6mg, I overdo it and get palpitations. Literally, every single time.

 

[Ryedan]

Hi. My husband starting vaping about 3 months ago and has been doing great, he's only bought 3 packs of cigarettes since he started after smoking sometimes 2 packs a day for probably 15 years.
Here's my question, he was using liquid with 12mg of nicotine which he loves. He decided to try a different brand which is 9mg that he's been using for about 2 weeks.
In the past couple of days he said his heart has been racing everytime he has used it. As an experiment he got a pack of cigarettes and smoked them with no issues. He cleaned his tank and everything really well and tried the old liquid again but his heart was racing again. He's been doing so well so I would hate to see him have to go back to cigarettes.
I've done some research and I'm seeing that it could be anything from nicotine overdose to dehydration. Has anyone else had this issue? It's crazy to think that the "healthier" alternative is giving him bad side effects.

When I tried the patch, it always gave me terrible palpitations. That's true that the bottle that says 9mg might actually be higher, because it does sound like maybe more nicotine that he's accustomed to. On the other hand, nicotine can have some really weird effects, both too much and too little of it -- the stress of withdrawal symptoms could also bring on palpitations. Or there could be some kind of allergy or sensitivity to PG or VG or anything in the flavors. Best idea is, just don't vape that juice anymore, though it would probably be a good idea to try and find out/figure out what's causing the palpitations.

IMO Andria nailed it . I'm not a doctor, but I think it's most likely too much nic. OTOH, other things can get in the picture too.

Whatever it is, if it were me I would stop using that stuff until I got it figured out. Heart palpitations are not something that's safe to fool with.

There are nicotine concentration kits you can buy to check nic levels in your juices and they're not too expensive. It could be something else too like Andria said, but going back to the original juice that didn't bother him is a good alternative IMO that could keep him off cigarettes until you guys figure out what's up here.

I wouldn't let this slide KerryJane and see how it goes. Heart issues are too serious to try that IMO.

 

[AndriaD]

IMO Andria nailed it . I'm not a doctor, but I think it's most likely too much nic. OTOH, other things can get in the picture too.

Whatever it is, if it were me I would stop using that stuff until I got it figured out. Heart palpitations are not something that's safe to fool with.

There are nicotine concentration kits you can buy to check nic levels in your juices and they're not too expensive. It could be something else too like Andria said, but going back to the original juice that didn't bother him is a good alternative IMO that could keep him off cigarettes until you guys figure out what's up here.

I wouldn't let this slide KerryJane and see how it goes. Heart issues are too serious to try that IMO.

Very true. When I first started having them badly, some years ago, my doctor IMMEDIATELY wanted me to have a cardiac ultrasound -- but lying back, taking my ease... I never got palpitations. Chasing after my son and trying to get him to get his .... ready for school, while sucking down caffeinated tea... THAT gave me palpitations! But what they were finally able to determine is that one of my heart valves is just marginally weaker than the others; when I'm over-caffeinated and over-stressed, it becomes very noticeable, though without stress and at my present very low levels of caffeine and nicotine, they don't really bother me. The hormonal mayhem of peri-menopause is also a big trigger for some women, as it apparently was for me, but I guess that's not an issue for men. Apparently it runs in my family, because I recently learned that my mom suffers from them too, and she also has very low BP as I've always had.

Andria

 

[cnspeedy]

I was having the same issues when I started. I dropped the nicotine level to 6mg. I was doing a lot of chain vaping. Even now I need to watch it, many times you don't even realize how much nicotine you inhale.
From what I read a pack of cigarettes is like 24 mg; at 6mg and 4 ml of e-juice you can easily hit that.

 

[salemgold]

I was having the same issues when I started. I dropped the nicotine level to 6mg. I was doing a lot of chain vaping. Even now I need to watch it, many times you don't even realize how much nicotine you inhale.
From what I read a pack of cigarettes is like 24 mg; at 6mg and 4 ml of e-juice you can easily hit that.

Actually, we do not absorb nicotine from vapor as we do a burning cig. There is good info on that posted around the forum. This is just one thread that talks about it nicotine inhaled in ecigs

OP, Could be that the juice your husband is using now is actualy higher than the stated 9 mgs. This would not be a first for that. maybe you could try another juice vendor or make a purchase of the same juice in a lower strength? Don't give up and good luck

 

[cnspeedy]

Actually, we do not absorb nicotine from vapor as we do a burning cig. There is good info on that posted around the forum. This is just one thread that talks about it nicotine inhaled in ecigs

Thanks for the link. Not very clear conclusion there.
I'm talking from my own experience. When I started I "OD-ed" a couple of times on nicotine. I was freaking out but I read some threads here that helped me figured out what happened.
I did not have hearth palpitations but I felt hyper active and having a little of muscle tremor, couldn't sleep.
That and my vaping pattern was what lead me to lower my nicotine level.
Certainly, YMMV.

Vape on!

 

[AndriaD]

Thanks for the link. Not very clear conclusion there.
I'm talking from my own experience. When I started I "OD-ed" a couple of times on nicotine. I was freaking out but I read some threads here that helped me figured out what happened.
I did not have hearth palpitations but I felt hyper active and having a little of muscle tremor, couldn't sleep.
That and my vaping pattern was what lead me to lower my nicotine level.
Certainly, YMMV.

Vape on!

I also got severely over-nic'ed a few times when I first started; I think maybe it's because the way I was accustomed to inhaling cigarettes was very similar to the "best" way to inhale vapor for max nic absorption -- very shallow inhales, which didn't go much deeper than the back of my throat -- because of my asthma. And when I was trying very hard to substitute vaping for smoking, I was literally vaping every waking minute -- since I was still smoking a little, even an eRoll, vaped nearly continuously, could deliver more nicotine than was comfortable for me.

Even after I stopped smoking and raised my nic to 8mg, I still had to vape 6mg after dinner, or my heart was pounding so furiously at bedtime, I couldn't sleep. Now I vape 10mg all day long, but I'm not continuously chainvaping -- it makes a difference.

Andria

 

[Puff2K]

I raised my nic to stop chain vaping but I'm still vaping too much. The cigarette cravings are bad but I can't dare to have one. I should order the WTA juice but I have a lot to do this weekend.

 

[salemgold]

Hang in there, Puff. The cravings will get to be less and less until they finally go away. Mostly

 

[Puff2K]

Hang in there, Puff. The cravings will get to be less and less until they finally go away. Mostly

That is good to know! It's been worse than it was at first. Everything is a trigger for smoking now.