I didn't expect it to hurt! Is it me or my stuff?

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GiddyLydia

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Whiny the Annoying here, really frustrated because I just don't know what to try next. Any help will be deeply appreciated.


I must be doing something wrong.


As a 30+ year smoker I have changed brands a dozen times, mostly to whatever was cheap; it never mattered much. I've been on Pall Mall 100's [orange box] for a couple of years. In a pinch , I can inhale a Red Marlboro or a Kool—don't like to, but I can. The devil's skunkiest weed elicits barely more than a hooomph of protest from these char-toughened lungs. But I have yet to vape a puff that I can inhale. By “can”, I mean do so without involuntary rejection by the lungs, throat pain and , ideally, without an unpleasant burning sensation in my mouth.


To date:


Bought a Joy 510 starter kit with some pre-loaded carts plus black tea, champagne and RY-4 juice, all PG based. Since the nicotine seemed pretty high, 16 to 26, got some 80/20 PG/VG in case I wanted to cut it.


Diligently followed suggestions to clear out the primer. Flavors were fine, but they all hurt my throat/lungs enough that the nasty burning sensation did not even rate as an issue. Cutting it did not seem to make a difference.


Bought a sampler pack of all VG based liquids from Johnson Creek. These were only available in 18mg nicotine. The letters are too small to read from the tiny bottles, but it may be the Dreadful Bubble Gum collection, assuming there is no Gas Station Bathroom Deodorizers sampler. Thankfully, they did not taste nearly as vivid as the freshly opened bottles threatened. Lots more vapor, virtually no throat hit, but still hurt my lungs too much to inhale, with the same transitory mouth-sting.


I thought it was possible that I did not get rid of the primer, so I chose the most radical-sounding cleaning method on youtube; boiled them for 15 minutes. May not have been wise, as attempts to use them after drying overnight and with a freshly charged battery produces no vapor, just gurgling sounds and possibly even more mouth-ick than before.


I KNOW I can do this. I'm highly motivated by a desire to avoid either poisoning or abandoning the grandchild, the opportunity to stink less and perhaps even live longer. Not to mention the pleasure I hope to derive from feeling superior to my tobacco-sucking relatives. But I don't know how. Less nicotine? Different works? Just toughen up? Anyone with an educated guess they are willing to share would be of great value.
 
The nicotine in e-cig vapor is not really absorbable through deep lung tissue, so except to "scratch the itch" for throat hit, you really don't need to inhale.

Propylene glycol vapor is a germicidal air sanitizer and glycerin is commonly used to make soap, so it makes sense that after years of smoking, e-cig vapor will trigger a (hopefully) productive cough if you draw the vapor into your lungs. Unless you are alergic to PG, I would expect that your lungs will eventually clear out and this will go away. Also, e-cig vapor condenses moisture from the air which can make your throat dry or scratchy, but usually a drink of water will fix this. ;)
 

garyinco

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A couple of thoughts...

I've never tried Johnson Creek so I don't know what their juices are like. Some juice-makers will use a pepper extract to make an attempt at throat hit. Some people like it, I can't stand it. I cough and my throat and lungs hurt on the first hit. I have no idea if Johnson Creek uses any of the pepper, so I could be WAY off base here.

Another thought is to experiment with how you "draw" and inhale the vape. It is different than how I smoked tobacco. Try going thru the whole draw, inhale, and exhale routine without sucking air into your mouth (keep your lips sealed). Hard to explain -but try it. It allowed me to kinda regulate things. And it accentuates the flavoring of the juice. And exhale thru your nose, that really pumps up the flavor of the juice.

It's kind of early in the morning for me, so this might be rambling, but I hope it makes some sense. Keep experimenting and you'll get things adjusted to what you like. It takes some time. Good luck.
 

ecfSim

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My wife had the same problem initially - couldn't inhale an e-cig without pain and choking. Eventually we found taking tiny draws from a 901 and Ecopure Rich 10mg was tolerable and enough to get her started on vaping. Now she vapes 18 - 24mg VG from a GGTS & UFS and fills the room with vapor from a couple of exhales!

When you think of the effort we all went to, to learn to inhale a cigarette it's not surprising that it takes a while to get the hang of an e-cig. I think that's why it works so well for so many of us.

Working on your inhale technique can make a difference. Try holding the e-cig in the corner of your mouth, rather than in the middle like a cigarette (watch some vids on You Tube and you will see most vapers do this). Also try not to inhale while you are actually drawing on the e-cig, because the vapor will feel much harsher that way. Make sure the atty is not too dry because a dry atty gives a burnt taste and a harsher sensation. If you haven't tried dripping already, try removing the cart filler and dripping 3 drops straight into the atty. It might also help to wait a few minutes after dripping before vaping, as a freshly dripped atty can have a 'fumey' sensation, which feels a bit harsher. 901 atties have the smoothest draw and so feel less harsh on the throat and lungs. Higher nicotine juices have a harsher vapour, so you might need to drop down as low as 6mg initially, but increase the nic level as quickly as your tolerance allows to prevent cravings.
 

Memphis Weirdo

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Yep. Sounds like you're just getting used to it. When I started vaping (1 1/2 weeks ago), my throat and lungs were absolutely torn up for the first 2 or 3 days... violent coughing spasms, bad throat soreness and irritation. Honestly, I did feel like a little kid inhaling his first cigarette. It was very difficult.

1. Definitely take tiny hits off of the e-cig, until your throat and lungs adjust.

2. Hold the vapor in your mouth as long as possible before drawing it into your lungs.

3. Drink lots of water... more than you think you need.

4. Be tough and patient. You'll get used to it, and you'll be very very glad that you stuck with it.
 

Del Boy

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Hi Lydia - sorry to hear you're having some issues there.

If i were you i would try very gentle little draws. Just to try and get my throat acclimatised so to speak. Even if it meant taking a teeny weeny draw. Then i'd build from where my throat will let me start puffing.
I don't mean to sound patronising here but are you using the long slow gentle draw method ? I ask simply because my first two days of vaping were a little fraught. I was sucking the absolute 'be jaysus' out of my little e cig. Sucking till i almost got lockjaw...lol. Then i realised that gentle and slow is the way to go.
Hope you can get it sorted.
 

Critter Man

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I had the same problem as the OP. There has been great advice given, so props to the responders.

I went to straight VG, that helped. I had a sip of water before every vape, that really helped. I took drags of only 3 seconds or less and inhaled into my mouth before inhaling into my lungs. After a few days, the problem went away.

Good luck to you, GiddyLydia! :toast:
 

Critter Man

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I never let my M series attys dry anymore. I just blow them out, use a cotton swab to make sure the battery connection is dry, and drip and vape til they're well primed. I find that I get better flow to the coil if I don't let them dry out, keeps the burned taste away.

If they gurgle, it's always because I flooded them.
 

expat

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The letters are too small to read from the tiny bottles, but it may be the Dreadful Bubble Gum collection, assuming there is no Gas Station Bathroom Deodorizers sampler. Thankfully, they did not taste nearly as vivid as the freshly opened bottles threatened.

Now I haven't got a lot of advice for you, but I laughed so loud at the above the cat looked at me, completely alarmed.

I had the same issues initially, but they passed in short order. I had to work on my draw technique, which after being a smoker for so many years I figured I already knew how to do. Wrong. This is a whole 'nother ball game.

The gurgling I had too, mine weren't totally dry even though they looked to be.

Stick with it, and welcome. :)
 

Krisb

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My throat was very sore for the first couple weeks, felt like swallowing burning broken glass. Much of this is actually a sign of quitting cigs and not vaping. All the tar residue build up, among other stuff from the cigs, is coming off and leaving your mouth/throat pretty raw. Increase water intake, SIP water as you vape, take lighter pulls. Ikenvape does not have primer on their attys and they are among the best attys out there.

Pg= more flavor/less vapor/more TH
Vg= more vapor

I typically do a 50/50 or 40/60 pg/vg blend, a very nice mix of the two and always get extra flavor (many vendors offer this option).

Good luck, it does get better!

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
 

Leothwyn

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I never even knew some folks inhaled directly into their lungs until I started researching PVs. Most folks mouth inhale cigarettes from what I can tell. Direct inhaling might just be a west coast thing or something.

When I first got my PV I started out doing the direct inhale thing. Of course, the hits were harsh. I quickly figured out that I need to pull it into my mouth first, then inhale. Funny thing is, I was still doing analogs at the time, and I smoked one and realized that I pulled the smoke into my mouth first too. Who knows why the hell I thought I should direct inhale from a PV, but I did.
 

Critter Man

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I'm almost certain your problem is mainly caused by a combination of too much voltage going through a low resistance atomizer, combiners with the wrong liquid. Either try an eliquid that people recommend for HV (high voltage) vaping, or stick to a 3.7 volt battery with atomizers rated at 2.8 - 3.0 ohms.

Read the OP. The unit in question is a basic 510 starter kit. I don't know where you got high voltage or low resistance from.
 
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