Inhaling e-liquid hurts

[Rhetoric Camel]

Wasn't sure if this should go in Health, Safety, or if it should go in Nicotine. Hopefully this is ok here.

This is a post that I'm doing for my girlfriend. I personally don't have any issues with e-cigs.

I let my girlfriend try a puff off of my e-cig, I use 24mg liquid PG. She goes to inhale and she starts choking and when she exhales there is very little to no sign of vapor in her exhale. So out of curiosity I grabbed a bottle of 24mg VG that I had laying around thinking the issue was the PG since I've heard of some people having bad reactions to PG. The VG had the same effect on her.
So I got a bottle of PG to dilute the 24mg liquid I had. Filled a 6ml bottle about half way with my 24mg liquid and filled the other half of the bottle with PG w/o nicotine. Still had the same effect. So I poured out about a quarter of that mixture and filled that quarter up with PG w/o nicotine. So it was roughly 3/4 PG and 1/4 24mg (whatever the mg amount in that would be now). It seems to work a bit better for her but it still hurts her throat a bit.

Could the nicotine really be causing this problem for her? I've been having her direct drip onto the atty and haven't tried with a cartridge and filler yet, thinking maybe the direct drip is too strong? Not sure. Hoping someone with more knowledge could be able to help out here. I'd like to help her quit cigarettes, if not at least cut back a little bit.

Oh a little bit more info, she does have asthma but not real bad. The only time I've seen her come close to an asthma attack is when she was doing P90X exercises, and even then she didn't need an inhaler but had one just in case.

Any other questions you might have to help diagnose this issue let me know, I'll do my best to answer.

 

[Kevin Freeheart]

Inhaling PG and VG does hurt. We call it "throat hit" but it's a pain sensation.

We're used to it as smokers and ex-smokers and now as vapers. I personally find some juices cause ME to tear up on my first hit or two. I find TH that intense to be uncomfortable and painful. So I modulate how I inhale to make sure I get plenty of air.

 

[VanderVape]

I am wondering about a lower nic for her? I get sore throats, cough, and that expando lung feeling when I vape something that is too high in nic, and I am not one that likes a harsh throat hit. I use to smoke Pall Mall light 100's which from the research I did online equaled about 11 or 12 mgs of nic. I have had to experiment with different levels of Pg/Vg blends, and nic levels. All Pg makes me cough as well as all Vg so I started to experiment with different ones, and different nics. I have found that I have to have a 50/50 and it has to be 6mg. 12mg is to strong as I have become a vaping maniac since quitting. Order her some lower nic for her in 6 and 12 with different pg/vg variations and see which one is more comfortable for her.

I also have a slight asthma problem and usually each year will come down with bronchitis. No problem since I finally figured this out.

 

[atom48]

Yes, we are all masochists. But seriously, it could be a combo of things. When I first tried vaping (after 45 years of smoking) I couldn't vape without coughing up a lung. Discovered later that it was the juice (carto imitation marlboro) and trying to vape with automatic batteries. The technique of vaping with auto batteries caused me to suck it directly into my lungs when that was not the way I normally smoked. The higher nicotine PG juice (with elevated throat hit) could be the problem, but check out her technique, too.

 

[kristin]

I find this happens to almost everyone not used to vaping and tries my e-cig. They try to inhale like a cigarette and it's a different method with e-cigs. Vapor is also a little "heavier" than smoke, so it takes some getting used to. The fact that there was little or no vapor on the exhale tells me that she is having this common problem.

1. Make sure the atty is properly saturated - too much and you get a mouthful, too little and you get a harsh vapor

2. Make sure to press the button or do a primer puff (auto batteries) to heat up the atty, to make sure the liquid is being vaporized properly

3. SLOW inhale into the MOUTH not directly into the lungs. Tell her to imagine drinking hot chocolate through a straw (which you wouldn't do too fast or you would burn your mouth) - slow and steady.

 

[Rhetoric Camel]

Yeah I've tried the mixing and the lowering of nic and the only thing that doesn't hurt her is 0mg. I've guestimated my current mixture for her now to be at about 6mg and that's still harsh but she's able to do it.
I understand the throat hit feeling does hurt a little bit but no one I know, other than my gf, literally feels like they're about to die when they take a drag off of it. I've converted other people and had no issues until trying to convert my gf.

 

[VanderVape]

yeah I agree that you have to learn how to vape. slower, longer drags, like Kristin said.
I know that if I inhale too deeply, and quickly with a lot of vape that it will give me a big throat hit that I don't want and burn the back of my throat. It just all takes a bit of practice?

 

[Rhetoric Camel]

I would agree but she's exhaling minuscule amounts of vapor when she takes a puff, even at 6mg.

 

[VanderVape]

I would agree but she's exhaling minuscule amounts of vapor when she takes a puff, even at 6mg.

When we had bought the cheap kits and the carts were all PG I couldn't vape, but had to continue to smoke. Every once in awhile I would take a couple of puffs off my partners e-cig, but no vapor would come out, or little. A couple of days after I started vaping I was coughing, but noticed that when I exhaled the vapor came out better. More or less I chalked it up to my lungs being gunked up from smoking the analogs because I now get full vapor from 50/50 (I am sitting here vaping cappuccino smooth 6mg 50/50.)
Tell her to hang in there and give it a couple of days. Don't smoke any analogs and see how she starts to feel.

Hope some of this helps!

 

[hairball]

Have her take a small toot (about 2 seconds) THEN open her mouth and inhale. The vapor will mix with alot of air. I had to do this when I first started. Once I got used to it, I hammer the heck out of my GGTB.

 

[rothenbj]

Another world heard from. I've taken the approach I'd describe as a pipe smoking inhaler. I may take two or three short draws that I fill my mouth and release immediately, then a bit longer draw, again into my mouth which I then inhale. If it is accurate that most of the nic you get from vaping occurs in the mouth I don't even need the inhale except for the throat hit.

Now a question a bit in the other direction. How much does she currently smoke, does she want to quit smoking or is this something you are more interested in. If she has motivation, she needs to find the flavor and mix that works for her. She ought to get on the forum and work through it. What I described for myself wouldn't work for everyone, but it will work for some, just like all the other suggestions.

If she really prefers just continuing smoking, so much easier than learning something new, there's not much any of us could say or do that will overcome that. My gf coerced me into buying these e-gizmos (some smokers terms) when I was a committed smoker after giving up trying to quit. I had no intention of quiting, just satisfying her curiosity. As is typical with her, she is a creature of habit and the thrill of the novelty wore off in less than a month. That was 17 months ago. I haven't had a puff in the last 10 and can now smell when she lights up three rooms away. One of the disadvantages of quiting.