My first four puffs - HORRIBLE PANIC ATTACK!

[Bodytech]

Hey, Folks. I desperately need your advice. I'm a complete Newbie. I've been reading all your forums and trying to learn as much as possible about vaping before trying it myself. I would LOVE to get off analogs and vaping seems to be a great way to do so. Unfortunately, my first experience with vaping was horrible. It caused a full-blown panic attack/bad reaction which didn't subside until hours later. I'd like to relay my story and see if I can get some advice as to what might have happened and how to proceed next. Here's what happened: My boyfriend and I each ordered a Joye 510 kit (manual) from ecigexpress and just received them yesterday. We followed all instructions. When our batteries were fully charged, we popped on the carts that were included with the kit (no indication what level nic mg or whether they were pg, vg or a mix). My pre-filled cart was very gooey and I got some juice on my hands, which I quickly wiped off with a dry paper towel. My boyfriend and I each took about 4 drags. I started feeling super panicky, flushed, frightened and generally very weird. It really scared the crap out of me. Granted, I've been prone to panic attacks in the past and am under treatment for them. My boyfriend said he felt a little weird, flushed, but not bad. I had to lie down and calm myself. Thankfully, I fell asleep. I feel normal now (and smoking analogs as I type this).

So was it 1) Nicotine overdose (have to ask ecigexpress the level of nic in those carts that come with the kit) 1a) Might I have overdosed from the juice that got on my hands plus vaping? 2) Bad reaction to the fluid itself which may or may not have been PG (also have to ask ecigexpress what form of fluid is in the carts, PG, VG or a mix) or 3) Something else???

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks, Everyone...

 

[fishspace]

is it so bad?

 

[juicejunky]

How much do you usually smoke? Sounds like maybe a bit too much nicotine mixed with a panic attack. If they are 24mg, it very well could be, but only 4 drags isn't that much and nicotine leaves you system faster than 2 hours. Most likely not the juice on your hand for a few seconds.

Go to the health forum section and search for PG allergies. I don't remember panic attacks as a symptom, more like hives and throat swelling stuff, but I could be wrong.

Don't forget to drink plenty of water when you vape.

 

[pandatera]

I only been vaping for about alittle over 5 weeks, so can't give you alot of advise since i'm a newbie as well. But I'm pretty sure there will be other ECF members that can help you.
As for:
1. nicotine overdose - 4 drags, even with alittle liquid that have gotten on your fingers I don't think you could had been overdose. I once have gotten alittle nicotine overdose, I remember I had tingling fingers and dizziness. But after I stopped vaping for an hour I was fine. So your symptons are different then mines. My boyfriend has gotten juice all over his fingers when he use to top off carts in the beginning. All he had was itchy fingers as a result. I then got him some cartos instead and filled them up and tossed him a bunch to go to work with and he was fine. Do you have any cuts on your fingers, hands? Well I think I also read somewhere that it can increase heartbeat but i"m not so sure, so if that is the case that might had cuz your panic attack? I'm really not sure. How much do you usually smoke?
2. I don't think it was bad reaction to the fluid since your symptons are so different from what I saw how ppl react to PG from the Health forum. Mostly people will get hives, itchy skin, rash, itchy throat, etc. But you should give that forum a visit and see if I missed anything. I can be wrong. The only thing I can think of is if you had gotten some juice in your mouth, but if you did you would had a very bad cough instead of a panic reaction. You might free weird, but you will definetly know if you have gotten juice in your mouth because it will sting you alttle bit. And if you knew that might had lead you to a panic reaction because you were scare and didnt know what might happen.

You mention your boyfriend feeling wierd, flushed, and not bad. When you say not bad, do you mean he think the ecig is not bad. Or you meant not as bad as how you felt?
Well I felt alittle weird too when I first vape, it was just different from analogs and you have to press a button to vape. Is that the weirdness he felt becasue he was doing something different then before? I also had alittle headache, but it was gone after the first day. I had sore throat, and weird feeling in my throat but that was taken care of after I drank alot of water.

I think you shouldn't try again yet, since you are prone to panic attacks it might just scare you just having the thought of vaping again. If you decide to give it another try let your boyfriend try first, and when you see he's doing fine then it might help calm you down. Don't constantly vape, drag after drag. E cig is not like cigarettes. Take a drag and wait a few seconds or a minute and then take the next. Remember to drink a lot of water.

Oh and btw where are u in NY? I'm from Brooklyn.

I wish you good luck.

 

[Rachezee]

I am rather new to the vaping world myself but if I might make a possible suggestion to what happened...

My guess is that your panic attack was probably unrelated to the vaping itself though the 4 drags might have set it off.

You said you have been prone to panic attacks in the past. Though I have never had one personally I have known someone who has them and from what I know they are terrifying. One of those experiences you never really understand how bad they are until you have one yourself. And not something your likely to forget. I actually think that this might make you somewhat sensitive to the symptoms of one that is coming on in its earliest stage. When I switched to vaping I noticed that I took much stronger deeper hits of my e-cig than I do now, smoking is physically easier than vaping, the hit takes only moments to be a deep one with a cigarette, whereas a deep hit vaping actually requires a slower drag. So a person still used to smoking cigarettes tend to take a deep strong pull from the e-cig. I am guessing you probably did that 4 times in a row which would increase your heartbeat simply from the act itself and cause a difference in breathing and light dizziness.

I could be wrong but I think these symptoms would mimic the first stages of a panic attack. For someone very familiar with these symptoms I would think that the possibility of the panic attack could cause a panic attack itself. Is it possible this is what happened?

I get an asthmatic reaction to cats though I don't otherwise have asthma. My first asthma attack was terrifying, I never really imagined it could be so scary, especially when I did not have an inhaler. Now I have one, but I notice that whenever I feel even the mildest symptom of lack of breath from my allergies I tend to get so scared it gets worse simply from that. Panic attacks are very much a physical attack on the body, but they are brought on by the mental state of the person. I would suggest to start vaping slowly, not really with the goal of quitting analogs, but try to learn how to do it so you get satisfaction from them just like you did cigarettes. Don't push yourself or force yourself to need them instead of analogs. That might help.

 

[5vz]

Not nicotine overdose. Maybe you just got scared because you are trying something new and that you don't fully understand yet? That can trigger a panic attack. Sometimes our minds make things larger than life until we get familiar with whatever it is, I have panic attacks on occasion and this is usually what is going on when they happen. Once they are over, I am okay to delve into full knowledge of whatever triggered the attack.

Possible allergy to PG/VG is a good question, however, you AND your boyfriend said you felt weird. I don't know the odds of that happening. I would set the 510's aside until you have done more research and feel safer with the concept, or keep trying them and if you do have an allergic reaction, then you can try the PG only juice one day and VG only juice another day to see if you are allergic to either. If neither, then you are good to go. There is a health section here, there are lists of allergic reactions you could read up on to help you out on that. Hopefully, someone here will have better advise than I do for you.

Also, you may want to order some sample juice in a lower nicotine level, 24mg may be too high for both of you. There are many lower levels you can try out, and loads of fun flavors.

 

[WomanOfHeart]

I have to agree with pandatera. I seriously doubt that you experienced a nicotine overdose after only 4 drags. The gooey stuff on the atomizer is simply primer, which is used to keep the atomizers moist while they're in transit. It's harmless, but tastes like crap and needs to be blown out of the atomizer before you use them. It does not have nicotine in it.

Vaping is very different from smoking and the rate that nicotine is absorbed while vaping is much slower. However, if your boyfriend said he felt flush, then perhaps the nicotine level he was using was too high for him. It could have also been caused by taking too hard of a drag. Inhaling while vaping should be slow and smooth. It's not at all like cigarettes where you just suck on the filter. If you go back to the website where you bought your kits, there should be a description of the nicotine levels in the carts you received. The wrapper on the carts should have also been marked with the level (high, med, or low.)

Just go about this whole process slowly and you'll probably do just fine.

Panic attacks are not a symptom of an allergic reaction. I suspect it may have been brought on by getting the primer on your hands and not knowing what it was.

 

[Bodytech]

I will. Thank you so much!

 

[Bodytech]

Thanks so much for your reply! My BF said "not bad" meaning he didn't feel like he had overdosed or had a reaction. Just usual first time vaping stuff I guess. I'm in Manhattan. I used to live in Brooklyn and I miss it; much quieter there!

 

[Bodytech]

Rachezee, you make an excellent point. Panic attacks do tend to snowball with a little provocation. Being panic prone, when I introduce something new into my system and have some kind of odd feeling, I get into "uh oh!!" mode and start the panic ball rolling. I'm gonna try to take it slow and build up to a point down the road where I can hopefully quit analogs. Thank you so much

 

[OwnedByAGrey]

I could be wrong but I think these symptoms would mimic the first stages of a panic attack. For someone very familiar with these symptoms I would think that the possibility of the panic attack could cause a panic attack itself. Is it possible this is what happened?

I think you hit the nail on the head.

I suffer from very bad panic attacks and am medicated for them. I had a panic attack a couple of years ago that lasted close to three weeks, abating just enough to keep me from going to the hospital, and then ratcheting right back up soon after.

For those of us prone to panic attacks, it doesn't take much for a trigger to cause a full-blown attack. Once that attack starts, if bad enough, it tends to perpetuate itself even though the trigger is long gone. This is especially true if one isn't being properly treated for the attacks.

The trigger could well have been lightheadedness or a racing heart due to a nic level that was too high for a first vape, which then caused you to be scared, which then caused the panic attack to occur. Then, the pure terror (and it's terror!) keeps it going and going.

I know how those slam-you-in-the-gut, I'm-about-to-die self-perpetuating attacks are. I'd say, try again, but with a lower nic level than you think you may need.

It's probably wise to contact your doctor if you are getting panic attacks of this nature. If you're medicated for them, your meds may have to be changed or titrated.

Let us know how you are and how you're feeling.

 

[Bodytech]

You guys are all awesome. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Rachezee]

Your welcome, good luck with everything!

 

[WomanOfHeart]

Like I said, just take it slow and you'll be fine. Sometimes rushing into things can cause even the most panic-proof people to...well...panic. I consider myself pretty well panic-proof. I spent 7 years working as a paramedic. I now work in the legal tech industry surrounded by paralegals and attorneys who can exert the most incredible stress and pressure on a person. You know what makes me panic? Cockroaches. It seems so silly, but it's so true. The sight of cockroaches paralyzes me and sends chills through my whole body. Even seeing them on television gives me the creeps and makes me want to curl up in a little ball. It's horrible.

 

[JamesGang]

IMO, this had nothing to do with vaping.

 

[Mudflap]

My suggestion:

Use this form. Cite your invoice/order number.

Give a brief explanation of what happened, just as you did here.

Ask for recommendations on no nic, 100% VG, 100% PG, and varying nic concentrations and/or flavors so that you can experiment to find a vape that doesn't bring on another panic attack. They most likely won't know how to advise you but should be responsive to you in some fashion. They might send you some free samples.

My wife has panic attacks and is under her doctor's care to manage them. With her, no specific stimuli seems to cause them.

I understand they really suck, but I'd encourage you to give vaping another try. Analogs are bad for you, ya know.

Go slow and good luck.

 

[GobblerHunter]

Not an MD or anything like that but, I am trained to handle because of my job. Since Anxiety Attacks and Panic Attacks kinda go hand in hand. Fear of the unknown (using the word fear loosely). The Anxiety of trying an e-cig for the first time and not knowing what it would be like. From reading your posting it appears you are worried about a Nic overdose. Maybe you started feeling a little Nic buzz, kinda like smoking an analog after not smoking one for a day and you get that buzzed feeling. That feeling could be what brought on your Panic attack. The next time start out taking only one hit. Wait a few minutes and do another and so on. If you start feeling weird just tell yourself, you're OK. The first time I was exposed to OC spray I almost had a Panic attack. I had to keep telling myself "just breath - you can breath". Hang in there vaping is a lot better than analogs............

 

[fray]

IMHO this kind of seems like a googlable incident for anti pv to cite how bad they are. Maybe intentionally put there? Just seems to use the right words.

If this is not the case I apologize.

 

[HzG8rGrl]

I think you may have just had a panic/anxiety attack. I don't mean just as in "it's only". I do not believe you had any nic overdose.
My mother has panic attacks a lot. When she has to take medication and she reads the inserts-she will have all of the side effects that are listed. If I remove the insert-she does not have reactions to the medication.
Is it possible that you have read so much about the e-cig that you were overly anxious about trying them for the first time? Perhaps you were even more worried about the possibility of no longer smoking. Don't put so much pressure on yourself, slow down and take this slowly. There is no rush and no time limits to meet here.
If you find you do not like using cartridges and handling the e-liquid, you can purchase 510 cartomizers that are pre-filled. Once you have gotten used to the newness and feel more comfortable using the e-cigarette, maybe then you can begin to refill the cartomizers or switch back to cartridges. They are a little more expensive when you are not refilling, but a possible solution to your uneasiness about the e-liquids. If you try the cartomizers, keep the empty ones for later, when you feel more like you are ready to re-fill.

 

[Mudflap]

IMHO this kind of seems like a googlable incident for anti pv to cite how bad they are. Maybe intentionally put there? Just seems to use the right words.

If this is not the case I apologize.

I disagree. The OP used terms like "vaping", "carts", "analogs", "PG, and "VG." The anti crowd seldoms takes the time to learn the correct usage of the jargon.