Need a sanity check - mouth problems

[Briar]

Hi, everyone,

I'm a newbster to vaping, and I am having a somewhat unpleasant experience with it, so I would *really* appreciate a sanity check.

I started about ten days ago. Got a 510 with some Ecopure. Choked, coughed, etc. As I understand, that's not uncommon at first, so I persisted and, indeed, with less nic content it got better.

For a bit I vaped mostly VG (ecopure is VG, and so is Vermont Vapor that I had ordered). I was having problems with Vermont Vapor wicking and clogging my atty (it's quite thick, though I really love the vapor and the flavor when I can get it to work), so I ordered some samples of PG-based stuff.

When I got the samples in (three or four days ago), I started vaping rather heavily, trying to get off the analogs.

The day before yesterday, towards the evening, my mouth got irritated - the gums, the lips, right inside the lips (especially the upper lip), and the tip and, less so, the top, of my tongue, got tingling, burning sensation, and were visibly red.

Initially, I assumed it was due to some liquid that accidentally got into my mouth. Like I said, I am a newbster, these things happen apparently. I thought perhaps it was the liquid, and the fact that I rubbed it off rather vigorously.

I stopped vaping for most of the next day (yesterday). Irritation improved somewhat. In the evening I tried vaping one of my samples, and, almost immediately, irritation got noticeably worse.

Now, after reading around this forum, I am thinking PG intolerance. Apparently some folks had similar symptoms.

So today I am vaping VG only (very frustrating experience, I still can't get Vermont Vapor stuff to wic right in my 510, and I don't have the stuff to dilute yet, not even droppers or syringes). Thing is, I am not entirely sure that this is any better. I still have the irritation. It hasn't gotten appreciably worse, at least not by much that I can tell, but it's definitely not better either (irritation can be like that, sometimes, once it's there, *anything* will make it worse), but I am getting paranoid that I can't tolerate any of it, VG or PG...

Has that ever happened to anyone - I mean being sensitive to both PG and VG? How long should I keep trying to vape? Anyone has any experience with these symptoms?

I noticed, reading the forums, that folks often have symptoms of various kind initially, only to have them clear up in time...

I don't mind saying that I am more than a little worried and upset right now. I spent quite a bit of money (for me) on equipment and such, with the goal of improving my health and getting off analogs (which I really, really need to do). So far, I've had nothing but technical and health issues with this. Much as I would love for this to work (and I have enjoyed it very much when I things went right for a little bit), I am beginning to wonder if vaping is for me.

But I would like to give this a good earnest try and do everything I can to *make* it work before making a final judgement.

Thank you, I would really appreciate any input, advice, shared experiences, etc.

Briar.

 

[Moonflame]

I too had some irritation when I first started. You may want to try to drink more water (or anything that keeps your mouth wet--I unfortunately am almost as addicted to soda as I am to nicotine), I've found that helps. I've found too that it has helped to get a good lip balm because my lips seem to dry out a lot more with vaping than they did with smoking and it has made a huge difference. Also If you prefer to use VG but find it too thick you can add a little distilled water to thin it. Hope some of this helps, I know I've come to love vaping and all of the choices it gives me from different flavors to different strengths of nicotine and I change both during the day based on mood. In low stress times I'm perfectly happy at around 9 mg and if something is going on that really stresses me out I'll add a few drops of my 18 mg. I feel like I am finally in control instead of cigarettes being in control. If you do find (and I hope this isn't the case) that vaping isn't for you, then you can recoup some of the money you spent on supplies by using the classified ads on the forums.

 

[Kate51]

My experince: if something is making you sore, stop.
I have a very profound aversion to PG, it started very gradually over two months or so, but let me say this: a "sensitization" from a substance only gets more pronounced with continued use. A sensitization is always going to be a sensitization, to reverse it takes intervention by a professional, as with bee venon, pollen allergies, etc.
Do some reading on the subject. It can be so cummulative that it can become quite serious. Some people have no problem by just increasing water use which 99% of us need to do anyway, some have just suffered through it, but some keep getting more and more intolerant, cummulative thing. That's my problem. Vaping one cart of PG now makes my chest tighten up, my throat hurt, and feeling like I'm being strangled, on the inside. The VG you were using with ECOpure is tested for purity, so I would go back to that, that's going to be my VG of choice, and do drink more water. Vermont Vapor I think uses a high quality VG as well. I understand their flavors are very mild, but some find it takes a few days to fully develop a taste for it. Sometimes subtle is a good thing, especially starting out.

 

[Michele]

I agree with Kate. I think this is pretty sound advise.

 

[SudokuGal]

My experince: if something is making you sore, stop.

Yes, do stop, and I would add "immediately" and until your mouth is healed. Going back to analogs, if you absolutely must, for a little while wouldn't be so terrible.

 

[Kate51]

If it was ok using the VG, then I would go back to that. Analogs? NOT
The thing to watch, is taking very long puffs, not hard puffs. You may be having trouble with the wick because you're pulling too hard? Possible? Even with a manual battery, you should pull just enough to retrieve the vapor, other wise it pulls it from the cart, the atty can't heat it fast enough, and flooding happens.
This is where smoking Cigs and vaping is definitely opposite, More pull more smoke, for e-cig it's longer time, not harder puff!

 

[Briar]

Hey, folks,

Thanks so much for the input.

I vaped very little today, and only VG. And every time I vaped I drank water. And the irritation is a lot better. The inside of the mouth is almost normal, and the lips are just a little "tingly", like after a bit too much sun. Using chapstick like crazy.

I think I am too sensitive to PG. I'm not sure I'll be able to use it. But VG might work out OK. I'll have to see. I'll just take it very slow. Have to anyway - I have very little VG liquid on hand... Maybe I can make some nic-free stuff for experimental purposes.

Strangely, my throat never hurt. But I have a "mouth inhale", even with analogs. I breathe in only after holding stuff. Which sort of explains that...

I did have to use more analogs. I never quit completely, and I can't be without the nic and the action - I get horrible panic attacks. That's why I am so desperate to make this work.

Cheers,
Briar.

 

[DISSAPPOINTED]

Hi Everyone,
I have been using e-cigarrette for the past 2 months and very dissappointed that I have to stop, reason being my teeth, gums are sensitive and my tooth cracked yesterday, I have to have a crown fitted.8-o. I think that the nicotine is seriously not good for the mouth. My husband and work collegue have also reported sore gums, little sores in the mouth. I have decided enough is enough and I am going cold turkey, I Wish me goodkluck.

 

[SudokuGal]

I wish you luck. Sorry vaping didn't work for you. I've had just the opposite effect...less sensitivity, less gum bleeding.

 

[Lisaf01]

Hi Everyone,
I have been using e-cigarrette for the past 2 months and very dissappointed that I have to stop, reason being my teeth, gums are sensitive and my tooth cracked yesterday, I have to have a crown fitted.8-o. I think that the nicotine is seriously not good for the mouth. My husband and work collegue have also reported sore gums, little sores in the mouth. I have decided enough is enough and I am going cold turkey, I Wish me goodkluck.

Sorry to hear you have experienced so many problems.
Your symptoms are unlikely to have been caused by the actual nicotine (unless you were not a cigarette smoker before you tried the e-cig) It could be any number of things including the following:

• allergy to the liquid you were using
• juice leaking directly in your mouth
• discontinuation of analog cigs and the 1000s of chemicals therein
• dry mouth - a lot of people report they need to drink A LOT more water when vaping
• normal oral wear and tear

If you can go cold turkey, that's obviously better than dealling with any of this stuff but my post is as much for others who might be in your situation and not brave enough to post themselves.
I wish you all the best.

 

[Kate51]

DISSAPPOINTED, I am, too, for you...but can't believe such trouble would have reared it's ugly head in such a short time...tooth and gum problems usually take a long time to develop, perhaps the ph of your mouth changed drastically, because of vaping??
Hard to imagine....Please tell us, what nic density were you using, what juices, etc....I really want to know. The thing we're all trying to avoid is doing harm, so the info really will help.

 

[Briar]

It could be all sorts of things.

PV is apparently irritating to some people - possibly from the drying out effect, possibly for other reasons.

But, some folks have also reported similar effects from VG (I am still not 100% sure in my own case - need to experiment more).

It could be the flavorings - are there common elements to all of them?

It's hard to imagine that it's nic. I haven't vaped at all today, but I puffed away like a locomotive on the analogs. And my mouth is fine. But. Are we sure that the *way* nic is delivered (vape as opposed to smoke) may not have an effect on how nic reacts with our skin? I have read at least one person reporting that touching juice irritated his facial skin *a lot*. Our mouths are very sensitive, so I'm thinking it might still be nic, even for a heavy smoker?

It's just impossible to say, short of experimenting extensively. I know one thing: if something is irritating my body consistently to the point of pain, I am not going to use it, no matter how much I might wish for it not to be so. <sigh>

Briar.

 

[drdave]

Briar,
For some reason, whenever I change my nicotine consumption form, I will either get mouth and throat irritation or the hiccups. This only seems to last for a few days. One of the things that I have found to be extremely helpful is to drink or sip on a hot beverage. My personal favorite is coffee but hot tea works as well. This type of irritation is common with the nicotine gum for me as well. This seems to pass after a few days. If you experience red gums and gingiva try a warm saltwater gargle also. I hope this helps.

 

[MissVapor]

I had symptoms from both VG and PG..try PEG from nuvape..thats what ive been using for months now..

 

[Subliminal]

I've developed cankers and small sore lumps on my tongue (form of canker I think) and gums were more sensitive. Also, with PG, I get slight sore throat. But with VG all I notice is my lungs feel more congested and I clear my throat more. I was using both VG and PG when the cankers developed so I'm not 100% sure. But I will say for the first week or two of vaping I used VG exclusively and don't recall those issues. I believe it to be PG for me, but as I'm out of VG and LOTS of PG left, I'll find out for sure. I just got over a nasty bout of cankers. So only time and experimentation will tell.

 

[DISSAPPOINTED]

THANK YOU I AM GOING TO NEED ALL THE LUCK, WILL POWER ETC FOR GOING COLD TURKEY.................................START OF DAY 2 WITH NO CIGARRETTE OR E CIG.
I WAS A SMOKER (18 YEARS) BEFORE I STARTED THE E-CIG, NOT ONCE DID I EXPERIENCE SORE GUMES, SENSITIVE TEETH ON NORMAL CIGS.
YES IT MOST DEFINETLY IS THE NICOTINE LIQUID - (E-LIQUIP, TWISP LIQUID, DEEP FOREST LIQUID) CAUSING THIS PROBLEM.

 

[DISSAPPOINTED]

Hi kate 51,
the strength of the nicotine liquid - high nicotine 18mg, the flavours i was using
malboro - high
menthol - high

 

[Briar]

Briar,
For some reason, whenever I change my nicotine consumption form, I will either get mouth and throat irritation or the hiccups. This only seems to last for a few days. One of the things that I have found to be extremely helpful is to drink or sip on a hot beverage. My personal favorite is coffee but hot tea works as well. This type of irritation is common with the nicotine gum for me as well. This seems to pass after a few days. If you experience red gums and gingiva try a warm saltwater gargle also. I hope this helps.

You hit this particular nail right on the head.

It was *nicotine*, folks! I took a day off, did the salt water thing like a good girl, all the while sweating that it was PG and/or VG... Well, the next day I had to test it, so I went back to vaping. A little irritation at first, and then it pretty much went away... It was PG stuff that I was using (10 mg), so I am *not*, as it turns out, PG-sensitive. Yesterday I got in some stronger stuff (VG), and I could taste the peppery taste of nicotine - and just when it hit my mouth, it started tingling and then burning a little. But, eventually it just went away as the day wore on. Now I almost don't fell anything at all. My lips tingle a bit, that's the extent of it.

Yaaaaaaay!

I must say I was surprised. I've smoked for 30 years and nic has never affected me this way before. I guess much of the vape-nicotine gets absorbed in the mouth, so there is more of an effect?

I just wish it wasn't giving me such a *horrible* heartburn... Yuck. I'm popping Tums like crazy. Hope it's a temporary thing.

Anyways, things are looking up, at least on this front. I just hope they don't ban the stuff... So many flavors yet to try...

Cheers,
Briar.

 

[DaBrat]

A lot of the mouth irritaion symptoms reported here are also listed as sysmptoms for the Nicotrol Inhaler

http://media.pfizer.com/files/products/uspi_nicotrol_inhaler.pdf

Look at local irritation. This could actually be a side effect of the nicotine itself and NOT something inherent to the ecigarette. I would reccommend cutting dosage and fequency. Thats the thing about an ecig, it doesn't burn down so you don't know when it done! I am sure the Vg acts as a coating of some sort to lessen the symptoms of irritation.

 

[Briar]

A lot of the mouth irritaion symptoms reported here are also listed as sysmptoms for the Nicotrol Inhaler

http://media.pfizer.com/files/products/uspi_nicotrol_inhaler.pdf

Look at local irritation. This could actually be a side effect of the nicotine itself and NOT something inherent to the ecigarette. I would reccommend cutting dosage and fequency. Thats the thing about an ecig, it doesn't burn down so you don't know when it done! I am sure the Vg acts as a coating of some sort to lessen the symptoms of irritation.

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks, DaBrat. Good info.

You are right, I'm vaping a lot differently from smoking. When I smoke I average I cig an hour - so it's a dozen puffs in about a min and a half, then most of an hour's break. When I vape, I take three or so puffs every ten minutes or so. A big, big difference.

Maybe I'll try to vape more like I smoke...

But the problem is much, much less now, so it's a matter of getting used to it, too.

And, if it does get worse, I can always cut back on both vaping and, probably more importantly, nic level. I intend to do that anyway.

Cheers,
Briar.