NEw e-smoker, but Huge problem last night.... panic attack, need advice

[DaveBaltimore]

Ok, so Iavebeen smokin this crappy no name brand e-cig the past 3 days, usnig it quite a bit. I used to smoke about a pack of newports a day. I switched to the e-cig, and smoke 1-3 analogs a day. I have a RIVA 510 and BOGE carts on the way, but here is what happened. Last night, as i was falling asleep, i felt weird, like tingly all over. I fell asleep, then no more than an hour later,I jumped up and started freaking out... my whole body was tingly, i couldn't see straight, my equilibrium was off, and I was sure I was going to die. I ran in the bedroom, kissed my 7 year old and told her i loved her, then went in the family room to call my mom to see if I was gonna bite it. (you'll have to excuse the fact I didn't call 911, I Am a Italian momma's boy so i had to hear her voice, lol.) She assured me I would live and came right over at 5am to help me out. Apparently I was having a panic attack. Now here are the things that i think could have caused it. Mind you, i have never ever had a panic attack before in my life:

1. I went from a pack of menthol a day, to 1-3 a day, and the e-cig isnt giving me enough nicotine, hence withdrawls, and panic attack

2. The e-cig is giving me too much nicotine, and I need to cut backand use it alot less.

3. The absolutely ....ty and shady e-cig I bought, has something wrong with some of the batteries, or Cartomizers, and it ....d me all up last night, ODing me on nicotine

HERe is the thing Folks. I don't want to use analogs.. I love using my e-cig. I have a nice RIVA and some BOGE's on the way, and I Want to enjoy them. Please tell me I am being paranoid and IF I cut back a bit, and stop using the crap cig, I should be ok. I dont wanna lose the friends i made on here, and I dont think tht e-cigs make me crazy... I Am a 32year old surgical implant specialist. Stress is my specialty. Anyways, please advise!!!!!

Dave from Baltimore

 

[bjannr]

Not sure, but maybe it was a nic overload. What mg is your juice/carto? You said your were using it quite a bit. Maybe you had more nicotine in your system than you were used to. Hopefully some others will chime in.

 

[Pamdane]

I agree with too much nic. I found that when I switched from cigars to vaping I just puffed away on the E cig. At 24 mg, I was way over! Talk about muscle spasms and migraines! Got racing heart beat and nausea. Cut down nic to 6-8 mg and have been good ever since. But that's me.

 

[keyzygirl]

Cigarettes have MAOIs in them and it may have just been the withdrawal from cigs that caused the panic attack.There are a ton of chemicals that your body is withdrawing from besides the nic.If it was caused by to much nic you would have been nauseous and dizzy right away,not an hour or so after you fell asleep.Drink plenty of water to help flush the toxins out of your system.

 

[dragonladee]

I agree, I've been reading alot about cigarette withdrawals (because my skin is HORRIBLE right now) and one thing I have run across consistently is that having panic attacks is a fairly common withdrawal symptom, vaping or not.

I've also read that if you overdo it on the nic your symptoms would have been immediate and would have gone away within 30 minutes-an hour, so I'd chalk this up to quitting the cigs myself.

 

[Kurt]

I also think you might be overdoing the nic too close to sleepy time. Happens to me when I don't consciously go to low nic before retiring. Thing about vaping nic is it is primarily oral absorption, which is slow rise and slow taper systemically, unlike cig smoke which is fast pulmonary absorption and fast decay. Oral nic can keep trickling in over time, messing up sleep cycles. I doubt it is serious withdrawal. Seems you would know that because you would be wanting a cigarette really bad, and I don't hear that from you.

When I first started vaping, I really had no idea how much nic I was taking in, and I recall some really wacky dreams, also insomnia and some night terrors. It was all from too much nic too close to bed time. Now while I am reading my book just before sleeping, if I vape, its at about 4 mg strength. Trying backing off a bit. Also, if you are already getting a Riva and some cartos, get some juices in a range of strengths. It can be a real roller coaster in the beginning to get levels right, PG/VG ratio (I can only vape VG, no PG for me!!). Took me about a month, and I'm still learning. The physiology of vaping is really different than that of smoking.

Also, if you have any tendency for snoring or apnea, too much nic in the throat will make these worse too, which also makes for sleep disturbances.

BTW what you describe is a common symptom of wearing a patch at night. Sleep and nic do not get along!

It COULD be withdrawal, but unless you are not getting enough nic, which is probably unlikely, the MAOI withdrawal usually takes a few weeks to manifest, and if you are still having a few real ones, this is probably not the case.