New health problems since vaping - now terrified after googling

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Plus drink, drink, drink. Water if you can stand it, tea or really any beverage. Your body is trying to get rid of the toxins you took in when you smoked cigarettes. The extra drink will also make your vaping a little more comfortable as the pg/vg will draw moisture from your nose, throat, and mouth to help produce the vapor you see.
And I agree to cut the nic down. You may be experiencing several withdrawal systems plus over nic-ing at the same time.

 

[Ripply]

I was a heavy smoker previously and when I tried a low nicotine level, I ended up chain-vaping. I thought too much nicotine would cause a fast heart rate. Mine was low. Very low, which is why I passed out. I had palpitations too at different times though.

 

[Zutankhamun]

I don’t think anybody here can give you the clarity you need.

Are they instant issues that you can attribute to vaping?
Perhaps it’s worth going down the grim road of lozenges, patches etc... Then you’re likely to be able to rule out vaping or not.

 

[Letitia]

I was a heavy smoker previously and when I tried a low nicotine level, I ended up chain-vaping. I thought too much nicotine would cause a fast heart rate. Mine was low. Very low, which is why I passed out. I had palpitations too at different times though.

You are going to have to find a balance. Maybe keep two tanks, one higher nic that you only hit once twice now and then and another much lower nic you can chain vape for stress relief. It helps to exhale thru your nose, more efficient nic absorption.

 

[stols001]

I don't think anyone can give you a definitive answer either. I could go through the long complicated steps that you might need to do to try and "isolate" vape symptoms or sensitivities to various ingredients, but I really think your best bet at the current time is to use another form of nicotine replacement, get through detox, and if your symptoms STOP, you can try vaping again.

If they return AT THAT TIME, I would then probably go through the annoying, irritating (I know, I had to do it myself) set of steps to figure out that I was PG sensitive. It's not hard, it's just annoying, tedious, and you need to be in a calm state of mind to do it, not an anxious one, and until you are through detox from cigarettes and stable on a more traditional nicotine replacement system-- even if it's nic salt pouches or Swedish snus--- I don't think you'd really have the mindset and lack of anxiety to do it.

Try cutting your nic. IF that doesn't help, switch to patches/gum/lozenges/whatever. Get yourself a few weeks of cigarettes and if health issues haven't "presented" themselves again, return to vaping.

That's really the best advice I have. My transition to vaping alone wasn't easy, I both O'D'd on nicotine for a while, then had to deal with PG sensitivity. The difference being, I was SO SICK from tobacco by then, I really wasn't too "freaked out" by "odd" symptoms and sensations. I was fairly sure I was headed for death, anyway.

Anna

 

[QcVaper]

Although i cannot offer medical advise (besides what everyone has already said) i can voutch for the fact vaping dosen't worsen your health more than cigarettes do, or i very doubt so. I've been diabetic for over 20 years (basically since i was about 3-4 yrs old) i smoked for over 10 years, and even vaping sweeter liquids i have seen only positive results with vaping on my end, not only physically but my diabetes seems to be much more stable these days than it ever was.


Do take care of yourself firstly though, but again i'm NOT A DOCTOR so take this with a grain of salt as i can offer nothing more than a good luck

 

[Beamslider]

The strange thing for me after quitting. I smoked Menthol cigarettes but Menthol in vaping made me kind of ill and cause breathing issues.

 

[Vchick]

There would be nothing any of us can do or say to calm your fears. I remember your first thread from a few months back questioning sore throat etc. Anxiety is a strange thing, do you what you feel in your heart is the right thing for you. Don't rely on google or the interwebs to tell you what is right for you.

 

[rollersk4te]

When I quit vaping for smoking, I had been repeatedly catching pneumonia and lost all function in my left lung with 100% blockage. The doctor couldn't figure out why my left lung wasn't working.... xrays, MRIs etc. showed nothing causing the blockage. I'm pretty sure I was headed towards a COPD diagnosis. I asked my doc if it would help to try switching from smoking to ecigs. My doctor was surprisingly supportive of it, and said even if I didn't manage to quit nicotine, vaping would be a lot healthier for my lungs and heart than smoking was.

Within weeks, I got 100% function back to my left lung.

Like Stols, I've had my issues with PG as well as some flavorings. But I knew a return to smoking would be a death sentence more so than any vaping would be.

If vaping isn't working out for you, try some other NRT. Don't go back to smoking, no matter what the cost. It won't help your condition at all. My case isn't a rare one... I have seen MANY ex-smokers now vapers report similar stories with their health when it came to smoking. You may be PG sensitive, you may be allergic or sensitive to some flavorings, you may even be vaping more nicotine than your system can really handle. But at the end of the day, all of it is TEMPORARY. It's not PERMANENTLY damaging your health the way smoking is.

Note, I am not telling you to vape despite your health problems. I am however saying that it and other NRTs are MUCH better for you than SMOKING is. Period. Without question.

 

[Opinionated]

A couple of thoughts.. please note, I'm not a doctor, these are my own personal observations as to how vaping and nicotine affect me.

Nicotine increases your heart rate and blood pressure.

The absence of your normal amount of nicotine makes your blood pressure drop. My blood pressure dropped significantly when I quit smoking and began vaping.

You may have low blood pressure normally, and are now not getting near the same amount of nicotine as your were getting when you smoked...

20 mg isn't much nicotine at all if your only consuming 1-2 ml of ejuice per day. .. depending upon how much you smoked prior to transitioning, you might not be getting enough nicotine.

If you smoked between one and two packs a day, most people need somewhere around 75 to 100mg of nicotine per day to transition smoothly on the low side. You will decrease the amount of nicotine over time fairly naturally.. but most people need to transition with higher amounts of nicotine.

How many ml of ejuice are you vaping per day?

(20mg of nicotine is per ml of ejuice..so to know how much nicotine your taking in we need to know how many ml your vaping every day)

Sore throat... my throat is eternally messed up from smoking, and my throat is much more sensitive to vaping than some peoples..

What I found helped with the vaping induced sore throat was smooth nicotine salts, and of course high VG ejuice as I cannot tolerate PG, also, a tank with a little bit of an air-y draw, more of a restricted lung draw instead of a mtl... or basically, a wide open airflow on a mtl tank.

I know you've tried a lot of ejuice... but did you ever change up the tank you were using and try something else?

 

[NeonH1]

Please see a doctor. When I quit smoking it felt like someone was sitting on my chest, it really felt like my heart was going to explode. I also had horrible insomnia and a major anxiety/depression disorder. I was 95% sure it was just anxiety, but I thought it made sense to get it checked out. They took blood, hooked me up to an EKG, checked my lungs and all came back negative. Just knowing that made it much better, now when I have chest pain I'm not too worried... as I'm sure it's just anxiety.

When I transitioned to vaping, I did it the hybrid way... and eventually just felt like not smoking anymore. The last few cigarettes I had gave me a massive rush, but not in a good way.

The odd time I'll get a heavy chest sensation when vaping (usually when I hit it too much).

When I do, I just take a break and come back to it slowly.

I wasted plenty of money on different juices and devices, trying to find the right nic amount and a device that I enjoy using.

I've got there now, and now that I do, it's so cheap compared to smoking. 100 ml of juice set me back $40.00... I vape around 2ml a day, my coils last me about 2-weeks... so it really is much cheaper than smoking... and I quite enjoy it now.

The nic buzz is much different than cigarettes for me, and I much prefer it.

Anyway... main point, see a doctor so you can figure it out... but to me it sounds like anxiety, but that's just my $0.02 based on my own experience.

You might have something wrong or you might not. But you need to figure it out for yourself.

 

[suprtrkr]

Hi and welcome, and sorry to hear about your troubles. I'm afraid I don't have much to add you haven't heard before, but good luck. My 2 cents: going back to smoking is probably a bad idea.

 

[mcclintock]

There's the medical side, but also the vaping side of is your device working correctly? They recommend 12 watts on that tank/coil, which for me means that 9 might be OK if I baby it. Priming, etc....

Also the doc can't answer what you actually feel. If it's stress yes you may be quitting smoke too fast for your body. If you really like vaping, some still can be pulled back to smoking but I found I did want to go towards vaping as fast as my body got used to it, or only somewhat slower. Or maybe your body can't handle that anymore either.

 

[Frenchfry1942]

Well, seeing a specialist doctor is very wise.

Until then...lower the Nic, vape 3-4 draws only when your body says it wants nicotine. Look for a juice higher in VG. Drink a couple gulps of water just before you vape.

It take vape Nic longer to get into the system than cig Nic. 3-4 draws and wait for the effect.

Pending seeing a doc, lower the nic, water, more VG, vape only to get the Nic your body really needs, and watch for symptoms. If you are still close to you last cig, you will have some effects from not taking in all the bad chemicals.

 

[Ripply]

Thank you for all the replies. I did try a lot of different set-ups previously but I soon went back to smoking. This was the first one that I really preferred to smoking. I quickly found I craved it more than cigarettes. I think I did quit a bit too fast and should have went slower.

The tank on this is 2mls and that lasts me just over a day. I don’t really understand the wattage stuff but it goes from 3.3 to 5.5 volts. I have it set at 3.5

I know this won’t be liked here, but I’m going to try smoking a few cigarettes each day, maybe 5, and cut them out more gradually. It might not be the right thing to do and I really don’t need any lectures about it but I’m scared my body just doesn’t cope with the sudden change and I’ll try anything.

I’ve decided to pay to see those specialists privately. It will get me into a lot of debt but the stress of waiting months or years for the NHS to help, would only make things worse.

 

[Opinionated]

Thank you for all the replies. I did try a lot of different set-ups previously but I soon went back to smoking. This was the first one that I really preferred to smoking. I quickly found I craved it more than cigarettes. I think I did quit a bit too fast and should have went slower.

The tank on this is 2mls and that lasts me just over a day. I don’t really understand the wattage stuff but it goes from 3.3 to 5.5 volts. I have it set at 3.5

I know this won’t be liked here, but I’m going to try smoking a few cigarettes each day, maybe 5, and cut them out more gradually. It might not be the right thing to do and I really don’t need any lectures about it but I’m scared my body just doesn’t cope with the sudden change and I’ll try anything.

I’ve decided to pay to see those specialists privately. It will get me into a lot of debt but the stress of waiting months or years for the NHS to help, would only make things worse.

You will likely have more success doing that as your not getting enough nicotine right now.

Your not taking in even half the amount of nicotine most vapers today start with.

This will help your blood pressure by raising it.. but you still need to see a specialist (doctor) as you honestly shouldn't need nicotine to keep your blood pressure up within normal range. .. So make sure you follow up with those specialists. (Nicotine should make your blood pressure high, not just bring it up to normal range I would think)

But don't let it bother you - lots of people dual use and cut out cigarettes more slowly.

 

[NicotineRush]

Try switching to unflavored. You never really know what's in the premixed juice you buy.

 

[stols001]

I see no reason for you not to do what is best for you, and if that involves some dual use for a bit, well it does.

I really am sorry you have to pay out of pocket to see a doctor sooner, but I think it's also the right thing to do for your peace of mind. I hope you get things resolved quickly.

I do agree that if vaping only 2 ml of juice, part of your issue may be not getting enough nicotine but you also need to be using a device that works for you, there are so many variables. I hope things are calmer as you get in to see your specialists.

Anna

 

[BrotherBob]

Could anyone reassure me that I’m doing the right thing by vaping? Or not? There’s no chance I can quit vaping without going back to cigarettes.

Just like anything else, vaping is not for everyone. I see by your previous posts you are having an inordinate amount of problems over last month.
Re: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/search/8622717/
Perhaps by reading the following may help:
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/f...g-tobacco-and-changing-to-an-ecigarette.3305/

 

[stols001]

Well, some people do go through more psychological torture than physical torture when quitting smoking.

IF you see these other specialists and they find nothing wrong, a psychiatric referral might not go amiss. I'm not suggesting meds or anything else, but UNLESS something medical is found, some counseling and support while transitioning from smoking to vaping might not go amiss. Quitting is really hard. REALLY hard. I had a lot of anxiety during the process and felt fortunate that my smoking habit left me near death/feeling like death, so some stuff I was able to just ignore, since I didn't care that much if I lived or died, frankly.

With that said, DURING the transition process I DID run into issues, like nicotine overload, the wrong setup (for me) and a PG sensitivity.

So, it could be anxiety, underlying health issues generally, a psychological thing, or a need to amend your vaping technique/habits somehow, or a need for more real life support.

Start with the health stuff first, smoke if you want to (although personally, I do think that's less helpful if you do JUST have a medical issue.. If I was hospitalized for heart problems, I wouldn't be smoking, let me put it that way. But, do what you must, it doesn't sound like you are at risk from dropping dead immediately, but if you get palpitations after smoking, do call an ambulance.

Once all the specialists weigh in, if they come up "empty" as it were, a determined attempt to return to vaping (with help for the anxiety/whatever) might not be amiss. And you could still be sensitive to a vape ingredient.

But, you're going to have to approach it methodically and calmly if you want success. I would ask your PCP now for a referral to psych, if you do plan to continue vaping. It just would be useful.

Just my thoughts, as always.

Anna