Nicotine and atherosclerosis

[Marteene]

I stopped smoking 6 years ago after 30 years of smoking. Once I stopped smoking I started to vap my ego on 11 or 12 mg. I have severe atherosclerosis on the abdomen. My doctor whom I just told I was using an e-cig said it is like I had never stopped smoking and my disease is due to the nicotine which narrows the blood vessels and cause the atherosclerosis.

Has someone got the same disease ? what to do ? What if I go down in nicotine to 6 mg ?
I like my e-cig and I like to vap. I read a lot of articles about using e-cig and they are all contredictory. One says white and one says black.

What do you recommend ? follow the doctor's advice to stop my e-cig ?

Regards Marteene

 

[Topwater Elvis]

A doctor would know more about your aliment than we would.
Usually unwise to go against medical professional advice.

Maybe vape 0 nic?

 

[ExtremeDooty]

If you quit 6 years ago you should be over the addiction problem. There's more than just nicotine involved in addiction to cigs. Why not try some 3 or 0mg nic juices. What your Doctor said about nicotine and blood vessels is true, so you should probably listen to him (or her).

 

[Izan]

Hi and welcome,
I would find a new doctor and get a second opinion.

Best of luck
I

 

[QcVaper]

Like everyone else i'd suggest you either vape 0mg or do as your doctor said since they're the ones that what's best for you. Also even though the nicotine part makes sense i do wonder about how true (i've been vaping for a while now and haven't had any symptoms like that). All i can say for sure is that it dosen't affect my diabetes in the slightest. (type 1 diabetic)

 

[Larry J]

Listen to your doctor! Nicotine is definitely a vasoconstrictor and can aggravate any artery disease. I have coronary artery disease, very aggressive, and my doctor told me to get completely off nicotine. I vaped 0 mg for a while, but have since gone up to 3 mg in spite of what my doctor said. I've decided to take my chances. However, I do hard workouts at the gym four times a week to help develop my collateral bloodflow to my heart, and it's definitely working. If you want to be completely safe, get completely off the nicotine. The claim that nicotine is harmless is not only disengenuous, but is also patently FALSE.

 

[stols001]

I think that getting a second opinion is reasonable, but it is in fact true that if you have a blood vessel disease, that's something to take seriously, and to take a look at your vaping habits. Nicotine is not ENTIRELY benign, certainly when it comes to things like coronary artery disease. Your condition sounds serious, and if your doctor is that concerned, it's definitely something to think about. Only you can decide what you want to do going forward, but lowering your nicotine is certainly a good first step, and you may want to look at tapering off it entirely. If you find it difficult, you may have to decide (with your doctor) whether vaping very low nicotine is safer than returning to smoking, and hopefully you have a doctor with whom you can MAKE those decisions in the safest manner for you. It might be wise to find a doctor who has some familiarity with vaping and can advise/support you during the process of tapering or even vaping 0 nic. Also, you may want to look at HOW much nic you are vaping over the course of the day, not just your nic "level". You may be able to lower it by vaping less, overall, while still maintaining a nic level. It's going to be tricky, because vaping low amounts of say 1 mg nic is probably safer than returning to smoking, for your condition. But I am not a doctor, so if yours doesn't understand vaping, finding one who DOES have knowledge in that arena would be helpful, most likely.

Best of luck, and I'm sorry that you are facing this very difficult choice.

Anna

 

[zoiDman]

I stopped smoking 6 years ago after 30 years of smoking. Once I stopped smoking I started to vap my ego on 11 or 12 mg. I have severe atherosclerosis on the abdomen. My doctor whom I just told I was using an e-cig said it is like I had never stopped smoking and my disease is due to the nicotine which narrows the blood vessels and cause the atherosclerosis.

Has someone got the same disease ? what to do ? What if I go down in nicotine to 6 mg ?
I like my e-cig and I like to vap. I read a lot of articles about using e-cig and they are all contredictory. One says white and one says black.

What do you recommend ? follow the doctor's advice to stop my e-cig ?

Regards Marteene

Hi Marteene. Welcome to the ECF.

If you want to continue Vaping, I would Highly Suggest that you move to 0mg e-Liquids.

Being a Non-Smoker, I think you will find the Transition from what you use Now to 0mg e-Liquids to be relatively easy.

 

[stols001]

I'm hopeful for Martene that transitioning to 0 nic will be easy, but if I were a vaper with such a condition, I'd probably want a doc who could gently guide me through that process. Oh, I know *finding one* with the right expertise may be very difficult, but the bottom line is, with such a serious condition, you really have to be guided by your doctor as to best health practice and how to get there.

Anna

 

[BrotherBob]

I stopped smoking 6 years ago after 30 years of smoking. Once I stopped smoking I started to vap my ego on 11 or 12 mg. I have severe atherosclerosis on the abdomen. My doctor whom I just told I was using an e-cig said it is like I had never stopped smoking and my disease is due to the nicotine which narrows the blood vessels and cause the atherosclerosis.
Has someone got the same disease ? what to do ? What if I go down in nicotine to 6 mg ?
I like my e-cig and I like to vap. I read a lot of articles about using e-cig and they are all contredictory. One says white and one says black.
What do you recommend ? follow the doctor's advice to stop my e-cig ?
Regards Marteene

I'm at zero nic and don't miss nic for a number of reasons. The main reason being, that I DIY and found that nic changed the mix taste. You could take up DIY and make a recipe of 6 mg, 3 mg and 0 mg. Don't label the flavor mixes with the strengths and vape away. Just keep lowering the mixes until you are satisfied with zero nic mixes.
Here is a quick look into DIY, might like to visit:
Getting Started: DIY 101 – Mixing Your Own eLiquid
http://diyordievaping.com/category/latestnews/beginnertips/
http://www.ecigexpress.com/shop/diy-e-liquid/diyordie-concentrates.html
http://www.ejuicemakers.com/help/
How to get started mixing your own DIY e liquids.
Could read the stickies in this forum:
DIY E-Liquid
About the heart:
E-cig study says vaping has no negative health effects on myocardial functions