One year after switch, now experiencing some issues with chest pains.

[Libertysf]

After trying Ecigs for about 2 weeks I had my last analog on Jan. 3, 2010. Now after a year of smoking PG and reducing nicotine percentage I starting having an issue with chest pain. It came on rather suddenly and I thought I had pulled a muscle or bruised my ribcage somehow. I have checked with my doctor and did a chest xray and everything is OK. Of course he doesn't know of the side effects of PG or much about Ecigs.

I have tried to figure out what is wrong and now after a week I believe it is the PG liquid I am using. Doing a search I find that the buildup of Lactic acid is one of the side effects which causes some of the same symptoms I have. The pain in my chest feels tight and congested like I have a bad chest cold which I don't and my abdominal muscles are sore and tight. I have reduced the nicotine level over the months to around 10mg but I believe it is the continued use of PG and not the nicotine that is doing this.

I guess my choices are to quit the Ecigs or switch to VG liquid and see if that helps. I haven't missed analogs and DO enjoy vaping so I hate to give it up. I did quit for a couple of days and the pain was reduced. I am curious whether anyone else has experience similar symptoms?

 

[jplanet]

Lactic acid is expelled from your system via urine, so drinking lots of water can be helpful in preventing any buildup. vaping can dehydrate you to begin with, so it is even harder to stay just hydrated enough - let alone enough to flush out any excess lactic acid....

There are, of course, lots of excellent VG-only juices out there to choose from, since many people can't do PG, so that is not so bad if that is the worst case scenario.

You might also see if taking an antacid does anything for you - frequently reflux will present as chest or abdominal pain, and certain flavors cause acid reflux for a lot of people. I can't vape anything sour or spicy, and even coffee and chocolate flavors will give me stomach pain. Sometimes this feels like the pain is on the surface or muscle, but is actually coming from the digestive tract...

 

[Libertysf]

Thanks for your reply and good advice. Can you offer your opinion on VG only juice suppliers? I have only used TV which I like but they don't do all VG and a search for VG only or 100% VG isn't getting me many results.

 

[Phreaker]

Here are three vendors I get pg-free juice from: vaperite.com, avejuice.com, johnsoncreeksmokejuice.com (their Red Oak line is pg-free).

 

[Dee74]

Other VG vendors, Good Prophets, Vapor Station, Vapor Bomb, liberty Flights, Gourmet Vapor, velvet vapors, My Freedomsmokes, (not USA) although they do VG juices, clouds of vapor that is a good start. More are coming everyday.

 

[AlmightyGod]

Clouds of Vapor also carries an organic VG line of liquids.

 

[tybin]

+1 on the good prophets juice as it is the consistency of pg

 

[VpnDrgn]

+1 on the good prophets juice as it is the consistency of pg

If you do order an all VG juice, make sure you have some PGA ( Everclear ) on hand to thin it out if the vendor did not. Straight VG is very thick.
Just 5% or so of PGA ( or 5 to 10% of distilled water, if you have a problem with alcohol ) will thin it out nicely.
Good Luck

 

[Libertysf]

Thanks for all your replies on VG, I appreciate it. Anyone else have an issue with PG?

 

[jplanet]

Oh, and VaporStation has some great VG flavors as well...

Good idea on the PGA, I have some Red Oak Swiss Dark that I absolutely love to vape (best chocolate juice IMO), but it always clogs up my atties, so I'll give that a try...

 

[jj2]

I've always had an issue with PG but more in the line of an initial allergic reaction.
I can now use it in a mostly VG based mix. If I do a 30+ PG, I get the chest pains that feel like
Pleurisy.
I know the pain well since I suffered bouts of it when smoking. The good thing, for me, is it doesn't flair as much since I've switched to vaping.
This is me though and may not have anything to do with what you are going through.
My advice: The next time this happens get into see your doctor while you have the pain so he/she can listen to your lungs.

 

[Libertysf]

I did go see my doctor when I was having the pains and they listened and took a chest xray and couldn't come up with a thing. The weird thing is that this has come up now after a year of vaping PG with no side effects.

 

[jj2]

Then it's most likely not Pleurisy because they can tell that by listening to the lungs.
It could be reflux.
I'd try the VG route to see how that goes.
It also could be a flavoring even if you've been vaping the same thing since the word go because they may have changed the mixture a little.
Sorry I can't be anymore help. Just keep trying your options and most importantly, keep seeing your doctor until this is figured out.

 

[VpnDrgn]

I have always had problems with muscle spasms in my back and overall joint pains. About a year before I started vaping I had an episode where a muscle spasm in my ribs just below and behind my armpit had me so twisted up I could barely breathe let alone move. After 3 days of excruciating pain I went to a doctor ( my spasms usually went away after a couple of days ). Once the ER was satisfied I wasn't having a heart attack ( boy was that a joke, a bunch of nurses telling me I had to scoot myself from one gurney to another when I couldn't move and they're all telling me I HAD to move right away, I would have been cussing them out if I could get enough breath, I never undertood how they thought I was going to move under my own power if I WAS having a heart attack ) they put me on an IV and pumped me full of liquid Valium. After 20 minutes I could breath and the pain was gone. The doctor said I had a pulled muscle ( spasm? ) in the inner muscle wall of my ribs. I started taking a daily vitamin supplement with extra potassium and while I still have minor muscle aches, I haven't had any bad spasms since. I guess the point of my story is, PG causes higher levels of lactic acids in the muscles leading to muscle aches and cramps, PG & VG dry you out leaving the body less fluids to flush out those same acids, but I wasn't even vaping and had the same kind of problem so maybe it's not the PG. Make an effort to help your body adjust by drinking plenty of water, eating right and taking supplements. Make sure to see your doctor until you do know what is going on though. The bad thing about allergies is you can grow into and out of them. Is there a test for PG allergies?

Sorry about rambling on, while I believe there are plenty of people who do unfortunately have problems ( or develop problems ) with PG or VG, I think most of it is a combination of psychosomatic problems and the simple fact that they are just now noticing stuff going on with their health because the vaping issue has made them hyper aware.

"...and that's all I got to say about that!"

 

[Natalia]

Velvet Vapors also lets you choose VG.

 

[Libertysf]

I just wanted to follow up with an update to my situation. I actually never tried any VG because the pain in my lower chest bothered me so much I actually quit vaping shortly after these posts. It took a couple of weeks before all the pain finally went away. I guess I am still not 100% positive that the vaping caused this issue but I am glad I was finally able to quit vaping as well as smoking analogues.

BTW, I feel that was easier to quit vaping than quitting analogues so I am glad for the E-cigs and this website which helped me so much.

 

[ZoSo15]

Good to hear you recovered. I agree in that it's easier to quit vaping than analogs. I can go much, much longer without a drag of my pv than I used to be able to go without a cig.

If you don't mind, I'm gonna drop a link here dealing with another type of chest pain just in case anyone with it wanders into this thread.

That Sharp Pain in your Chest

PCS is something that doctors don't know the cause of and probably will never know so that unfortunately tends to make some of them fail to diagnose it, leading to more expensive tests and anxiety for a patient with a benign condition.

 

[bones25]

Well, I started vaping last March, quit smoking in July. In October, I started having some burning issues just to the right of my sternum, mainly when I vaped. I thought it might be because I was pulling on the ecig. Then my whole upper abdomen would feel tight and a little sore. It got progressively worse last month. I had an endoscopy yesterday and I have inflammation of the esophagus and stomach. I can remember a couple of episodes of similar although less intense symptoms (probably twice) when I was smoking, but nothing like this past couple of months. The pictures the doctor showed me indicate that my stomach area of inflammation is bright red. I'm not sure what to do now...guess I have to quit everything. This burning is really uncomfortable.

 

[brisket]

not sure about your problem but...
there are 5 of us who now vape after a friend gave us 510 starter kits. ive been vaping for about 4 months. our friend has vaped for 1 year. however the rest started have problems. like sore throat,congestion ,leg pains..and one friend even started getting sores in her mouth. they all switched to vg only juices now and they dont have any problems...except being total juice theives...i too switched to vg. and some of them are learning to make their own juice because we had trouble finding vg juice. but ever1 is right, drink alot of water. if i were you i would try a vg only mix for a couple of days.or even cut your juice alot with vg like 80 vg/20pg see if it helps. you may even ask your doctor if it might be the beginning of copd or emphysema. i would definitely go back to the dr. take care

 

[bluesuede]

I've found that some of the flavoring used can cause a tight feeling in the chest if one vapes it too much. I never have a problem with tobacco flavors. BUT, on the other hand lately I've broken out with hives/rash that itches like crazy. So I'm wondering if that's a PG allergy reaction but I've vaped PG since Oct. 2009. Anyway, process of elimination. I'm switching to VG for a while to see if that helps.