phlegm stuck in lung

[AhmadSufyan]

hi all, im new here, recently i had started vaping (1 week ago), been using a local made Salem 12mg with my knockoff ego-c , problem is after a few days i started to feel severe irritation in my left lung, with sob and chest tightness, and i cant cough out the nasty phlegm stucked in it.Since then, i completely stopped vaping and started back on analogs which i had quit 3 months ago. Nevertheless, analogs seems to be smooth unlike that nasty juice i used. im back to analogs to avoid the w.d. synptoms which i experienced badly after a day of stopping vaping.that content of the juice says 50-50 pg/vg mix.mmmmm,as for now, i dont really know what to do, let alone vaping.that first experience seems to be extremely disastrous and terrified me to continue to vape again.i hate the suffocating feeling of not being able to clear the phlegm, its like superglue.prior to this,wxactly on sep 11 i had acute bronchitis and panic attack where i was being hospitalised for 4 days

 

[stols001]

I'm sorry to hear about your experience, that sounds unpleasant.

I really need to say THIS first, consult your doctors about vaping. You really have to if you are having this kind of reaction.

I will say that some people are sensitive to VG, PG, and flavors. Also, depending in your cigarette habits your nic may be too high (although I think that's the least likely scenario.) IF your doctors give you the go ahead (and if you explain this is something that you really want to switch to, perhaps with rescue inhalers or a rescue plan) you could try starting out with VG and 10% distilled water (and maybe no nic). If that doesn't cause symptoms, you could try adding nicotine. If THAT is not okay, you will begin isolating what you may or may not be able to tolerate. Some folks get a heavy feeling with too much VG, and some folks are PG sensitive. I can't tolerate much PG in my mix at all so I vape 90% Vg/10 DW (other than flavors) and that works out fine. With that said, if you are VG sensitive, you will have to raise your PG level more to avoid congestion in the lungs. Some folks just can't tolerate as MUCH VG but can make something like a 20 or 30% VG, the rest PG.

Once you figure that scenario out, you could try adding flavors, one at a time.

If your doc suggests (or is interested in) allergy testing, I suppose that could be done, although I'm not sure how allergens "show up" if you are sensitive to them on inhale.

This plan would require a) doctor's approval and a rescue plan and b) some DIY but it may be worth it.

I'm sorry to hear about what happened.

Anna

 

[AhmadSufyan]

thanks anna,really appreciate your feedback

 

[DreamRJ]

Hi Ahmad, Sorry that you had problems with e-cigs, First of all as Anna said you should goto doctors first and get checked out and see if you have some reactions to the VG and PG. If that is all clear I would highly recommend trying different VG and PG levels in your base liquid.

Also the fact you said you went back to normal cigs is also alarming. If I had problems with my e cigs now I would just go buy some e-cigs from the local shops. I would never ever ever smoke normal ones ever again. And neither should you. They are 99X more bad for your lungs than the e cigs are. I quit normal cigs 5 years ago too.

I wish you good luck and I hope you do get off the normal cigs and get to the doctors to get checked out and then switch to different VG and PG base liquids

 

[stols001]

Well, perhaps the OP could try some nicotine gum or something in the meantime, not analogues. It depends how motivated one is. I went back to smoking a bit while I was getting things figured out, but I had a reaction early on. While cigarettes are indeed worse for you in the LONG run, they can actually be easier for some folks to tolerate as they have humectants and other things that e-cigs don't. With that said, I was motivated to return to vaping as I figured it out and did not stop vaping completely.

With that ALSO said, I was lucky to figure out it was PG fairly early. But, to the OP, if you are recovering from pneumonia smoking on top of it will delay your recovery (possibly) and it's also important to note that cigarette detox itself can produce symptoms that are unpleasant. I got extraordinarily hoarse my first few weeks vaping and could barely talk. It was dehydration I think, that and I'd been ill with pneumonia for pretty much 18 months straight and had hoarseness along with it. Tons of other detox symptoms happen, too. But I got MORE hoarse before I greatly improved (after using more VG in my mix) so it is important to a) stay hydrated b) have patience and c) set yourself up for success by using a different replacement method for now, while you can go talk to your doc about things. IF you can do it, I will say that for me it was more comfortable to smoke for a few days than try lozenges or gum, and in the grand scheme of things I was able to quit successfully.

There's a list of symptoms when quitting tobacco and I bet @BrotherBob (the new member's guardian angel as I like to call him) will be along to post it. It's extremely helpful, I would not have known many things such as to get my thyroid hormone checked upon switching from smoking to vaping, and I don't think any of my doctor's would have, either. There are some very interesting things about what just nicotine does to the body, without the tar and alkaloids associated with smoking (especially tar.).

Everyone's different. I was a 3 ppd smoker and coughed up almost NO tar when I transitioned, my husband is on day two, and it's already happening.... I like to think I coughed up all my tar while having pneumonia, but I seriously doubt that.

Good luck,

Anna

 

[DreamRJ]

Well, perhaps the OP could try some nicotine gum or something in the meantime, not analogues. It depends how motivated one is. I went back to smoking a bit while I was getting things figured out, but I had a reaction early on. While cigarettes are indeed worse for you in the LONG run, they can actually be easier for some folks to tolerate as they have humectants and other things that e-cigs don't. With that said, I was motivated to return to vaping as I figured it out and did not stop vaping completely.

With that ALSO said, I was lucky to figure out it was PG fairly early. But, to the OP, if you are recovering from pneumonia smoking on top of it will delay your recovery (possibly) and it's also important to note that cigarette detox itself can produce symptoms that are unpleasant. I got extraordinarily hoarse my first few weeks vaping and could barely talk. It was dehydration I think, that and I'd been ill with pneumonia for pretty much 18 months straight and had hoarseness along with it. Tons of other detox symptoms happen, too. But I got MORE hoarse before I greatly improved (after using more VG in my mix) so it is important to a) stay hydrated b) have patience and c) set yourself up for success by using a different replacement method for now, while you can go talk to your doc about things. IF you can do it, I will say that for me it was more comfortable to smoke for a few days than try lozenges or gum, and in the grand scheme of things I was able to quit successfully.

There's a list of symptoms when quitting tobacco and I bet @BrotherBob (the new member's guardian angel as I like to call it) will be along to post it. It's extremely helpful, I would not have known many things such as to get my thyroid hormone checked upon switching from smoking to vaping, and I don't think any of my doctor's would have, either. There are some very interesting things about what just nicotine does to the body, without the tar and alkaloids associated with smoking (especially tar.).

Everyone's different. I was a 3 ppd smoker and coughed up almost NO tar when I transitioned, my husband is on day two, and it's already happening.... I like to think I coughed up all my tar while having pneumonia, but I seriously doubt that.

Good luck,

Anna

You are right. Everyone is different indeed. I on the other hand can use e cigs fine when I have a cold or the flu. It does kinda make the kicks more rougher though.

 

[Grimwald]

I was a 40 year heavy smoker and I have COPD. I find I can't tolerate very much VG. I try to keep in about 20-25% VG to 75-80% PG.

My wife is sensitive to PG, so she uses 95% VG thinned with distilled water.

You just never know.

 

[suprtrkr]

Hi and welcome. I second going to the doctor. FWIW, I hacked for the first three months I was vaping.

 

[BrotherBob]

i dont really know what to do,

Welcome and glad you joined.
If problems persist, a doctor may help.
Might like to read:
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/f...g-tobacco-and-changing-to-an-ecigarette.3305/
http://ecigarettereviewed.com/allergies-conditions-and-e-liquid
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/forums/health-safety-and-vaping.24/

 

[jfcooley]

Really nothing to add other than welcome to ecf.

 

[Winchester]

Howdy and Welcome to ECF!
I smoked for 40 years. When I quit and started vaping I hacked some very scary stuff for almost a month. After that I never had it happen again. In fact after about six months I felt better than I had ever felt.

 

[AhmadSufyan]

does the pg and vg paralize the cilia in lungs the way analog smoke does?MAYBE thats causing me hard to cough up the phlegm?

 

[stols001]

I don't know anything about what happens to lung cilia, but I kind of doubt that they get paralyzed... Did you read that somewhere or come up with it on your own? I guess you could ask your doctor, but I've never heard of any such thing and I doubt that would be the reason although I suppose anything's possible, but I'd be interested in some sort of citation, I'm afraid that would be the only reason I would even consider that possibility, but regardless I still think you should see a doctor.

 

[SnapDragon NY]

Hi Ahmad -
Welcome to ECF
I am not a Dr
Sorry to hear of your coughing, when I first began vaping over 3 years ago I was dual using for 2 weeks(cigs and vape) I coughed alot. It was clearing out 30+ years of what cigarettes did to my lungs. As soon as I stopped cigarettes and only vaped my coughing slowly stopped.
Eliquids do not contain the paralyzing chemicals like cigarettes do or the thousands of other chemicals that cigarettes do.
Quitting cigarettes is not easy for some people- I needed a lot of will power too- you have to want to really and truly want quit smoking. You really need to quit cigarettes- with being in the hospital for days and problems with your lungs- why do you keep smoking cigarettes or think they are better for you than vaping, all I have read Vaping is 95% better than cigarettes?
I like higher VG juice at 3 nic, also maybe a soothing peppermint flavor may help, go back to the Vape shop and try different flavors, tell them about your coughing, I noticed for me the stronger the flavor I cut my nic way back to 3mgs, for me it was the Nicotine that was irritating.
Some people can only vape higher PG, again you need to experiment again try samples at a Vape Shop.
Take shallower inhales of your vape.
You need a better set up too- something you can adjust the wattage- you can't do that with your cheap Ego battery. You can start out at say 10w and get a less harsh hit or dial in what you feel good with. You need to make a better investment to fight your cigarette urges and help you vape.

 

[Opinionated]

does the pg and vg paralize the cilia in lungs the way analog smoke does?MAYBE thats causing me hard to cough up the phlegm?

No... it's the other way around actually. Smoking analog cigarettes makes the cilia stop working properly - it's why after smoking for a long time most smokers begin having recurring problems with contracting pneumonia.

What happens when you begin vaping, is that the cilia begins working again... it's a healing process so they aren't fully functioning on day one, but the healing process begins...

I had fairly severe lung damage from smoking, yearly bouts of pneumonia and breathing problems, and when I made the switch to electronic cigarettes and my lungs began the healing process I would cough the nastiest gunk out of my lungs... I coughed so hard at first it would cause me to vomit sometimes.

However, the more phlegm I got out of my lungs the better I was able to breathe, and in time the coughing diminished and then finally stopped, and in the end I could breathe better than I could remember ever breathing - but then I was a 32 year smoker who started smoking young so it's no wonder I can't remember back that far... lol.

I was sensitive to pg so as already mentioned look for sensitivities to either pg or certain flavors - but coughing associated with the first weeks of vaping is, for many, just part of the healing process associated with quitting smoking - one that occurs whether you vape or not.