Pretty scary night

[sppowers]

So I was on my 2nd vaping run in my life, I had gone about 13 days with 0 smokes and feeling great, then very suddenly things got scary.

I was sitting in my chair vaping away playing some DC Universe when I got a burst of dyspnea. At first I was thinking maybe I had vaped one puff to many so I set down the buzz and continued to play away. About 10 minutes later I felt as if I had just run a PRT, I was huffing deep breaths but not feeling them. My left hand started to go numb and my chest got heavy, at this point I was thinking what any person with basic medical knowledge would think... heart attack? I went outside to get some air and tried to convince myself "Your 24, your fine, nothings wrong" but the situation didn't change after another 10 minutes. I ended up getting a ride soon after to the ER.

To my great relief everything came back fine, they assured me my lungs looked fine and I did not have a heart attack, they gave me an inhaler and sent me on my way. As stupid as this sounds, I went back to smoking cigarettes the next day, mainly because I was too afraid to pick up my vaporizer for more than a single puff every once in a while.

I am not trying to scare anyone but I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of, or had, a reaction like this? I have seen short breath threads but nothing to this extreme... I was thinking maybe its a panic attack, but I have never gotten anything like that before.

And on also the reason I link this to vaping is because it is the only thing that has changed in my daily routine, I did nothing else abnormal, this could just be a bunk assumption but I would gamble heavy on it.

 

[Shilo]

I don't know what would cause this except for a reaction to something in the vape? What flavor were you vaping at what percentage. There are others more knowledgable than me on this topic here I just wanted to say I am glad you are OK. I have heard of people having a reaction to PG or a particular flavoring but I think this is somewhat rare.

 

[CCC]

Gee that does sound scary. I only had a heavy feeling on my chest when i tried 100%vg juice. I have had slight head spinning from over use of my pv, but like you did i put it down for a bit and got some fresh air and all was good again. Panic attacks are similar, but it's more mental, you become hyper aware of your pulse and breathing rythem and can totally freak yourself out, i have had these before, and they are totally random. Hope you don't have to go through that ever again.

 

[MegaBee]

Did you mention to them in the ER you were using ECig? I wonder if the juice had something in it that you are sensitive to. Could you try carefully sampling other ones you have? Be careful and let us know if you find out what caused your symptoms. I'm glad you feel better now.


Last cigarette 16th October, 2011. Forever grateful for the support and advice from ECF.

 

[CES]

I don't know if this will be any help or not, but a little while before i stopped smoking a started getting anxiety symptoms, especially when i was driving in the mornings- got shaky and felt like i was about to pass out. It lightened a bit when i started vaping, and then got occurred again about 6-8 months into vaping.

I started really paying attention...and realized that if i put down the PV it got better. That took me a long time to figure out, because i had many years of using ciggs to calm myself. For me it turned out that it was a combination of caffeine and nicotine. I decreased my caffeine and dropped my nic levels (from 24 mg to 18 mg) and the anxiety symptoms decreased. The other thing that helped was once i realized what it was, i didn't get anxious about getting anxious, so when that fluttery feeling came around again, i could set the PV down, wait a bit and let it pass. For me, it turns out that it's a cue to decrease nic levels (now at 10-12 mg).

Who knew that my tolerance for caffeine and (alcohol too) would decrease - but changing the levels of all the other chemicals in my body by not smoking, meant that other things reset too.

I'm glad you went to the ER and got it checked out. It is very scary, and i hope it never repeats.

 

[sppowers]

thanks for all the thoughts everyone. The juice I was puffing on (and have not touched since) was FSUSA Voodoo 18mg, I want to say the ratio is 75/25 but do not quote me on it. I did in fact tell the doctors and nurses that helped me about 100 times that I have been vaping religiously for awhile to quit smoking, they seemed to either not care or not know what to say because they just completely ignored me ( hooray for MA hospitals). CES I think I will try to limit my caffine intake next, I usually have 2 black medium iceds from dunks every day and I did not even think there could be a reaction, but I can see how maybe it could mess with the body. I am also thinking about bumping down to 12 but it may make be vape through more nicliq, and the 300± ml I have stocked up are all 18 so it would be hard to justify switching at this point unless it becomes a must.

it has been almost a week since my hospital visit and I have picked up vaping heavier again, although I am still having about 4-5 of the stink sticks a day. I changed my vapor to some greenhouse1 ry4 18mg and although I do notice shortness of breath sometimes during the day it usually passes within about a 2 minute period. At this point I think this may be happening because I am still worried about a 2nd incedent. I really hope I don't have an allergy of some kind, if that does end up being the conclusion you guys will be seeing a ton of different juices up on the classes.

 

[Rickajho]

From what I read of your initial post, including the numbness, I would look into if you have an allergy to PG. From a printout my allergist gave me numbness and/or itching in the extremities can be a symptom of a PG allergic reaction. The "self-test" method is to switch to a 100% VG liquid and see if you notice the difference. You may be one of the unfortunate few - like me - who can't tolerate PG. My PG problems included nausea, vomiting, itching on both hands and difficulty breathing. With 100% VG I have had zero problems.

For me, if the choice is VG or not vaping at all I would rather be vaping.

 

[NoMoreMondays]

Well, since nobody asked yet: How many mils do you vape per day and how many analogs were you smoking daily before you started vaping? Reason for why I'm asking: IMO your symptoms sound a lot like you OD'd on nic. Tight chest and hand going numb with flat breathing ... any palpitations (irregular heartbeat) and lightheadness going along with that?

 

[subversive]

I vape Voodoo exclusively. It's a 50/50 blend. I use it at 36 mg @ 3ml per day. Been vaping for 9 months with no problems. My breathing is great and I definitely have more breath for things now. I think you may have had an anxiety attack. Good thing to remind yourself of is the fact that all your tests came out fine should this happen again.

But of course we probably have different nicotine tolerances and I have no known allergies, so always good to err on the side of caution.

 

[Scottinboca]

That sounds about right. I feel that way when I chain vape a 36mg juice. I agree it was smart to go to the ER. Try a lower nicotine juices.

I don't know if this will be any help or not, but a little while before i stopped smoking a started getting anxiety symptoms, especially when i was driving in the mornings- got shaky and felt like i was about to pass out. It lightened a bit when i started vaping, and then got occurred again about 6-8 months into vaping.

I started really paying attention...and realized that if i put down the PV it got better. That took me a long time to figure out, because i had many years of using ciggs to calm myself. For me it turned out that it was a combination of caffeine and nicotine. I decreased my caffeine and dropped my nic levels (from 24 mg to 18 mg) and the anxiety symptoms decreased. The other thing that helped was once i realized what it was, i didn't get anxious about getting anxious, so when that fluttery feeling came around again, i could set the PV down, wait a bit and let it pass. For me, it turns out that it's a cue to decrease nic levels (now at 10-12 mg).

Who knew that my tolerance for caffeine and (alcohol too) would decrease - but changing the levels of all the other chemicals in my body by not smoking, meant that other things reset too.

I'm glad you went to the ER and got it checked out. It is very scary, and i hope it never repeats.

 

[subversive]

The OP was using the 18mg. My post was just to let him know that I use the same juice and to let him know the PG/VG ratio since he wasn't sure. I personally have no problems chain vaping 36 mg, but I was also a very heavy smoker before I switched. ( 2-3 packs a day of full flavor cigs and RYO).

 

[MsOceanCity]

Another thing to consider....many prescription medications, OTC suppliments and even your Thyroid possibly being out of whack could cause the symptoms you described. Have you used any new meds or suppliments lately? Ever had your Thyroid function checked? Just food for thought