Questions about health and products

[AnthonyB]

Hey all,

I only joined E-cigs-forum yesterday and am in that initial rush of exuberance for this product. I've read a hell of a lot and have gotten up to scratch on the basics.

I had a heap of helpful and friendly replies to my last post. I am impressed by this forum.

I have a few questions and I am hoping someone can help me.

1) I know that e-cigs contain none of the 4000 chemicals in cigarettes (except nicotine) so I was wondering how your health has changed using e-cigs. I've watched a guy called Shawn on Youtube speak about how his taste has returned and he can smell things better, for example.

What about your lungs, do they heal? Do they heal replacing analogs with e-cigs or does the vapor still do damage to them. Do you still get a smokers cough and sore throat using e-cigs. Any other health benefits/detriments anyone would like to mention from their experience with e-cigs would be fascinating.

2) I want to buy a genuine Joye 510 or very close to it. I am considering buying mine from Litecigseasy, heavens gifts or Vaporkings if they deliver to Australia. Any problems with the 510s on these sites? Anyone recommend a better site?

3) Anyone heard of Greensmokes? Apparently some sites review them as being their top rated and yet I don't hear much about them from hardcore and discerning e-cig users. Maybe the reviews I've seen are somewhat biased. They are more expensive than other e-cigs. Any opinions on Greensmoke? Anyone know what model their batteries are because nothing on the site speaks of the model.

Thanks again in advance to anyone who takes the time to respond.

Anthony

 

[cozzicon]

Hey all,

I only joined E-cigs-forum yesterday and am in that initial rush of exuberance for this product. I've read a hell of a lot and have gotten up to scratch on the basics.

I had a heap of helpful and friendly replies to my last post. I am impressed by this forum.

I have a few questions and I am hoping someone can help me.

1) I know that e-cigs contain none of the 4000 chemicals in cigarettes (except nicotine) so I was wondering how your health has changed using e-cigs. I've watched a guy called Shawn on Youtube speak about how his taste has returned and he can smell things better, for example.

What about your lungs, do they heal? Do they heal replacing analogs with e-cigs or does the vapor still do damage to them. Do you still get a smokers cough and sore throat using e-cigs. Any other health benefits/detriments anyone would like to mention from their experience with e-cigs would be fascinating.

2) I want to buy a genuine Joye 510 or very close to it. I am considering buying mine from Litecigseasy, heavens gifts or Vaporkings if they deliver to Australia. Any problems with the 510s on these sites? Anyone recommend a better site?

3) Anyone heard of Greensmokes? Apparently some sites review them as being their top rated and yet I don't hear much about them from hardcore and discerning e-cig users. Maybe the reviews I've seen are somewhat biased. They are more expensive than other e-cigs. Any opinions on Greensmoke? Anyone know what model their batteries are because nothing on the site speaks of the model.

Thanks again in advance to anyone who takes the time to respond.

Anthony

Hmm... Hi Anthony...

On point three I have to say that I recommend that any new vaper get a Joye 510 setup and move on from there. You may not end up a 510 user- but it's a good startup experience. I stayed with it since I got it, which isn't that long, but I have a good experience thus far- and am Tobacco free now.

Regarding the other points, I did a video series for newbies (by a newbie) documenting pretty much all I have gone through. The whole thing is longish... but individual parts 7 and 9 may address your questions from my experience. The link to those videos is in my signature.

Be well and congrats.

 

[Automaton]

Hi again Anthony!

1. It's been about 3 days for me. This morning, for the first time in over a year, I didn't wake up feeling like my lungs were drowning. The morning cough didn't happen today! My gums are also bleeding less. Oh, the resilience of youth.

I've read about people's o2 stats going back to normal after switching to e-cigs, which would indicate that the lungs are healing and regaining functionality. Whether no vaping would produce even more improvement, hard to say. But there's definitely some healing going on.

2. Do you mean LiteCigUSA? I'm assuming so. If so, all of those are good sites.

3. GreenSmokes looks WAY overpriced. You can get a great starter kit for 1/3 of what they're asking. Honestly, I wouldn't trust a site that marks up that much.

 

[AnthonyB]

Hi again Anthony!

1. It's been about 3 days for me. This morning, for the first time in over a year, I didn't wake up feeling like my lungs were drowning. The morning cough didn't happen today! My gums are also bleeding less. Oh, the resilience of youth.

I've read about people's o2 stats going back to normal after switching to e-cigs, which would indicate that the lungs are healing and regaining functionality. Whether no vaping would produce even more improvement, hard to say. But there's definitely some healing going on.

2. Do you mean LiteCigUSA? I'm assuming so. If so, all of those are good sites.

3. GreenSmokes looks WAY overpriced. You can get a great starter kit for 1/3 of what they're asking. Honestly, I wouldn't trust a site that marks up that much.

Wow drowning lungs and gum bleeding is serious. I didn't get either of those symptoms in my 8 years as a smoker (between 1993 and 2001).

I did mean LitecigUSA.

Good to hear you've noticed improvements after only 3 days.

Anthony

 

[AnthonyB]

Hmm... Hi Anthony...

On point three I have to say that I recommend that any new vaper get a Joye 510 setup and move on from there. You may not end up a 510 user- but it's a good startup experience. I stayed with it since I got it, which isn't that long, but I have a good experience thus far- and am Tobacco free now.

Regarding the other points, I did a video series for newbies (by a newbie) documenting pretty much all I have gone through. The whole thing is longish... but individual parts 7 and 9 may address your questions from my experience. The link to those videos is in my signature.

Be well and congrats.

I will check out your videos Cozzicon. The guy Shawn who had a Youtube series had 17 videos in his collection. It was quite fascinating. He did something similar to you where he video documented his e-cig experience from the start. He quite normal cigarettes after 20 years of smoking. He didn't touch another analog once he started e-cigs.

Anthony

 

[Automaton]

Wow drowning lungs and gum bleeding is serious. I didn't get either of those symptoms in my 8 years as a smoker (between 1993 and 2001).

I did mean LitecigUSA.

Good to hear you've noticed improvements after only 3 days.

Anthony

Yeah, it's a combination of unforgiving weather, genetic weak gums, and smoking, all combined. My throat and my gums have always been weak spots. And smoking really made that worse.

Also the fact that for a while I was smoking 2-3 packs a day...

 

[Upinthehills]

It's been eight and a half weeks since I smoked. In that time my sense of smell has returned, food tastes better, I'm not hacking up a lung in the mornings, don't wake up in the middle of the night to cough and my stamina is better. I can walk down my driveway (1 mile downhill) and then back up without having to stop half a dozen times to catch my breath.

At first I did get sore throats and still will if I'm not drinking enough water. I also had to figure out to greatly lower my nicotine in the evenings or I'd be up half the night. I do still get a phlegmy cough once in a while and I think it's because of vaping. I also have my voice get hoarse sounding sometimes. Also went through a period about a month in where my skin broke out, but that seems to have passed. (Ah, to be 46 and have acne again! It's not fair to have both acne and wrinkles!)

All of that said, there is a point where your lungs won't heal anymore. I think it depends on just how much you damaged them in the first place. I know my mom has COPD and she quit smoking 12 years ago. Her lungs will never get better, they're too damaged.

I've ordered from both litecigeasy and Heaven Gifts and all was good.

 

[Upinthehills]

Forgot, I've also lost 12 pounds! Hooray!

 

[soulfuldaze]

I've lost weight too! I started vaping a year ago and have never considered going back to the "combustibles"
Love to vape!!!!

 

[VPDownunder]

I was one of the lucky one, a chain smoker for nearly 25 years and somehow didn't do permanent damage to my lungs, it's been a couple of years since I've given up the coffin nails and my lung capacity is now much better than the average person. When I was smoking however I couldn't walk a block without losing my breath and would routinely cough up big lumps of black phloem so it's definitely possible to undo a lot of damage. And I'm another one who lost weight since giving up, over 4 stone

 

[AnthonyB]

Forgot, I've also lost 12 pounds! Hooray!

It is great to hear such a positive turnaround in health. Your recovery in health sounds so much like my own when I quit smoking 8 years ago. What I didn't expect was that your lungs would improve along with your stamina. I was under the impression that the vaping would still be somewhat detrimental to the lungs only on a smaller scale than cigs.

And to hear that you have lost weight is wonderful! How does vaping contribute to weight loss? People who usually quit smoking start to gain weight but of course that is because there is isn't any nicotine pumping their heart faster and people who quit tend to substitute smoking with binge eating.

I also happened to lose weight initially when I quit smoking 8 years ago but after about 6 months I began piling it on. Thankfully I have lost the weight I gained when I quit smoking. Over the last 4 years I've been playing tennis, jogging and just recently, I got into weight training. I took up smoking again 6 months ago after 8 years without a single puff. All it took was one puff and that led me back to a full pack a day plus habit. That habit is now interfering greatly with my fitness regime and I've struggled to keep up the kind of stamina I had before. I am really hoping that vaping will help increase my lung capacity again once I stop filling my lungs with carbon monoxide and tar.

Thankfully for me I don't believe I have permanent lung damage. I smoked a pack a day for 8 years, then quit for 8 years. My lungs felt as good as knew by the time I started up again. I am finding it even harder to quit this time because I have a kind of complacency and cockiness about the fact that it is like I have just started smoking now, so how much damage can I do to myself? Well I am quickly learning that I can do a lot of damage to myself.
The worst of the negative effects for me are:
1) I smell bad. That is something I really notice now that I've taken it up again. I used to pride myself on smelling nice and wearing good quality colognes. I might as well not even wear cologne now.
2) My lung capacity has dropped
3) I can't taste food as well
4) My personal self image has dropped. So few people smoke in Australia nowadays with the price hikes and health warning campaigns and you can feel like a bit of a leper smoking.
5) Reduced capacity to attract members of the opposite sex (I am single).
6) Snoring has returned! I stopped snoring when I was a non smoker but now I snore again. I can also hear my own breathing which has a nasally sound to it now with my sinuses always being somewhat congested.
7) The amount of money I am spending! Cigs cost around $16 a pack now in Australia. My pack a day habit is costing me $100 a week. That is a massive cut in weekly income.

I really want to stop smoking but I am currently enjoying the habit and the sensation of nicotine delivery. Vaping seems to be the answer to all my problems. If vaping doesn't work I am going on patches.

5 years ago, if someone told me that I could quit smoking and instead smoke something that feels like a cigarette, gives nicotine like a cigarette, allows you to blow plumes of smoke in a variety of flavours for less money than it costs to feed your dog, I would have thought it was the impossible dream.

Well done Upinthehills. All these vaping success stories are inspiring.

Anthony

 

[AnthonyB]

Yeah, it's a combination of unforgiving weather, genetic weak gums, and smoking, all combined. My throat and my gums have always been weak spots. And smoking really made that worse.

Also the fact that for a while I was smoking 2-3 packs a day...

Wow, 2-3 packs a day. How long did you smoke that heavily?

How have you felt now that you are in your 3rd/4th day of vaping? Have you had an anolog since? Any cravings for an anolog? Does vaping feel like a suitable and satisfying substitute?

Anthony

 

[AnthonyB]

I was one of the lucky one, a chain smoker for nearly 25 years and somehow didn't do permanent damage to my lungs, it's been a couple of years since I've given up the coffin nails and my lung capacity is now much better than the average person. When I was smoking however I couldn't walk a block without losing my breath and would routinely cough up big lumps of black phloem so it's definitely possible to undo a lot of damage. And I'm another one who lost weight since giving up, over 4 stone

Wow that is brilliant. I love hearing these stories of improved lung capacity and weight loss. What is that makes people lose weight when they vape?

We live in good times being able to smoke these products. Shame our governments are so myopic and only care about funding. The hypocrits. They want to lock our cigarettes behind cabinets, stop us smoking in public, charge us obscene prices that almost compare cigs to ......... and yet they ban a product that is safe for us and safe for the people around us.

Being such a young industry e-cigs can only get better and better. I love the vast array of flavours and I can get mild seven e-liquid, yay!

Anthony

 

[soulfuldaze]

Anthony....you definitely need to start vaping. You will love it....and find that what you are seeking is available to you.

I find that vaping gives me satisfaction when I feel like I want to eat something. I have some medical problems that limit my ability to eat and yet I have intense cravings so vaping often gives me a sense of what I crave.
I can vape my cheesecake....but would be miserable if I actually ate it.
That is just an example...I don't actually like the cheesecake vape.
My daily vape is a smooth almond/anise type vape

I think the losing weight part of it has to do with the fact that vaping is a replacement regimen. You can choose to keep your nic level or decrease it to nothing. You can vape at 0 nic and still enjoy the sensation and flavor....and the urge to binge eat is greatly diminished.

I vape at a 24 to 18 mg nic level and find it to be a good level for me.

 

[Automaton]

Wow, 2-3 packs a day. How long did you smoke that heavily?

How have you felt now that you are in your 3rd/4th day of vaping? Have you had an anolog since? Any cravings for an anolog? Does vaping feel like a suitable and satisfying substitute?

Anthony

I was smoking that much for about 2 years, with a year on either side of smoking a pack to 30 a day. At the time I started vaping, it was about 30 a day. But I have gone through times where I smoked as much as 3.5 packs a day, and I had to make a conscious effort to keep my smoking as low as 30 a day. I also had an affinity for the most horribly tar-ridden cigarettes on earth - Lucky Strikes, Pall Malls, and rollies... sometimes without filters. I had a death wish.

I'm in Day 6 now, and I have not touched an analog since I started. Days 3 and 4 were a little rough, and I did have some cravings, but really? They weren't that bad. It wasn't that hard to say "no" to cigarettes. Just vape more!

I have been shocked by how well e-cigs are working for me. When I started, keep in mind, this is only 6 days ago - I was vaping 18mg juice, and it was barely enough. It was the smallest dose I could get away with.

Last night, 18mg started feeling like over-kill, and I dropped to 12mg. And I haven't had any withdrawal or desire for a cigarette.

In fact, lit cigarettes smell so horrible that I can't even get close enough to one to put it in my mouth before I start feeling like I want to gag.

It's absolutely amazing. Granted, my experience isn't typical - a lot of people take longer to get off cigs, and longer to start tapering down the nicotine. I don't know what it is, since I always felt so awful every time I quit before, even with a high-dose patch. But this is really working for me.

 

[Xanax]

I've been vaping about 3 months now and I must say that my lungs have cleared up dramatically. I no longer cough like I used to, don't have to clear my throat constantly anymore and I can breathe. But nothing else has changed other than that.

The greensmoke is a 401 model I'm pretty sure. The reason you don't hear about them much on here with veteran users is because their kit is extremely overpriced and the model performs poor at best. You will probably spend more money than you spent smoking if you go with greensmoke and not to mention you'll regret it. 510 is a GREAT model. I hope you'll like it, I really thi you will. If you don't want to change batteries 10 times a day you should go with the eGo. Batteries can last up to 12 hours with those. But I use a Screwdriver with 18340 batteries that last about 30 hours for me I'd assume (I have to assume because I've never had one die on me yet) I've had the batteries last 48 hours before. I have a 510 Chuck on the way and that's another wonderful model. But if you want to take my advice I would jump right in and get an eGo if I were you. It's a good simple model for beginners and it works consistently. Good luck!

 

[Seabrook]

I've watched a guy called Shawn on Youtube speak about how his taste has returned and he can smell things better, for example.

What about your lungs, do they heal? Do they heal replacing analogs with e-cigs or does the vapor still do damage to them. Do you still get a smokers cough and sore throat using e-cigs. Any other health benefits/detriments anyone would like to mention from their experience with e-cigs would be fascinating.

Hi Anthony,
I watched Shawn's videos too. He gave a lot of good info on them. It took me almost a month until I got my taste buds and sense of smell back all the way. I think the morning smoker's cough is the first thing that completely goes away. But, if I do deep, long vapes, I can still cough from the TH.

Here's a cut & paste from a website (link below) in timeline format.

• In 20 minutes your blood pressure will drop back down to normal.
• In 8 hours the carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) levels in your blood stream will drop by half, and oxygen levels will return to normal.
• In 48 hours your chance of having a heart attack will have decreased. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will return to a normal level.
• In 72 hours your bronchial tubes will relax, and your energy levels will increase.
• In 2 weeks your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks.
• In 3 to 9 months coughing, wheezing, and breathing problems will dissipate as your lung capacity improves by 10%.
• In 1 year your risk of having a heart attack will have dropped by half.
• In 5 years your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker.
• In 10 years your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
• In 15 years your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non-smoker.

source: What Happens to Your Body If You Stop Smoking Right Now? (Update!) Blisstree


Here's another article about body part regrowth and regeneration. This includes how fast your lungs can regenerate and how fast your taste buds can return.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1219995/Believe-lungs-weeks-old--taste-buds-just-days-So-old-rest-body.html