Shortness of breath and tightness in chest??

[kutuup]

Hey all, so I've been an on and off vaper for a couple of years now, and just recently I developed some worrying symptoms. Tightness in the chest, kind of a smothering feeling, shortness of breath etc. I went to the hospital about it and they did a peak flow test, nothing abnormal there, an ECG, nothing wrong there either, a blood pressure test, right as rain, and finally a chest x-ray, nothing unusual there either. They couldn't find a THING wrong with me. I've noticed the symptoms tend to get worse when I use my ecig, but not always, it's a bit weird really :S I suffer from generalised anxiety disorder, which may well be a factor and I sometimes get very tight in the chest during panic attacks. However, has anyone had experiences of this happening with ecigs? I vape a titan tank with liquid I cut myself, 0% nicotine, 6:4 base to flavour (ice menthol), am I maybe using too much flavouring? Another thing did cross my mind. Indigestion of all things, I've heard that ecigs can exacerbate indigestion, and I do get tight in the chest when I have indigestion.

Any anyone offer any suggestions?

Phil

 

[zoiDman]

First of All... Good Job on going to see a Doctor 1st. None of us are Qualified to make Medical Evaluations here.

That said, Are you Drinking a Lot of Water?

And what do you mean by 6:4 Base to Flavoring? Are you saying that you are Using 40% Flavoring? Because if you are, that is a VERY HIGH Amount of Flavoring.

Especially for a Menthol Flavoring.

 

[bacc.vap]

I had the same symptoms(Shortness of breath and tightness in chest) when I started to use high percentage VG juices. After a few days of using 100% VG I got the symptoms, went back to 70PG/30VG and symptoms subsided in about a week and a half.

 

[AegisPrime]

First of All... Good Job on going to see a Doctor 1st. None of us are Qualified to make Medical Evaluations here.

That said, Are you Drinking a Lot of Water?

And what do you mean by 6:4 Base to Flavoring? Are you saying that you are Using 40% Flavoring? Because if you are, that is a VERY HIGH Amount of Flavoring.

Especially for a Menthol Flavoring.

Yep - flavouring is usually 10% or less - for some flavours (Inawera) they recommend 2-5%.

 

[Nermal]

I had the same symptoms(Shortness of breath and tightness in chest) when I started to use high percentage VG juices. After a few days of using 100% VG I got the symptoms, went back to 70PG/30VG and symptoms subsided in about a week and a half.

Exactly the same experience. Still, I didn't notice the OP made any significant changes in the base liquid.

 

[patkin]

I've never experienced tightness or shortness of breath from indigestion but do take the generic of Prilosec every day which tells you I do have digestive problems. Given that, I would think there would be other symptoms of indigestion present at the same time. High flavoring causes bronchial congestion for me... I have to dilute nearly every premixed juice I buy except Dekang which is low on it. VG is a very heavy vapor and I do get a tight chest and congestion from too much of it. I agree with zoiDman, that's an awful lot of flavoring for menthol. Just think of how long you could keep inhaling too much Vicks steam. I've gotten too much in a pot of boiling water to inhale the steam off of when I've had a cold... not fun.

 

[zoiDman]

Yep - flavouring is usually 10% or less - for some flavours (Inawera) they recommend 2-5%.

Yeah... It depends on the Flavor OEM and of course, how Strong a Person likes their e-Liquid to be.

But I have Never Heard of a person using 40% Menthol Flavoring. If that is what the OP is Using?

 

[MikeS71]

I had the same symptoms(Shortness of breath and tightness in chest) when I started to use high percentage VG juices. After a few days of using 100% VG I got the symptoms, went back to 70PG/30VG and symptoms subsided in about a week and a half.

Ditto- when I started vaping it was with Blu cigs and got a feeling like someone was sitting on my chest... Blu is 100% VG. Once I switched to custom eliquids 70/30 PG/VG- no more person sitting on my chest!

 

[Caridwen]

I had the same symptoms(Shortness of breath and tightness in chest) when I started to use high percentage VG juices. After a few days of using 100% VG I got the symptoms, went back to 70PG/30VG and symptoms subsided in about a week and a half.

Same with me. I can vape around 70pg/30vg. Any higher VG I get the same feeling.

 

[kutuup]

Thanks for the replies guys, maybe I'm using too much flavouring and irritating my lungs? I tried 1:10 flavour to base initially but found the flavour weak and upped it until I hit 4:6 flavour to base (40% flavour), which I like the taste of but it might not agree with my lungs. I'll go back to 10% flavour and see if the symptoms subside.

 

[bulldog63h]

Like others have said, also experiment with different VG/PG ratios. Good luck. I hope you figure it out.

 

[JohnWillyson]

I get the tightness from some pgs, but not vg.

Everyone reacts differently. Play around until you find what works for you. One brand at 50/50 may while another won't. At least thats how it is for me.

 

[LucentShadow]

I'd suspect the menthol, as well. Menthol is an irritant, and 40% flavoring would seem very strong, depending upon the brand.

Menthol cigarettes had that effect on me if I smoked too many in a short time, way back when I tried them in my twenties.

 

[patkin]

BTW, you really don't need to inhale at all or, at least, not inhale much.. just shallowly... especially with menthol. And, why such a broad swing trying flavors? 10 to 40% is a huge jump. Why not try 15% for instance or 11% and so on up to 15 or 16% ... of course, depending on what the flavor mfg recommends. That said, I don't think you'll find anyone who DIYs who won't say to use the least amount of flavoring you can and still enjoy it.

 

[SchmidtyKy]

Not sure what your PG/VG ratio is, but high VG liquids give me a heavy feeling in my chest. Not sure why. Thicker and heavier liquid=thicker and heavier vape?