strange vaping side effects...possible allergy?

[flaming_gnat]

thanks for any thoughts on this, i'm a little confused right now.

i have read as much about PG allergies as i can here and my symptoms don't seem to fit at all.

ok so a little history...been vaping exclusively for about 3 months now with an evod vv and protank 2 mini. using a 1.5 ohm atomizer. works great. tried other ecigs in the past with moderate success. this one really did the trick, not a single cigarette in that time since i started on it.

i've had no side effects what so ever until about a week ago. i don't have sore throat, rashes, etc. or any of the other usual symptoms of a PG allergy i read about. worth noting that i do have a lot of environmental allergies. i was born with them unfortunately, but no known drug allergies and food allergies are likely nothing as well (used to have peanut allergy, believe that is gone now).

so switched one of my liquids one day (i love to switch it up often) and although i have used it enough in the past, developed some fairly severe chest congestion. breathing was reduced, had a lot of clear phlegm. assumed i was allergic to that flavouring, gave the liquid away to a friend. it was JC classic captian black's if anyone cares.

switched liquid, seemed to get better....but not completely.

now what i find is i get up in the morning and have a significant amount of clear phlegm in my lungs. cough it up for a bit, and fine. maybe a slight difficulty breathing. here's where it gets strange...i start vaping and it almost instantly goes away! i'll be fine for the entire day!

then the evening comes and the congestion comes back. last night i was out with friends and had to go home early due to a little breathing difficulty. go to sleep, and the cycle begins again.

all my liquids are 16-18mg nic, 50/50 VG/PG. various brands. some seem a little better than others.

after the known bad stuff mentioned above, i cleaned my tank out by dismantling and running under hot water, wiped out with tissue best i could. day later replaced the atomizer for good measure.

having had asthma in my youth, it almost feels like that. i have not had asthma for nearly 10 years now. was a lot later in my life when that finally decided to go away than most people....

any thoughts?

 

[flaming_gnat]

i'm actually starting to wonder if this is just a delayed coughing up crap from the cigs. you'd think i'd get worse constantly with an allergy.

a few thoughts from the community would be nice though!

 

[Melissa549]

I started vaping on Jan. 11. Never had any coughing, but what your describing has started with me too. I put it down to the change in weather. It's gotten warmer and mold and mildew are on the rise. Haven't changed the juice I've been using so I don't think it could be that. Maybe just a delayed reaction to getting off the stinkies, I've heard it can take a long time for all the bad stuff in smokes to work there way out of your system. Hope it goes away soon, but as I suffer from seasonal allergies I don't think it will go away for me anytime soon. Time to get out the allergy pills me thinks.

Edit: Maybe up the PG, I read that VG can give you a tight congested feeling. I tried a sample juice at 50/50 and thought I was going to die my chest got so tight I could hardly breath.

 

[Rickajho]

Pollen allergies too? Pollen season is starting earlier each year (thanks global warming...) and I start having serious pollen issues in March now. Last year was so bad I had to do a round of Asmanex for the first time in about ten years. The last several weeks I have had respiratory problems similar to yours and I'm about an inch away from checking in with my Allergist. My annual appointments used to be in the summer, now they get earlier and earlier each year as the Spring pollen seasons have been brutal the last few years.

 

[flaming_gnat]

thanks to both. my feeling here is that this doesn't match a PG allergy compared to symptoms others get.

unfortunately living in canada, its not always easy to come by the supplies to make your own juice...so i don't think i'll be able to reasonable change the ratio of PG/VG. at least not right now.

and yeah i've got very severe allergies...just about everything environmental. thanks mom! when i empty my central vac i actually have to wear a workcoat over my clothes, gloves and a more high end respirator mask else i risk sneezing my head off all day and feeling all around miserable.

i think best course right now is steady as she goes and see what happens in the coming week or two.

 

[patkin]

Its the amount of flavoring you're inhaling. Some juice, IMO, contain way, way, too much of it. One solution is to buy your premixed juice in a higher nic strength and dilute it yourself to decrease the amount of flavoring you're getting. I had the same problem and that's what I do. I found that my strong juices actually tasted better after diluting. If you scan the boards for "mucous" "phlegm" you'll see that its not uncommon to develop sensetivity to too much flavoring. Some people have had to stop using any flavoring and/or stop lung inhaling. For a few days, try shallowly inhaling. Use the back of your tongue to prevent vapor from getting into the lungs... just enough to experience TH. See if things don't clear up then. You don't need to inhale to get nic and pretty quickly whined up enjoying vaping more with just good TH.

 

[k702]

i'm actually starting to wonder if this is just a delayed coughing up crap from the cigs. you'd think i'd get worse constantly with an allergy.

a few thoughts from the community would be nice though!

You said you're at your 3 month mark, this is around the time your lungs really start to clear up from the cigs.. from what I've been reading (I haven't been vaping that long yet) it can be normal for phlegm to come up when you first stop (i coughed up a bunch of black stuff) and around the 3 month mark.

that doesn't mean that's what it is, but it's something you could look into/look up..

IMO I think you'll probably be alright and it'll go away with time.. I hope you feel better!

 

[AmandaD]

I have that problem with VG, it seems. I'm fine with my juice that is around 80pg/20vg, but anything with more VG can make me cough. It isn't consistent, but I'm noticing more often that not that VG doesn't always sit well in my lungs. I don't seem to have the problem at all with Halo juices, and they do have a much lower VG ratio than many others.

 

[pipster]

I have not been coughing much since vaping. (A mild cougher while a smoker) But thee problem that I have is when I do cough I get a very metallic taste coming from my lungs. Besides farting (there, I said it) I have no other negative symptoms. These two are concerning enough tho to make me go hmmmm... I guess I'd rather be a farter than die of lung cancer from smoking.. haha...but the metallic taste freaks me out.

 

[RedVelvet]

I think you have a cold trying to happen. The PG will keep the sinus stuff knocked down, but in between vaping it creeps back out (like when your sleeping). I'm dealing w/that lately too.

 

[brickfollett]

Now that was funny Pipster. Love your profile pic BTW. We had to let go of both our bostons last year and they acted like puppies til the end.

Back on track...

I can't attest to the afteraffects of quitting cigarettes because I wasn't a cigarette smoker before I vaped. I could have been, but I was a hookah user and weekend cigar smoker. Not enough to make me have weird after affects.

I've heard reports of VG causing mucus buildup. I exclusively vape 100% VG because I have a PG sensitivity, not allergy. I get a dry throat and mouth and get it really bad. I do notice an increased amount of stuff I cough up, but its nothing inconvenient, maybe 3-4 times a day or so. It may be a combination of VG and the after affects of quitting smoking.

 

[flaming_gnat]

lots of good thoughts, thanks guys and gals.

i've been getting much better since i've posted this, almost completely gone now. no more trouble sleeping at night with lack of breath. looks like this is just a case of getting rid of all the crap from the smokes. its funny, i would have never guessed. for the last couple years i've been on and off like a yo-yo. then i got into the vape and never looked back. would have never have guessed that i'd be coughing up crap from it nearly 3 months later.

if it doesn't clear 100%, i'll start looking into other options. have a very good store in town and they would probably give me a hand with some custom liquids.

 

[flaming_gnat]

a little update: its looking more like i have allergies to some of the flavourings. some i seem fine on so far...going to be a bit of a learning experience to figure this one out.

after switching my liquid i was fine after my last post (once congestion cleared). i thought it was getting rid of the tobacco trash. then i loaded up one i hadn't used in a while...almost instant chest congestion again. switched back after that and i was good to go by next day.

next step is i intend to try a liquid without PG just to eliminate that as a cause.

still have some extremely mild congestion, but it seems more along the lines of the slight cough that i've read can be a side effect of vaping. that being said, my breathing has always been a weak spot. i pretty much have a slight cough year round due to post nasal drip.

 

[ahall]

i cant vape certain liquids myself due to the same issue. and from trial and error have decided i just cant vape random flavors. there doesnt seem to be any rhyme or reason to the ones that i can and cant vape. i just keep notes on what liquids i have a reaction to. i know its not pg or vg because ive tried flavors that give me this side effect with diff ratios.

 

[patkin]

Remember, too, that we're now entering allergy season. When buds start setting the mucous problem starts for me. I feel badly for those trying to figure out what's causing mucous this time of year without the experience of what they went through last year at this time while vaping. They just have nothing to compare. When the flavoring problem hit me it was this time last year so it took me quite a while to figure it out. I really never noticed that my seasonal allergy/mucous was so bad because I had such bad congestion from smoking all year round. Now, with clear lungs I know just how bad the allergy season is on them. My doc appt is this month to get a shot that helps get through the season. It doesn't stop the problem but it helps.

 

[LoveVanilla]

Might just be me but I get a "metallic" taste whenever I'm starting a sinus infection. This is followed by increasing drainage resulting cough and eventually my ears block. Haven't had one since I started vaping [knocks on wood...]

 

[dash]

Been vaping over a year now. I have asthma and COPD. Felt fine until the Spring allergy season hit and have very much what you describe. I find that a little cough syrup helps now and again.

 

[KjAthena]

I personally find that I can not vape high VG e-juices or I get the kind of symptoms you describe...all my e-juice must be at least 80% PG. I also have found 2 flavors that effect me as well so I steer clear of them