Tips for someone with vaping sensitivity

[Ann74]

Hello. I vaped for about 1.5 years and started getting pain in my left and middle chest and shortness of breath. I got a ton of medical tests and quit vaping for about 3 months. After all the testing, the doctors think I have "esophageal hypersensitivity" and also very minor coronary artery spasms (not related to heart disease). I'm taking various medications to help.

After I found out I wasn't dying of lung or heart disease, I started smoking tobacco again like a complete idiot, mainly because it doesn't cause as extreme of symptoms as vaping does. I think it's because the smoke masks the nicotine a bit with all the tar and other crap.

Now I'm at the point where I am vaping again and just ignoring the symptoms the best I can, because I am having a very hard time quitting tobacco with anything else (I've tried nicotine gum, lozenges, the inhaler, etc. and nothing works as well as vaping). My symptoms are not just caused by vaping, but vaping is one of the biggest triggers.

Does anyone get similar symptoms (chest pain/tightness, shortness of breath, hypersensitive esophagus) -- and if so, do you have any tips for the right type of products or liquids? Part of me thinks this hypersensitivity started because I was hitting the Juul way too often, and my body was like "hey, hold on now!"

Side note: when this all started, I even tried no-nicotine liquid and I still got minor symptoms. There's a chance I have a sensitivity to the vapor or something, and yes, I have tried different blends of PG/VG. So far the most helpful approach has been to vape like I'm smoking a cigar (hold vapor in mouth vs. inhaling into lungs), but I'm still searching for the optimum device/liquid combo.

Any tips are appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Izan]

Hi Ann,
IMO, stop inhaling and or swallowing the vapor.

Draw the mist into your mouth, hold and swish and then exhale; nose exhale optional.
The nicotine is absorbed very efficiently in the mouth.
Take small sips of vapor and be mindful/cautious to not inhale or swallow with the vapor in your mouth.

Best of luck
I

 

[Ann74]

Hi Ann,
IMO, stop inhaling and or swallowing the vapor.

Draw the mist into your mouth, hold and swish and then exhale; nose exhale optional.
The nicotine is absorbed very efficiently in the mouth.
Take small sips of vapor and be mindful/cautious to not inhale or swallow with the vapor in your mouth.

Best of luck
I

Thank you, Izan! I actually just added a note to my original post about how "cigar-style vaping" helps a bit. I will keep using this technique.

 

[440BB]

You might want to use a mouth to lung style of equipment with somewhat higher nic, so you can take smaller puffs (cigar style) and yet get enough nic to take fewer puffs. Good luck finding a balance!

 

[Ann74]

You might want to use a mouth to lung style of equipment with somewhat higher nic, so you can take smaller puffs (cigar style) and yet get enough nic to take fewer puffs. Good luck finding a balance!

Thank you. Yes, I will do the smaller, cigar style puffs, but stick with pod style and the lowest nic salt I can get, and try to moderate usage. I think a lot of my problems are from way extreme use of the Juul for a year. I was a total fiend and was pulling way too hard all day.

 

[440BB]

Thank you. Yes, I will do the smaller, cigar style puffs, but stick with pod style and the lowest nic salt I can get, and try to moderate usage. I think a lot of my problems are from way extreme use of the Juul for a year. I was a total fiend and was pulling way too hard all day.

It takes some practice but after a few days it gets almost automatic. One way or another, I hope you get enough nic without triggering symptoms and staying off the smokes.

 

[Frenchfry1942]

I take into my mouth to fill my mouth only. The membranes in the mouth and nose are the best for taking in vape, nicotine infused. Exhale through the nose.

My lungs are not involved. I stay at a low wattage and lower airflow. Pretty simple, pretty easy.

The amount of nic is just so that after 4-5 draws, I am good for an hour.

 

[Ann74]

I take into my mouth to fill my mouth only. The membranes in the mouth and nose are the best for taking in vape, nicotine infused. Exhale through the nose.

My lungs are not involved. I stay at a low wattage and lower airflow. Pretty simple, pretty easy.

The amount of nic is just so that after 4-5 draws, I am good for an hour.

Thank you, good tips.

 

[Jebbn]

Hi, Ive had all kinds of problems with vaping that Ive had to work around inc pain in my chest.
At the end of it all for me it came down to mtl vaping, low nicotine (3mg), vaping less ml's, low watts/cooler vape, no flavours and no PG. Also, daily drip tip cleaning and regular wick and coil changes
I dont have any problems now. LOL!! Its been a battle to end up with the most boring vape possible.

I occasionally vape a berry menthol, occasionally use slightly higher mg's and I do have a DL rta set up with low mg juice that I take the occasional draw from.

 

[Frenchfry1942]

There are more things to do. When I first started, I didn't care about anything other than the nic. I guess the "softest" way to get nic is lower wattage and lighter, but more, draws. It doesn't take much to fill a mouth.

Because I wanted more nic at wake-up I had one topper with stronger nic. Same concept as a double expresso. I also noticed that I vaped more when I had it in my hand while being on the sofa. A did a lower nic until I just started sitting my vape out of my sight on a lamptable.

We all have to do what works for us.

Good luck

 

[Ann74]

Hi, Ive had all kinds of problems with vaping that Ive had to work around inc pain in my chest.
At the end of it all for me it came down to mtl vaping, low nicotine (3mg), vaping less ml's, low watts/cooler vape, no flavours and no PG. Also, daily drip tip cleaning and regular wick and coil changes
I dont have any problems now. LOL!! Its been a battle to end up with the most boring vape possible.

I occasionally vape a berry menthol, occasionally use slightly higher mg's and I do have a DL rta set up with low mg juice that I take the occasional draw from.

Thank you! I would be curious about specifics in terms of what device and liquid/company you use. I'm trying to get off the dang Juul!

 

[Ann74]

There are more things to do. When I first started, I didn't care about anything other than the nic. I guess the "softest" way to get nic is lower wattage and lighter, but more, draws. It doesn't take much to fill a mouth.

Because I wanted more nic at wake-up I had one topper with stronger nic. Same concept as a double expresso. I also noticed that I vaped more when I had it in my hand while being on the sofa. A did a lower nic until I just started sitting my vape out of my sight on a lamptable.

We all have to do what works for us.

Good luck

Thanks again! If you are willing to share your favorite device/liquid/company, I welcome your suggestions!

 

[Frenchfry1942]

I have an old Provari and make my own juice these days. For a topper, I use RTAs that have top airflow and a single coil that I make myself.

Part of winning is to make it a hobby. I started making my own coils and wicking and then, because I couldn't find really good flavored juices, I started making my own.

I bought PG & VG and nic and added a couple of flavors. It think my first was strawberry and cream. If you think of everything as a part of 100 (100ml), then it is easier. For this recipe, it was:

PG - 38% or 38ml
VG - 38% or 38ml
Nic - 10% or 10ml
Strawberry - 9% or 9ml
Cream - 5% or 5ml
Total = 100ml

Nic generally comes in a PG solution, so technically you will get a slightly stronger PG content (woop-dee-doo)
If you want to change any percentage, just make sure it all adds up to 100ml.

Now, to take that same percentages, but reducing them so that you are making only 10ml (1/10th), then divide each number by 10.

Which is:

PG - 3.8ml
VG - 3.8ml
Nic - 1.0ml
Strawberry - .9ml
Cream - .5ml
Total =10ml

This is juice mixing by volume. Mixing can also be done by weight. Different people, different ways.

I did one thing at a time, such as starting with a simple single-coil RTA. Do juice mixing next month.

A lot of things to read and learn about. Just ask questions and read.

Hope helps

 

[stols001]

Lots you can try including an allergist. For now in through M out through Nose.

Also you did not mention Swedish snus, it is second best since vaping honesty and considered 99% harm reduction. More alkaloids, less tar. Don't know where you are but if you are in the US you can find Swedish snus at many USA gas stations just put in sweedish snus locator in your browser.

I have gone up to 12 hours working not thinking of vaping or smoking ONCE thanks to snus.

I did not get that effect with ANY other type of nic replacement and I have tried many.

Good luck I am PG sensitive and it gives me stinging pins and needles but I have work arounds.

You have to dump the Juul if only because it is PROPRETARY you could be allergic to something in it and never know because it is not listed. Good luck,

Anna

 

[Ann74]

Lots you can try including an allergist. For now in through M out through Nose.

Also you did not mention Swedish snus, it is second best since vaping honesty and considered 99% harm reduction. More alkaloids, less tar. Don't know where you are but if you are in the US you can find Swedish snus at many USA gas stations just put in sweedish snus locator in your browser.

I have gone up to 12 hours working not thinking of vaping or smoking ONCE thanks to snus.

I did not get that effect with ANY other type of nic replacement and I have tried many.

Good luck I am PG sensitive and it gives me stinging pins and needles but I have work arounds.

You have to dump the Juul if only because it is PROPRETARY you could be allergic to something in it and never know because it is not listed. Good luck,

Anna

Thank you, Anna. I have tried Snus and I think I'll try it again. I find that it's a little less harsh than the Zyn and other non-tobacco pouch products. There must be something about the tobacco that dulls the ingredients or something -- maybe that straight nicotine is too much. Plus you are correct -- I think there's something in the Juul ingredients that is giving me a reaction. In fact, this morning after just one day of using the Juul (after about a year without it) I have a feeling like the inside of my chest is itchy. That seems like an allergy to me.

Argh, why does it all have to be so hard? If I'm not smoking, I want to vape. If I'm not vaping, I want to smoke. Going from smoking to vaping did get me off cigarettes but it led to lots of other issues! It's weird because it wasn't a problem at all until after about 1.5 years of vaping, so I must have developed an allergy or nerve sensitivity over time.

 

[Ann74]

I have an old Provari and make my own juice these days. For a topper, I use RTAs that have top airflow and a single coil that I make myself.

Part of winning is to make it a hobby. I started making my own coils and wicking and then, because I couldn't find really good flavored juices, I started making my own.

I bought PG & VG and nic and added a couple of flavors. It think my first was strawberry and cream. If you think of everything as a part of 100 (100ml), then it is easier. For this recipe, it was:

PG - 38% or 38ml
VG - 38% or 38ml
Nic - 10% or 10ml
Strawberry - 9% or 9ml
Cream - 5% or 5ml
Total = 100ml

Nic generally comes in a PG solution, so technically you will get a slightly stronger PG content (woop-dee-doo)
If you want to change any percentage, just make sure it all adds up to 100ml.

Now, to take that same percentages, but reducing them so that you are making only 10ml (1/10th), then divide each number by 10.

Which is:

PG - 3.8ml
VG - 3.8ml
Nic - 1.0ml
Strawberry - .9ml
Cream - .5ml
Total =10ml

This is juice mixing by volume. Mixing can also be done by weight. Different people, different ways.

I did one thing at a time, such as starting with a simple single-coil RTA. Do juice mixing next month.

A lot of things to read and learn about. Just ask questions and read.

Hope helps

Thank you for sharing this info. I will experiment with different products and try to find something that works!

 

[Jebbn]

Thank you! I would be curious about specifics in terms of what device and liquid/company you use. I'm trying to get off the dang Juul!

I have to make my on juice, but its not hard at all. I vape unflavoured vg with distilled water and nicotine in a vg base. Its the most basic of juices. It wont satisfy everyone.
The only flavour I occasionally vape is berry menthol and it contains no PG. I also make that.
I use mtl rta's most of the time but always have an Innokin Zenith tank on the go.

 

[Ann74]

I have to make my on juice, but its not hard at all. I vape unflavoured vg with distilled water and nicotine in a vg base. Its the most basic of juices. It wont satisfy everyone.
The only flavour I occasionally vape is berry menthol and it contains no PG. I also make that.
I use mtl rta's most of the time but always have an Innokin Zenith tank on the go.

Thank you! I am going to have to do a little scientific experiment and see if I have an allergy or something. If I can't find the right solution, I might end up needing to use snus as another member recommended.

 

[stols001]

Okay so the vape elimination diet sucks at first, but it's just like the allergy one, you start on 1-2 weeks of straight white rice but I have yet to meet a person allergic to it.

Remember: This will be a giant PITA but you are doing it because you WANT to vape to keep you going. You will also learn new skills.

Start with uh, VG only. Yes sorry. If you aren't sensitive to that, add in nic (I would probably use freebase because salt are created by using different reagents. Unless you know which one you are using, well, you are using an UNKNOWN ingredient, and that's bad. Then you can add some distilled water. Then you can add PG at TINY amounts increasing slightly if you can tolerate it. I am P G sensitive to anything over like, 10% gives me pins and needles I save it for my flavors. Which you are going to add LAST.

I use PEG400 which I researched thoroughly instead of PG. It's a flavor carrier like PG and it's less viscous than VG but more than PG. I like it a lot, River Supply sells it for fairly cheap but I'm not TELLING You to try it as it is a bit non traditional. The member who suggested it, I respect his knowledge base great deal, and I have had no issues, although I researched it for myself. But do your own research if you want to give it a shot.

You can certainly use snus during the vanilla rice part of your elimination diet and I would.

Finally, I am not sensitive to metals but some folks are. I would suggest staring with kanthal since if you are using drop in tanks, you will probably only have kanthal anyway. If that seems bad, try SS316 or whatever it called, that will require buying or making some SS coils and getting an RTA. But, if kanthal is no good you will have to use RTAs anyway and there is nothing wrong with trying it. Can be used in wattage or TC. If you have to move to titanium or nickel be aware, you can ONLY use them in TC mode.

Get a decent mod, a topper you can manage (I might respectfully suggest the Zenith it is good and easy going) and a easy to set up RTA for if you need it. Plenty of them about. IDK what might be best for you but you can ask other members.

If PG sends you through the roof entirely, you can use FA flavors I believe they are VG based flavors but its the last step-- adding in flavorings. You will need to make each and every flavor first, one by one and test them out and see how you feel. The good news is s you build your flavor "Repertoire you can combine in your tank not the same as steeping together. It's how I started anyway, since it gave me a sense of what each flavor was like and flavor profiles I like and as I added flavors I could make fun new recipes.

For INFO on all how to do this check out the DIY board they will tell you how to get ingredients to vape and the RTA board will help you pick out an RTA and teach you how to use it. They will do a far better job of it than me.

But this is my best example of the vape elimination diet and it's what you will have to do, so like, decide if you are UP for it or not, etc.

I was lucky to hit on PG relatively early but I did test out flavors to in order to be on the safe side and I started with FA because I wasn't sure how much VG I could tolerate although it wound up being about 10% and I am usually flavoring less than that anyway. The good news is FA flavorings are good.

But this is the best vape elimination diet I have found and it wasn't just me, I did some research. Just sharing some knowledge.

WHILE you do this (if you do) you vape that Juul EVEN one time, you are going to have to repeat about 10 days . So don't. If you decide to try it . However, it was worth it (to me.)

Best of luck. I am sorry but NO one besides Juul (maybe the FDA) knows the ingredients. It's a black box and that is not good for allergies.

Anna

 

[Ann74]

Okay so the vape elimination diet sucks at first, but it's just like the allergy one, you start on 1-2 weeks of straight white rice but I have yet to meet a person allergic to it.

Remember: This will be a giant PITA but you are doing it because you WANT to vape to keep you going. You will also learn new skills.

Start with uh, VG only. Yes sorry. If you aren't sensitive to that, add in nic (I would probably use freebase because salt are created by using different reagents. Unless you know which one you are using, well, you are using an UNKNOWN ingredient, and that's bad. Then you can add some distilled water. Then you can add PG at TINY amounts increasing slightly if you can tolerate it. I am P G sensitive to anything over like, 10% gives me pins and needles I save it for my flavors. Which you are going to add LAST.

I use PEG400 which I researched thoroughly instead of PG. It's a flavor carrier like PG and it's less viscous than VG but more than PG. I like it a lot, River Supply sells it for fairly cheap but I'm not TELLING You to try it as it is a bit non traditional. The member who suggested it, I respect his knowledge base great deal, and I have had no issues, although I researched it for myself. But do your own research if you want to give it a shot.

You can certainly use snus during the vanilla rice part of your elimination diet and I would.

Finally, I am not sensitive to metals but some folks are. I would suggest staring with kanthal since if you are using drop in tanks, you will probably only have kanthal anyway. If that seems bad, try SS316 or whatever it called, that will require buying or making some SS coils and getting an RTA. But, if kanthal is no good you will have to use RTAs anyway and there is nothing wrong with trying it. Can be used in wattage or TC. If you have to move to titanium or nickel be aware, you can ONLY use them in TC mode.

Get a decent mod, a topper you can manage (I might respectfully suggest the Zenith it is good and easy going) and a easy to set up RTA for if you need it. Plenty of them about. IDK what might be best for you but you can ask other members.

If PG sends you through the roof entirely, you can use FA flavors I believe they are VG based flavors but its the last step-- adding in flavorings. You will need to make each and every flavor first, one by one and test them out and see how you feel. The good news is s you build your flavor "Repertoire you can combine in your tank not the same as steeping together. It's how I started anyway, since it gave me a sense of what each flavor was like and flavor profiles I like and as I added flavors I could make fun new recipes.

For INFO on all how to do this check out the DIY board they will tell you how to get ingredients to vape and the RTA board will help you pick out an RTA and teach you how to use it. They will do a far better job of it than me.

But this is my best example of the vape elimination diet and it's what you will have to do, so like, decide if you are UP for it or not, etc.

I was lucky to hit on PG relatively early but I did test out flavors to in order to be on the safe side and I started with FA because I wasn't sure how much VG I could tolerate although it wound up being about 10% and I am usually flavoring less than that anyway. The good news is FA flavorings are good.

But this is the best vape elimination diet I have found and it wasn't just me, I did some research. Just sharing some knowledge.

WHILE you do this (if you do) you vape that Juul EVEN one time, you are going to have to repeat about 10 days . So don't. If you decide to try it . However, it was worth it (to me.)

Best of luck. I am sorry but NO one besides Juul (maybe the FDA) knows the ingredients. It's a black box and that is not good for allergies.

Anna

Thank you so much for this information! I will try to follow these tips and figure out the best way to go. I appreciate it!