Urine smells like vape juice

[Hbuddha]

There are a reasonable number of internet posts on this matter which are old and were just laughed off (including on this forum). I am an ex-smoker with fragile health trying not to do more damage to myself. I am posting here to see what the community in general or DIYers have to say on this matter and if someones gone through it and found new information.

So, I started vaping some time ago and got on to making my own juice. One of the juices I made was http://..................../recipe/212928/Creamy Caramel Custard . I have also made http://..................../recipe/121795/Mother's Unicorn Milk amongst others. The problem is, whenever I am vaping the Caramel stuff, my morning urine smells like Caramel.

I have also mixed half a tank of the Caramel juice with half a tank full of another juice hoping it will make a difference, but it hasn't. The next morning, the wee has a distinct caramel smell. This does not happen with ANY other juice that I have vaped - I have no way to tell if they had acetoin or not. I am very well hydrated through out the day and it doesn't matter what food or drink I have consumed. I have varied wattage and air flow hoping that could be a problem, but it isn't. Usually, nothing I eat or drink will change odour of urine. So, I wrote to TFA asking for what goes into the flavor as my GP can't really give me an accurate diagnosis without it, and they confirmed : the Caramel and custard flavours have acetoin and acetyl propional, which is safe for ingestion but not inhalation. Also, I dont think this is the case of me getting my 'smell' back - I have always had a sensitive nose its business as usual in the olfactory.

I have been reading news of increasing bladder cancer amongst vapers so this is very concerning for me. I know I can just stop vaping stuff that has Caramel or custard flavours but this also means I will be on the edge looking to know if a juice contains acetoin and acetyl propional - none of the commercial juices (Australia) list this.

 

[Vchick]

I would say that if you have fragile health and trying not to do any more damage, yet you started vaping last month and have already noticed issues, have you had a urinalysis study done? Smoking is also a cause of bladder cancer. If necessary you can vape flavorless, you need to weigh your options and not rely on the interwebs for your sole source of your information.

 

[Molchi]

If you really want to avoid acetoine there are some Flavour companies (most of the european companies) which avoid it totally like Flavour Art, and others which have lists with all their flavours, found a site with links to the data sheets of the most companies:

Flavour Manufacturers Safety Data Sheet Database

 

[Letitia]

We can't link to elr but they have a list of flavors with acetoin and such.

 

[Jebbn]

"Increasing cases of bladder cancer among vapers "

I feel like it should be a requirement to post links to the studies every time someone posts that sort of thing.

How long did you smoke tobacco for? How long have you vaped for?

Your biggest hurdle is recovering from the damage smoking did. It wrecks you.
If you are an older guy it' going to take longer to recover and some damage maybe irreparable.
If you want to take minimizing damage a little further stop using flavours and vape unflavored for a while to see if there is any change.

I would expect urine would smell different between a smoker and a non smoker. Your liver is working bloody hard while you smoke and literally can't process all that it' given to work through. It just passes stuff through as best it can.
Once you stop smoking the liver gets healthier and is freed up to do it' job properly. You should expect a difference in your daily ablutions not long after stopping smoking.
That it smells slightly caramel probably means you have regained your sense of smell and there' not so much crap from tobacco being processed and affecting the smell of your urine

 

[Letitia]

There are a reasonable number of internet posts on this matter which are old and were just laughed off (including on this forum). I am an ex-smoker with fragile health trying not to do more damage to myself. I am posting here to see what the community in general or DIYers have to say on this matter and if someones gone through it and found new information.

So, I started vaping some time ago and got on to making my own juice. One of the juices I made was http://..................../recipe/212928/Creamy Caramel Custard . I have also made http://..................../recipe/121795/Mother's Unicorn Milk amongst others. The problem is, whenever I am vaping the Caramel stuff, my morning urine smells like Caramel.

I have also mixed half a tank of the Caramel juice with half a tank full of another juice hoping it will make a difference, but it hasn't. The next morning, the wee has a distinct caramel smell. This does not happen with ANY other juice that I have vaped - I have no way to tell if they had acetoin or not. I am very well hydrated through out the day and it doesn't matter what food or drink I have consumed. I have varied wattage and air flow hoping that could be a problem, but it isn't. Usually, nothing I eat or drink will change odour of urine. So, I wrote to TFA asking for what goes into the flavor as my GP can't really give me an accurate diagnosis without it, and they confirmed : the Caramel and custard flavours have acetoin and acetyl propional, which is safe for ingestion but not inhalation. Also, I dont think this is the case of me getting my 'smell' back - I have always had a sensitive nose its business as usual in the olfactory.

I have been reading news of increasing bladder cancer amongst vapers so this is very concerning for me. I know I can just stop vaping stuff that has Caramel or custard flavours but this also means I will be on the edge looking to know if a juice contains acetoin and acetyl propional - none of the commercial juices (Australia) list this.

Do you have any blood sugar issues? I do know it affects urine smell.

 

[Hbuddha]

I would say that if you have fragile health and trying not to do any more damage, yet you started vaping last month and have already noticed issues, have you had a urinalysis study done? Smoking is also a cause of bladder cancer. If necessary you can vape flavorless, you need to weigh your options and not rely on the interwebs for your sole source of your information.

Yes, I started vaping as a means of harm reduction. The GP will probably want to order a study but wanted additional info. You gave a good idea, I think I need to give just VG/PG/nic a go without the flavors

"Increasing cases of bladder cancer among vapers "

I feel like it should be a requirement to post links to the studies every time someone posts that sort of thing.

How long did you smoke tobacco for? How long have you vaped for?

Your biggest hurdle is recovering from the damage smoking did. It wrecks you.
If you are an older guy it' going to take longer to recover and some damage maybe irreparable.
If you want to take minimizing damage a little further stop using flavours and vape unflavored for a while to see if there is any change.

I would expect urine would smell different between a smoker and a non smoker. Your liver is working bloody hard while you smoke and literally can't process all that it' given to work through. It just passes stuff through as best it can.
Once you stop smoking the liver gets healthier and is freed up to do it' job properly. You should expect a difference in your daily ablutions not long after stopping smoking.
That it smells slightly caramel probably means you have regained your sense of smell and there' not so much crap from tobacco being processed and affecting the smell of your urine

I thought google could provide more studies - but the most interesting one, close to real life scenarios I read was : Comparison of Bladder Carcinogens in the Urine of E-cigarette Users Versus Non E-cigarette Using Controls Having said that I couldn't find what juices the e-cigg users used. I smoked for close to 20 years. Vaping since the last month. Tobacco free for 28 days today.

Do you have any blood sugar issues? I do know it affects urine smell.

I do. But the issues have been for a while and I profiled the smell of my urine, so to say. Well, its weird to say it out loud, but I have kind of profiled most things about my urine because of my previous health issues. Would you please give more information on how blood sugar/vaping could cause change in urine odour.

 

[Letitia]

Yes, I started vaping as a means of harm reduction. The GP will probably want to order a study but wanted additional info. You gave a good idea, I think I need to give just VG/PG/nic a go without the flavors


I thought google could provide more studies - but the most interesting one I read was : Comparison of Bladder Carcinogens in the Urine of E-cigarette Users Versus Non E-cigarette Using Controls
I smoked for close to 20 years. Vaping since the last month. Tobacco free for 28 days today.


I do. But the issues have been for a while and I profiled the smell of my urine, so to say. Well, its weird to say it out loud, but I have kind of profiled most things about my urine because of my previous health issues. Would you please give more information on how blood sugar/vaping could cause change in urine smell.

No studies, a friend's husband can tell when her sugar is off by the smell. She can't smell the difference but he's not been wrong yet.

 

[jandrew]

...
Tobacco free for 28 days today.
...

Congrats on 28 days tobacco free! I can't offer any insight into your present query, but I do hope you get things sorted out.

(seriously though, congrats!)

 

[Vapntime]

If you can smell anything in your urine (except for maybe asparagus) you are dehydrated. This is just an opinion. Live long and prosper.

 

[IDJoel]

@Hbuddha, as far as TFA/TPA concentrates are concerned; they do provide some of the most transparent information, I have seen a manufacturer make available. The list can be found under their FAQ tab, or follow this link:
TFA MSDS and Specification Sheets

Click on the far right-hand column (labeled "COMPONENTS" at the top; and identified by "List" in the column data cell), of any flavor, and you will see a third party GCMS analysis, for all but their newest flavors.

Here is just one example (for TFA Caramel); so you can see what I mean:

Note: actual data is displayed as a range, to protect their actual formulas... they are trying to make a profit after all, and don't want to be handing over specific formulas to the competition. But, it is still more specific, than any other manufacturer that I have found.

Also note: TFA does offer some of their more popular flavors in a D/A/AP-free option (much like Capella V2 offerings). Sometimes they will be labeled the same except with the prefix of DX. Example: TFA (original) Caramel is offered in a no-D/A/AP version called DX Caramel Original.

Others are not so obvious. Example: TFA Vanilla Swirl, which many think of as an "ice cream" flavor, is actually their Vanilla Custard without D/A/AP.

(All examples can be found on their website: here)

Why they don't have a standardized way of labeling their reformulated "clean" versions is a mystery to me. All I can guess; is those that are acceptably (by their criteria) close to the original version, are given the "DX" prefix. Those that greater variation; get renamed something else. I don't know... I could be completely off the mark.

At any rate: by comparing various flavors, in the same flavor group (on TFA's home website), it becomes fairly easy to read which ones are usually related.

 

[madstabber]

Why is your pee smelling of caramel a bad thing? Seems that would be an improvement if anything. On a similar note my poo smells of glorious things. I often get compliments on its delectable bouquet. Unlike you, though, I refuse to look a gift horse in the mouth. Stop the worry and just enjoy life’s mysteries.

 

[Jebbn]

Why is your pee smelling of caramel a bad thing? Seems that would be an improvement if anything. On a similar note my poo smells of glorious things. I often get compliments on its delectable bouquet. Unlike you, though, I refuse to look a gift horse in the mouth. Stop the worry and just enjoy life’s mysteries.

my tears taste like strawberry cream.
My wife finds new ways to hurt me then licks the tears as they roll down my cheeks.
I've woken up to find her licking my eyeballs.

 

[score69]

I recently saw a Netflix documentary on vpaing (e-cigarettes miracle or menace)

Now some of the information was very flawed in my opinion, but what was interesting was a study they did of some lung tissue cell death/damage in three scenarios:

1) Smoking
2) Vaping menthol e-juice
3) Vaping pina colada e-juice

Of course smoking was the most damaging, no question there. When they compared menthol and pina colada juice though, the percentage of cell damage was markedly higher with menthol than it was pina colada. And this was a substantial difference.

So I guess the take home is that these flavorings were never meant to be inhaled. While menthol for example is safe in cosmetics, edibles, etc, it's not so innocuous when inhaled like we do. Different flavorings most likely have a wide range of possible problems, or how the body will handle them when inhaled.

I would have been interested to see the numbers in a fourth scenario to the above, when just unflavored juice was vaped.

We don't know the long term effects of vaping even just VG/PG yet. Any additional ingredient to ejuice are additional unknowns.

I'm not trying to be a party pooper here, I vape mostly unflavored, a few times a year, I'll vape something with a bit of flavor. Personally, I will probably try to stick with unflavored from here on out. The fewer ingredients, the less risk of long term consequences.

And yes, probably almost any ejuice is safer than smoking. I vape for the nicotine though, not the flavoring, so I figure why not minimize MY risk factors as much as possible? It's all really unknown at this point, other than we're pretty sure it's much less harmful than smoking.

If you need flavors to vape and not smoke, then by all means do so. If you have issues you think are related to a specific flavor and those issues concern you, then try something different.

 

[Falconeer]

Interesting that for very many years, and throughout my childhood that the standard Scottish home remedy for bronchitis was to get menthol crystals from the chemist, disolve some in hot water in a bowl, then cover your head with a large towel while you leaned over the bowl inhaling the steam.

Doctors actually recommended this treatment.

Don't know how I made it to 68 going on 69 - mind you if my cruel and wicked parents hadn't rubbed my head with paraffin ( kersosene) every Friday night to stop me getting head lice I bet I'd still have had a full head of hair!

 

[Jebbn]

Interesting that for very many years, and throughout my childhood that the standard Scottish home remedy for bronchitis was to get menthol crystals from the chemist, disolve some in hot water in a bowl, then cover your head with a large towel while you leaned over the bowl inhaling the steam.

Doctors actually recommended this treatment.

Don't know how I made it to 68 going on 69 - mind you if my cruel and wicked parents hadn't rubbed my head with paraffin ( kersosene) every Friday night to stop me getting head lice I bet I'd still have had a full head of hair!

They werent meant to ignite it.

 

[score69]

They werent meant to ignite it.

My thoughts exactly. Inhaling the 'smell' of something is completely different than heating it very hot like we do to vaporize the liquid.

 

[Falconeer]

Actually amazing they didn't given that just about everybody smoked in those days!

By the way - to make an inhalation (Scottish Farmhouse style) you bring the water to a rolling boil for several minutes and the "patient" inhales the steam as deeply as he/she possibly can.

Times change etc etc etc!

 

[Jebbn]

My thoughts exactly. Inhaling the 'smell' of something is completely different than heating it very hot like we do to vaporize the liquid.

I was talking about igniting the kerosene and hair loss.

 

[score69]

I was talking about igniting the kerosene and hair loss.

Yeah, I could see where that could lead to hair loss. INSTANT.