Vaping high VG liquids and GI issues

[JSL_Aus]

Hi all,

this post is more for information purposes, as I hope if anyone else has similar issues, then they might find this info useful.

Basically, I quit smoking and completely switched to vaping around 6-7 months ago. I didn't know it at the time, but when I started vaping, all the e-liquids I had were more PG based, that is, 50% or higher PG in the mix. Well about 3 months into vaping, I started buying more "boutique" liquids, and they were all at least 70% VG all the way up to Max VG. I didn't really make the association, but about this time, I started going to the can a lot more, and, how do I say this nicely, well, everything was much more "loosey-goosey" (lol) if you know what I mean.

I never made the association with my ........ and high VG liquids. I spent months trying everything I could, such as diet changes, but nothing worked. I pretty much thought that there must be something serious going on, but then I read elsewhere online a few people mentioning how vegetable glycerin did the same thing for them, and there is a few books that mention how VG, even when inhaled, can irritate the GI tract, and cause the issues I was having.

Anyway, as a last ditch effort to see, I went back to liquids I had that are predominantly PG (Halo Cigs liquid, which, judging from the lack of clouds, must be higher PG than VG), anyway, and sure enough, it has been about 10 days now of nothing but higher PG liquids, and all my GI issues are gone. Completely gone.

Maybe it is that PG has the opposite effect with me, or maybe the higher VG is irritating my GI tract and causing the problems, I don't know. Could it be a type of VG that is doing it? Again, I have VG liquids from 3 or 4 different vendors, and they all have a bad effect on me, so that probably isn't it. As for nicotine, the higher PG liquids are 18mg nic, whereas the other high VG liquids were all 12mg or 9mg nicotine, so unless having more nicotine fixes my problem, I don't think nicotine is the culprit.

It is a shame that VG does appear to be causing me the problems, as I love the extra clouds and I enjoy the smoother, less-harsh vape of VG over PG, but I have to say that I am relieved that at least I was able to identify the source of my problem.

Hope this is of use to others - that if you are going to the can a lot more, and it is more of a "loose-goose" type, then you might want to try higher PG liquids. On the other hand, if your issue is more of a "traffic jam" type thing, then if you up the VG, that might get things moving for you.

 

[JSL_Aus]

Well thanks everyone for the lively discussion

I know, I know, it is a topic that we don't like to talk about. I understand. I actually tried to go and edit my post to 'dumb it down' and make it more 'palatable', so to speak, but was too late, lol..

But for what it's worth, if it helps anyone else, then that is good, eh? I wish I'd "connected the dots" ages ago, rather than suffering and looking in all the wrong places for causes.

 

[stols001]

Um I don't think it's the fact that you are talking about poop that is causing the "lack of lively discussion" quite honestly.

It's that you are describing an event, that occurred for you, and as far as I am aware is really NOT that common, and then reported that you had "solved" said issue.

If you would like a congratulations however, here it is. "Congrats."

I just don't have much to say about VG causing me loose stool because well, it doesn't and I also don't know of a single person it DOES cause that to.

Perhaps there is a large "silent majority" out there, but I just don't think there is one. I for one, never "suffer in silence."

I mean....

Anna

 

[JSL_Aus]

Hi Anna,

yes, maybe it is not that common, in fact it probably isn't I guess. Although I have found at least one other thread on this here, as well as a few places elsewhere that describe this.

VG is noted as having these properties for some, I guess that as most people don't have this reaction, it gets dismissed out of hand as being 'not real' or something else.

I guess I am in the very rare minority.

And thanks for the congrats, though none needed. I have to say it was a revelation to me personally to be able to figure out that VG was the cause of my issues. Everyone is different I guess.

Thanks.

 

[tailland]

It's hard to pin a single effect down to particular cause when many circumstances and potential causes are constantly changing in your life.

Since I started vaping last summer, my digestion (and especially my formerly irritable colon) has improved dramatically. But since that time, I also had 2 significant changes in my daily medications (and connected to that, severe changes in my diet as well), plus I dropped from 12mg to about 1.5mg nic concentration in my juice, and went from 50/50 to about VG80/20 bases for my mixes.

So what happened? I could guess which of these things had what effect on my digestion, good or bad, but I have no way of knowing that for sure.

 

[JSL_Aus]

Yes, that's true. Although I have found that if I vape high PG liquids (>60% PG), the problem goes away, and then a few times for a day I've gone back to high VG liquids and the problem comes back. I also get the same issues when I drink Olive Leaf Extract that I have, which is suspended in a VG base.

The only questions I have are whether the VG is just triggering things, and whether VG alone is the cause, or whether there are other things going on with my health. I have a procedure coming up so they will be able to rule in or out other causes, as they will be taking biopsies as well.

I just know at the moment, if I vape high VG liquids, then I will have problems :-(

 

[tailland]

I just know at the moment, if I vape high VG liquids, then I will have problems :-(

If you can say that for certain, you have a point of leverage from which you can operate until you get more data.

The only questions I have are whether the VG is just triggering things, and whether VG alone is the cause, or whether there are other things going on with my health.

That's the thing. You, individually, could be genuinely intolerant towards VG, or the VG just interacts badly with some other, irregular substance/circumstance in your system, which you're probably unaware of.

It would take a lot of cross-testing to find that out; or blood-analysis, of course, but I'm afraid doctors won't be too motivated to do all of that if they learn that you can simply eliminate the problem by lowering your VG intake, because in their mind, it's a [low-effort-high-reward] solution right at your disposal. Making you a happy versatile vaper surely isn't high in their prioritiy list.

 

[bombastinator]

Olive leaf extract? I smell homeopathic “medicine” issues.