Vaping is it good for you...

[Noble Gas]

I smoked like a chimney for 30 years and wound up in the ICU unit, hanging onto life by a thread. My blood was clotting and the clots were filling my lungs. I had a room full of doctors giving me that sad, apologetic forced smile that clearly said 'We're so sorry, but you're not going to make it.' After narrowly surviving that ordeal I was told, the day I was being discharged from the hospital, that I had a tumorous lymph node and probably had cancer, though they couldn't do a biopsy because I was on blood thinners, and if they took me off of those I would surely die.
Then my insurance fell apart and I couldn't get the blood thinners anymore. Since all my doctors had told me that the cigarettes were probably making my clotting situation much worse, I knew I better quit immediately. So I turned to vaping. That was over a year ago, and I'm still alive and not taking any medication at all now.
A few months after I started vaping, I took a walk that turned into a ten mile hike, and never broke a sweat. I've lost weight. My self-esteem has improved considerably. My friends are much happier to have me visit since I no longer stink up the place when I come over. My obstructive sleep apnea has disappeared. My feet stopped swelling. I can taste and smell and breathe again. I am fifty years old and haven't felt this good, physically, since I was in my twenties. Also, the doctors were wrong about the cancer. The swollen lymph node was just from an infection, and cleared up after a while.

So. vaping might not be good for you, but it sure was good for me. It saved my life.

 

[sofarsogood]

Doctors do great things, they have a lot more to offer because of science but they are still doctors not scientists. Science is modern, medicine is ancient. Doctors can tell you what they see in their practice. What they probably see is patients who used to smoke and now vape and appear to be healthier, not the reverse. I have yet to read about an illness caused by vaping. The doc who says some nicotine is probably good for you is probably right.

I'm only about 3 months smoke free and pretty clingy about my vape but I'm going to experiment with vaping abstinence and see how it goes--eventually.

 

[Oberon75]

The medical community is as divided as the rest of the population.

What are you going to the doctor for? Is there a condition that makes nicotine use worse for you?

I have run into doctors that dismiss vaping and I have run into doctors that think vaping is a fantastic tool to stop smoking.

I go by how I feel personally. No one else can tell me how I feel inside. They cannot feel the same way I do when I can exercise and not have to stop before the workout is finished, just to catch my breath. They cannot feel the way I no longer get sick every damn year from bronchitis.

You have to make the call on your own. Do you feel like it is harming you? Do you feel like you are improving overall?

You have to make the decision to either listen to your doctor or find one that is more open to non traditional (read non FDA approved) methods of quitting smoking.

Only you can make the choice for yourself.

I wonder if the doctors who dismiss it are only wanting to prescribe you Chantix.

Sent from my HTC One M8 Harman/Kardon edition

 

[Noble Gas]

I wonder if the doctors who dismiss it are only wanting to prescribe you Chantix.

I think you're probably correct on this, Oberon. This is all strictly my opinion, but everyone has had a coworker who showed up on time, got along with everyone, and was well liked; but when it came down to it, their job performance was just phoned in. I would guess that there's probably a certain number of doctors who are the same way. They just want to do their work and leave, and don't put much into it except the bare minimum. For whatever reason. And those doctors are like the news reporters who just regurgitate their latest press release and put in the least amount of effort possible. Every field, every occupation has employees like that. Our society even encourages that work ethic. Which may be why we hear drastically different reactions from each and every doctor when it comes to vaping. They're not all on the same page, and they're not all particularly interested in the health of their patients. They just want to sell their meds, get their kickbacks, and get back to the golf course ASAP.

 

[Jovey]

I seen this article the beginning of the week and even though it's long, it's quite interesting in regards to how PG can actually benefit us. Some food for thought and i personally wouldn't quit vaping because out of all the avenues out there to help us smokers quit, vaping has been the only thing that has helped me go this long without smoking like a train.....EVER!

Propylene glycol in e cigarettes might keep us healthy, says researchers

 

[robertr]

Very interesting KY Girl, excellent info.

 

[OMRebel67]

It's good for me and my family doctor, my neurologist, and the surgeon that removed half my thyroid gland, all approved of it. One year off of cigarettes and I feel so much better now. I haven't breathed this well since I was 19 years old. (27 years ago). I'll never go back to that disgusting habit of smoking. Do I have any plans for quitting vaping in the future? Nope... I love vaping and don't care what anyone thinks about it.

 

[Maiar]

I think mandatory one week suspensions are in order for people who keep asking this question

 

[WharfRat1976]

I know this topic has pretty much been beat to death but I have started to wonder.

I have been cig free for over six months now and I still use 3mg juice. I was at my doctor the other day and asked him is vaping any better than smoking and he told me no it's not. I have also heard this from other doctors. They have all told me I am still considered a smoker.

I am thinking now about trying to get off vaping all together and switch to the gum because I still need the nicotine.

Has anyone else heard these things from their doctors?

Asking a doctor if vaping is good for you is like asking Ted Bundy for tips on taking a girl to prom [emoji33]

 

[Robino1]

I think mandatory one week suspensions are in order for people who keep asking this question

If the same person asks the same question again and again and again...yes

Think of it this way, there are new members all the time and they have discovered vaping and are all excited. They go to their doctor and are told what the OP was told. Wouldn't you want to know if others have had the same things said to them?

Searching the forum is a big job. Things get pushed to the back so very quickly at times. (while some things that I wish would, don't ) The forum is huge.

A little patience and understanding go a long way.

 

[skoony]

as some of the earlier posters have mentioned
about possible conflicts of interest check
to see if the clinic or hospital you went to has a smoking
cessation program. if it does the doctors may be prevented
contractually not to recommend anything but that program.
it could also be a condition of any agreements made with
others who supply the them with supplies,specialty services
or,pharmaceuticals.
regards
mike

 

[zahzoo]

I would venture a semi-educated guess that the medical field is no more knowledgeable on the pro's & con's of vaping than anyone else.

There's no definitive source for physicians to read clinical study materials on the subject... frankly they may learn more from reading here or at the CASAA reference library. Certainly they are not going to get good information from the American Lung Society or Heart Association as both of those entities have been knowingly publishing inaccurate if not out-right lies on vaping for the last couple of years...

The best hope for primary physicians is they reach logical conclusions from their own patient exposure in seeing health improvements from smoking cessation using e-cigs.

 

[HecticEnergy]

It may also help you gain some prospective to remember that cigerettes were once widely approved my the medical community.


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[Enoch777]

I would venture a semi-educated guess that the medical field is no more knowledgeable on the pro's & con's of vaping than anyone else.

Exactly and as vapers we are more privy to the actual effects/side effects of it more so than any third party. Vaping has been nothing but a huge positive force in my life and everyone I've ever talked to said much the same, supposing they stick with it.

That being said I think much of what could be considered healthy vaping is entirely up to user choice of device, juice, and diligence in maintaining a clean efficient vape. Seems like someone new to the whole idea might run their coil dry more often than the pros, a simple mistake which significantly increases the toxins in the vapor.

It's up to us to prove these naysayers wrong by staying knowledgeable and practicing proper maintenance and technique.

 

[LeftofCenter]

I go with what works for me. I tried every cessation product out there. The gum and lozenges gave me the worst heartburn known to man, the patch gave me a burning red rash and neither helped my cravings. Chantix gave me a mental breakdown (no joke).

Vaping is the only thing that works for me. I quit for a year and a half pretty easily with vaping. Now I did go back to smoking for over a year, but I am back to vaping and am really not interested in smoking again.

I am too early in this time to have too many benefits in the breathing department, I smoked for 33 years pretty heavily for a lot of those years, but I am breathing a little better already. I can smell better and my nose isn't nearly as stuffy as it usually is. I don't get migraines as much either.

At this point I may never have a great set of lungs, but vaping will give me back what quality I can get. So in my estimation I don't need my Doctor to tell me it's OK or not OK. I only need to listen to my own body.

 

[LiquidElectron]

I was told today by my dad (who is still smoking at 63, despite my pleas), that I haven't 'quit', I've only traded smoking for something worse. This escalated quickly into quite the argument. He 'knows a lot from reading online', and uh, me too. We just don't read the same things.

Fun, isn't it.

 

[GinnyTx]

you might check and see if your doctor is on Dow's payroll (nicorette) or any of the other smoking "cessation" meds

openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/

or he's just from LSU

 

[mudram99]

Let us not forget that all doctors have is an opinion based on what (if any research) they have personally done. If none then they are just sharing someone else's opinion they seem to like. Plus they call it Practicing medicine because after all this time they still have not got it all right!

 

[Firestorm]

It may also help you gain some prospective to remember that cigerettes were once widely approved my the medical community.

 

[HecticEnergy]

I knew there was a reason I preferred camels