What about your doctor?

[MoralFibre]

Sorry, I see my question has already been asked, and partly answered. There is no evidence, no good evidence, as yet, to suggest that inhaling PG or VG vapour is bad for us.

So to further ask, just in case anyone knows, are there any studies currently underway?

 

[Davinna]

This is actually working! I haven't smoked in a month now and am pretty darn proud of myself

And you should be. 1 month smoke free is an awesome milestone!

I haven't seen my doctor yet. I guess at some point I'll need to see him, but I suspect he'll be glad to hear I kicked the analogs. After that, I'm not sure what he'd say. I'll be surprised if it's negative. He's been on me to quit analogs forever.

 

[MicheleMarie]

Thank you very much Davinna ~ I'm hoping that mine is as positive as some of these other doctors have been! She's younger then me and so maybe she'll be cool with it. It has got to be better than those icky analogs were! I know I feel better since giving up smoking although I can't say I've saved any money yet with all of the new toys and juices. I'm loving all the "testing" I'm having to do now!

 

[Angiebubs]

I have had a wide variety of responses. MY significant other went in for his physical and his Dr asked how he quit smoking. The Dr was very intrigued and wanted more info about e-cigs and asked where people could get them.

My Dr. was very happy to hear I had quit smoking. However, she mentioned that she will be interested in seeing more studies done to find out long term affects if any. So all in all a very practical outlook on these. Most Drs seem to think its a better alternative but I think they logically would like to see some real long term data.

 

[Grad]

My doctor was pretty happy with the switch. She admitted that she would rather I not need any nicotine, but she sees this as a vast improvement over smoking. Additionally, I also have my BP monitored very closely because I take a prescribed stimulant. While I've never been too high, I've always been at the upper edge of her limits for continuing my prescription. Since I switched to vaping, my pressure has been lower every week. She's thrilled with that improvement alone.

 

[slicknick]

I've been smoking for over 15 years, and my doctor always tells me to quit. I'm in pretty good shape for a smoker, but i've developed allergies that I never had before. My doctor pushed chantix at first, but I have an issue with popping anti depressants every day unless I need them. He recommended the e-cig and actually suggested which ones would work better.

 

[xNexus]

My doctor doesn't say anything.... because they don't know i use e-cigs lol. My insurance would probably double if they knew I was using Nicotine.

PG is in prescription asthma inhalers.. So IMO that means it is safe to inhale into your lungs.
My Dr has a "no comment" policy. Which is why I am looking for another Dr.

Asthma inhalers administer miniscule amounts of drugs into your lungs. I'm unsure on the actual volume, but the mass of the active drug is usually within the microgram range. That's like saying there is Ethanol in Nyquil, so it's safe for your liver to drink Tequila.

Also which asthma inhalers contain PG? I work with medications, and I've never noticed that. I looked up the inactive ingredients of common inhalers Albuterol, Epinephrine (OTC), Fluticasone, and none of them have PG listed.

 

[Mcp15]

My doctor actually high-fived me, he was so excited. I told him that I was slowly dropping the nicotine level, but he even told me to take my time with it. He was more happy about no more smoking, with all the additives in the smoke itself! My endocrinologist admitted to not knowing much about ecigs, but cautiously suggested that perhaps I could quit that too, eventually. (like that's gonna happen in the foreseeable future, lol).

However, you should see your doc, and have them do a thyroid screen. It seems that smoking can mask underlying thyroid issues. It wasn't until I stopped smoking that I had problems with racing heart rate...it was a thyroid problem, not ecigs or too much nicotine causing the problem!
Good luck to all, and congrats on 1 month!

 

[BillyWJ]

My doctor was pretty happy with the switch. She admitted that she would rather I not need any nicotine, but she sees this as a vast improvement over smoking. Additionally, I also have my BP monitored very closely because I take a prescribed stimulant. While I've never been too high, I've always been at the upper edge of her limits for continuing my prescription. Since I switched to vaping, my pressure has been lower every week. She's thrilled with that improvement alone.

Doctors have to be careful with untested materials like e-cigarettes, because in today's litigious society, it puts them at sever risk if they are found to be harmful. I know this from a close family member who is a practicing pediatrician. Het attitude is anything that keeps you from inhaling hot smoke is good, and the less chemicals the better, and does not like using pills to stop smoking (Which I have to agree with, after trying Wellbutrin). Of course, from a health standpoint, any doctor would want their patients to not use stimulants like nicotine, or caffeine. It goes without saying. And, from what my relative has been saying for years, theres all different kinds of doctors - ones who stay current on the medical field and things like nutrition and diet and ecigarettes, and those who stick by what they learned in school 20 years ago, and see no reason to change - and some in between. I also learned from dealing with doctors with my mom, who was a cancer patient, is that doctors have opinions, and those opinions can be very wrong, and you have every right to a second or third opinion.

We focus on nicotine and PG and VG for health reasons, but the flavorings can be an issue too - look at the recent issue with cinnamon. Inhaling something is a different thing than eating it, the digestive system is designed to deal with food flavor, not our lungs.

 

[DetraMental]

Well one set of doctors are very proud of me and told me to go tell everyone! The other doctor I see was glad I quit cigarettes but wanted me off vaping as well, too bad that's not gonna happen anytime soon, jeez we're talking about breaking a 33yr hard hitting habit that I only just switched from. I'm the one who is happiest and until there is some real data out there that be used by doctors to back up any debate then and only then will I listen. Until then I'm gonna vape cuz' I know I feel better and that's a big plus in my book. I will admit my doctors do give positive feedback on how my lungs sound and are happy with that.

 

[patkin]

Happy for "risk reduction" whether zero nic or not.

 

[SnowDog]

I just saw my doctor today for my annual physical examination. I told him that I have been tobacco free for 6 months and of course, he was delighted and said that it was the single most important thing I could do.

Then I told him that I'm using e-cigs as a replacement. He said "that's OK, that's not smoking".

 

[Bawn]

My doctor actually high-fived me, he was so excited. I told him that I was slowly dropping the nicotine level, but he even told me to take my time with it. He was more happy about no more smoking, with all the additives in the smoke itself! My endocrinologist admitted to not knowing much about ecigs, but cautiously suggested that perhaps I could quit that too, eventually. (like that's gonna happen in the foreseeable future, lol).

However, you should see your doc, and have them do a thyroid screen. It seems that smoking can mask underlying thyroid issues. It wasn't until I stopped smoking that I had problems with racing heart rate...it was a thyroid problem, not ecigs or too much nicotine causing the problem!
Good luck to all, and congrats on 1 month!

i also got diagnosed with graves disease which is a hyperactive thyroid, bare in mind i am 29 and was diagnosed at 28. how i found out something was wrong was that i dropped 30lbs in 3months and i only wieghed 160lbs 5'6 and was hitting the gym hard. i looked horrible and i couldnt figure out why. had a resting heart rate of 129 and heart palpitations. blood pressure was a constant 160/60 umm not good. sure enough they saw it was my thyroid, so i have to take a immune suppressing med the rest of my life, but will most likely have to have %80 of my thyroid removed or do a radioactive iodine treatment which in turn kills the thyroid, so your old problem goes away but now your new one is you have to take a hormone replacement the rest of your life and you at much higher risk for cancer because of the iodine treatment. so i told my doctor i will never do the radio active iodine treatment and that if worse comes to worse just to the surgery. yes i will have a ugly scar, yes they could nick my vocal chords during the operation but anything is better then getting radio active iodine shot through your vanes. so now my thyroid hormone is back at its normal level my heart rate (if i am not vaping) is at about 75 however, my blood pressure is still 130-140 range over 85-90. still high but on the lower end. i am probably going to ask to be put on some blood pressure meds to bring me back to what my normal was which was 120/80.

having said all this, i was never a HUGE smoker, maybe 5 a day but on the weekends when i drank it was a free for all sometimes 1.5 packs in a evening out. i do find, when i dont vape i feel much better, and my blood pressure does drop back down to a relatively normal range. when i dont vape for a few days i can breathe better, and i can run better. if i vape, i can feel my heart start racing, and my breathing rate increases. so yea vaping scares me a little, so i am trying to do it a modest pace and not go to hard core anymore. i will be starting the police academy in feb, so will most likely stop all vaping for 9 months heck maybe even for good. all that running and everything that goes with it, i think if i vape through it i wont make it. i feel much better when I dont vape, but i still need that fixation of something.

 

[jholl318]

My Doctor Said " Well I am glad you quit smoking cigarettes and with the use of the E-Cig, you will be able to ween yourself off of the nicotine!"

 

[el Jexican]

I haven't talked to my doc however, a friend of mine is a nurse and she is very happy that I quit smoking and switched to vaping

 

[Mrs C]

Last appt he asked if I was still smoking. I told him I has switched to vaping and hadn't touched a smoke in 2 months, he said "I support anything that keeps people from lighting up. "

 

[Leecm3]

My Doctor said not smoking/vaping anything is best, but between Analogs and E-cigs, he stated that e-cigs would be better. He also stated that not enough data is out to really know what the health risks are with e-cigs, but inhaling 4000 chemicals vs a few is a step in the right direction.

 

[Jwaterski]

My Dr. says I should eat right, exercise more, sleep more, not smoke, only drink in moderation. I'm not even going to ask him about vaping!!

 

[dice57]

Never trusted doctors, never will. Doctors practice medicine, they don't perfect it. Once they get it right, maybe I'll start to trust them.

 

[rickyrickeric]

My doctor actually suggested I try e-cigs about a year ago, since he has been after me for a while to quit the analogs. Now, he did qualify his recommendation with something along the lines of: "there is still much research that needs to happen to be absolutely sure, but it appears that e-cigs are a much safer alternative to smoking.". But being a former smoker himself, he understood the pitfalls of other cessation methods, and felt that vaping was close enough to be able to take the place of smoking.

I hadn't even heard of vaping at that point, and I was hesitant to dive into something so foreign to me.

I am planning a visit with him soon so I can share my success story with him, and tell him about my experiences with vaping.