What has been your doctor's reaction?

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zapped

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When my Mom was in the ER for dangerously low O2 levels caused by COPD I was the family's liaison with the doctors. When I spoke to the pulmonologist and mentioned that she had smoked for 50 years and asked how he felt about vaping as an alternative, he endorsed it with a lot of enthusiasm.

He went on to caution me that it wasnt the best case scenario, which would be her breathing nothing but air, but said it was far better than her going back to smoking and dying a painful death from COPD.
 

catlady60

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My former doctor was fine with my vaping; he took a listen to my lungs and heard a vast improvement in lung function.

My new doctor has a bit of a problem with my nic usage; otherwise, she's OK with the vaping. She would prefer if I vaped 0 nic juice, but I'm only a year into vaping. I explained to her that I have to wean myself off the nic very gradually (something like 5 or so years) before I'll go 0 nic.
 

WorksForMe

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During my last visit, my GP told me that he and a group of other doctors were going to Richmond(state capital) to talk to legislators about various medical issues. He said he was going to put in a plug for e-cigs whenever appropriate. I stole my signature tag line from him. “If you’re not at the table; you’re on the menu.”

J.R.
 

faile

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I don't really have a doctor, but my mom has several, and every one she's seen since she started her "puffer" experiment has been thrilled and really encouraging about it. She's still dual-using, but it's been a lot more successful than any of the NRT she's tried before. Also, she tells me that she doesn't panic the way she used to when she runs out of cigarettes anymore (because I make sure she's never out of eliquid! :vapor:). I'm still very hopeful that she'll get to 100% vaping with time, but I'm doing my best not to push it because that is THE best way to get her to give up vaping altogether.
 

Stringplucker

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I was diagnosed asthmatic when I was 2, and smoked for 28 years. I was diagnosed with COPD a few years ago, and knew I had to quit smoking, but nothing worked for me.

My doc questioned my decision at first, but once he understood the ingredients, he's behind me all the way.

He now suggests vaping as an alternative to smoking to his patients, and sends them to the local vape shop for more information.

BTW...The doc has seen an improvement in my lung capacity, and the threat of being hooked up to an oxygen line is no longer there. My need for medications has also lessened quite a bit.
 

skoony

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My GP is supportive and sees all the improvements (BP, lung capacity, etc.). My ophthalmologist is even more in favour as he's seen a fairly significant drop in my (hypertensive, but not glaucoma-stricken) eye pressure.

It really makes me wonder why there is not more noise being made from medical practitioners about the empirical benefits they've seen in people switching to vaping.

Note that your doc(s) prolly won't regard you as a non-smoker until you've completely switched for a year. They're not picking on vaping, it's just an accepted standard.
most if not all doctors by contractual agreements between them and or,the clinics or hospitals and BP
are obligated only to affirm official products or treatments.
some doctors,clinics and,hospitals have received grants or out right money
to endorse certain medicines or procedures over others.
regards
mike
 
Thanks for the feedback! It sounds like a bit of a mixed bag but for the most part it's being supported. My doc is kind of an old school Italian, but also open minded...I think he's going to be okay with this.

When my Mom was in the ER for dangerously low O2 levels caused by COPD I was the family's liaison with the doctors. When I spoke to the pulmonologist and mentioned that she had smoked for 50 years and asked how he felt about vaping as an alternative, he endorsed it with a lot of enthusiasm.

He went on to caution me that it wasnt the best case scenario, which would be her breathing nothing but air, but said it was far better than her going back to smoking and dying a painful death from COPD.

I had a similar ordeal with my mom...who has COPD but won't admit it. Hers flares up bad when she's sick...as it does. Colds always turn into pneumonia. She was on vacation in Mexico a couple years ago with a friend and was so ill on the plane coming home a doctor on board thought she had a heart attack. Plane made an emergency landing in Toronto, complete with paramedics and ambulance on the tarmac ready to take her to the hospital. She wouldn't go! So I drove her the hour ride from the airport and straight to our hospital in town, also against her will. She fought me every step of the way but managed to get her admitted. Her O2 levels were so low she would not have made it through the night if she went home. 4 days later she came home, on oxygen. They came to the house and got the tank and cables set up. She lives alone and was afraid she'd blow herself up smoking with the oxygen, so my sister and i got her some e-cigs. She used them for about a month, then declared herself cured. Her oxygen levels had improved enough to not need the oxygen. But, that's because she wasn't smoking! She sent the tank back, started smoking again and is back to wheezing with every breath.

I'm hoping with me doing this, and I almost have my sister on board too, we can get her back to vaping and off the cigs. My Lord the woman is stubborn....
 

AndriaD

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Thanks for the feedback! It sounds like a bit of a mixed bag but for the most part it's being supported. My doc is kind of an old school Italian, but also open minded...I think he's going to be okay with this.



I had a similar ordeal with my mom...who has COPD but won't admit it. Hers flares up bad when she's sick...as it does. Colds always turn into pneumonia. She was on vacation in Mexico a couple years ago with a friend and was so ill on the plane coming home a doctor on board thought she had a heart attack. Plane made an emergency landing in Toronto, complete with paramedics and ambulance on the tarmac ready to take her to the hospital. She wouldn't go! So I drove her the hour ride from the airport and straight to our hospital in town, also against her will. She fought me every step of the way but managed to get her admitted. Her O2 levels were so low she would not have made it through the night if she went home. 4 days later she came home, on oxygen. They came to the house and got the tank and cables set up. She lives alone and was afraid she'd blow herself up smoking with the oxygen, so my sister and i got her some e-cigs. She used them for about a month, then declared herself cured. Her oxygen levels had improved enough to not need the oxygen. But, that's because she wasn't smoking! She sent the tank back, started smoking again and is back to wheezing with every breath.

I'm hoping with me doing this, and I almost have my sister on board too, we can get her back to vaping and off the cigs. My Lord the woman is stubborn....

God, your mom and mine sound like the same person with different ailments. :D My mom has cirrhosis and diabetes, and about 3-4 times a year, her "fluid" (edema) levels get so off the charts, she has to be hospitalized for a couple weeks. So, she's lying there in the hospital bed, catheter in place, taking diuretics at off-the-chart levels; her fluid decreases, her legs' swelling is greatly reduced, she can breathe again, so she goes home... and starts right up with the massize salt and sugar intake that got her there in the first place. And no one, not me, her husband, her sister, or her doctor, can tell that woman ANYTHING! Frankly I think the only reason she succeeded in finally quitting smoking was that she just could not breathe at all -- but a week of no smoking improved her breathing so much, she decided that was better, so she'd tough out the withdrawal. Now, I think she's jealous that I have e-cigs and they hadn't been invented when she quit. :D

Andria
 

jdrewry

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I waited over a year before I told my doctor. After one checkup, the conversation got to where we talked about my smoking habit. I told him I had gone for a year without cigarettes. he asked what I had used (the normal stuff--the patch, gum, Chantix (shudder)). I told him I was vaping; before he could say anything else, I reminded him of what he just told me, that my overall health was greatly improved from a year earlier, when I was smoking. All he could do was ask how was it; I didn't give him any out where he could say anything negative about it. After all, he had the tests in his hand, and he had just said my health was better...:2cool:
 
God, your mom and mine sound like the same person with different ailments. :D My mom has cirrhosis and diabetes, and about 3-4 times a year, her "fluid" (edema) levels get so off the charts, she has to be hospitalized for a couple weeks. So, she's lying there in the hospital bed, catheter in place, taking diuretics at off-the-chart levels; her fluid decreases, her legs' swelling is greatly reduced, she can breathe again, so she goes home... and starts right up with the massize salt and sugar intake that got her there in the first place. And no one, not me, her husband, her sister, or her doctor, can tell that woman ANYTHING! Frankly I think the only reason she succeeded in finally quitting smoking was that she just could not breathe at all -- but a week of no smoking improved her breathing so much, she decided that was better, so she'd tough out the withdrawal. Now, I think she's jealous that I have e-cigs and they hadn't been invented when she quit. :D

Andria

OMG, they are the same person! My mom is also diabetic, and had PVD really bad, and had a triple bypass a few years ago. She almost couldn't find a surgeon willing to do the bypass, with being a smoker, and all other risk factors.

If nothing else, we can learn from our moms, and will know exactly what (and what not) to do. I will never be walking around hooked to an oxygen tank. At least, not from being a smoker.

I will pray for our moms :)
 

AndriaD

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OMG, they are the same person! My mom is also diabetic, and had PVD really bad, and had a triple bypass a few years ago. She almost couldn't find a surgeon willing to do the bypass, with being a smoker, and all other risk factors.

If nothing else, we can learn from our moms, and will know exactly what (and what not) to do. I will never be walking around hooked to an oxygen tank. At least, not from being a smoker.

I will pray for our moms :)


I've learned a LOT from my mom thru my whole life, about how NOT to be -- including just BEING a mom, when my son was a child. He once paid me and his dad the supreme compliment of saying that we were the only SANE parents he'd ever known, seen, or heard of.

My mom's guiding principle seems to be that if there's a pill for something, then she doesn't need to do anything except take that pill. :facepalm: My own has always been, if I can manage "whatever" without needing medicine for it, all the better, but even if I do need medicine (like for my asthma), then I still should do whatever I can to ease the condition, to help my body keep functioning at optimal levels -- of course, smoking for 39 yrs went radically against that notion, but finally switching to e-cigs, right in line with it. She's always called me a "hypochondriac" just because I'm interested in how my body functions, and how I can increase its health and effectiveness -- with my diet, primarily, and certain vitamins and natural supplements. She just eats garbage all day long and then has the temerity to get depressed because her body won't work right. :facepalm: But I've noticed that as she's gotten older and her body started doing all manner of odd things, she often calls me to ask me about it, what it means, what she can do about it -- while still calling me the mocking "Dr Brown" (Brown was my maiden name) that she always used to call me when I'd try to talk to her about her nutrition. :facepalm: People really don't change, in most cases; they just become more of what they already were. :facepalm:

Andria
 
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