Hell, Im proud of ya woman. Now if we could just do something about that abusive nature to certain mechanics...(mainly me LOL)
What has been your doctor's reaction?
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Hell, Im proud of ya woman. Now if we could just do something about that abusive nature to certain mechanics...(mainly me LOL)
my doctor loves the idea, told me lots of her patients have used ecigs to get off of analogs....
I never paid too much attention to the "us against them" attitude, but you're right there is a lot of that. I personally have had zero bad experience so far. It goes from non-smokers or part-time smokers asking if it works to smokers just staring at me from afar. Kinda funny how the people who ask are the ones who have the least to gain with it.
I once was vaping about 2 yards away from a couple of ladies, one had a baby and the wind was blowing sideways between us (I'm not stupid), and they never said a word. The smokers coming in from upwind really got told, though.
The worst comment I have had was at the vape shop from a guy buying a new starter kit (actually happened twice). He said: "I'm looking at you guys use those things and you're definitely hooked on those." Definitely did not hurt my feelings one bit, but he was right... I really love it.
After years of smoking analogs, my doctor observed a rattle in my lungs. He had suggested I try e-cigs early last year, but I knew nothing about them, so I did not take the plunge until November of 2013. Several months after switching to vapes, my lungs are now clear. Also, I have always run on the thin side, being 5' 10" at 135 LBS as of last November. Eleven months into vaping, I am up to 165 LBS. This was something that I have needed my whole life, and it took quitting smoking because of vaping to finally put some healthy weight on my frame. My wife is about 5' 5", and went from being 100 LBS to 120 LBS. For us, the health benefits have been quite clear. Not that vaping is necessarily "healthy" per se, but more about being free from cigarettes. And my doctor is extremely pleased with the results. 
I don't think most doctors are going to want you to vape but if it helps you quit smoking most would probably prefer you vape. My Dr prefers me to do neither as most probably do. I did directly ask him about vaping and he strongly advised using a different method and to get away from the nicotine. He believes that while smoking and vaping are different in mechanism he feels both equate to a smoking type activity and often it leads right back to smoking or dual use. He suggests the goal should be to eliminate nicotine not substitute one behavior of addiction for another. He knows I do both and have no plans on quitting but that was his advice when directly asked.
A while back my doc of 20+ years lectured me on the "hazards" of e-cigarettes. Not even a word about the fact I stopped a 35 year tobacco habit. I asked him to explain himself. He couldn't really come up with anything other than reciting some generic fear-mongering drivel he heard "somewhere". I told him I was disappointed he was doling out advice about something he knew very little about. That bothered me. So I shook his hand and dropped his sorry azz right then and there. Haven't seen him since. 
These days, when the medical profession asks if I smoke I say no and never volunteer any information about vaping. They'll simply jump to some asinine conclusion and be too quick to blame every ailment you have on evil e-cigs.
These days, when the medical profession asks if I smoke I say no and never volunteer any information about vaping. They'll simply jump to some asinine conclusion and be too quick to blame every ailment you have on evil e-cigs.
Recently I was told by a surgeon to either quit smoking or find another surgeon. I have a stomach wall hernia where intestines are pushing thruough and this doc is suppose to be the best in the area and already had three surgeries for the same hernia that failed. So I stopped at a store on my way to work and seen an ecig that was a 650 mah batt and a CE4 cartomizer. Four days later I quit a 40 year smoking habit. Went in to see the surgeon and he couldnt believe I quit that fast. Told him about the ecigs and he said he was gonna look into it and recomend it to his other patients who smoked. Then I had to see my family doctor for a surgery pre-op checkout. He asked about me smoking and told him I quit. We sat in the exam room for a long while discussing ecigs and he wanted to know all he could about them.
There are doctors out there that are open minded about ecigs and its still relatively an unknown. I didnt know a thing about being able to get ego batteries and cartomizers or drippers before i bought my first one. I thought only thing out there was the Blu types. As more people use them and others start learning what they are, I believe many of the medical profession that are closed minded will come around to it.
There are doctors out there that are open minded about ecigs and its still relatively an unknown. I didnt know a thing about being able to get ego batteries and cartomizers or drippers before i bought my first one. I thought only thing out there was the Blu types. As more people use them and others start learning what they are, I believe many of the medical profession that are closed minded will come around to it.
Unfortunately, many doctors have not yet realized the the "perfect" is enemy of the "good".
In their mindset, the "perfect" solution, of course, would be we quitting with pharma products, that do NOT mimic the act of smoking, albeit with nicotine in them. After some weeks of treatment, you would quit those products too, getting you rid of both smoking and the "evil" nicotine.
Trouble is, "perfect" solutions, or even "great" solutions, are only perfect or great as long as they ACTUALLY work.
Because NRT's do not work for +90% of people, it means that for those people, "perfect" or "great" solutions become USELESS.
By definition, a useless solution is a BAD one, because it does not adress the problem it was meant to solve.
If I had to choose between a "good" solution or a bad, useless one, I would go for "good" any day. Even if "good" is NOT "perfect".
This reminds me of an interview with a Portuguese doctor, president (or ex-president?) of our local "lung association".
She was bashing e-cigaettes, of course, exactly with the argument that "it mimics smoking", so people are just "trading an addiction for another". (In fact, we MAY be trading an addiction for a DEPENDENCY, but that's for another post).
What scared me most, is that she even talked about some Pharma product, released some years ago, that was similar to our 1st generation devices.
Whas it working at keeping people away from smoking? YES. It had a much higher success rate than other traditional NRT's (that was to be expected, because it addressed the behavioral side of cigarette addiction).
But, alas, our "wise" doctors realised people were starting to use that device long-term (they did not have a problem about people using the patch or gum for years, which can be bought over-the-counter). But somehow, using that Pharma cig-alike device was a no-no, even if it was clearly more effective at what REALLY mattered - keeping people away from cigarettes.
So, having put ideology above science and the patient's real interests, they decided it was time to remove that product from the market.
Why should our doctor's concern about OUR nicotine and behavioral DEPENDENCY override OUR concen about our former tobacco cigarettes ADDICTION, with the attached health problems that WE could have suffered in the future?
Here is the way I see vaping - regardless of what my doctor says-
I went from smoking a pack, yes a whole pack, of Black n Mild cigars and I was inhaling. Within a 3 year span, I was coughing up flem like crazy, had to be put on an inhaler, and could not breath. I am by no means over weight but I was getting winded going up a flight of stairs. I was constantly tired and smelled. I had holes in my shirts and stink in my car. I was using an inhaler to smoke - ... was wrong with me?
NOW I am off the inhaler, no more flem coughing, I can actually go up stairs and play sports without issue. I don't stink and my cars are ash free.
How can my doctor argue these facts? Am I still addicted to nicotine - yeah. But when I vape I don't inhale and I still get the nicotine fix. I feel better and breathe a whole lot better.
Sometimes it goes to show doctors don't always know what they are talking about. I dont fault my doctor that he's against it - as long as he ensures all my other issues are taken care of I am fine. I wouldn't keep going to him if I thought he was an idiot. Sometimes I feel like vaping is so new and the long term research isn't there so some doctors are skeptical. Does anyone remember back when cigarettes weren't so regulated and our parents smoked with us in the car as children? Do I fault my parents? No, they just didn't know better.
I went from smoking a pack, yes a whole pack, of Black n Mild cigars and I was inhaling. Within a 3 year span, I was coughing up flem like crazy, had to be put on an inhaler, and could not breath. I am by no means over weight but I was getting winded going up a flight of stairs. I was constantly tired and smelled. I had holes in my shirts and stink in my car. I was using an inhaler to smoke - ... was wrong with me?
NOW I am off the inhaler, no more flem coughing, I can actually go up stairs and play sports without issue. I don't stink and my cars are ash free.
How can my doctor argue these facts? Am I still addicted to nicotine - yeah. But when I vape I don't inhale and I still get the nicotine fix. I feel better and breathe a whole lot better.
Sometimes it goes to show doctors don't always know what they are talking about. I dont fault my doctor that he's against it - as long as he ensures all my other issues are taken care of I am fine. I wouldn't keep going to him if I thought he was an idiot. Sometimes I feel like vaping is so new and the long term research isn't there so some doctors are skeptical. Does anyone remember back when cigarettes weren't so regulated and our parents smoked with us in the car as children? Do I fault my parents? No, they just didn't know better.
My doctor in San Francisco also seemed a bit too keen to do the prostate checkup. Then I noticed he had both hands on my shoulders. Probably just a new technique right?
I look at it as there are how many thousands of chemicals that are KNOW poison in cigarettes? The juice I buy lists the 4 ingredients on the bottle. I feel better, and I dont miss that ashtray flavor in my mouth all day either..
A while back my doc of 20+ years lectured me on the "hazards" of e-cigarettes. Not even a word about the fact I stopped a 35 year tobacco habit. I asked him to explain himself. He couldn't really come up with anything other than reciting some generic fear-mongering drivel he heard "somewhere". I told him I was disappointed he was doling out advice about something he knew very little about. That bothered me. So I shook his hand and dropped his sorry azz right then and there. Haven't seen him since.
These days, when the medical profession asks if I smoke I say no and never volunteer any information about vaping. They'll simply jump to some asinine conclusion and be too quick to blame every ailment you have on evil e-cigs.
I agree; that was exactly why I didn't say a single word about vaping when I had the appendicitis/appendectomy this summer; I just told them I was a former smoker, but had been smoke-free for 110 days -- and it turned out that was a good enough explanation; I didn't have a single complication from surgery, including my breathing, and I have asthma -- my lungs were as clear after 45 mins of gen'l anesthesia as they had been before it. In fact my husband had to remind me to use my inhaler both before and after the surgery. I thought that probably was a good idea, since gen'l anesthesia does depress the breathing center in the brain, so I used it, but it wasn't really a "need," just a prudent measure.
I do plan to discuss it with my regular doc though, since he's been inquiring and concerned about my smoking for the entire time he's been my doc, since I *am* asthmatic, and that's what he's treating me for. But considering how supportive he was to the idea of trying out e-cigs to get off the real ones, I'm sure he'll be delighted.
Andria
The hospital that my doctor works at still has me down as a smoker because "studies show vaping is the same as smoking"... well that's how the nurse who did my interview explained it. My doctor said there is too much conflicting info from studies for her to view it as healthier than smoking.
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Well, your doctor seems a misinformed idiot. Sorry, there's no other way to put it.
"studies show vaping is the same as smoking"?
"too much conflicting info from studies for her to view it as healthier than smoking" ??
Really? Well, here's some interesting things for that "doctor" to read:
First study to demonstrate improvements in smoking asthma patients after switching to e-cigarette use
http://publichealth.drexel.edu/~/media/files/publichealth/ms08.pdf
Formaldehyde release in ecigarette vapor The New York Times story explained in detail
The Ultimate List of E-Cig Studies: Are E-Cigs Actually Safe? *Updated 2/16/14 - onVaping
And that's not even an exaustive list... but let's not press that little head of hers too far for now, shall we ?
If "professionals" cannot be bothered enough to make some research, in THEIR OWN FIELD of expertise, (a field that messes with people's health, maybe even people's LIVES), then maybe we, the layman, can help...!
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Honestly, anyone who is seeing a doctor who wants to consider you as still a smoker because you vape, needs to find a new doctor.
Look at it, since you quit smoking you breathe easier, you feel better. Those two reasons alone show vaping is better than smoking.
You still use nicotine, so what. 140 grams of potato contains the same amount of nicotine that a person would get from being in a room with a smoker for three hours according to a google search. The average potato weighs 300 grams. You like tomatoes, they have nicotine. Eggplant and cauliflower also are a source of nicotine.
But nicotine is bad for you.....from TobaccoHarmReduction.org : "The effects of nicotine itself are similar to that other popular drug, caffeine. See our (nicotine reading list.) There is no evidence that nicotine causes any substantial risk for cancer, and the research shows that the risk for cardiovascular disease is minimal. The confusion about nicotine comes from anti-smoking activists talking about nicotine and smoking as if they were the same. While it is true that people smoke mostly because of nicotine; nicotine users die mostly because of the smoke. "
This information is easily found and if a doctor cant be bothered to understand whats going on with you then they dont need to be your doctor any more.
Look at it, since you quit smoking you breathe easier, you feel better. Those two reasons alone show vaping is better than smoking.
You still use nicotine, so what. 140 grams of potato contains the same amount of nicotine that a person would get from being in a room with a smoker for three hours according to a google search. The average potato weighs 300 grams. You like tomatoes, they have nicotine. Eggplant and cauliflower also are a source of nicotine.
But nicotine is bad for you.....from TobaccoHarmReduction.org : "The effects of nicotine itself are similar to that other popular drug, caffeine. See our (nicotine reading list.) There is no evidence that nicotine causes any substantial risk for cancer, and the research shows that the risk for cardiovascular disease is minimal. The confusion about nicotine comes from anti-smoking activists talking about nicotine and smoking as if they were the same. While it is true that people smoke mostly because of nicotine; nicotine users die mostly because of the smoke. "
This information is easily found and if a doctor cant be bothered to understand whats going on with you then they dont need to be your doctor any more.
I told my new primary care doctor I quit smoking. About a month later, he asked how, if I quit, was there nicotine in my blood test? Guess there is no hiding the fact I am a nic addict so I explained the vaping to him. He said he would do some research on vaping. I think he wants to quit the stinkies!!
The nurse was stupid. I asked her if I was on traditional nicotine replacement therapy if she'd list me as smoking... she seemed confused and said "I don't know". My doctor is concerned because I have a genetic blood clotting disorder and had near-fatal pulmonary embolism a few years ago and I am supposed to avoid smoking because it increases risk. I told her transdermal nicotine replacement has very few hematologic effects compared to smoking so I feel safer using a pv, she said that unfortunately not even nrt has been studied in people with my disorder. She still thinks I should avoid nicotine all together since it hasn't been proven to be safe for people with my disorder.
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