Wheezing + Coughing/Congestion & Occasional Sneezing - Can I rule out e-cigs?

[sgupta]

Hey all,

Been happily e-smoking for a few months now. Never was a heavy smoker before, and not a heavy e-smoker either...just enjoy it mainly relaxing in the evening. First few months of e-smoking I had no problems whatsoever.

The last couple weeks however, I've had some rather disturbing problems with wheezing, difficulty breathing (I don't want to alarm anyone here...just...uncomfortable...I'm still getting air), coughing and a scratchyness in throat, some phlegm/congestion, and occasional sneezing. Also very tired and can't seem to focus to get work done. But don't have a fever and can function other than that.

My gut feeling is that e-cigs are *not* to blame for this and it's some sort of cold/virus/allergy (bad season around here right now) or asthma (I had asthma as a kid but not for years so I certainly hope it's not back). And in fact, I've found when I'm wheezing/coughing, e-smoking (especially menthol) actually seems to *help* for a while. But can I actually rule out e-cigs as the cause? I did some searches here and am finding reactions (headaches for example) but nothing quite like this.

I did cut out e-smoking for a few days just to see if my symptoms went away and they didn't seem to. Mostly feel like this in the morning and it gets slightly better throught out the day. At night when e-smoking I ironically feel the most normal.

Oh, and I do have a doctor's appointment Monday, so I am going to check with a doc assuming I'm not better. But I'm hesitant to bring up e-smoking as I'm in a rural area, and although he's a good doc (think I actually have his assistant Monday as he's booked), I sincerely doubt they're going to understand e-smoking and frankly will probably immediately assume it's to blame if I bring it up.

Thanks for any input.

 

[KonaNeil]

I have a little flegm from a post nasal drip, usually when I wake up. This was much much worse and accompanied by coughing when I smoked. It had stopped completely for a few months after I stopped smoking and started vaping and only recently is mildly back. My guess is that it is from vaping

If you have a good relationship with your doctor, you really should tell him. The only thing that might make me hesitate would be if this was through work such that the company had access to medical records.

I hope you will let us know what he says.

 

[dragonpuff]

I'm guessing it's a cold/flu, there's been some pretty nasty ones going around lately. You don't always get a fever with them, and they might last awhile if you're under stress and your immune system is taxed.

As soon as i replaced smoking with e-cigs, my cough went away completely. It came back about 2 weeks ago when i came down with the flu, and stuck around for about a week after it went away.

When you go to the doc, see if he will run a CBC to check your white blood cell count; if you have a respiratory infection it will be a bit high. If your white cell count is normal, though, that won't rule it out; it might just be that the cold went away a while ago and you're still dealing with the after effects, or it could be something else entirely. In other words: if it's high, yes definitely; if its normal, maybe and look at other options.

Good luck, i hope you feel better soon!

 

[sgupta]

Thanks for the great responses all. Feeling a little bit better today but we'll see what happens. I'll give serious thought about whether to bring e-cigs up to the doc.

 

[mischiefgrrl]

I had wheezing daily for the last several years while smoking analogs. That's gone now with the e-cigs. Sounds like a virus or allergies. Could be asthma triggered by the two. I get asthma attacks around mold.

 

[Kent C]

I'm guessing it's a cold/flu, there's been some pretty nasty ones going around lately.

'Tis the season....

To OP: get some MenthoEucalyptus from Decadent vapours via the current TW 30% sale. Think Halls x 10.

 

[sgupta]

Thanks all!

I'm feeling much better this weekend (still a little bit of this, but much better than it was and my energy levels seem better too), so I'm starting to really think the allergy/virus thing may have merit - if it comes back or stays, I'll investigate whether e-cigs may have anything to do with it more, but I'm leaning more and more towards prolly not.

Still prolly gonna go to the apt. tomorrow to have the doc take a listen just to be sure.

Yeah - got the TW e-mail - I think that's a good suggestion Kent C - been wanting to check out that flavor for a while now anyways. =)

Thanks for all the great feedback!

 

[sgupta]

Just thought some of you might be curious how my appointment went.

Still having a few symptoms as of this morning (better than last week anyways), and the doc listened to my chest and used a nebulizer to get a sample for testing as well as giving me an X-Ray.

She said bronchitis is all over the place right now, but her feeling was it may be a bit of an infection, so I got an inhaler to use and antibiotic. Hopefully it'll all clear up. The good news if she's right is that my asthma hasn't returned and it's just a temporary problem.

I *did* mention e-smoking, though I phrased it as a hot vapor nicotine inhaler, which she wasn't particularly familiar with, but she didn't seem to focus on much, which surprised me. She said it might stir things up a bit but she didn't seem to think it was the cause.

At any rate, we'll see how things go on the antibiotic and with this inhaler for a bit (10 days or so). Hopefully all'll be good. At any rate, I'm feeling quite a bit better than last week and at least don't feel as tired/can focus on work.

I also ordered some of that mentholyptus stuff from Totally Wicked. ^.^ Good excuse, right?