New To Vaping Have Some Questions, Might Not Be The Right Forum.

[Seiena]

Hi all, name's Seiena, been full on vaping for about 3 days maybe more now (I can barely tell what day it is anymore). I figured I'd give you a little bio on me so you know who I am and the kinda challenges facing me in this new endeavor. I love my mother but her experiences are a little different because she's 'normal' so I figured it was time to join a forum see if I find any other people will similar situations. Sooooo! Here we go!

I'm 29 years old as of 6 days ago. I'm mentally disabled with grammar issues, so if you see those I just wanted to point out that it is something that practice makes perfect doesn't apply to, and I'm not uneducated, stupid, or any of those things. It's just a natural issue that I've accepted as never going away. I try to make my posts as clear as possible despite this trouble. I tend to find at least one person that has issue with my grammar and thinks it's just being lazy, not paying attention in school things like that so I thought I'd head them off at the pass. ^_-

Anyways 29 years old, mentally disabled, still live with my folks on their dime because I haven't been able to find work despite looking for 10 years. I've been diagnosed with Dysthymia (can't treat it for lack of funds), I've got pretty bad anxiety issues, and I'm a paranoid neurotic who's stress level is generally on the edge of breaking, so I tend to be a little on the over-emotional side. My mother's been supporting my smoking habit all these years, and she's a smoker too. Interestingly enough my mother and I both started smoking at around the same age, 13 (Though mom didn't find out till I was 16, hooked, and she'd rather support my habit then my continue to find my own way into getting them and possibly get hurt...I was resourceful to say the least.) Granted I'm only 29 now, and my mother's in her 50's but still.

So that handles Who I am, and the current situation. So with that, now all the rest of this will make sense to ya'll. XD

A few years back I tried to make the switch to E-cigs, my mother wasn't really that keen on the idea, and a friend of my sister's pushed that we should try Smoke 51. I wasn't real good at information gathering at the time, so I went "Okay so this person knows what she's talking about! She's done the research this must be a good brand!" Well the smoke 51 only went up to 8 mg carts. Needless to say it went badly, and mom swore off E-cigs as an option. After that debacle I did more research over the years, nudged, suggested, and prodded, I bought from the local smoke shop, disposable e-cigs in a wide range of mg levels 18 being the max they came in. Found all of those as lacking as the 8 mg.

Finally around last week, week before. My mother finally caved, she agreed to look into it and took my recommendation of a Vapor king. It was the least expensive, had the most vapor output, a good battery life (in my opinion) and didn't look as bulky. I was looking at a mega e-go tank thingy that another person had suggested for heavy smokers, but mom balked at the shape and size, but she didn't seem to fuss too much about the Vapor King, and we use manual batteries, because my tendency for long draws gave the smoke 51 a heart attack.

We've been on straight vaping for at least a few days now. we switched from carts to Tanks which turned out to be a pretty good idea because with the Carts I was being a little too neurotic and twitchy because I couldn't see how much was left, the tank is clear though so it gives me some indicator on how much I've used, though I don't understand measurements at all. So far things have been alright, I do still twitch and want to go back to the cigs, but I think it has to do with a problem I'm having.

We went 24 mg because 18 mg was too weak, and 24 mg seems to be about right, we got the tanks which the liquid is supposed to last all day, I'm going on like 2 or 3 days with the first fill of the tank. I have G.E.R.D so I know what indigestion is like and I'm medicated against it thanks to Prilosec, and with 18 mg being to weak for me, this is where the trouble is getting a little weird.

The first few days I coughed -A LOT- and I'd get a tightness in my throat and chest which made me fight to breathe but it would last like a minute and pass with a dull ache in the chest that would fade a few minutes later. Well since then it's changed now there's a constant pressure in my chest that makes breathing uncomfortable, and I'm more then a little twitchy. I keep wanting to go have an analog, I used to have a specific spot I'd go to smoke. I've tried taking the e-cig into my spot, but that doesn't work. I've tried increasing the amount I intake, that just makes the fight to breathe increase even more. To top it off, my sleep schedule is completely mutilated. I sleep a lot more then I used to, and at odd hours, I can't just stay awake either because I pass out after a few minutes of fighting it, I always have. My appetite has become somewhat on the ravenous scale to lately, which is causing all sorts of havoc on my body since I typically eat very little (like a sandwhich or less a day) due to it upsetting my stomach to eat any more then that. Which means this new increase is just ripping me apart.

So the question I have is, is this at least semi normal? Am I not getting enough Nicotine, am I getting too much and just don't know it? If I am where would I get middle ground between 18 mg and 24 mg or could it be an allergic reaction to the Value 4 Life vapors? If so, what other vendors are out there that are trustworthy to buy from?

I also worry that this might have to do with a Fungus infection I had at the beginning of last year, it covered over 80% of my body before the ER finally got hold of me and properly diagnosed me. During that endeavor I had some serious heart problems that felt a lot like this actually but I'm not sure that it would have any correlation.

Since I'm new to all this I figure I should see what the more experienced community thought. If I can resolve this without going to the hospital that'd be aces, because I have to go to the Low income clinic (no job ya know), and they usually send me to the ER to have testing done since they don't have the equipment, and depending on who's on staff, the ER will try and send me away without seeing me despite doctor's orders. So I'd rather eliminate any other possibilities before I have to deal with that.

*looks up* Wow that's really tl;dr isn't it? Well! Cookies for all who sit any actually read this, and thank you for taking the time I look forward to spending more time here and stuff!

[jen_haynes]

A few suggestions: experiment. If you are determined that ecigs are the best alternative, keep experimenting. Here is what I use that worked for me when I began my journey w/vendor info links:

• Ego Tank type B Kit: http://www.myvaporstore.com/ . <-- this is a good start, but eventually I upgraded the battery to the mega 1000.I would also suggest watching the many tutorials/reviews on it on youtube. Here is an old video on this.
  
  
• Juice suggestions: you might want to try VG (vegetable glycerin) juices and experiment between VG & PG. You can combine both. e.g. 20% VG & 80% PG. Here are a few places I order from: http://www.sweet-vapes.com/ or at FV store linked to this forum.
  

A note on juice: Juice is subjective. It's personal. Also, the same goes for personal vape devices. I was a Marlboro lights/reds kind of person. I enjoy 100% PG juice at 16-18mgs. I like the long battery life of my egotank. I don't like to worry about dripping all of the time. Also, the types of flavors I enjoyed in the beginning were things that reminded me of Marlboro or things I associated with smoking Marlboro, but my taste progressed into things I enjoy eating.

My personal opinion on your health issues correlating to vaping are slim to none. I don't think they are connected, but I'm not a doctor. So speaking from my experience, I have not had an adverse reaction to vaping. Good luck on this wonderful adventure. And it is wonderful! once you find what you're looking for. It is trial and error. You could say all of us vapors are domestic scientist.

Edited July 17, 2012 by jen_haynes

[Viper Ron]

To add to Jen's post, some people are allurgic to VG or PG so try 100% of one than the other to make sure that's not one of the issues. Also there is alot of things you go through when quitting, could be a part of it as well

[jen_haynes]

I've heard of the allergy theory, but I've also heard that it is rare too. But again, doesn't hurt to experiment with the 100% VG to determine if it's true.

Happy Belated 1 year ViperRon. Congratulations my friend!

Edited July 17, 2012 by jen_haynes

[Viper Ron]

Thank you Jen

[kitsune]

There are actually quite a few people that don't do well with PG liquids...coughing, tightness. Those people seem to do much better with VG based liquids. Most sites sell both PG and VG or a combination of the 2.

Add to that the fact that your body is going through tobacco withdrawal. your sleep patterns are more from withdrawal.

Your body will be going through a ton of changes as you make the switch to electronic cigarettes.

It really is pretty normal. If the chest pressure continues, you may want to go in for a checkup......

[mse12]

I have vaped full time since mid March. My first few weeks were similar to what you are experiencing with the shortness of breath. I started off using a juice that was much more PG than VG. After a few days I was thinking I had an allergy to the PG so I ordered juice that was 100% VG. The VG juice did improve my immediate symptoms for the time being. The shortness of breath and tightness in my chest did ease with this new juice. I vaped for probably the first month or two on 100% VG juices. I later decided to give PG juices another go and have been perfectly fine with them since. I currently vape a mixture of PG & VG. I like the heavier VG for vapor production as well as the inherent sweetness that the VG provides. I typically vape a 50/50 blend which I enjoy but I am perfectly fine vaping at 80/20 PG/VG. I hope this helps. I'm sure many of the issues you have are not related to vaping at all but the few that are should be manageable with the right juice and knowledge.

No matter what you should not jeopardize your well being for vaping. I firmly agree that vaping is a much better option than traditional tobacco but your health is more important than any possible benefits that vaping will provide. If you vape but have to go to the hospital afterwards have you really helped anything? Just food for thought. Good luck and I think you should be able to determine if your juice is a factor with a simple test of pg vs vg. If one relieves symptoms stick with it. Don't give vaping up but don't let it make your health any worse than it already is.

Happy Vaping!