Dyspepsia + unpleasant experience

rmc0217

New Member
I've used for less than a month, mostly with a Volcano Digital. I've used a bong only once and found it unpleasant. The Volcano brings a much more potent, "efficient" experience. I disinfected both the base and filling chamber prior to first use by running at MAX temp for 30 minutes and blowing air through the filling chamber for 3-5 minutes.

Every time I use, I get dyspepsia (acid and air bubbles in the stomach and esophagus) and an unpleasant throat hit with accompanying severe cough. I manage the first with an over-the-counter antacid and the second with cold drinking water.

I had used it about 8 times with no additional problems. I pack the filling chamber loosely, not tightly, and heat 4 balloons at 374F, 392F, 419F, and MAX F, respectively. Two balloons is sufficient for one session, so one filling chamber provides two sessions.

Last weekend, I filled the chamber with a strain that I have been using for the past couple of weeks with no problems at all. The first session on the lower temps was typical. The second session, however, was a nightmare. The dyspepsia symptoms were typical enough, but this time the disassociative effect was profoundly unpleasant. My heart rate went to around 140 and stayed there for over an hour. Every thought turned into a loud, catchy song in my head. Every thought and movement of my body was on a 3-second delay, yet my heart kept beating quickly. Panic at my condition reinforced the overall unpleasantness. The dyspepsia got so bad that I began belching up stomach acid into my kitchen sink. After suffering like this for about 90 minutes, my heart rate went down to the 120's. Then over the course of another hour, I began to come out of the diassociative fog and played computer games to keep myself calm. The next two days, I felt paranoid and depressed. Since then, I'm having trouble staying awake and I'm averaging about 14 hours of sleep per 24 hours. This last part could be dehydration, so I'm now drink extra liters of ice water with electrolytes.

The only thing I remember doing differently is inhaling the two balloons one after the other. Normally, I wait about 15-30 minutes between the first balloon and the second. Since this session went so terribly wrong, I've been abstaining completely and I may abstain indefinitely. Also, I am 190 pounds overweight and on a weight loss program. The munchies I get after a session probably aren't helping in any case. I have a remarkably strong and healthy cardiac system, but I've had acid reflex and GERD-type symptoms for years.

Any thoughts on what might have triggered this unpleasant episode?
 
rmc0217,

Willeh

Well-Known Member
Hey RMC. To me, it sounds like you got uncomfortably high, which triggered a panic attack that intensified all negative aspects of vaporizing the weed. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, and if you've only been using cannabis for less than a month you can have some intense, damn near psychedelic experiences by smoking potent cannabis or a large amount of it. With a vaporizer like the volcano, it's really easy to blow up a big bag with with too much potent material in it because of the large bowl. Firstly I would recommend trying to put smaller amounts in, and only having one bag a session and waiting 30 minutes before going back for the second bag to allow yourself to see exactly how intense of a buzz you're getting. I wouldn't worry about the throat hit, if you were a non-smoker you will almost definitely cough when you start vaporizing, inhaling aerosols is irritating. I would try to size your dose down to roughly one tenth of a gram, but that's hard with the volcano because of the large bowl. That's usually enough to give most regular smokers a light buzz.

And about the 'dyspepsia'- Are you sure you're not swallowing your hits? or 'inhaling them to your stomach'? That is a common begginers smoking mistake that can cause some serious stomach discomfort and air bubbles. Usually you burp up some smoke a few minutes later too, and burping can help relieve the pressure after the mistake was made. When I first started 'smoking' cannabis when I was real young, I would always swallow my bong hits and it took me a while to figure out how to properly smoke to my lungs and not my stomach. I swallowed a nasty yellow thick hits and coughed out some gross black stuff once.

and a quick edit I wanted to throw in, some kinds of herb are 'headier', or 'racier', and are more likely to make one feel 'sketchy', or 'on edge'. Other kinds are more sedating, and 'heavy' and 'relaxing'. ofcourse it's all subjective.
 
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Silver420Surfer

Downward spiral
Willeh and Quetz, bring up some good points, you just got wasted, dude! Very odd for a 1st post, imo. Have a listen here and see if any of this resembles your experience.


{What I really wanted to post---It's called a gateway drug for a reason. Now you are hooked for life. And definitely more susceptible to being addicted to the heroins and cocaines now. I think I read you now have a 500% greater chance of getting hooked on prescription pills now that you're addicted to marihuana. You could also be the 1st case where somebody dies from marihuana. Good luck, shit just got real for you!}

Before I get looked down at for making fun, please re-read original post.
 
Silver420Surfer,
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VaporsVaporizer

On the Stoop
I've had a volcano for 11 years and have never turned it all the way up, there's no need to do that. You don't need to see lots of white vapor in the bag to get high and the hits can be a bit harsh at higher temps. You haven't been vaping/using for that long and your tolerance level can't handle a few bags in one session yet ;). Like others have said -slow down , take sips from the bag . You had a case of the whites , i've seen plenty of novices in A'dam have the same reaction. You just need to slow down your consumption and learn when you're comfortably high . You might wanna see a Dr about that GERD also:tup:
 
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rmc0217

New Member
@Willeh, excellent point about poor breathing technique causing the vapor to hit the stomach in addition to the lungs. Can you link to a descriptive site or YT vid that illustrates the correct inhalation technique?

@VaporsVaporizer, what are your recommended temps? I know that experimentation is part of the experience, but I'd like a reasonable baseline to start.

@Silver420Surfer, please go easy on the sarcastic reefer madness. Yes, this is my first post because I haven't had a problem until recently. You must know better than I do what is so "very odd" about my comments. :\
 
rmc0217,

Quetzalcoatl

DEADY GUERRERO/DIRT COBAIN/GEORGE KUSH
@Willeh, excellent point about poor breathing technique causing the vapor to hit the stomach in addition to the lungs. Can you link to a descriptive site or YT vid that illustrates the correct inhalation technique?
Hold your nose and breathe in through your mouth slowly. Notice how it fills your lungs up, and you can let go of your nose and keep breathing straight into your lungs? That's how I do it. The other way you can go about it (this works better with vaporizers that have a very small vapor path like the Volcano bags) is to draw the vapor into your mouth and then breathe it into your lungs. Your throat shouldn't move at all unless it's to cough.
 

VaporsVaporizer

On the Stoop
@VaporsVaporizer, what are your recommended temps? I know that experimentation is part of the experience, but I'd like a reasonable baseline to start.
I have a classic and i usually set it on 5= 352, 6= 375 or 7 =395 but 7 is only for people that like harsh hits. I like big bags like this and get 2 good bags from one load. 7 and above just does not a taste good and you might as well just combust it :(. If you're coughing it's just too harsh . Vaping should be a pleasant experience :D
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