Why do I cough so badly with vaping? Just me or....?

When I vape, once the vapor is drawn in, 9 times out of 10 I start coughing, which turns into a long, drawn out, hacking cough. Doesn't matter if I draw slowly or quickly - I've used an Iolite, MFLB and VaporStar - all cause the same reaction. I tried the whip tube of the MFLB going into a bong-style thing but made no difference.
When I used to smoke a joint, I HAD to mix it with tobacco, otherwise if it is neat herb, I get the same hacking cough.
Now that I have fucked combustion and moving into vaporising, I REALLY hope someone can suggest something that will reduce or stop the coughing.
I wondered if a different vape device, such as the Silver Surfer, or the Plenty would still cause the same. I guess it would, since it's the resins in the vapor which my lungs are trying to expel, I guess.
I'm also experimenting with tinctures using Glycerin, Prop. Glycol, as well as herb tea. The word seems to be 'decarbolxylation' the process of heating the herb before processing it, to convert the THCA into THC. So far my results are not crash hot - and it's a bloody expensive exercise process! Slight buzz is about it.
Any suggestions?

 

It's not just you, there are many threads on the topic.

There are creative solutions, and a good search will find you the answer.

 

Apologies for not doing a search.
I did a quick experiment, creating a bong from a coffee traveller cup, with a plastic screw-on cap. I drilled a hole for the sucking tube, and another for the whip tube from the LB which I fed right to the bottom of the cup, using blu-tak to seal them properly.
I tried with hot water, then with iced water - the iced water was the winner - the cough was more a "oooh - there's a tickle, cough, cough" rather than the dry retching from the bottom of the lungs!
Thanks and I'll investigate the other anti-cough contraptions which came up when searching.
Cheers

 

Why I'm the only one who enjoys coughing?

Just take a smaller hit and exhale faster...and use water filtration if possible

 

If you are leaving combusting, it is normal to cough more when you start to vape, your lungs are still recovering from the harshness in smoke.

The water filtration is preferable of course, along with the smaller hits that mosh advised, but i don't think you should inhale faster.

If possible try to lower the temperature first because faster draws lower temperature and you need to do two things that harm your throat: hotter vapour than necessary and a fast vapour flow full of small pollens and particles that scratch the throat walls.

 

The same used to happen to me after giving up combusting, but not so much now...I notice that anytime I get a new vapor/combustor around for a little session they do exactly the same, as they are still taking the vape as you would a spliff...I think when vaping you need to slightly adjust how you inhale.

 

Salutations Archie Peters,

I believe there's no need to wash when just a little moisture addition will suffice.

​

​

FogBong!​

 

I cough like a madman after taking a tolerance break. But then I guess the cilia become paralyzed or something and my lungs get "used" to it and it goes away.

 

Salutations Vape4Life,

A while ago i was reading a text linking damage to excessive coughing, as i vaguely recall. We might be talking about broken cilia, or perhaps it's just irritated somehow. Well, if cilia has a habbit of breaking easily as an indirect result of vaporisation (through severe coughing) then one might legitimately ask himself this most simple and fundamental question: where does it go?...

Hummm...

Google says "damaged" cilia can have serious consequences since their function includes protection against germs. Related complications lead to "smoker's cough" it seems, but i can't find a description more detailed than just "degradation". At least, even if there may be no broken cilia i saw a passage about broken ribs!!

Google Search: Broken Fractured Rib Coughing​

So, be careful...

 

when i had the mflb i was coughing like a growling werewolf... but i get it with almost no other vape...except if i draw too much vapor...maybe try smaller hits and more air intake during the hit (controlling it with your nose on side of your lips) i am pretty sure that mflb is almost impossible to use without coughing for some people when other have a small problem in the beggining and then it just stops irritating them...

 

The Cilia become paralyzed with nicotine and smoke and stop working after you keep smoking. They don't break, that is why you start to cough a lot of shit when you stop combusting tobacco or mj.

 

I've been vapour free for 9 days, and during that first week i'd hack and cough deeply at times, but never productive, and especially after a shower. That stopped though, and I can feel like I can breathe easier. I was a heavy 2.5g/day user though. Never again.

 

Salutations Vorrange,

Good, so i suppose we can gather from this that they become clogged instead, but will get cleaner eventually. I wonder, perhaps it's time to think of edibles at such stage and keep vapour sessions for weekend evenings only, or whatever period which doesn't irritate too much...

 

Not exactly, they stay in place but don't do their job which is to clean the lungs, when you start to vaporize they become active again. BUT, vaporizing itself can be damaging to the lungs due to small particles that go inside our system and cause inflamation, that can manifest in the nose and airways or in the lungs.. its always better to use water and most of all, exercise, aerobic exercise, e.g. cardio. That should do it, to keep healthy while continuing to vape.

 

I too have the same problem with my volcano. If I try to shotgun big hits really fast then it sometimes drys out my lungs and irritates them. I found that taking a slower, longer draw allowed me to take larger hits with little or no irritation. Another trick is to relax your lungs, this sounds stupid, but when I used to rip blunt roaches if I relaxed instead of tensing my lungs trying to hold the hit, then a lot of the irritation went away with it.

 

I'm the same a lot of the time. While water adapters work, there are still instances I find myself coughing. Depends on strain sometimes, or how fresh the bud is. My quick fix was the same with my smoking cough- have a cough drop while you vape. It's not such a great idea if you're constantly vaping, but it works when you need it. A mint can help at times as well, keeps your mouth nice and moist.

Also consider soothing your throat with warmer liquids, lemon, and honey after sessions if you find you're coughing a bunch. We shouldn't be trading our tracheas for trichomes. Maybe even a certain terpene is annoying your throat.

If it becomes a bigger problem you might have to fuckinhalation. Edibles are a great vehicle for amazing highs. Dosing can be difficult at first, but the delivery of this branch of cannabis is the most diverse and simple. Gel capsules, tinctures, or butter, oil and all the things they can cook in to.

This is where decarboxylation comes in. It's used a lot in cooking MJ because while decarboxylation already occurs naturally when burning or vaping, the heat applied in cooking doesn't always convert all Thc-A to psychoactive Thc. It can also help the bonding process occur before much degradation. If most of your material is active, it already begins bonding well to your fat content when the sweet heat spot is reached.

You might even try decarbing your bud before vaping. I don't remember offhand what the decarb temp is (I'm thinking between 180-200 F), but it'll definitely make for a dryer, throat friendly vape, perhaps improve potency if done in the right ranges. Just be prepared for noticeably lighter bags. A lot of the vapor comes from the moisture and turpenes in the bud.

 

Thanks for all the input and suggestions, folklets.
I've gone the whole hog and ordered a Volcano - and will definitely take the tip above about inhaling slowly. I would really like to be able to vape comfortably.
However........... however........... this whole thread has started me thinking about inhalation and the irritants which affect the experience. (bit late now, I know, since the Volcano is on its way!)
The conundrum is of course the desire for the immediate high via combustion or inhalation, vs the time it takes to get high after eating.
As I said in my original post, my experiments with edibles and tinctures have been hit and miss, so we'll see if the Volcano simplifies or complicates my life.

 

Good luck with the Volcano, although I can't see why that would solve the problem of coughing when vaping. Having compared the Volcano to my EQ with similar settings and the same herb I notice it creates visibly denser bags (not greatly different but it's there). That would lead me to believe it might work too well for you and exacerbate your coughing. I hope slower draws help you out.

To your edible dilemma, there are a few techniques to make sure of maximum intake.
If you're making the butter yourself, try and follow BadKitty's method over on GC. Great thread and tips for creating really good butter. You might have more luck if you add soy lecithin as it increases Thc absorption when digesting. If you're buying edibles from somewhere else, just be sure of your supplier. I find a lot of dispensaries cut down dosage considerably under the 1x label and basically sell you a $6-8 dollar brownie. Not a fair trade there.

Some general tips:
- Don't eat an edible as the first meal in your day. When it metabolizes the digestive system breaks the Thc down greatly (I forget what the process is called) and you lose effect.
- Don't eat one on a full stomach. Digestion will take longer for one, and I believe having more to digest kind of waters down the edibles effect. Think of how you sober up from alcohol by eating.
- Be patient. If you don't feel slight affects 1-1.5 hours after following the above tips, try another serving.
- Most importantly, have fun. Don't condition your mind to frustration when consuming Thc. Bad vibes man.

 

You will not regret the Volcano, it is gentleman's way of smoking. I bet you will find it as awesome as I do. Another tip, if you want moisture conditioned vapor, just take a dropper and put 1-2 drops of water on a chamber before you set it on and turn on the air, the vapor will be warm and slightly steamy which might help your lungs. Another option is on planetvape, they now carry an easy valve GonG connection, which if you wanted to buy a small plain bong with some ice notches ( you shouldnt have to spend more than $50 to get what you need). Another place to look for really nice diffusion pieces is Ioffer, there is some crazy hand bowl glass on there for EXTREMELY reasonable prices, look up honeycomb on there, it should come up with some pieces one being a mini at around $100, and that will diffuse the vapor enough to where you might lose a little flavor but the vapor will be smooth as can be. Good luck man! You can pm me if you have any questions Ill try to help you as much as I can.

Oh and another good glass site is theglasstronaught.com They carry some insane pieces

 

For completeness - Volcano arrived today and I can happily say that with the right amount of herb in the chamber (not too much, not too little) the vapour has its intended effect with NO COUGHING. If you pump the temperature up and fill the herb chamber, the bag is totally filled with vapour and the result is coughing. The instruction book has three rather insipid illustrations, showing that the filled bag should have not too much and not too little vapour. "Just right" is the answer.

 

I just took a rip off my Volcano this morning...and I can't stop coughing.

 

I am SO glad that you are enjoying the Cano man! I slept like shit last night about to go get into some of that myself.

Feeling much better, dew, cano, bath, feeling like at least $15 lmao