GERD flaring up bad with vapor, but joints never gave me issues? (Strictly using the Solo 3 through a water pipe)

I’ve been dealing with GERD and recently had to take a step back from vaping because the symptoms got worse — burning in the throat, chest tightness, mucus, all of it. The strange part is that when I was just smoking joints, I had zero GERD flare-ups, which feels totally backwards.

I picked up an Arizer Solo 3 and used it exclusively through a bong for smoother hits (dry rips felt harsher). At first, I thought it was great. But over time, my symptoms came back stronger than ever — worse than before I even started vaping. It seems like the vapor hits something deeper, or maybe it’s the larger rips through water that are doing it. I can’t tell if it’s the vapor itself irritating things or the pressure from the deep draws.

I’m probably going to take a break for now, but I wanted to ask:

• Has anyone else with reflux had similar issues with vapor but not smoke?
• Are there vapes or setups that worked better for your condition?
• Or did you just have to switch to edibles/tinctures long term?

It’s frustrating, because the whole reason I switched to vaping was for health, but now I feel like it might actually be worse for my situation. Would love to hear from anyone with similar experiences.

Thanks.

Have you had GERD flare-ups from smoking through a bong? Have you tried using the Solo 3 with just a stem and no water pipe, to see if there is any change?

It requires slightly more effort to pull air through water so perhaps it's a reaction to the harder "pull". I've met a few (older) people who struggled with using a recycler, which requires even greater air pressure than a standard water pipe.

I have a SOLO 2 so I don't know all the details about the SOLO 3, but there is also a resistance built into a Solo 2 - some people compare it to sipping on a milkshake - it's not open and free airflow (which helps with extraction by decreasing the boiling point when you inhale). Your choice of vape would further increase the necessary back pressure you need to pull the vapor to your lungs.

There is still a trade off - vaping aerosols oils which still causes some of the symptoms you reported (burning throat, chest tightness, mucus); you are just removing the carcinogenic effect of inhaling burnt matter. Maybe bongs just aren't your thing.

I don't suffer from GERD anymore so I don't have any direct answers. One thought it that without combustion you are getting more terpenese inhaled and that may be irritating things. Using very cold water in the bong might cause more of these to get condensed out, it is worth an experiment. Otherwise, I have read that more conduction leaning vapes are less tasty than convection, so they may be less irritating for you. Have you tried different strains to see if that has an effect?

@InhaleExhale "it's not open and free airflow (which helps with extraction by decreasing the boiling point when you inhale)" I am not clear on what you are suggesting here. I can't see any decrease in pressure happening inside the stem being significant enough to have a meaningful effect on boiling points.

There was actually another thread before discussing this in broader terms? I do think Solo is not one of the best for this concern based on my limited experience at least (there are so many factors involved but fewer hits hopes so that's an aspect too and I find more convection better generally, or the right type of dab, for these symptoms)

Are you inhaling with your lungs or pulling from your diaphragm?

When a device has more than a certain threshold of draw restriction especially paired through a water bong (even more restriction)
I find I tend to start pulling with the diaphragm and can get some of those indigestion type effects.

But also production cannabis has more contamination than ever these days with all the additives used in the growing cycle and I suspect that stuff plays a serious role as well.

chillAtGVC said:

@InhaleExhale "it's not open and free airflow (which helps with extraction by decreasing the boiling point when you inhale)" I am not clear on what you are suggesting here. I can't see any decrease in pressure happening inside the stem being significant enough to have a meaningful effect on boiling points.

Click to expand...

Draw resistance was the term I was trying to explain. The SOLO 2 has some level of draw resistance that compounded through pulling through water can be a hard pull...but that would probably be more an issue for someone with COPD. The SOLO 2 turns on the heat when you draw, and yes the draw resistance does help with extraction.