Newly diagnosed asthmatic

[Runnershigh]

High guys


Just been diganoed with asthma and I've hit the search pretty hard and found some great info. But there's a few things I'd like to ask and also to hear form other tokers who have developed asthma having no previous experience with the disorder (I'm 30).

Background is I've been smoking weed for about 15yrs and cigs for about the same. I booted cigs about three months ago, took up running and lost a bunch of weight. I still combusted herb because hey - at least I was NOT smoking 15 cigs a day on top of it. All was well until I began wheezing after a cold and found I'd developed asthma, which apparently is a possibility if you stop smoking and start exercising. Your lungs get used to being hyperreactive and hold it over, recognising deep breaths of the good stuff as a new source of irritants. What can ya do. Buy a vape and keep running!

So combusting herb is now out too. Now it's vape time. I am not new to vaping - I have a regular V-Tower I bought a while back but never stuck with it as I didn't dig the high.

First question: if I stick with it and never combust again, will the high 'grow' on me? I'm perfectly willing to give it time and combusting is now completely out for me so no worries about sly spliffs. I'd love to hear it's like cutting sugar and salt form your diet - tastes bland for a month then t starts tasting awesome and fast food makes you want to retch. I hope it will 'grow' on me and one day a bong will seem nasty and ashy.

As I'm trying to cut down my overall toking volume and also moving into a toke-unfriendly house, I'm retiring my Tower and I've bought both an iolite and an MFLB (couldn't decide betwen the two, and both aree easy and quick, with no cords to grapple with in an emergency).

Second question: Any tips for either of these devices for asthmatics? I always ran my Tower through a waterpipe as well to cool the vape but I assume that's less feasible here. What about particulate matter without the whip? I noticed quite a bit would stick to the Tower whip.

Third question: how about vaping and cardio exercise? I'd always need about three hours between my final bong and running a few miles else the mojo was seriosuly lacking. Does vape tend to coat your lungs? I heard it's a bronchiodilator and from my experience with Ventolin I'll say I'm on Team Bronchiodilator when it comes to cardio. Your lungs feel the size of the Hindenburg. Is it all good?

FInally... please, form anyone who has had this disorder for long enough to live with it comfortably, any tips regarding toking etc? Ways to cut down the negative aspects will be great. I love my weed and if I have to boot it, I will. But I'd definitely rather not and if weed, asthma and exercise can co-exist I'm a happy camper.


Thanks in advance guys, and hopefully I can give something back (maybe an iolite v MFLB comparison form someone whose never used either) once I find my feet and get things moving.

Runnershigh

 

[Hippie Dickie]

this is just my personal experience and subsequent opinions from living with "adult onset asthma" since 2002, so for what it's worth ...

Q1: smoking is not an option for me -- i can manage one or two hits from a bubbler, but the impact on my lungs is not worth it. i have come to prefer the vape high.

Q2: i have limited vaporizer experience, just my own device -- all glass, no plastic, no butane, no metal. there is particulate matter ... doesn't seem to have any effect, i ignore it.

Q3: when i was using inhalers, i couldn't do aerobic exercise and that really, really pissed me off. After a year and a half of serevent, i quit cold turnkey, and now i can do my 30 minutes on the NordicTrack with no problem.

Here's the trick that i learned from the Internet very early in my "asthma" experience -- breathe out fully before trying to take a breath. i usually do 3 beats out for every 1 beat in. This simple trick quells any breathing problems for me. None of the doctors i saw while self-educating on my condition were aware of this technique -- or else it amused them to not tell me. the fuckers.

 

[momofthegoons]

Welcome to the forum Runnershigh! Stopping combustion was a great decision, especially since you've been diagnosed with asthma. I can't answer all of your questions, but I can address question #1.

When I first started vaping I thought the high "wasn't enough." Didn't seem to get me where I needed to be. I found that I relied on my whip vape more than my Zap or LB for those big hits that resembled smoking. With patience and time, and the knowledge that it was this or nothing, I found that I actually like the high more. The couple of times during the beginning that I did combust, much to my surprise I found that I no longer liked the taste, the high, etc. I also found that I did not only need the heavy hits that I was getting from my whip vape. But the best part was that my lungs cleared up; I no longer have a productive cough. In fact, I rarely cough at all, even when vaping.

My friend, who has severe asthma, made the change at the same time I did. While she is still having problems adjusting to the smaller hits from the MZ and LB, she has found that vaping in general is more beneficial to her respiratory health than smoking was. Her asthma attacks have become less frequent and the quality of her breathing has improved.

The amount I toke is probably the same as before, when I combusted. There are those on this forum that have seen a noticeable difference in the amount they use, especially when using a log vape or the LB. I guess I'm just a fiend.

 

[Runnershigh]

"Q3: when i was using inhalers, i couldn't do aerobic exercise and that really, really pissed me off. After a year and a half of serevent, i quit cold turnkey, and now i can do my 30 minutes on the NordicTrack with no problem."

Does this mean the inhaler actually made your symptoms worse? I have Symbicort 2x daily - Ventolin does nothing. So if I boot combustion and lessen my symptoms, then I can steer clear or inhalers and get the exercise back on track? I hope I'm reading it right because all I want is 30min a day and if you can get that on the Nordic skiiing machine, a 30min jog should be a piece of cake.

It sucks because my lungs were fine, and improving. I thought yey, quiting smoking was an AWESOMESAUCE idea. Then I got a cold and BAM. Chronic wheeze. To others quitting smokes... give it a few months before trying to run the Boston. You might just get a chronic disease.

And momofthegoons: I know you're right. It's a different feeling. My hope is as I become accustomed to the high I will naturally find new ways of filling it. Combusting made me more prone to coucklock and just passively consume comedy etc. Vaping makes me feel more curious and active. It always made me feel mostly straight too, so hopefully it's an adjustment phase cause I love getting ripped and I've done it so long I've developed very good habits with it (using it for research etc - everything's interesting when you're high and you read a bunch!).

I'm just a bit freaked cause it's new and I've no idea if I'm going to be bad, mild, chronic, what. All I know is I wheeze now and didn't before. Maybe it'll go into remission or something.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Does this mean the inhaler actually made your symptoms worse?

i was using the inhaler to be able to sleep at night -- one puff, once per day was all i needed to prevent the suffocating feeling that happened after laying down to try to sleep. First, the Advair -- which i hated for the side effects, and then just the non-steroid ingredient, salmeterol. These meds were very effective at treating the symptoms, but did nothing to improve lung capacity/effectiveness, so i couldn't exercise. The albuterol quick-acting puffer did nothing for exercise induced asthma symptoms.

i think learning to breathe properly is the key to surviving with reduced lung function. i think my "asthma" was brought on by a dental bacteria infection entering my lungs after loosing a tooth -- i was never able to get enough of the right antibiotic to try to knock it out and test my theory -- which could be a problem in its own right. Again, just my opinion.

 

[momofthegoons]

I felt the exact same way about the high. And then, one day (one of those days I didn't think I was high) I had an experience in public that made me realize that I was actually getting higher! I don't miss that couch lock at all anymore.

I also developed adult onset asthma, although not severe, a few years back. Tried inhalers and hated them. I had chronic bronchitis and after a bout of that would start the wheezing. When I first stopped combusting, I was pretty much wheezing all the time. I do not wheeze at all now. I think vaping has helped my breathing. I no longer consider myself as having chronic bronchitis.

When you have surgery, often they will give you a spirometer afterwards to help make sure your lungs stay clear. Prior to vaping, I could do it, but it was difficult to keep the little ball in the correct breathing zone. Now, it's a piece of cake to keep that little ball in "the zone."

 

[Runnershigh]

momofthegoons - your experience parries with most of the others I've read. I've found with cannabis the bias on both sides is a little tiresome and the best way to get the truth is to read a whole bunch of comments and see which experiences are most often related. Definitely with asthmatics who toke, combustion is a very bad idea and many people found they just could not continue. And, almost to a person, people say their breathing improved upon beginning vapes - many now say they no longer consider themselves chronic asthmatics and that type of response is killer (no pun intended). Clearly, vapes work. This experience is mirrored even more strongly in e-cig forums. It's a constant theme - my lungs were toast but now they're fine and the inhaler stays at home now.

It's so heartening to hear your experience is a positive one.

And Hippie - hopefully I can boot them too. I've only just been diagnosed and am prone to overreation and drama. I hope if I continue eating well and staying a good weight and maybe slowly reintroducing exercise, I should be fine. I was actually diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma first, then I got ill and now that wheeze is always there, not just waiting for me after 20 minutes of running up hills. Thanks for your response.

 

[momofthegoons]

There's nothing over dramatic about freaking out when you can't breathe. It's the worst feeling in the world.
Gives me a panic attack just thinking about it. :/

 

[Tuck]

Asthma attacks can be pretty scary. I've had it since I was a child and never grew out of it. So jogging and running never did agree with me but I do like biking. Albuterol worked wonders back in the day but I'm not a big fan of the new HFA inhalers. The CFC inhalers were better for providing quick relief and they were a lot cheaper. A 90 day supply before the CFC ban was $20 on my insurance plan. Now it's $125 because the patent on the HFA crap prevents a cheap generic.

For OTC relief, you might want to look in to sudafed or generic pseudophedrine, especially if you are affected by allergies. Where I live, I have to show id to buy it at the pharmacy but you do not need a prescription. There is a Sudafed PE and this is the wrong stuff. Look at the ingredients and confirm its pseudophedrine. The 4-6 hour version is a little red pill. There is a 12 hour one as well.

I combusted on and off for about 15 years. The last 9, I became a snob and would do without if I couldn't find quality. 2 years ago I began vaping and never looked back. I feel a lot better.

 

[LivingInSpin]

Quitting smoking, losing a bunch of weight, and starting to run, well, it's gonna hurt. Been there, done that. All sorts of things go out of whack for a while.

 

[Runnershigh]

LivingInSpin - you're right. It's been a transformative three months. Something's gotta get tired or start clanking eventually. I agree with your outlook on diagnoses as well. He seemed kinda brisque and was nearly going 'ummmmmm...' when deciding why my chest sounds like an emphysema patient's. I think 'asthma' is a collective term that catches any and all unexplained respiratory gunkiness. Not that that's ever good (actually as you know it's pretty average), but there are shades of grey and I'll hafta wait until I figure what's back, what's white and what can't decide.

I regret ordering the Iolite now I've read about the MFLB though. I might leave the Iolite boxed and see if the MFLB lives up to hype. If so, unopened Iolite for sale. I just love the design though. So much overengineered shite about - it's nice to see something simple, sturdy, well-designed and fairly priced. And I'm sure it's gonna work juuuuust fine. Definitely want to work out a bong attachment for it once I get the hang of the draw. Vape through a bubbler with ice is almost TOO tasty and seems a good idea to cut down on heat and particulate matter. Anyone else tried this?

 

[Nycdeisel]

if you dont touch it and leave it unopened you might just be able to return it, but I dont know where you got it.

 

[shortwind]

Hi. Thanks for bringing up this topic. I have had adult onset non-allergic asthma since 1990. Initially it was mild and intermittent and I could smoke the occasional herbal joint...unless I was in a flare-up. In 1997 I left the situation where I had access to herbs, so did not use anything for many years. In Jan. 2003, a severe bout of bacterial asthmatic bronchitis sent my lungs into a worsened condition. Since then I have had numerous exacerbations...many involving bacterial asthmatic bronchitis, some just straight asthma. My doctor describes my asthma as moderate to severe chronic persistent. And all secondhand smoke (and other irritants, such as perfumes) immediately makes my lungs spasm. On my good days, I can't walk faster than a strolling pace...worsening during a flare-up. Oh, I was NEVER a tobacco smoker. Needless to say, I figured I'd never be able to use herb again! Now in addition to the severe asthma, I developed chronic insomnia several years ago due to a situation that eventually was resolved...but the insomnia stayed on. Initially I tried natural remedies such as melatonin and valerian. Didn't work. Also attempted self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques. Not especially effective. Then onto antihistimines (they make you drowsy)...half-ass worked, than worked less and less. Onto Ambien and Lunesta and even stronger meds. They worked, until I started developing tolerance and began pill juggling. Being as I am in California, I started learning more about using herb for medical use...but thought it wouldn't be possible for me because of my crappy lungs. Still, I got a doctor recommendation in 2009 and started out with edibles. I finally got up the courage to try a vaporizer (I was scared it would still hurt my lungs) and lo and behold...I can vaporize without screwing up my asthma! At first I tried a large made in China off brand box type. Than eventually had good luck with an Iolite and now a Magic Flight Launch Box (current status, my poor Iolite is refusing to work but the MFLB is excellent). Ironically, once the irritant factor of combustion is removed, the herb has a somewhat bronchdilator effect, so it does help my asthma and certainly gives me the deep relaxation I need to sleep. I also still do some edibles, but I vaporize nightly to sleep. Bottom line, I wish they had vaporizers for herb decades ago!
By the way, my last asthma hospital stay in 2010, I had some medicated brownies smuggled in. It made the visit a whole lot more tolerable.

 

[Runnershigh]

Wow - great story, Shortwind. I'm really pleased you've found a way to get herb - and also that you find vaping acceptable to your lungs. THis heartens me. I just got my MFLB literally an hour ago and my first hit was a bit harsh; however, I'm used to my V-Tower whip through a waterpipe when I do vape so I hope I'll get used to it. Adult-onse asthma sucks because there's no reason - sure, I smoked, but I actually gave up three months ago and HAD taken up running. All fine. Then a bout of bronchitis and the wheeze just never left. And that was that!