Just came form another thread where an athlete (runner) made the cardinal mistake of claiming his lung health is worse after vaping vs smoking cannabis for both his pre- and post-work out sessions and was asking for any advice. I have to admit, this made me feel a tad intimidated to share my story here which is also similar to my wife's, where the transition to vaping has been difficult due to the undesirable irritation and cough reflex which seems much much more violent than coughing inhaled smoke, almost as if my lungs cannot process oxygen for a few moments until it dissipates (minutes). This is also a built up sensation, the first few hits only tickle and pepper a bit in the back of my throat...it's almost as if all would be well if I just waited a few minutes between each hit because the sensation does dissipate relatively quickly and eventually I get a small wet phlegmy lump in my throat that I can clear without the need to cough.
Also both my wife and I recognize an asthmatic type reaction and it very well could be allergic reaction to something that mostly gets wiped out when smoking which explains why it is experienced when vaping but not so much when smoking. (?)
Things to note:
We both are veteran consumers, i.e. daily cannabis smokers for 30+ years. We both smoked cigs too, for near 20 years (pack a day) and have been tobacco free for nearly 10 years now, cannabis only. We do consider the past tobacco use could play a factor but outside of vaping neither of us have any long term issues with smoking, i.e. no cough, no more tar coming - it stopped a few years after quitting and we both are active and athletic and don't get winded doing any cardio.
We also have a flower collection from all over, not just one source and most provide lab test results, we've even verified while vaping Cannibis Cup winning herb from a well-known grower her in San Diego and even still produced this negative effect so we're very confident it's not "bad weed".
We've also tried many brand name vapes including the Volcano but our daily driver is an Arizer EQ w/ DDave 18mm mod.
Don't get me wrong, the flavor and the high is great and I'm not dogging on vaping AT ALL, just saying, for some it's not a picnic out the gate. Some of us have to work for it. And that's what I've done with some basic experimenting.
Here's the low-down of what I've found work so far:
I also tried
@terac.one 's suggestion setting my EQ temp to 100c and letting my herb (approx. 0.15 grams) bake at that temp for approx. 20min to burn off anything undesired that vaporizes below that temp. I gave it a stir @ 10m.
I then cranked it up to 165c, gave it another stir, waited about a minute and then filled a bag on fan speed 3. This produced approx. half the milk it would have if I had not performed the 20m bake off but the flavor is still decent, I still feel the effects and there is minimal irritation to my throat and lungs. I do not feel my throat swelling and a heaviness in my chest, i.e. that hypoxia-type feeling where your trap muscles get tight and a tad sore with each inhale...it's nearly 100% absent. This was both my experience and my wife's. However, this was only part 1 of a 3 part sesh.
Next I cranked it up to 180c, gave my bowl a stir and filled the 2nd bag at fan speed 2. This time was still ok for me but my wife had to quit. She had enough irritation to no longer participate. The milk was slightly more than the 1st bag. Towards the end of the bag I had slight irritation but not enough to make me cough and it settled as soon as some phlegm built up for me to clear.
The 3rd and final sesh I cranked it up to 195, gave it a final stir, and filled the bag at fan speed 1. The milk was roughly 80-90% the previous bag but I wound up coughing before the end of the sesh but the cough was much more mellow than below, not "convulsive" where it feels I'm going to cough my lung out my body but typical to what I've experienced with smoking, more of a burn than a foot on your chest feeling.
The good news - we are making progress playing with temps and such. The 100c bake off is def not convenient time-wise and hopefully my body will adapt to the point that part becomes unnecessary.
Long story I know but I'm experimenting and I hope this information might help someone else with this more uncommon experience with vaping cannabis. Cheers!