Pneumothorax after 5 years of Volcano use

[Tommy]

Cheers everyone!

I know I could have used an existing thread for this, but I found that my situation is a bit different and also the informations I'm looking for are different than the ones featured in previous threads regarding "pneumothorax".

For example, there's a thread about this subject that was recently created. This one: http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/pneumothorax.20484/
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But besides talking a bit about my health problem (I prefer to call it "bad luck" instead of problem), I also need to check opinion on how my Volcano use could or could not contribute to the situation and maybe asking for alternatives, since I find myself a bit doubtfull about the Volcano and maybe I will consider buying a new vaporizer.

So... By the 20th of January (19 days ago) I had my first pneumothorax episode. Very painful feelings in the thorax, belly, elbows, basically everywhere between my waist and my neck. Like the whole body was being compressed. It was very hard to breathe. The deepest the breath, the worse the pain got. I was not doing anything in particular, just sitting in the computer table. I was awake only for 2 hours at that time and the last time I used the vaporizer was the night before (like 12 hours ago). I managed to have a quick bath (at that moment I was still hoping that the pain would go away), but after I finished my bath I had to drive quickly to the health center from my town, where they found it was a pneumothorax after cheking my x-ray and sent me to hospital.

Then I had pretty bad luck since I got a very inexperient doctor who was still training and he tried to insert the tube in my chest with no success, so his "boss" showed him how to do by inserting it with such strength that she managed to stuck the tube in my heart and almost broke one of the main arteries (aorta) with the tube. They then had to relocate it and all these procedures were really very painfull, so were the following days with that tube in my chest. But I can deal well with the pain, my only fear was (and is, in a sense) that the work wouldn't get well done and could lead to problems in the future.

At the 3rd day the lund re-inflated, the "hole" closed and it was solved. At the 5th day they closed the tube and by the 6th day they took the tube out of my chest and I was back home the same day. I never vaporized again but I still think I will get back to it when 1 month have passed (by the 20th of February). A couple of days ago I cooked some cookies with cannabutter because I have a few minor issues that benefit from cannabinoids running into my body. So I'm with edibles now but very small doses.

I never had any lung problems before. My respiratory system is healthy. I'm a 35 year old man. I smoked cigars and hash/weed mixed with tobacco until I was 27. Then only pure weed joint until I was 30 and from then on only vapors and although I own a small vaporizer collection comprised of about 6 or 7 different vaporizers I only use the Volcano on a daily basis. Digital version with the solid valve and I often fill my first bag with around 180ºC (356F) and the second bag with around 190º (374F). I only vaporize about 0,5gr per day, which is between 4 and 6 bags (75cm bags).

Of course I have to recognize that by vaporizing with the Volcano my lungs, throat and respiratory system globally feel much less affected. But I doubt... I really, really doubt, that the filtration is very far from perfect. And it seems very easy to adapt a filter into the mouthpiece, but that's a story I will leave for another time.

I spoke with my pneumologist (from a private hospital) 1 week ago. I told him about my vaporization routines. I says that my pneumothorax had nothing to do with it. He sounds really very convinced about this and he is a very experienced doctor. He said that even if I told him that I smoke 5 or 10 joints per day, yet he would see no relationship between that and my pneumothorax episode. I want to trust him and of course all this sounded very good to me, but I fear that by the 15th of February, when I get the result from my ct-scan and the doctor checks it, he may change his mind.

He said (not directly but he insinuated) that I could continue with my cannabis vaporizations. I told him I would just give it 1 month for the lungs to rest for a while and he said "ok". I suppose he is convinced that my pneumothorax was due to some sort of malformation I had in the lung from birth and one day it would have to pop and leave air coming out into the pleural cavity. I really hope this is the case and that I don't any other fragile spots and/or blebs that are about to pop.


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Now, this is what I would like to know, if anyone could be so kind to share suggestions and opinions...

Which other desktop vaporizers with air pump and preferrebly with filling balloon feature do you think I could try that makes a similar job as the Volcano but filters the vapor in a more efficient way?

I don't want vaporizers involving bongs and water. I have a Herborizer that I never use. Besides that inhaling from a bong represents a kind of exercise to the lungs that is very dangerous for pneumothotax situations. And the say that after having 1 pneumothorax episode the person has 50% chances of getting a second one.

For example... I know and understand that, for example, sneezing is much more dangerous than smoking or vaporizing, but I'm afraid that vaporizing can still be a problem to the lungs and I can't stop thinking or I can't manage to convince myself yet that my 5 years of vaporization with the Volcano had no influence in the pneumothorax I had 19 days ago.

Besides the vaporizer suggestions I'm also happy with any comment regarding pneumothorax or anything you find relevant to comment about it.

On a final note, I also wonder if this specific situation that I related 4 months ago in the forum could be already a sign of what was about to come: http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/volcano.220/page-80#post-863673

Thanks for your time and sweet vapes!

tommy

 

[MinnBobber]

Which other desktop vaporizers with air pump and preferrebly with filling balloon feature do you think I could try that makes a similar job as the Volcano but filters the vapor in a more efficient way?

I don't want vaporizers involving bongs and water. I have a Herborizer that I never use. Besides that inhaling from a bong represents a kind of exercise to the lungs that is very dangerous for pneumothotax situations. And the say that after having 1 pneumothorax episode the person has 50% chances of getting a second one.

...............................................................................
@Tommy ,
I have used a Volcano and own a Herbalizer which I really like. It can fill bags OR be used with direct draw methods. I do not like bags so don't use them. I'll show pics of two methods I use which incorporate a degummed hemp fiber filter to catch any tiny bits of herb that get sucked upstream.

1. Herbie + miniVAP Flexicone module with hemp filter + hydratube. You said no water BUT please consider that:
- it really moisturizes the vapor for easy feel on throat and lungs--especially with warm water
- you can use Herbie fan with the hydratube and it pumps by itself/ with the slightest little inhale force it gives a nice moisturized hit.
Pictured with one assembled Flexicone module and one apart to show the wire basket/ screen/ hemp fiber/ Flexicone construction

2. miniVAP with Flexicone/filter + Oregon Glass Blower long mouthpiece gives a cool hit, especially since your max temp is only 374 F.
Note: no pic of Herbie with OGB mouthpiece but it slips on for longer airpath

Herbalizer heats up in under 10 seconds so very convenient

 

[ginolicious]

Are you tall and skinny?

What you experienced is what is referred to as a spontaneous phenumothorax. I had one two and a half years ago at work. No tube for me. Lung reinflated 3 days later and was full at 5 days. I actually quit cigarettes and were for 2 years. I could smoke a whole .4 in one bong rip. I use to take huge rips.

Point being, it was probably all the smoke you did previously that your lungs were damaged. And possibly the fact that you are skinny and tall?

 

[Tommy]

Hi MinnBobber and ginolicious!

Thank you very much both of you guys, both the answers are very helpful to me in different ways.

giolicious: yes, I'm skinny and a medium-tall guy. And yes, doctors agree that I have the physical structure that fits the spontaneous pneumothorax "group".

Maybe my lung would have also reinflated with no tube, but they decided to put one on me and I have to trust it was the right decision. Anyway we both got it back on track after 3 days. How are you now? Did you ever felt pain or discomfort in the lungs since then?

Now you use the Herbalizer? You never smoked again since then?

I want to agree with you and say that maybe all the smoke I previously inhaled (between 1998 and 2006) damaged my lungs and now this problem is the reflection of that. But it's hard to accept that because many of my friends smoked like 5 times more than me and they never had a pneumothorax. And some are also skinny an tall. But we are all different and only about 1 in every 300 persons have a penumothorax in life.

MinnBobber: Thanks for all the suggestions and ideas. About that hemp fiber that you use as a filter... Can it also be used somewhere in the Volcano? Did you ever do that?

About MiniVap: I already knew this one and it's not the kind of vaporizer I would like to use. When I have to draw I end up inhaling much more vapor then I would like to and that's not advisable to people who had a pneumothorax.

When I say I prefer bags it's really just because I can slowly inhale all the vapor inside the bag. I sometimes take 30 minutes to inhale the vapor of a Volcano bag, calmly and slowly. When I use my Herborizer the hits are much more tasty and clean, I recon that, but my lungs do the work that the Volcano pump does for me in that sense.

I also want to avoid water filtration through bongs because that's exactly the type of "manouvre" that a post-pneumothorax patient wants to avoid. Doctors often say that people who smoke bonks are more prone to pneumothorax and that's not due to the smoke but to the act of progressively filling the lungs that a bong requires.

About Herbalizer: yes, that was the vaporizer that I was looking for. I looked at a shop that I though had all the main vaporizers but they did no have that one so I kind of missed it and already forgot it exsits, so thanks for pointing it out.

I'm now going to read (literally now) a few things about this vaporizer so that I don't bother you with questions that I can easily find an answer for.

So, I investigated lot and so far I came to the conclusion that Herbalizer is my best option at this moment. But unfortunatelly it is not an option since I live in Europe and it's not possible to get them around here. I even contacted Herbalizer and the answered this:

>>
>
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx (Herbalizer)

Hi Xxxxxxx,

Thanks for reaching out to us. Unfortunately we are not yet selling internationally. We do hope to be shipping the 220/240V sometime in the next year, but I don't have any more specific information on that right now. Please note that our warranty only covers use of the current unit in the US or Canada.

I would be happy to notify you via email when our international version is available. And please let me know if you have any further questions. I hope the Herbalizer can start offering you relief in the near future!

Be well,

Xxxxxx Xxxxx
www.herbalizer.com
____________________________


So, no Herbalizer for me

I need to find a similar vaporizer. Any ideas?

I looked at the Aromed 4.0 but some folks are not totally happy with it which may be a concern. And it's not comparable to the Herbalizer because it does not fill bags.

I'm a bit lost. I don't mind doing the investment even if it's expensive as the Herbalizer, but I also don't want to spend a lot of money and then end up only using the Volcano that I already own.

The ideal vaporizer for me would be like the Herbalizer (with air pump, bags and with smooth vapor) but with the option of filling the bags already filtered by water. I mean, the air pump would blow with such strength that the vapor could pass through water before penetrating inside the bag. Does this vaporizer exists?

Thanks again for all the help and support. All the best and sweet vapes!

tommy

 

[ginolicious]

My lung was only 15% down. And no I don't feel lung pain. I feel a pain in my pectoral muscle almost constantly. As for deep breathes and breathing no, no pain at all.

I do not use a herbalizer. I'm using a Vapir rise 2.0. With my highest temp at 190C. But my lungs did get a 2 year healing process.

 

[MinnBobber]

MinnBobber: Thanks for all the suggestions and ideas. About that hemp fiber that you use as a filter... Can it also be used somewhere in the Volcano? Did you ever do that?

@Tommy ,
one could do a hemp filter on a Volcano. You could load herb and then an extra screen and then the hemp fiber filter added in. It would filter out almost all of the tiny herb particles that can get sucked upstream and a tiny bit of active oils. Without an extra screen, the filter is kind of fuzzy and herb gets embedded in it----not good if you save your ABV for later use OR if you want to keep using the fiber until it gets "dirty". Without a screen below it, the fiber filter gets tangled with herb.

HERBALIZER + WATER + BAG ??
With Herbie connected to a bubbler and the fan on, it WILL get the bubbler bubbling by itself. I've never waited long enough to see if the vapor would have enough uumph to exit the bubbler-- to then fill a balloon. If at all, it would likely be very very slow???

 

[Tommy]

Thanks again guys!

Today is my 23rd day with no vapor and I'm really missing it, hehe...

MinnBobber: Yes, I may start by trying the Volcano with the hemp fiber filter. I just need to try something different so that at least I can have like a placebo effect in convincing me that I'm doing it in a safer way.

Unfortunatelly it also doesn't seem easy to find shops in Europe selling hemp fiber, but at least it seems like one or two shops in the USA ship worldwide.

So, no other suggestions of vaporizers that might be similar to Herbalizer?

Arizer Extreme also has an air pump and can be used with a whip or to fill ballons. But I assume it's much worse than Herbalizer because it's much cheaper and it's in the market for a longer time (not so advanced technology).

Cheers and sweet vapes!

tommy

 

[MinnBobber]

MinnBobber: Yes, I may start by trying the Volcano with the hemp fiber filter. I just need to try something different so that at least I can have like a placebo effect in convincing me that I'm doing it in a safer way.

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@Tommy ,
trying the Volcano first seems like the best--maybe you don't need another vape.

What makes inhaling from a bong, bad for your condition? Same for a bubbler with a narrow mouthpiece??
Vaporizer to balloon to water piece/bong/bubbler would be easy BUT that's absolutely a no??

Vaporizer to water piece to balloon is new territory. Volcano has bigger pump output so something might be possible to cobble together.

Hemp fiber-- you want the fluffy/ degummed/ bulk stuff. Be careful to not buy "hemp wicks"--rolled into tight tiny wicks to burn
Bummer that it's hard to find in Europe. I just checked the one shop I've been to, Azarius in Amsterdam, as they carry a huge vape inventory but no luck....other hemp products but no fiber. Fiber has to be as wide as the chamber BUT very thin to not restrict airflow--experiment to get it to work.

 

[Tommy]

Hi MinnBobber!

Thanks again for being so kind to take the time to share such useful answers.

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@Tommy
What makes inhaling from a bong, bad for your condition? Same for a bubbler with a narrow mouthpiece??

Vaporizer to balloon to water piece/bong/bubbler would be easy BUT that's absolutely a no??

Well, to answer your question I just needed to google for "pneumothorax bong" and I found a lot of texts that say what I already read before a lot of times. Here's an example, check out the phrase in bold:

Cannabis can be smoked in cigarettes (joints), pipes or in special devices such as bong or chillum. Irrespective of the device, the technique of smoking cannabis differs from smoking regular tobacco with larger puffs, deeper inhalation and greater breath holding time, sometimes accompanied by valsalva manoeuvres to achieve a higher systemic absorption of THC. In fact, this smoking technique (rather than cannabis itself) has been proposed as the mechanism responsible for cases of spontaneous pneumothorax and bullous lung disease reported in young cannabis smokers.2 Most importantly, however, this smoking technique results in a far greater deposition of toxic substances in the lung than with regular tobacco smoking.

So, the user needs a different approach when inhaling through a water pipe or bong comparing with inhaling from inside a bag (like with Volcano). With the water pipe or bong there is a need to take deeper inhalations and the inhaling effort is greater. Some people with no reason to have a pneumothorax had one just for taking a huge inhalation from a bong and then holding the smoke inside for a long time. Of course I wouldn't do that but even if I am careful it is always a dangerous manouvre.

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@Tommy

Vaporizer to water piece to balloon is new territory. Volcano has bigger pump output so something might be possible to cobble together.

Yes, that's probably the type of vaporizer that is still to be invented. Although it doesn't seem that difficult. It does not have to be a bong or bubbler, maybe some water filtering method inside the vaporizer itself could do. To be honest before I investigated I even thought the Herbalizer featured such thing. And when I checked the Aromed 4.0 I was also with that expectation.

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@Tommy
Hemp fiber-- you want the fluffy/ degummed/ bulk stuff. Be careful to not buy "hemp wicks"--rolled into tight tiny wicks to burn
Bummer that it's hard to find in Europe. I just checked the one shop I've been to, Azarius in Amsterdam, as they carry a huge vape inventory but no luck....other hemp products but no fiber. Fiber has to be as wide as the chamber BUT very thin to not restrict airflow--experiment to get it to work.

Yes my friend, I know what the degummed hemp fiber is. It has the looks of cotton pods. Which is what actually makes sense when we think of filtration. I even read that some people who use electronic cigars use hemp fiber or organic cotton as filters. Maybe organic cotton would do for me, until I can find hemp fiber. But I will look in more European shops before ordering from the USA.

Where do you buy yours in the USA?

Thanks again and sweet vapes!

tommy

 

[MinnBobber]

@Tommy,
IMO, organic cotton is 90% as good as hemp fiber. When I tried some, it filtered the particles just fine BUT when I vaped the cotton to get all the goodies it seemed to have a slight off taste--nothing horrible but it seemed to add a little of its flavor.
It's been awhile since I used cotton so maybe others can add their experience. For me, it would be a suitable substitute and way easier to find.


with larger puffs, deeper inhalation and greater breath holding time, sometimes accompanied by valsalva manoeuvres to achieve a higher systemic absorption of THC. In fact, this smoking technique (rather than cannabis itself) has been proposed as the mechanism responsible for cases of spontaneous pneumothorax

I regularly use hydratubes and bubblers and find there is no NEED to:
- take a larger puff
- take a deeper inhalation
- hold the breath a long time
- and I'll have to google "valsalva manoeuvres" as I only have a guess what this is?? I definitely NEVER do this!!! Definition:

1. moderately forceful attempted exhalation against a closed airway, usually done by closing one's mouth, pinching one's nose shut while pressing out as if blowing up a balloon

I often take a moderate puff with a bubbler or HT
I do inhale somewhat deeply but not that much more than a normal breath in
I try NOT to hold my breath but breathe in slowly and gently until I stop, slight pause and slow gentle exhale. IMO keeping the vapor slowly moving in and out is more efficient that holding as it's the slight movement that keeps bringing new goodies in contact with the Alveoli for extraction. Air sitting in one place doesn't get extracted.

I'm thinking that by being smart you can easily take moderate or small puffs, take regular inhalations,
not hold the breathe at all and still get medicated very easily> with a bubbler or hydratube

Like to hear your comments/feelings on it

 

[Tommy]

Hi again my friend!

Yes, I know, I'm just being a bit dumb, hehe. One can vaporize through a bong carefully and as if he/she was only breeding. I mean, the same way I inhale from my Volcano bag.

One thing I mentioned but that we are not taking into account is that I own a Herborizer. The Sphere XL with temperature control version. You know which vaporizer it is, right?

It's definitely smoother than the Volcano and taste is also better at least in the first 4 or 5 hits. But while the Volcano pump does the work of bombing the air through the weed, with the Herborizer iit s my inhalation effort that does this job. But hey, my left lung did not collapse for holding the breath, taking big hits, etc. It collapsed probably for something that had nothing to do with cannabis or the Volcano vapor and, even if it was for cannabis use with the Volcano, it was not due to big hits.

That's why I have to admit I'm being dumb. If I was a bong user (even being for vaporization and not for smoking) and this happened to me, it would make more sense that now I was a bit reluctant about keeping up with the bong use. So it makes no real sense, I know, I may give it a try... I just find using the Herborizer is not as confortable as using the Volcano for so many reasons. And stucking the Volcano bag (the mouthpiece) in a bong seems a bid strange while adding the same unconfortable feelings I have with the Herborizer.

When I say not as confortable I mean the glass, the water, the cables, the heat element, etc. With the Volcano it's only the bag which is totally confortable except for the noise (but damn, I even miss the noise now), hehe...

How about using the hemp fiber (or organic cotton) filter somewhere in the mouthpiece instead of the chamber? I once tried (just for "fun") to use a paper tissue in the mouthpiece, but almost no vapor would pass through it and I had to inhale strong, hehe. I also thought about filter tips (the "spongy" ones) that they sell to use for cigs/joints. I have to buy some with the exact diameter of the solid valve mouthpiece and try...

If the organic cotton changes the taste a bit, that's not a problem to me if it's just for a few weeks. As long as it does not deliver any malignant particules/gases I'm ok with it.

Next monday the 15th is probably going to be one of the most important days in my life. If the exams (ct-scan and spirometry tests) show that I have a problem in the lungs that led to the pneumothorax, I may very well have to consider to stop vaporizing (for how long... depends on the diagnosis, but could be forever). If the exams show that it really was a primary spontaneous pneumothotax, meaning that there was not any illness prior to it that provoqued it, then I will drop some resinous weed in my Volcano or Herborizer chamber just a few days after that.

And oh man, I have such quality flowers in my coffeshop box... Super frosty and ultra-sweet and aromatic, hehe. I'm just not going to name the strain because then some may say I'm spamming, as I work for a seedbank since 2010 So, working in the cannabic scene makes it all even harder, not to mention that I work from home and the 4 to 6 daily vapor bags that I used helped me a lot with my work giving me more motivation, creativity and capacity to focus or even deal well with boring tasks. Although edibles are much better than nothing, of course.

I often take a moderate puff with a bubbler or HT

I do inhale somewhat deeply but not that much more than a normal breath in
I try NOT to hold my breath but breathe in slowly and gently until I stop, slight pause and slow gentle exhale. IMO keeping the vapor slowly moving in and out is more efficient that holding as it's the slight movement that keeps bringing new goodies in contact with the Alveoli for extraction. Air sitting in one place doesn't get extracted.

I'm thinking that by being smart you can easily take moderate or small puffs, take regular inhalations,
not hold the breathe at all and still get medicated very easily> with a bubbler or hydratube

I agree and I take hits from the Volcano bag in the same way you mention. Maybe now I will take even smaller hits, but they were already small and I never kept the vapor inside for much longer than 1 moment (like half second).

You use hydratubes with the Herbalizer? Or with other vape?

Did you ever used your Volcano with a bong, bubbler or hydratube? (by stucking the balloon on it).

Thanks again for all the time and patience.

Sweet vapes!

tommy

 

[MinnBobber]

You use hydratubes with the Herbalizer? Or with other vape?

Did you ever used your Volcano with a bong, bubbler or hydratube? (by stucking the balloon on it).

....................................................................
Yes, I regularly use a hydratube with the Herbalizer. My custom rigged, miniVAP Flexicone basket, without the top half of the Herbie chamber + hydratube. Super convenient. Super efficient. Super fast as a session can be one minute. Filtered. Picture of it with a Flexicone together and one apart in pieces:

IMO, water always is great so no wonder your Herborizer with water is smoother than the Volcano.

I have used a Volcano where bag was connected to bubbler. It worked fine but was a little cumbersome/bulky. I preferred where a buddy did a custom whip from the Volcano directly into a bubbler. Moisturized the vapor nicely and simple .

You could rig a mouthpiece with a hemp fiber filter as it's easy to shape. I just much prefer it right next to the chamber as it keeps all those tiny particles out of my bubbler or hydratube or long glass mouthpiece. My water pieces go about 5X as long between cleanings compared to no filter.

 

[ginolicious]

Vapir rise 2.0 does both whip and bags. It has a HEPA filter and fan or no fan mode.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Hi MinnBobber and ginolicious!

Thank you very much both of you guys, both the answers are very helpful to me in different ways.

giolicious: yes, I'm skinny and a medium-tall guy. And yes, doctors agree that I have the physical structure that fits the spontaneous pneumothorax "group".

Maybe my lung would have also reinflated with no tube, but they decided to put one on me and I have to trust it was the right decision. Anyway we both got it back on track after 3 days. How are you now? Did you ever felt pain or discomfort in the lungs since then?

Now you use the Herbalizer? You never smoked again since then?

I want to agree with you and say that maybe all the smoke I previously inhaled (between 1998 and 2006) damaged my lungs and now this problem is the reflection of that. But it's hard to accept that because many of my friends smoked like 5 times more than me and they never had a pneumothorax. And some are also skinny an tall. But we are all different and only about 1 in every 300 persons have a penumothorax in life.

MinnBobber: Thanks for all the suggestions and ideas. About that hemp fiber that you use as a filter... Can it also be used somewhere in the Volcano? Did you ever do that?

About MiniVap: I already knew this one and it's not the kind of vaporizer I would like to use. When I have to draw I end up inhaling much more vapor then I would like to and that's not advisable to people who had a pneumothorax.

When I say I prefer bags it's really just because I can slowly inhale all the vapor inside the bag. I sometimes take 30 minutes to inhale the vapor of a Volcano bag, calmly and slowly. When I use my Herborizer the hits are much more tasty and clean, I recon that, but my lungs do the work that the Volcano pump does for me in that sense.

I also want to avoid water filtration through bongs because that's exactly the type of "manouvre" that a post-pneumothorax patient wants to avoid. Doctors often say that people who smoke bonks are more prone to pneumothorax and that's not due to the smoke but to the act of progressively filling the lungs that a bong requires.

About Herbalizer: yes, that was the vaporizer that I was looking for. I looked at a shop that I though had all the main vaporizers but they did no have that one so I kind of missed it and already forgot it exsits, so thanks for pointing it out.

I'm now going to read (literally now) a few things about this vaporizer so that I don't bother you with questions that I can easily find an answer for.

So, I investigated lot and so far I came to the conclusion that Herbalizer is my best option at this moment. But unfortunatelly it is not an option since I live in Europe and it's not possible to get them around here. I even contacted Herbalizer and the answered this:

>>
>
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx (Herbalizer)

Hi Xxxxxxx,

Thanks for reaching out to us. Unfortunately we are not yet selling internationally. We do hope to be shipping the 220/240V sometime in the next year, but I don't have any more specific information on that right now. Please note that our warranty only covers use of the current unit in the US or Canada.

I would be happy to notify you via email when our international version is available. And please let me know if you have any further questions. I hope the Herbalizer can start offering you relief in the near future!

Be well,

Xxxxxx Xxxxx
www.herbalizer.com
____________________________


So, no Herbalizer for me

I need to find a similar vaporizer. Any ideas?

I looked at the Aromed 4.0 but some folks are not totally happy with it which may be a concern. And it's not comparable to the Herbalizer because it does not fill bags.

I'm a bit lost. I don't mind doing the investment even if it's expensive as the Herbalizer, but I also don't want to spend a lot of money and then end up only using the Volcano that I already own.

The ideal vaporizer for me would be like the Herbalizer (with air pump, bags and with smooth vapor) but with the option of filling the bags already filtered by water. I mean, the air pump would blow with such strength that the vapor could pass through water before penetrating inside the bag. Does this vaporizer exists?

Thanks again for all the help and support. All the best and sweet vapes!

tommy

This may or may not be my area of expertise... if you don't need a chest tube you have a pneumothorax that is not that bad. If you need a chest tube you need it. Consider yourself very lucky that you didn't need a thoracoscopic wedge resection. You may experience another lung collapse, you may experience a feeling like your lung collapsing but it's pleurisy (~2y ago?) . If neither of those happen you'll be fine. Spirometer readings are good across the 4 that I have (... ...) I prefer vapor through water regardless and do that 95% of the time now. I'm also pretty experienced with ecigs. Results may vary, I just milked a tube with some kief and had a dab. and all...

 

[ginolicious]

I'm about 2.5 years over it. Sometimes I have minor chest pain. But it goes away and nearly not comparable to the pain when it originally happened.

 

[JKVape302]

....................................................................
Yes, I regularly use a hydratube with the Herbalizer. My custom rigged, miniVAP Flexicone basket, without the top half of the Herbie chamber + hydratube. Super convenient. Super efficient. Super fast as a session can be one minute. Filtered. Picture of it with a Flexicone together and one apart in pieces:

IMO, water always is great so no wonder your Herborizer with water is smoother than the Volcano.

I have used a Volcano where bag was connected to bubbler. It worked fine but was a little cumbersome/bulky. I preferred where a buddy did a custom whip from the Volcano directly into a bubbler. Moisturized the vapor nicely and simple .

You could rig a mouthpiece with a hemp fiber filter as it's easy to shape. I just much prefer it right next to the chamber as it keeps all those tiny particles out of my bubbler or hydratube or long glass mouthpiece. My water pieces go about 5X as long between cleanings compared to no filter.

I might try this set-up i almost bought a hydrabomb yesterday but they were sold out.

 

[MinnBobber]

I might try this set-up i almost bought a hydrabomb yesterday but they were sold out.

....................................................
Herbie with a hydratube is awesome!! Ratchett Song V2 silicone adapter and you're set.
My custom version is with miniVAP flexicone basket module and no Herbie top chamber, awesom-er

Really smooth hits when the vapor is moisturized. Even smoother with warm or hot water which moisturizes the vapor more than cold water

 

[JKVape302]

....................................................
Herbie with a hydratube is awesome!! Ratchett Song V2 silicone adapter and you're set.
My custom version is with miniVAP flexicone basket module and no Herbie top chamber, awesom-er

Really smooth hits when the vapor is moisturized. Even smoother with warm or hot water which moisturizes the vapor more than cold water

Link to where i can buy a miniVAP flexicone basket module?

 

[MinnBobber]

Link to where i can buy a miniVAP flexicone basket module?

.......................................
@stickstones from here is a miniVAP retailer. PM him
I think the bad news is that they come in 4-packs and are pricey. Ask about splitting out, can you buy one or two?
You need the Flexicone and the wire basket and a screen (but generic screens work).
Note that Arizer Screen Packs cost much less and can substitute but are not as heavy duty/well made as the miniVAP ones. $5 for 2 baskets and 2 screens at Vapor Nation

 

[Tommy]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the messages. I will try to answer all of them now without doing a double post, hehehe, it's not going to be easy

So, 27 days without inhaling cannabis, only 3 days to go as I promised I would be 1 month without it. Then it's up to me, hehehe. But since 1998 that I was not without inhaling cannabis for such a long period... and that's when I started, when I was 18

Just 2 small paragraphs with some good news. I received the results of my exams yesterday and had an appointment with my pneumologist. My lungs are perfect, I have no blebs, no enphysemas, nothing. They are very healthy, so the doctor confirmed that it was a primary spontaneous pneumothorax, which means that I don't have any disease that provoked it.

It means also that it happened for an unknown cause. The main suspect is my sneezing, something I do constantly due to my allergies and man I sneeze with ultra super power. When I sneeze all my neighbours can hear and I live in a medium-big building. I'm very allergic to cats and I live with one, unfortunatelly I will have to find someone else to keep him because I'm allergic to him since 2008 but now it is going to far as the respiratory tests shown that I have asthma from that allergy also.

So, that being said, lets go on topic. Just to finish, the doctor says I'm fine to keep vaporizing, it does not affect asthma and my chances of having a second pneumothorax are the same whether I vaporize or not.

I have used a Volcano where bag was connected to bubbler. It worked fine but was a little cumbersome/bulky. I preferred where a buddy did a custom whip from the Volcano directly into a bubbler. Moisturized the vapor nicely and simple .

That's what I've been thinking lately. I've been thinking that the suggestion of our friend ginolicius of getting a Vapir Rise 2.0 Ultimate might be a very good idea. It seems to have its pro's and con's (don't appreciate how hard it is to keep the tube and balloon clean and without unpleasant smells), and I was very disappointed when I found out that the HEPA filter just filters the air that the vaporizer uses to later on vaporize the weed, instead of filtering also the allergenics eventually present in the weed itself, but other than that I see a lot of interesting things.

Main thing that called to my attention was the accesory that they have, called Vapir Water Tool. This one:

Would it be possible to fill a bag with this tool? (to have a bag with vapor that was previously filtered by water)

Or the power of the pump is not enough to get the air to pass through water with enough strength to fill a bag?

On the other hand they say that this tool can be used as well with other vaporizers, and so I've also been thinking of buying this tool first (and only then eventually buy the Vapir Rise 2.0) and try to adapt this water tool to my Volcano. Maybe I can insert the tube in a bag with vapor and inhale through the water tool (bubbler). What do you think?

It's the same as adapting a bong to the bag but instead of the bong it would be this water tool with the tube connected to the bag, if you understand what I mean...

You could rig a mouthpiece with a hemp fiber filter as it's easy to shape. I just much prefer it right next to the chamber as it keeps all those tiny particles out of my bubbler or hydratube or long glass mouthpiece. My water pieces go about 5X as long between cleanings compared to no filter.

I'm going to have to start with organic cotton, as I'm having a hard time to get the hemp fiber here in Europe. And I have doubts about the way that organic cotton can (or can not) stand high temperatures. Because when you have it in the chamber it is subjected to temperatures of around 180ºC-200ºC. Would that be ok? Of the tiny fibers could somehow burn or be affected in some way by the heat? That's why I feel better in having it somewhere in the mouthpiece area.

This may or may not be my area of expertise... if you don't need a chest tube you have a pneumothorax that is not that bad. If you need a chest tube you need it. Consider yourself very lucky that you didn't need a thoracoscopic wedge resection.

Hi Quetzalcoatl!

You say that this may or not be your area of expertise, but for some reason you sound like you know a few things and for that I have to ask: are you a doctor?

Yes, I know I had to have the tube on my chest or else it would have been worst. And I would consider myself very lucky if I could say that this is finished, but since I now have 30%-50% chances of having a second pneumothorax I really can't consider myself lucky yet. Maybe in 2020 if I don't get a second episode until then, maybe by then I will consider myself lucky. And yes, if I get a repetition I will need a thorascopic wedge resection or else they will have to stick my pleura to my ribs as these are the 2 ways possible that they have to avoid a 3rd episode. But on the other hand, if I need that, then the 3rd episode will be very unlikely to happen, they say 95% sure it wouldn't happen a 3rd time.

You may experience another lung collapse, you may experience a feeling like your lung collapsing but it's pleurisy (~2y ago?)

What do you mean with "~2y ago?" ?

Are you saying that for the next 2 years it is normal that I get the mentioned feelings?

I'm not that much afraid of a another collapse (pneumothorax), I was actually more affraid that my exams showed another disease associated with it. But now I know I'm "clean". If I have another collapse that's something I just can't control, if it has to happen, it will, and the opposite is also true, so I'll just live my live happy and carefree.

Thanks again Quetzalcoatl for your suggestions and opinions. You're welcome to share more of your thoughts if you want to

So, that's pretty much it.

1 - I'm going to use the Volcano with organic cotton filter (maybe somewhere in the mouthpiece);

2 - I will very probably order the Water Tool from Vapir to try and use it with the Volcano (attached to the ballon with the tube);

3 - I will probably buy the Vapir Rise 2.0 Ultimate or other similar vaporizer that convinces me better in my next searches.

Any other tips and suggestions are always welcome.

All the best and sweet vapes!

tommy

 

[MinnBobber]

1 - I'm going to use the Volcano with organic cotton filter (maybe somewhere in the mouthpiece);

2 - I will very probably order the Water Tool from Vapir to try and use it with the Volcano (attached to the ballon with the tube);

3 - I will probably buy the Vapir Rise 2.0 Ultimate or other similar vaporizer that convinces me better in my next searches.

Any other tips and suggestions are always welcome.

All the best and sweet vapes!

.............................................................................
Hi,
IMO you can do a lot better with a cheap bubbler vs that mini Water Tool. Normal flow to bag. Bag with a adapted silicone or 14/18 mm glass male, and into a cheap China glass bubbler. Trying to vape a bag connected to that Water Tool looks like a 3 hand operation for minimal water.

Is the filter mostly for "herb dust"??? Thinking about Volcano bags, one of the pluses might be that the dust that makes it that far gets stuck on the bag walls/ or drops out/ so from the bag the dust is naturally deleted. Anybody have thoughts on that aspect?

And I think any needed combination can be worked out with the Volcano (vs buying a Vapor Rise). Volcano has the workhorse air pump for any combo you throw at it. I modify my Volcano rather than buy a lesser vape.

P.S. do you have Easy Valve or Solid Valve?

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the messages. I will try to answer all of them now without doing a double post, hehehe, it's not going to be easy

So, 27 days without inhaling cannabis, only 3 days to go as I promised I would be 1 month without it. Then it's up to me, hehehe. But since 1998 that I was not without inhaling cannabis for such a long period... and that's when I started, when I was 18

Just 2 small paragraphs with some good news. I received the results of my exams yesterday and had an appointment with my pneumologist. My lungs are perfect, I have no blebs, no enphysemas, nothing. They are very healthy, so the doctor confirmed that it was a primary spontaneous pneumothorax, which means that I don't have any disease that provoked it.

It means also that it happened for an unknown cause. The main suspect is my sneezing, something I do constantly due to my allergies and man I sneeze with ultra super power. When I sneeze all my neighbours can hear and I live in a medium-big building. I'm very allergic to cats and I live with one, unfortunatelly I will have to find someone else to keep him because I'm allergic to him since 2008 but now it is going to far as the respiratory tests shown that I have asthma from that allergy also.

So, that being said, lets go on topic. Just to finish, the doctor says I'm fine to keep vaporizing, it does not affect asthma and my chances of having a second pneumothorax are the same whether I vaporize or not.




That's what I've been thinking lately. I've been thinking that the suggestion of our friend ginolicius of getting a Vapir Rise 2.0 Ultimate might be a very good idea. It seems to have its pro's and con's (don't appreciate how hard it is to keep the tube and balloon clean and without unpleasant smells), and I was very disappointed when I found out that the HEPA filter just filters the air that the vaporizer uses to later on vaporize the weed, instead of filtering also the allergenics eventually present in the weed itself, but other than that I see a lot of interesting things.

Main thing that called to my attention was the accesory that they have, called Vapir Water Tool. This one:

Would it be possible to fill a bag with this tool? (to have a bag with vapor that was previously filtered by water)

Or the power of the pump is not enough to get the air to pass through water with enough strength to fill a bag?

On the other hand they say that this tool can be used as well with other vaporizers, and so I've also been thinking of buying this tool first (and only then eventually buy the Vapir Rise 2.0) and try to adapt this water tool to my Volcano. Maybe I can insert the tube in a bag with vapor and inhale through the water tool (bubbler). What do you think?

It's the same as adapting a bong to the bag but instead of the bong it would be this water tool with the tube connected to the bag, if you understand what I mean...




I'm going to have to start with organic cotton, as I'm having a hard time to get the hemp fiber here in Europe. And I have doubts about the way that organic cotton can (or can not) stand high temperatures. Because when you have it in the chamber it is subjected to temperatures of around 180ºC-200ºC. Would that be ok? Of the tiny fibers could somehow burn or be affected in some way by the heat? That's why I feel better in having it somewhere in the mouthpiece area.




Hi Quetzalcoatl!

You say that this may or not be your area of expertise, but for some reason you sound like you know a few things and for that I have to ask: are you a doctor?

Yes, I know I had to have the tube on my chest or else it would have been worst. And I would consider myself very lucky if I could say that this is finished, but since I now have 30%-50% chances of having a second pneumothorax I really can't consider myself lucky yet. Maybe in 2020 if I don't get a second episode until then, maybe by then I will consider myself lucky. And yes, if I get a repetition I will need a thorascopic wedge resection or else they will have to stick my pleura to my ribs as these are the 2 ways possible that they have to avoid a 3rd episode. But on the other hand, if I need that, then the 3rd episode will be very unlikely to happen, they say 95% sure it wouldn't happen a 3rd time.




What do you mean with "~2y ago?" ?

Are you saying that for the next 2 years it is normal that I get the mentioned feelings?

I'm not that much afraid of a another collapse (pneumothorax), I was actually more affraid that my exams showed another disease associated with it. But now I know I'm "clean". If I have another collapse that's something I just can't control, if it has to happen, it will, and the opposite is also true, so I'll just live my live happy and carefree.

Thanks again Quetzalcoatl for your suggestions and opinions. You're welcome to share more of your thoughts if you want to

So, that's pretty much it.

1 - I'm going to use the Volcano with organic cotton filter (maybe somewhere in the mouthpiece);

2 - I will very probably order the Water Tool from Vapir to try and use it with the Volcano (attached to the ballon with the tube);

3 - I will probably buy the Vapir Rise 2.0 Ultimate or other similar vaporizer that convinces me better in my next searches.

Any other tips and suggestions are always welcome.

All the best and sweet vapes!

tommy

Oh,

"Spirometer readings are good across the 4 that I have (... ...)"

I got them all when I was discharged... I had an episode of pleurisy (~2 years after a surgery...) that was painful but otherwise unremarkable. Like you said, if it happens you can't really do much about it... Thankfully it doesn't actually become super dangerous for a while... Shit I went three days with one thinking it was chest pain from the wicked anxiety I used to have. Cotton filters seem like a good idea, and water as well. I don't usually use a cotton filter in my stems, but like I said water 95% of the time. Lucky you, I had them big bad blebs.

 

[Tommy]

.............................................................................
Hi,
IMO you can do a lot better with a cheap bubbler vs that mini Water Tool. Normal flow to bag. Bag with a adapted silicone or 14/18 mm glass male, and into a cheap China glass bubbler. Trying to vape a bag connected to that Water Tool looks like a 3 hand operation for minimal water.

Hi MinnBobber!

Yes, maybe I can even use the "Sphere XL bong" that I have from the Herborizer and stuck the Volcano bag there somehow until I find a better solution.

I have the Solid Valve. I even have 3 sets, hehe, like 3 mouthpieces, 3 chambers, 3 valves, in a way that I could fill 3 balloons at one time. I usually filled 2 balloons, one for me and one for my wife. Then I had a 3rd balloon that was extra large and that I used in occasions when filling more than 1 balloon was inconvenient. Like when I filled 1 balloon and took it with me outdoors, in that case I used the big one

Is the filter mostly for "herb dust"??? Thinking about Volcano bags, one of the pluses might be that the dust that makes it that far gets stuck on the bag walls/ or drops out/ so from the bag the dust is naturally deleted. Anybody have thoughts on that aspect?

That is my main concern and I find it hard to agree that all the particles get stuck on the bag walls. I can't convince myself of that. I would put my mind to rest if I could somehow adapt an HEPA filter to the mouthpiece, because I have a terrible allergy to cat "hair" and to dust from the house. And as most of the weed I vaporize is from my own growing for personal use that I do at home, I know that a lot of these allegenes are in the flowers.

I usually take more time removing cat hair from the flowers than I take doing the manicure. And when you have sticky flowers you know that dust particles innevitably adhere to them. So, I'm putting at least 2 types of particles that I am very allergic to inside the bag and I can accept that some of the particles may adhere to the bag walls but I can't convince myself that no particles end up in my lungs. That's pretty much where my concerns come from regarding the Volcano.

But adapting HEPA filters to the mouthpiece seems like trying to go to far, hehehe, so maybe I'll do it with the organic cotton or some sort of water filtration.

If any of you guys have links to images of Volcano bags addapted to bongs or bubblers please share. Although I'm going to try and find some myself in the meanwhile.

Quetzalcoatl: so, you also had a pneumothorax and a tube in the chest to drain the air?

Thanks again mates. All the best and sweet vapes!

EDIT: if I buy a hydratube to adapt to the Volcano balloon, which size of adapter should I buy? 14mm? 18mm? Or this isn't possible?

EDIT#2: I checked and the Volcano bag (with the solid valve and without the mouthpiece) adapt will to the Sphere XL (Herborizer bong). When I inhale through the bong the bag squizzed exactos as if I was inhaling through the mouthpiece. Só now I'm going to try and find out the diameter of the Sphere XL intake. With a measuring stick it seems to measure 18mm, só I assume that I should buy a hydratube of 18mm, do you agree?

tommy

 

[Tommy]

Hi everyone!

4 and a half months passed since my last post so I hope I don't receive the PM from the admins warning me about double posting. It would make no sense at all editing my last post to add this text. First, because the situation is completely different from then and second because no one would ever read my edited post as it would remain on the 4th page of this subforum.

Please don't send the PM with the warning, it's not polite in these cases.
___________


So... I've got some news about all the situation that may be valueable to other users with lung problems.

I ended up not buying any other vaporizer and started to use my Herborizer.

First time I went back to cannabis inhalation, 32 days after the pneumothorax, I used my Volcano and attached the bag to a bong so that I could benefit from water filtration. I'm sure it's better with the water filtration but still it was harsh for my throat. And, if it's harsh to the throat I have to suppose it irritates the lungs.

I was not happy. So I decided to give the Herborizer a try. I bought it like 4 years ago and only used it 2 or 3 times with friends. I loved the Volcano so I couldn't even think about changing the Volcano for the Herborizer, hence it got stuck somewhere and never used.

First time I used it in the last days of March, I was already very happy with it. No harshness at all to the throat and the lungs felt perfect. I even felt better than during the 32 days without any sort of cannabis inhalation. Some pains in the lungs stopped with the use of the vaporizer, I suppose that was because cannabinoids help with it.

So, since then, I've been using the Herborizer and I'm very happy with it. I will probably buy replacements soon because although I still have every part working perfect, some parts are very sensitive and maybe one day I'll brake them, so I prefer to already have substitution available right away.

I already bought another bong that is not from the Herborizer brand but works perfectly with the heater and bowl. I took all the stuff to a cannabic fair in May and tested it in the bong before buying it. It only cost 50 euro so now I only use that bong when go off to spend some days out. It it brakes I loose 50 euros instead of 120 euros of the Sphere XL from Herborizer which now I only use at home.

I vaporize on temperature 5.5

If you had the horrible experience of a pneumothorax (a primary one, with no other disease associated), then my advice is to go with a Herborizer or maybe other vaporizers that work in the same way (I remember De Verdamper and Vriptech). Although I never tried the other brands I assume they will have the same effect as they work in the same way. Only glass and water.

I use 0.2gr of perfectly manicured and perfectly dried and cured cannabis flowers. I usually to it twice a day, so I'm using around 0.5gr per day.

I take all the leaves from the buds and save them to make cannabutter. To these leaves I add the vaporized cannabis. Vaporized cannabis still has cannabinoids, mostly CBD because THC "volatizes" at a lower temperature and so the vaporized cannabis is richer in CBD as I never go further than 185ºC when I vaporize.

The cookies I make with that cannabutter are great, they are really very relaxing because of their cannabinoid profile. I love them and they allow me to vaporize less. I only worry about them because I really get a lot of apettite and I eat a lot 1 or 2 hours after I eat a cookie and I'm a thin guy but I've been building a belly in the last few months, ehehehe. And I blame the damn cookies.

In 2 weeks I'll celebrate the 6th month since my pneumothorax. Which means that a recurrance is less probable now. In the first 6 months chances of a 2nd episode are of about 30%. Now I have 20% of a 2nd episode during the next 18 months. So it's much less probable. Some days I felt like I could have a 2nd episode due to some strange pain in the lungs, probably due to pleuritis (inflamation of the pleura), I assume. Fortunatelly I never had a 2nd episode yet and 90% of the time I feel perfect.

I still want to try other vaporizers but for now I'm done with the Herbo.

Oh god, I miss the Volcano bag, everything about it except the noise of the plastic bag and the harshness to the throat. It was so comfortable. Now I can't just get out of the computer desk and lay down in the sofa with my vapor. The Herborizer does not allow it. Or better saying, it allows but I need 5 to 10 minutos of preparation to change it from one place to another and make myself confortable with it.

I also can't use it in the car. Well, I have the adaptor but I don't have the courage to face all the trouble that it requires to get it working in the car, with a lot of cables, water, and the 10 minute wait until it really achieves the right temperature. I usually take cookies when I'm out of home for a long time.

Or I just don't consume because one other thing about the Herborizer is that it is much easier to postpone the vaporization when compared with the Volcano. Volcano is more "addictive", hehehe, one can say it is more comparable to joint smoking. So with the Herborizer sometimes I postpone the vaporization to the point that I only vaporize before going to bed and there were days when I even did not consume anything at all.

Hope you didn't mind this text but I would like to have it here in this thread so that others in the same situation can read the opinion of someone who is dealing well with all the post-pneumothorax madness (I'm kiddin', it's not that hard, half the days now I don't even think about it). And also for me to remember in the future how I was feeling 5 months and a half after the pneumothorax.

All the best and sweet vapes to everyone!

tommy

 

[Baron23]

Cheers everyone!

I know I could have used an existing thread for this, but I found that my situation is a bit different and also the informations I'm looking for are different than the ones featured in previous threads regarding "pneumothorax".

For example, there's a thread about this subject that was recently created. This one: http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/pneumothorax.20484/
_____________

But besides talking a bit about my health problem (I prefer to call it "bad luck" instead of problem), I also need to check opinion on how my Volcano use could or could not contribute to the situation and maybe asking for alternatives, since I find myself a bit doubtfull about the Volcano and maybe I will consider buying a new vaporizer.

So... By the 20th of January (19 days ago) I had my first pneumothorax episode. Very painful feelings in the thorax, belly, elbows, basically everywhere between my waist and my neck. Like the whole body was being compressed. It was very hard to breathe. The deepest the breath, the worse the pain got. I was not doing anything in particular, just sitting in the computer table. I was awake only for 2 hours at that time and the last time I used the vaporizer was the night before (like 12 hours ago). I managed to have a quick bath (at that moment I was still hoping that the pain would go away), but after I finished my bath I had to drive quickly to the health center from my town, where they found it was a pneumothorax after cheking my x-ray and sent me to hospital.

Then I had pretty bad luck since I got a very inexperient doctor who was still training and he tried to insert the tube in my chest with no success, so his "boss" showed him how to do by inserting it with such strength that she managed to stuck the tube in my heart and almost broke one of the main arteries (aorta) with the tube. They then had to relocate it and all these procedures were really very painfull, so were the following days with that tube in my chest. But I can deal well with the pain, my only fear was (and is, in a sense) that the work wouldn't get well done and could lead to problems in the future.

At the 3rd day the lund re-inflated, the "hole" closed and it was solved. At the 5th day they closed the tube and by the 6th day they took the tube out of my chest and I was back home the same day. I never vaporized again but I still think I will get back to it when 1 month have passed (by the 20th of February). A couple of days ago I cooked some cookies with cannabutter because I have a few minor issues that benefit from cannabinoids running into my body. So I'm with edibles now but very small doses.

I never had any lung problems before. My respiratory system is healthy. I'm a 35 year old man. I smoked cigars and hash/weed mixed with tobacco until I was 27. Then only pure weed joint until I was 30 and from then on only vapors and although I own a small vaporizer collection comprised of about 6 or 7 different vaporizers I only use the Volcano on a daily basis. Digital version with the solid valve and I often fill my first bag with around 180ºC (356F) and the second bag with around 190º (374F). I only vaporize about 0,5gr per day, which is between 4 and 6 bags (75cm bags).

Of course I have to recognize that by vaporizing with the Volcano my lungs, throat and respiratory system globally feel much less affected. But I doubt... I really, really doubt, that the filtration is very far from perfect. And it seems very easy to adapt a filter into the mouthpiece, but that's a story I will leave for another time.

I spoke with my pneumologist (from a private hospital) 1 week ago. I told him about my vaporization routines. I says that my pneumothorax had nothing to do with it. He sounds really very convinced about this and he is a very experienced doctor. He said that even if I told him that I smoke 5 or 10 joints per day, yet he would see no relationship between that and my pneumothorax episode. I want to trust him and of course all this sounded very good to me, but I fear that by the 15th of February, when I get the result from my ct-scan and the doctor checks it, he may change his mind.

He said (not directly but he insinuated) that I could continue with my cannabis vaporizations. I told him I would just give it 1 month for the lungs to rest for a while and he said "ok". I suppose he is convinced that my pneumothorax was due to some sort of malformation I had in the lung from birth and one day it would have to pop and leave air coming out into the pleural cavity. I really hope this is the case and that I don't any other fragile spots and/or blebs that are about to pop.


>>
>

Now, this is what I would like to know, if anyone could be so kind to share suggestions and opinions...

Which other desktop vaporizers with air pump and preferrebly with filling balloon feature do you think I could try that makes a similar job as the Volcano but filters the vapor in a more efficient way?

I don't want vaporizers involving bongs and water. I have a Herborizer that I never use. Besides that inhaling from a bong represents a kind of exercise to the lungs that is very dangerous for pneumothotax situations. And the say that after having 1 pneumothorax episode the person has 50% chances of getting a second one.

For example... I know and understand that, for example, sneezing is much more dangerous than smoking or vaporizing, but I'm afraid that vaporizing can still be a problem to the lungs and I can't stop thinking or I can't manage to convince myself yet that my 5 years of vaporization with the Volcano had no influence in the pneumothorax I had 19 days ago.

Besides the vaporizer suggestions I'm also happy with any comment regarding pneumothorax or anything you find relevant to comment about it.

On a final note, I also wonder if this specific situation that I related 4 months ago in the forum could be already a sign of what was about to come: http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/volcano.220/page-80#post-863673

Thanks for your time and sweet vapes!

tommy

Hi Tommy - wow, I'm not doctor and my first thought is why you are asking us since you already asked a medical specialist at a private hospital and he said "not related to vaping"

As best I understand it, the condition you had/have is commonly known as a collapsed lung, most commonly caused by a hole into the thoracic chamber. Also, severe lung disease and, as you mentioned, congenital structural defects in the lung.

So why are you looking askance at your Volcano for this condition?