vaporizing has *not* been healthier for me

[kertong]

Background: never smoked cigs regularly, was a regular weed combuster from 2001-2004. Switched to vaping in 2005. vaped every day to manage my adhd/anxiety/depression.

about 2 years ago,by this point having vaped and vaped only, for 5-6 years,i started sneezing, coughing, whezing, ratling after vaping. it happens like clockwork. i vape a bowl at night, and i start coughing, rattling, wheezing and bubbling in my chest. i've been scouring grascity, fc, etc trying to do more research.

i've tried at least 10 different vapes, filtering with water via various diffused expensive glass, etc. no matter what, if i vape, i get a fucked up respiratory system. like clockwork.

this is how i sound the morning after vaping. in this video i am just lying in bed breathing through my mouth. i vaped at 11pmlast night, and am stil affected after 8 hours of sleep.

sorry guys, but i'm going back to combustion - combustion does not cause this discomfort. i really hope i am an exception and not a result of daily vaping for 5+ years. in my research a lot of others have this problem, but often they are told "vaping cleans out your lungs so you will cough when you first start", which imo, is a bs cop out.

my best guess is that vaporizing doesnt quite burn up and destroy the pollen and particulates from the weed, which getssuckedinto the airpath, water filtering or not. examing the mouthpiece of my bubbler with a 45x mini microscope i can still see tons of particulates, dust, and plant mattermaking it past the water...

 

[kertong]

delete

 

[vorrange]

maybe you have done this already but have you tried a regular doctor and see if there is an underlying problem who could becausing this in combination with vaporization?

I am sorry you have to go through this, must be difficult to be in your shoes right now.

 

[kertong]

thanks vorrange. i thought about seeing a doctor, but last time they stuffed me full of prozac and upped my dose every week until i landed in the er, so i've kind of lost my faith in big phara. especially when i tell them this only happens after vaping but not combusting, i don't imagine they will be too keen to help, mmj or not..

but along those lines i have thought about seeing an allergist and just getting checked for weed/pollen allerges, hmm. i can't tell if my issues are asthma (never had it as a kid though), allergies, or worst case, copd..

i did get a chest xray done 2 years ago for an unrelated checkup, and it came back clean, fwiw..

 

[vorrange]

copd is caused my combusting, so i don't think that is it. I thought i was starting to get that which was why i stoped smoking but now i am so much better i realize it wasnt.

I think you should try seeing an allergist and a different doctor without mentioning MJ.

 

[kertong]

yeah, i have started combusting just to avoid this chest discomfort and difficulty breathing, but if i can vape without this issue i'd love to keep vaping. truth be told i will probably get fed up with having to combust and will go se a mj friendly doc son if i can find one..

but until then i just wanted to leave that pst and video up there, like i said i hope this is just an isolated isue to me but after scouring the intarwebs it seems i am not alone and in the case this is a long term heavy vaporization health issue we havent come up on yet.

and apologies for the typos and poor posts, i am typing this up in my android tablet and it is quite painful..

thanks for the replies, vorrange

 

[max]

I got to the point, 10 years after quitting cigs, that I couldn't tolerate herb smoking anymore. I was on the verge of giving up the 'high life' when I discovered vaporizing. So for me, vaping is the only way to go, and my lungs are for vapor, but a big huge NO for smoke.

 

[vorrange]

have you experimented with different temperatures? Maybe if you just use lower temps you lower the chance of irritating the lungs and airways.

I don't know, i hope it is an underlying condition or allergy, that way you can treat it and still enjoy the vapour.

 

[weedemon]

I think you may be on to something with the allergies. maybe the combusting process destroys the thing that irritates you? strange

it's really sad to see that this is happening to you though. I think it's a 2 part combo that is happening to you.

about sneezeing if i exhale using my nose, the vapor then it will tickle and make me sneeze. So I try not to do it.

 

[momofthegoons]

It's not unheard of for people to develop allergies as we age. And, even if you have never had asthma in the past, you may have developed it. There is even an allergy induced asthma.

Your breathing sounded asthmatic to me. I'm not a doctor, and it could certainly be something else. I think I would start with an allergist regarding the possibilities of a pollen allergy. If no allergies pop up, you know it is something else and you need to get to a good pulmonary doctor.

Hope you feel better and get to the bottom of this soon.

 

[Nosferatu]

I would get checked for allergies and where do you get your weed? Do you know for certain its free of contaminates and grown in a clean and safe environment?

 

[kertong]

thanks guys, allergist sounds like a good plan of attack i guess, anyone know of a good mmj feiendly one (i am a paperwork 215'er) near san jose/mountain view?

nosferatu: yeah, i get my green from elemental wellness, harborside sj, andleaf lab, the 3 more wel known/established dispensaries here. all 3 cause this sort of breathing issue...

oh and higher temp vaping mkes it worse up to a point, but by just adding heat discomfort. doesn't seem directly related to temps, though once it gets hot enough it seems to be less irritating..

but yeah i always use my lsv through water and have it set at about 10:30-11:00 on the dial. strangely this stil triggers breathing problems - but when i switch to using the long transfer wand straight without water, the irritation is reduced greatly.. really confuses me.

one thing i do remember: i coughed the least when using the arizer solo. should never have gotten rid of that one, i had the m102. probably going to try buying another just to see..

 

[sektr]

I would say it's definitely not asthma, I've had severe asthma my entire life and I've never had an asthma attack caused by either vaping or combusting. In fact I find combusting actually clears my lungs out, vaping seems to leave them as is.

 

[SD_haze]

Have you tried a long period of time giving your lungs a break?

Instead of a straight T-break, you can do a "lung break" using just edibles & tinctures.

 

[kertong]

sd_haze: yeah, went for 3 weeks without vaping, or even eating. first smoke back, instant wheezing.. sooo demoralizing

now that im writing it out and talking with you guys about it, allergies do seem likely.. i did try taking cetrizine/benadryl but i stil eventually got wheezing issues twice as bad, turns out they dry up membranous tissue in your sinuses and airways..

 

[ilovebOObs]

who else is gonna be my vaping buddy
hope you get it sorted out bro.

 

[kertong]

haha srsly iloveb00bs! your stuff hits real nice though (cloud + glass, smooth!), but i think the daytime setting helps too, the wheezing gets worst at night!

 

[Tweak]

i thought about seeing a doctor, but last time they stuffed me full of prozac and upped my dose every week until i landed in the er, so i've kind of lost my faith in big phara.

Have you tried an ENT (ear, nose, and throat) doctor or other specialist?

I haven't much faith in most doctors either, but by the luck of the draw you might find one that really wants to help.

Another possibility that comes to mind is the strain you are vaping, or rather where its from. Would be a nice experiment to get some lab tested mmj to rule out any possible issue with mold/bacteria.

Also have you tried using a carbon filter? I haven't seen/herd of too many people using it for vaping and it sure would throw a wrench in your Cloud experience, but I'm guessing it would filter out a lot of possible pollen.

 

[jeffp]

I have allergies, I suffered from severe hay fever as a child; when my family moved from Brooklyn to Long Island in 1962 I was suddenly exposed to an extreme amount of pollen by comparison and it was mandatory for my parents to put air conditioning in my room just so I could breathe. In those days air conditioners were a luxury item for wealthy people but it had to be purchased for my health.
In 1975 I learned transcendental meditation, which was popular at the time, and oddly enough my allergies seemed to have subsided along with the daily practice of meditation. Yet I still experience coughing to this day following the first few initial hits of vapor; both coughing and sneezing, so I can relate but your affliction is probably a lot worse than mine was. After a few hits the coughing stops but the first few hits do cause this. Those who know me from this forum know that I am not a combustion teetotaler - I obviously love vaporizing but I'm not ready to say "fuck combustion" - that seems to be a bit severe of a proclamation for me at least for now. Regardless, I cough the same after I take that occasional toke from a lit joint. In fact it's worse.

If I were in your shoes, I would learn toward edibles. That would seem to be the obvious solution and along with that you might want to research and experiment with some alternative therapies such as possibly chiropractic, nutritional, etc.

 

[kertong]

thanks for the input everyone, i really appreciate it.
going along the allergies route, i theorized that it must be the particulates triggering allergies in my chest/bronchii/lungs.

and i realized something - i've been cutting my own screens in the lsv waterpipe adapter. i'm sure the gaps on the sides let in tons of particulates. so, i got a precut 14.8mm stainless steel screen set from the headshop, and used 3 of them stacked in my wpa for triple screening.

took a few hits, seems to be hitting smoother but i can't yet rule out placebo. the wheezing usually triggers after my 9-10pm nightcap session, so tonight will hopefully show some improvement.

tweak: nope, havent tried an ent. most of my discomfort is in the chest, i feel an itching rattle right under my sternum, my sinuses are usually fine after an initial runny nose, hmm..

 

[Venomous]

Seems like youre a victim of dry vapor. The effects you describe a friend of mine suffered from. He has found resolution by using a humidifier in his room while he sleeps. He also uses hot water in a bubbler attached to his whip. His symptoms pretty much disappeared after a month.

 

[luchiano]

You sounds just like I did when I smoked some honey tobacco with some herb once but not as bad as I was. It comes down to the vapor condensing in your lungs and making it very dry and sticky. I take it you vape a lot. What worked for me was running and drinking water before, during and after the run because the running directs bloodflow to the lungs and the water goes with it and moisten the lungs which prevents the stickiness.

Just run for 15-30 minutes everyday, drink water during the exercise and when you vape drink some water or tea with very little sugar because too much sugar dries you out. You will be fine.

 

[J.R.R.Tokin']

but yeah i always use my lsv through water and have it set at about 10:30-11:00 on the dial. strangely this stil triggers breathing problems - but when i switch to using the long transfer wand straight without water, the irritation is reduced greatly.. really confuses me.

one thing i do remember: i coughed the least when using the arizer solo. should never have gotten rid of that one, i had the m102. probably going to try buying another just to see..

Something that came to mind when I read this is water quality in your bongs, how often you change the water and how often you clean them.

Also, do you have an sort of problem with damp or mould in your place?

 

[vorrange]

Great tips in this thread all of a sudden, i am gonna use them too. Kertong, i am betting on those particles being part of the problem too, perhaps if you do all these things it will help. Maybe you are experience a combination of factors that together create a much bigger problem..

 

[Norlin]

Do concentrates yield the same effect?