Chest Pains like having a heart attck! =(

[gbalkam]

I am actually going to see my doc tomorrow. I know she will give me an EKG and I have a feeling it will come back normal. What other tests should I ask her to do?

Digestive system would be a good bet, from what has been stated in other posts. Reflux, ulcer, hernia are floating around in my mind. Could even be something simple like a sensitivity to certain food, developed as you got older, which happens. When I was young, i would eat green pepper sandwiches.. now... well... it wouldn't kill me, I would only wish it did.

 

[AndriaD]

Jezuz! Run? I can't even walk like that! But yeah, sounds like heart and lungs are fine.
Now, I have acid reflux, and my father had ulcers. MY reflux is more of a heart burn / upset stomach feeling from a weak valve and being a glutton. LOL.
Anyway, those are some things to get checked for. Hopefully it is something minor. Some types of reflux can be cured with a 30 day prescription. I manage mine with diet by avoiding trigger foods like raw green pepper. (I can drink Tabasco from the bottle, but a tiny bit of green pepper nearly kills me, go figure...)

Green pepper, and fucking CUCUMBERS! GRRRR! I don't have GERD, but man, some stuff is just heartburn HELL. But sometimes even heartburn can hurt in my farkin SHOULDERS, that's why I know ALL about that "referred pain."

Andria

 

[MrScaryZ]

Well it's been 2 days since I haven't vaped and the pain is still there.

call 911

 

[Murray_B]

[...] Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Vic

Hello, Vic. There is some interesting information about these topics posted online:

With regards to jogging Dr. James O'Keefe has stated, "[...] the "sweet spot" for jogging for health benefits is a slow to moderate pace, about two or three times per week, for a total of one to 2.5 hours."

See http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20140401/too-much-running-tied-to-shorter-lifespan-studies-find#2

[A couple of years ago the NEJM published a letter entitled, "Hidden Formaldehyde in E-Cigarette Aerosols". Dr. K. Farsalinos was one of the first to point out that no human vaper would use their device at some of the higher power levels use in the tests.]

Recently this 'chief debunker' of anti-vaping propaganda has said, "The message I want to pass to vapers is that your consumption level defines the risk: the more you consume e-liquid, the more you will be exposed to toxicity, nicotine is no danger. [...]".

See http://www.vapingpost.com/2016/10/07/what-do-scientists-think-konstantinos-farsalinos-at-vapexpo-2016-paris/

Perhaps you will feel better if you run less and vape juice with a higher nicotine content at a lower power level.

Good health!

 

[DevAuto]

Well it's been 2 days since I haven't vaped and the pain is still there.

How is it now? What did the Doc say? Have you narrowed down the likely culprits yet?

 

[Cloudchaser1980]

Okay guys, doc said I have inflammation on my chest walls. Also I was taking Cinnamon with coffee which lowers blood sugar. I have quit that and I feel fine now. The doc did say not to chain vape and do cardio 4 days a week. She said my heart is pretty healthy but the inflammation will come and go so that part sucks.!!! Im happy!!!

 

[DevAuto]

Okay guys, doc said I have inflammation on my chest walls. Also I was taking Cinnamon with coffee which lowers blood sugar. I have quit that and I feel fine now. The doc did say not to chain vape and do cardio 4 days a week. She said my heart is pretty healthy but the inflammation will come and go so that part sucks.!!! Im happy!!!

Really glad to hear it isn't your heart and that it will be manageable, even if it sucks!

 

[Cloudchaser1980]

Really glad to hear it isn't your heart and that it will be manageable, even if it sucks!

Now only if I can decided what premade coils to buy for my Diablo I just ordered. Any suggestions? links would be appreciated.

 

[DevAuto]

Now only if I can decided what premade coils to buy for my Diablo I just ordered. Any suggestions? links would be appreciated.

Sorry, no help here for a couple reasons, a) I don't own a Diablo, b) I use simple single wire coils, c) I don't use premade coils. Good luck though, hopefully someone with a Diablo will weigh in and offer some insight!

 

[Crminstrel]

Hello Everyone,

I just signed up today and wanted to see if I can get some feedback. I have been vaping for about 5 years. I started off 18mg of nicotine for couple months, then 12mg, then 6mg and now I have been vaping on 3mg Nicotine since 2015. So for the last year and half I have been getting pain where my heart is when i vape a lot. I have been to the cardiologist and have 2 heart scans done. I also have had EKG and stress test but everything came back clean. I also run 4 days a week for an hour each time. So for the last two weeks every time I vape I am getting pain in my left side of my chest and also now in the middle.

I am sure the nicotine is restricting something in my heart. Has anyone experienced this? I am going to stop vaping till it completely goes away. It sucks I can't vape and i am really scared i might have heart failure or something...

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Vic

Hi - I just found this forum whilst googling for info on exactly what you are describing. I am a 37 year old female , been vaping for 3 years now and for the past 3 nights my chest on the left has been sore almost like a pulled muscle. I do recognise the pain as something smoking related , I think, but had me so worried I was going to have a heart attack! I'm especially worried as my dad died young not too long ago from a HA. I can see you have had a lot of replies with some great advice which has helped me too- thank you everyone! Good luck to you xx

 

[Curiousahmed]

Hey guys, really need some help here. I pretty much am suffering from the exact issue. Chest pain from vaping. Did an EKG and X-ray, all was fine and normal but i still feel something off with my chest. I stopped vaping or any kind of smoking or excersizing for 5 days and the pain subdued (used some inhalers). So i thought all is well and i will stop vaping again. I smoked hookah for a bit and the pain came back a few hours later. It was not as bad but it still came back.

The doctor said that it definitely is inflammation in the chest walls. Has anyone recovered from this? What steps did you take to make the pain or discomfort stop? And what did you do with your mods and juices? I used Alienware with 70 VG 30 PG juices. I would like to vape to quit hookah but i am too scared to start it again.

Any help would be highly appreciated. Thank you all.

 

[Curiousahmed]

By the way forgot to mention, I do sports regularly and work out 5 to 6 times a week for the past 15 years. I am in good health but just have this chest issue now.

 

[Curiousahmed]

Okay guys, doc said I have inflammation on my chest walls. Also I was taking Cinnamon with coffee which lowers blood sugar. I have quit that and I feel fine now. The doc did say not to chain vape and do cardio 4 days a week. She said my heart is pretty healthy but the inflammation will come and go so that part sucks.!!! Im happy!!!

Glad to hear that. Did you fully recover from it? If so, how?

 

[SMOKIE]

Try juice with less VG 30% VG 70 PG.

VG is very heavy on the lungs that leaves a film.

 

[lionesse]

Hello! I know this is an older thread, but I think it may just be the most complete out there and I wanted to share what seems to have happened in my case. I'm also a 37 year-old female but I've only been vaping for about 7 months and mostly menthol flavours.

I had a mild cold a couple of weeks ago. On the tail end of it I began having palpitations that developed over ~10 days into a permanent bounding pulse (which I felt from the base of the neck all the way into the abdomen). In parallel, there was central chest pressure/pain/dull ache that radiated occasionally and randomly with stabbing pains through the chest and into the upper back. Sometimes I felt this "gurgling" that seemed to suggest turbulent flow through the heart valves. No shortness of breath, however.

I proceeded to freak out because I have had an extensive bilateral pulmonary embolism (PE) a few years ago. Two trips to the ER and a red herring (GERD/reflux) later, I am sure it was a reaction to something in the juice I'd been vaping (VanGo's "Frozen Ophelia" - 70% VG, menthol, cactus, kiwi, strawberry, pineapple). On the first ER visit, seeing that my vitals + oxygen saturation were fine sufficed because I could assess my risk of another PE as low and I left on my own, but by the second visit the reflux hypothesis had been disproved, I was miserable and in constant pain. EKG, cardiac enzymes and chest Xray were fine, which I found somewhat unsettling (this left it to either anxiety - which I'd never experienced in this way and doubted greatly - or something truly horrible like aortic dissection).

I finally figured to change the juice flavour profile and go back from the iJoy Capo100 I'd been using to my little Aspire Breeze; what do you know - the pain subsided considerably. The next day went virtually pain-free until I decided to test this (I know... it's just that I'd never had a sensitivity/allergic response to any substance, plus I'd vaped the same juice before at twice my current nicotine level). Three puffs of "Frozen Ophelia" resulted in a full hour of pain just like before. I don't think it was the VG or PG as they are at similar concentrations in the coffee-flavoured juice I vape now, but probably one of the flavourings or (very sad if so) the menthol.

I'll always recommend getting a chest pain checked, but sometimes, even if the question is weird like this combo of symptoms, the answer might be simpler and less expensive...

 

[gbalkam]

I had a mild cold a couple of weeks ago. On the tail end of it I began having palpitations that developed over ~10 days into a permanent bounding pulse (which I felt from the base of the neck all the way into the abdomen). In parallel, there was central chest pressure/pain/dull ache that radiated occasionally and randomly with stabbing pains through the chest and into the upper back. Sometimes I felt this "gurgling" that seemed to suggest turbulent flow through the heart valves. No shortness of breath, however.

The gurgling was most likey some phlem in your airway.. drink lots of water, it will go away when you cough it loose. Im guessing now.. but having a cold causes you to cough and strain the muscles. The cold also causes lung tissue to become inflamed. Mentol is not good if you have inflamed lung. Picture pouring alcohol on a fresh cut... owwie! right? So the menthol, although it tastes good, is also an irritant. I would say lay off the menthol for a couple weeks which will reduce inflammation faster. Now this is assuming all your medical test check out and there is no other issue. You might also find a 20/80 pg/vg ratio less harsh. PG is more of an irritant than vg. (it give the throat hit when you vape)

 

[lionesse]

Thank you! This not only makes a lot of sense, it even solves a few things that still intrigued me. I had vaped the same e-liquid while having a cold just this past November - part of why it eluded me for days that it could be the juice; now I realize that I was using the Breeze at the time and mouth-to-lung probably wouldn't deliver as much vapour straight to the point as a direct-to-lung device... plus, it's almost as if my cough reflex got shut down this time around, which would, of course, keep all the stuff there instead of loosening it up - hello, gurgling...

 

[kaydenjohnson95]

No. I mean getting vape down your esophagus instead of only in your airway to the lungs. Some people "gulp" their vape and, in effect, swallow some of it while inhaling. There is a sphincter muscle at the top of your stomach and if that has become irritated by exposure to nicotine it can cause a very localized pain in the breastbone area that you can feel when you inhale and exhale. Hurt like a mo-fo. At least that what it was like for me.

How long does the pain last???

 

[gbalkam]

Thank you! This not only makes a lot of sense, it even solves a few things that still intrigued me. I had vaped the same e-liquid while having a cold just this past November - part of why it eluded me for days that it could be the juice; now I realize that I was using the Breeze at the time and mouth-to-lung probably wouldn't deliver as much vapour straight to the point as a direct-to-lung device... plus, it's almost as if my cough reflex got shut down this time around, which would, of course, keep all the stuff there instead of loosening it up - hello, gurgling...

I found vaping helps bring up the crap in my lungs as A) it absorbs moisture and B briefly makes things seem to slide a bit better (like a runny nose when you exhale that way). All I know is I had that "chest rattle" problem for a year and a half and it stopped about a month after starting vaping. Probably an infection that cigarette smoke was prohibiting from healing..
Of course drinking lots of water always helps too.

 

[AndriaD]

I found vaping helps bring up the crap in my lungs as A) it absorbs moisture and B briefly makes things seem to slide a bit better (like a runny nose when you exhale that way). All I know is I had that "chest rattle" problem for a year and a half and it stopped about a month after starting vaping. Probably an infection that cigarette smoke was prohibiting from healing..
Of course drinking lots of water always helps too.

That's completely opposite what I've experienced. I don't have a lot of mucus in my chest anymore, since I'm not inhaling millions of microscopic "tar" particles, but that actually makes it more difficult for me; I have asthma, so when I feel/hear the wheeze, I have to cough, and usually cough-up, to clear it -- and I have to cough a lot harder and longer now to get anything out. Granted, it's not much, and it's clear, but with asthma, that sort of coughing-up still has to happen, to clear the wheeze. I can tell when I'm getting over a cold, because it starts being hard to cough-up again.

But I still wouldn't trade it. Having to cough harder and longer to clear my chest beats hell out of waking up every morning drowning in my own mucus. I can usually go to the bathroom and put on my robe before I even need to take my wake-up hit on my Ventolin, and that NEVER used to happen; I'd wake up grabbing for it with my eyes still closed.

Andria

 

[gbalkam]

That's completely opposite what I've experienced. I don't have a lot of mucus in my chest anymore, since I'm not inhaling millions of microscopic "tar" particles, but that actually makes it more difficult for me; I have asthma, so when I feel/hear the wheeze, I have to cough, and usually cough-up, to clear it -- and I have to cough a lot harder and longer now to get anything out. Granted, it's not much, and it's clear, but with asthma, that sort of coughing-up still has to happen, to clear the wheeze. I can tell when I'm getting over a cold, because it starts being hard to cough-up again.

But I still wouldn't trade it. Having to cough harder and longer to clear my chest beats hell out of waking up every morning drowning in my own mucus. I can usually go to the bathroom and put on my robe before I even need to take my wake-up hit on my Ventolin, and that NEVER used to happen; I'd wake up grabbing for it with my eyes still closed.

Andria

I was mostly comparing to just after quitting tobacco. To be honest, I really haven't had a chest cold now for about 2 years since I quit smoking. I get a slight cough from dry throat, but water cures that pretty fast. I did find it harder to clear mucus after surgery, since a fluid had built up in my lungs during the 8 hours I was out during the surgery, and coughing hurt like hell, since it was open heart surgery (for dissected aorta). LOL Felt like they butterflied me like a shrimp.... but that got better as the muscles healed.
I do recall that it was much less this time than it was when I was still smoking, and I came to a lot easier. (didnt feel like I was drowning this time)

 

[AndriaD]

I was mostly comparing to just after quitting tobacco. To be honest, I really haven't had a chest cold now for about 2 years since I quit smoking. I get a slight cough from dry throat, but water cures that pretty fast. I did find it harder to clear mucus after surgery, since a fluid had built up in my lungs during the 8 hours I was out during the surgery, and coughing hurt like hell, since it was open heart surgery (for dissected aorta). LOL Felt like they butterflied me like a shrimp.... but that got better as the muscles healed.
I do recall that it was much less this time than it was when I was still smoking, and I came to a lot easier. (didnt feel like I was drowning this time)

I've suffered one or two very minor head colds in the near-4 yrs I've been smoke-free, and frankly, it took me quite a few days to even realize that I was sick, they WERE so very minor -- no serious coughing to speak of, but the regular amount of coughing I have to do became easier because there was more phlegm to move. My major complaint in both instances was that I couldn't taste my vape, so I didn't vape much at all. The flu back in Feb was a horse of another color entirely. I had all the usual symptoms, and even a cough, at first, but it was vastly different from the flu when I was a smoker -- I didn't sound like a TB victim, though I did feel very short of breath for almost the entire illness -- apparently bronchitis, and after the flu was gone, I needed a short course of antibiotics to clear that up. And I didn't vape at all for over a week, mainly because I just couldn't breathe; I'd take a short mouth-only hit every once in a while, to make sure it still tasted good to me, but I felt no particular need of it, and that was VERY different from when I had the flu as a smoker -- I was GOING TO smoke, no matter what; vaping is much more a volitional activity, than a need, most of the time. At this point, I'd say it's a need only for those rare times when the thought of a cigarette seems appealing.

I had some surgery a few months after I first switched to vaping, and that experience was vastly different from the last time I was under gen'l anesthetic; the last time, I was only out for maybe 10 mins (c-section); I'd been a smoker then for about 13-14 yrs, and I required almost a full week of "breathing treatments" to get my asthma back into control. This last time, I was under for about 45 mins (appendectomy)... and when I woke, my husband had to remind me to use my Ventolin, my lungs were so completely clear. Obviously quite a bit different from 8 hrs of open chest cavity!

Andria