Sensitivity to DIY Ingredients?

[Bundy71]

I've been vaping for 3+ years and never had any physical reactions/problems with commercial e-liquid, other than the price!

I'm pretty new to DIY (2 months) and feel like I'm starting to get a "bad" reaction to my eliquid. I was fine for the first month and a half, but every night for the last 10 days or so I get a sore throat and congestion, and wake up the same way. By around noon I seem to be fine. Wash, rinse, repeat.

I use flavorings from all the common name brands: CAP, TPA, FA, FLV, INW, LA, etc., and I don't use excessive amounts in recipes (usually around 8%-12%). My nic is 100mg/ml VaporsTek, and most of my mixes are 3mg. My PG/VG is Nature's Oil from Bulk Apothecary.

I assume it's not the flavorings since they are the same the commercial guys use, which leaves the nic and PG/VG. Has anyone ever had a sensitivity or reaction they were able to track to specific ingredients? Has PG/VG from a specific brand caused anyone problems? Same for nic?

 

[Huckleberried]

Can't say I've had issues with brands, or flavorings, though some have. I do have a sensitivity to VG over 30, though. Luckily I'm a MTL vaper, so that worked out well.

 

[gopher_byrd]

Try vaping your PG/VG unflavored first in the ratio you normally use. No reaction, then add your nic. Still no reaction, then you will need to do single flavor testing to find the culprit. Sorry no magic bullet... Hopefully you don't have 400+ flavors like some of us...

 

[wildgypsy70]

Yup....what @gopher_byrd said. Unfortunate, but what you gotta do. Out of curiosity, what general flavor profile are you using?

 

[wildgypsy70]

Try vaping your PG/VG unflavored first in the ratio you normally use. No reaction, then add your nic. Still no reaction, then you will need to do single flavor testing to find the culprit. Sorry no magic bullet... Hopefully you don't have 400+ flavors like some of us...

Lordy, if I had to do that......I think I might cry.......

 

[Just Frank]

I have a freind that smokes upwards to three packs of cigarettes per day. I got him to try vaping. He was liking it occasionally to supress the urge of lighting a smoke. When he started vaping more often he complained of heaviness in his chest and got scared. I told him we could do a process of elimination to eliminate that ailment. He said fuck it and would just smoke.

 

[Letitia9]

When I started using distilled water in my diy it helped my lungs quite a bit. You can use up to 10%. I would add a few drops to a tank and see if it helps. Or make a 10 ml tester and start with adding 5% dw to the recipe.

 

[voicenyerhed]

When I started using distilled water in my diy it helped my lungs quite a bit. You can use up to 10%. I would add a few drops to a tank and see if it helps. Or make a 10 ml tester and start with adding 5% dw to the recipe.

Did that result in a lot of popping?

Sent from my RCT6303W87DK using Tapatalk

 

[Letitia9]

Did that result in a lot of popping?

Sent from my RCT6303W87DK using Tapatalk

With my first mix I used 10% and the crackling was annoyingly bad. Dropped to 7% and still noisy but not as bad. At 5% it's barely noticeable. I've settled in at max vg/4% dw, only pg comes from flavors. If flavor percent is low I use 5% dw. For my lungs 7% dw was working well, but the 4% helps enough and I like the viscosity better. You just have to play with it. MTL does pretty well max vg/10%dw +flavors. The more open the atty the more noise.

 

[AndriaD]

I've been vaping for 3+ years and never had any physical reactions/problems with commercial e-liquid, other than the price!

I'm pretty new to DIY (2 months) and feel like I'm starting to get a "bad" reaction to my eliquid. I was fine for the first month and a half, but every night for the last 10 days or so I get a sore throat and congestion, and wake up the same way. By around noon I seem to be fine. Wash, rinse, repeat.

I use flavorings from all the common name brands: CAP, TPA, FA, FLV, INW, LA, etc., and I don't use excessive amounts in recipes (usually around 8%-12%). My nic is 100mg/ml VaporsTek, and most of my mixes are 3mg. My PG/VG is Nature's Oil from Bulk Apothecary.

I assume it's not the flavorings since they are the same the commercial guys use, which leaves the nic and PG/VG. Has anyone ever had a sensitivity or reaction they were able to track to specific ingredients? Has PG/VG from a specific brand caused anyone problems? Same for nic?

I'm wondering if, due to DIY not costing nearly as much as bought ejuice, you're simply vaping more? Neither the nic nor the PG/VG you're using should cause any problems; I've used that brand of nic and that brand of PG/VG for about 3 yrs now... UNLESS you've developed an actual allergy to some aspect -- nic, PG, or VG. Sore throat sounds like PG, congestion sounds like VG -- which makes me think, "just too much vaping, period." Or, maybe the hardware/settings you're using are just creating too much vapor which is irritating you.

Vaping is a lot less harmful than smoking, for sure, but that doesn't mean it's completely free of any side effects. Bubble gum is better than street narcotics, but it'll still rot your teeth.

Andria

 

[eStorm]

I had some issues as I started to diy or let me put it this way, in general I had issues with specific brands and flavor profiles as well as pg/VG ratio, but as I then started to diy and went by that information you mostly find on the internet about flavorings, it just got worse lol. Pinned it down after lots of trial and errors, it was my pg/VG ratio as well as my high amount of flavors I used to use, especially custards or custard notes. I still have that issue when I vape the whole week something with these kind of flavors, by the end of the week I feel I'm getting a cold. Just take a look at the juice you're making and maybe adjust the percentages or switch the overall profile for some days?

 

[Bundy71]

Yup....what @gopher_byrd said. Unfortunate, but what you gotta do. Out of curiosity, what general flavor profile are you using?

I pretty much vape fruit mixes exclusively.

 

[Bundy71]

I'm wondering if, due to DIY not costing nearly as much as bought ejuice, you're simply vaping more? Neither the nic nor the PG/VG you're using should cause any problems; I've used that brand of nic and that brand of PG/VG for about 3 yrs now... UNLESS you've developed an actual allergy to some aspect -- nic, PG, or VG. Sore throat sounds like PG, congestion sounds like VG -- which makes me think, "just too much vaping, period." Or, maybe the hardware/settings you're using are just creating too much vapor which is irritating you.

Vaping is a lot less harmful than smoking, for sure, but that doesn't mean it's completely free of any side effects. Bubble gum is better than street narcotics, but it'll still rot your teeth.

Andria

I think you nailed it...well mostly.

I think it may have been a combination of a bug and over-vaping. I'm an all-day chain vaper, and think I was becoming a could chaser with each hit. I toned it down a little and without really changing anything else and it seems to be clearing up. Not 100% yet, but getting there!

 

[AndriaD]

I think you nailed it...well mostly.

I think it may have been a combination of a bug and over-vaping. I'm an all-day chain vaper, and think I was becoming a could chaser with each hit. I toned it down a little and without really changing anything else and it seems to be clearing up. Not 100% yet, but getting there!

Yeah that usually seems to be the case when one experiences side effects that are common to BOTH PG and VG -- if both types of side effects are present, then you can't go to one or the other to alleviate the problem, and that leaves only, cutting down the amount of vapor, or the amount of vaping.

I don't get any irritation from PG at my usual 86%, or really until I go over 90% PG... but even so, with only my usual 14% VG, if I vape too much in a day, that night I get very tight but congested, and I know I need to both turn the power down a little, and also just back off vaping a little. That's the primary reason a) I use so much PG, and b) I vape at such low power levels (usually 9.4w - 9.6w) -- any more exposure than that to vaping, and my asthma pitches a fit. Non-asthmatics obviously have a lot more leeway, but the same principles apply -- your body will let you know if it's too much. Which is really a great thing; cigarette tobacco has a topical anesthetic added, so that people can smoke all they want with very few immediate side effects -- arguably the most evil thing that BT has ever done, cloaking those side effects so that people can continue smoking and not notice the damage till it's too late.

Andria