I like ancedotal information....it's about as valid as scientist who are bought and sold like 20.00 whores, by goverment offials and corporations....so....how bad had your breathing got from smoking, and how much did it improve when your became a vaper.
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how bad was your breathing before you vaped.
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I've been vaping (only) for 1 year, this week. Dropped the stinky sticks altogether last February. Hooray for me !
I've had no noticeable difference in quality, depth or ease of breath. I've never had any respiratory problems (asthma, bronchitis, copd, etc.). I also had no noticeable breathing difficulties while smoking (30yr smoker) either.
I would attribute most of any breathing issues to my fat ass being out of shape, having little to no cardio exercise at all. Its not like I expected some miracle new breathe of life to my lungs, either. Just like any other part of my body, I have to exercise it to make it stronger.
But I have become one of those people I used to hate in the fact that I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke.....
I have noticed that food tastes better, which for me could be dangerous.... lol
I've had no noticeable difference in quality, depth or ease of breath. I've never had any respiratory problems (asthma, bronchitis, copd, etc.). I also had no noticeable breathing difficulties while smoking (30yr smoker) either.
I would attribute most of any breathing issues to my fat ass being out of shape, having little to no cardio exercise at all. Its not like I expected some miracle new breathe of life to my lungs, either. Just like any other part of my body, I have to exercise it to make it stronger.
But I have become one of those people I used to hate in the fact that I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke.....
I have noticed that food tastes better, which for me could be dangerous.... lol
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Great question! I have has asthma since I was a child. I smoked from age 16 to age 24.5. Since I stopped smoking for good about 14 months ago, I have noticed a HUGE improvement in my lung capacity and breathing ability. Before switching to vaping, I lost 60lbs, was working out constantly, riding my bike all the time, and just generally dieting and losing weight. Went down from 220 to 145 after a year, all while still smoking, and was feeling what I though was really good. After loosing all the weight, I decided it was finally time to quit smokes for good. I went to vaping full time 14 months ago and I've got to say, it has been amazing as far as lung capacity, coughing, and shortness of breath goes. I thought that after loosing all the weight, working out, and riding my bike for miles that I was at the best I could possibly be. It had definitely improved after loosing the weight, but after switching to vaping, it has improved incredibly! I don't cough when I wake up, I rarely cough during the day as I did before. When I get sick, even with a cold that feels terrible, I don't hack up a lung like I used to, even after I got in great shape. I stand by vaping to the fullest, it has really changed my life along with people around me who I have practically forced to switch to it! 
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Good for you man, getting an old friend off of a 40+ year habit, he has COPD and is on oxygen 24/7 and still smoking. Got him down to a little less than half of what he was using, he is getting there and it is very exciting to hear him say that he is down on his cigs each week
awesomee!!Good for you man, getting an old friend off of a 40+ year habit, he has COPD and is on oxygen 24/7 and still smoking. Got him down to a little less than half of what he was using, he is getting there and it is very exciting to hear him say that he is down on his cigs each week
The surgeon was floored when I told him I was a 2-4 pack a day smoker for 26 years and have been smoke free for 4.
He told me my lungs were exceptionally clear, the post surgery lung volume was beyond great and asked how I did it. I showed him my vape set up with half the resistance air flow than the breathing device and he told me to keep it up.
He told me my lungs were exceptionally clear, the post surgery lung volume was beyond great and asked how I did it. I showed him my vape set up with half the resistance air flow than the breathing device and he told me to keep it up.
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That is AWESOME! These are the kind of things that doctors need to be sharing with the public, not bashing things they don't understand. That is great man, how wonderful!
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I'm trying
. It is a struggle, but I visit him every week bringing him new flavors to try and it seems to help a lot!how much better is your breathing now than it was when you started vaping.
Before I started to vape, climbing 2 sets of stairs would put me into a wheezing coughing fit. I take the stairs at work now rather than the elevator, 6 floors. No wheezing, no coughing, and I am not out of breath.
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Right there with you, it is insane how much better it is without smoking, what a difference!
My Doctor said : If you would have waited an hour longer to see me, you would be dead. Stop Smoking right now or you will die within 24 hours. He never joked. Damn good incentive.
Two years later I play a trumpet again, bike, & can smell things from a great distance.
50 years of smoking I kept getting lung infections, couldn't cross the street without breathing hard and they wanted to put me on oxygen. 6 weeks after I started vaping the Dr. said my lungs never sounded as clear. 1 year plus and I never felt as good.
Saved my life.
Saved my life.
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That is so wonderful man, what a great thing!
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To be perfectly honest... my "breathing" was actually better before I switched to vaping -- I didn't get asthma till I had already been a smoker for 10 yrs, and over the decades, I had arrived at a fine balance between my smoking and my asthma. (When cigarettes first came out, they used to be called "asthma cigarettes," and I can understand why!) Before vaping, I needed only a rescue inhaler; after I stopped smoking and started vaping, I also had to add Advair as a maintenance medication; started out with the lower steroid dosage (250/50), and a couple months later, had to go to the higher steroid dosage (500/50). I figured all along that the longer I stayed off cigarettes, the more my lungs would heal, and that seems to be true; very, very slowly, my breathing has gradually improved, so that when I go for my next asthma checkup (April), I plan to ask to go back to the 250/50 Advair.
The real improvement that I have seen is that I haven't had a cold since just before I started vaping, in Jan 2014. Also, when I wake in the morning, I don't have 30 minutes of coughing-up; now it's a minute or two, and I'm good, and I can start vaping after I've been awake about 5-10 minutes -- I never could have my first smoke of the day until I'd been awake at least a half hour.
One of the factors that I think has caused me more problems with my breathing is WTA -- when I *first* made the switch, I wasn't using WTA, and actually my breathing did improve pretty substantially, almost right away, though I quickly discovered that if I use more than 15%-20% VG, I can't breathe at all, it glues my airways closed. But after I'd been smoke-free for almost 4 months, lungs clear as a bell, I had an emergency appendectomy, and afterward, I ended up having a month-long relapse to dual-use; when I finally did make it back to smoke-free, 10 days later the cravings came back, so instead of having yet another relapse, I tried WTA, which completely removed the cravings -- however it also messed with my breathing pretty badly; I figured I'd endure it until I could wean down from the WTA; I'm now adding WTA to my mixes only at .3% (I started at 10% in August 2014), and I think the gradual lessening of the WTA, along with the post-smoking healing, is why my breathing has slowly improved.
But the main thing I've had to realize is that though I'm a lot healthier in general, I still have asthma; that's never going to change. But maybe as more and more years go by without smoking, my lungs will continue to improve so that maybe the asthma will bother me less and less.
Andria
The real improvement that I have seen is that I haven't had a cold since just before I started vaping, in Jan 2014. Also, when I wake in the morning, I don't have 30 minutes of coughing-up; now it's a minute or two, and I'm good, and I can start vaping after I've been awake about 5-10 minutes -- I never could have my first smoke of the day until I'd been awake at least a half hour.
One of the factors that I think has caused me more problems with my breathing is WTA -- when I *first* made the switch, I wasn't using WTA, and actually my breathing did improve pretty substantially, almost right away, though I quickly discovered that if I use more than 15%-20% VG, I can't breathe at all, it glues my airways closed. But after I'd been smoke-free for almost 4 months, lungs clear as a bell, I had an emergency appendectomy, and afterward, I ended up having a month-long relapse to dual-use; when I finally did make it back to smoke-free, 10 days later the cravings came back, so instead of having yet another relapse, I tried WTA, which completely removed the cravings -- however it also messed with my breathing pretty badly; I figured I'd endure it until I could wean down from the WTA; I'm now adding WTA to my mixes only at .3% (I started at 10% in August 2014), and I think the gradual lessening of the WTA, along with the post-smoking healing, is why my breathing has slowly improved.
But the main thing I've had to realize is that though I'm a lot healthier in general, I still have asthma; that's never going to change. But maybe as more and more years go by without smoking, my lungs will continue to improve so that maybe the asthma will bother me less and less.
Andria
Same here , I was diagnosed with asthma a year before I started vaping (5 years ago), I use the Spiriva inhaller as prescribed, that helped some as I was borderline COPD, from many years of smoking, after starting to vape, a year after I went in for full tests, chest xrays breathing , the whole 9's....They all showed remarkable improvements, the doctor was happy I gave up the smokes 5 years ago, and cut my inhaler dosage back to only once a day. No wheezing , and I don't cough at all anymore. I'm convinced vaping has helped me breath again.
I couldn't breathe well at all, I was always out of breath, I wheezed loudly on any effort, I couldn't complete a sentence without coughing, I had bronchitis all the time, I was dying...I started vaping more than 5 years ago.. the best 5 years in my life, I haven't had a respiratory infection all 5 years, breathing is not an effort, I don't wheeze, I feel that vaping granted me a new start in life with all the perks of not smoking those damn stinkers
My breathing was labored by the smallest tasks and my son suffered from asthma attacks every season change. I also had bronchitis every winter. Once I started vaping my sons asthma attacks disappeared and I have not even had as much as a sinus infection since I started vaping (been vaping over 3 years now). I can do fitness walking and stairs and not have issues breathing (which is good cause now I have a 2 block walk to and from work every day that would have killed me before vaping.
I was constantly short of breath before i vaped... sometimed i struggled catching it.
I still get short of breath on ocassions but nothing like it was. In fact its rare, but id be lyin if i said it never happened.
Edit: also before i vaped every morning was a session of clearing my sinuses... usually multicolored muccous. THAT never happens now....
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I still get short of breath on ocassions but nothing like it was. In fact its rare, but id be lyin if i said it never happened.
Edit: also before i vaped every morning was a session of clearing my sinuses... usually multicolored muccous. THAT never happens now....
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It took longer for my sinuses to clear out, than my lungs. Possibly because I do use bronchodilator inhalers and have mastered the productive cough... and I was suffering a really bad cold at the time I first started vaping, and was still throwing off congestion when I finally got smoke-free, about 3 wks later.
Andria
how long did you smoke how much.
how long did you smoke how much
I smoked for 25+ years and at the end was pack a day camel smoker.
I smoked for 35+ years at about a pack a day. I did finally quit successfully 12/98 only to discover that I had ulcerative colitis and that the nic in cigs was helping to keep it under control. My gi doc and I tried every med on the market to control the colitis but I am allergic to all of them so he told me I had to start smoking cigs again or live in and out of hospitals the rest of my life. So I started smoking again. I tried patches, but I am also allergic to latex so they caused me other issues because of that and didn't really help with the colitis at all. Nic gum just plain didn't work. So about 2011 I tried cig-a-likes, nope, didn't help the colitis and I actually wanted cigs more. Tried numerous different e-pens didn't really help either. Then 12/2015 I decided to spend the money on a mod setup and that on 1/1/2016 I would try the evic vtc mini. I haven't had a cig since that day. Walking up a short flight of stairs in December caused me to be short of breath before getting to the top, now no shortness of breath at all. I couldn't walk out to the end of the short driveway to get the mail without being short of breath, all better. Running, lol couldn't even try it before, now running no issue. The colitis is under control at about 6mg nic in juice. And I have lost about 15 pounds also. Has vaping improved my lifestyle? I say hell yes, and in many different ways.
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It was bad, but been vapeing a while now and I don't have a benchmark but last week I was in GA on business and a colleague and I took the opportunity over the weekend to see the Appalachian trail. We completed 26 miles in 1 day. That's damn good for someone who has never smoked.
After quitting smoking I decided to test my Blood Oxygen level with a Pulse Oximeter. After 35 years of smoking I was actually afraid to stick it on my finger. After Vaping up a storm cloud in my office I chose to do it and registered a 97. Then I went outside in the cold and was doing physical work moving hydraulic jacks and working on a tire. Came back in vaped without realizing it and registered a 98.
Wife was on three puffers 4 times a day. After vaping she uses one puffer just occasionally now when damp outside.
Played hockey one or two times at most a week the past ten years. I dehydrated myself and collaped on a hockey rink. two years ago. Tried to tell the doctor it was dehydration and he would have no part of that. I under went 6 months of tests and retests. Did every test known to mankind and doctor called me in six months later and said "I have no idea what the heck you are doing but you have never been so healthy". Told him I quit smoking a year ago and now I vape. He said " you keep vaping then". He then changed my file to non smoker. Fourty two years smoking and non smoker is something I would have never guessed I would see in my life time. This winter I was playing hockey four times a week. Not bad at 56 years old.
Those are two examples out of my own house so I know for an absolute fact it is a massive harm reduction at worst. Been vaping close to three years now.
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Played hockey one or two times at most a week the past ten years. I dehydrated myself and collaped on a hockey rink. two years ago. Tried to tell the doctor it was dehydration and he would have no part of that. I under went 6 months of tests and retests. Did every test known to mankind and doctor called me in six months later and said "I have no idea what the heck you are doing but you have never been so healthy". Told him I quit smoking a year ago and now I vape. He said " you keep vaping then". He then changed my file to non smoker. Fourty two years smoking and non smoker is something I would have never guessed I would see in my life time. This winter I was playing hockey four times a week. Not bad at 56 years old.
Those are two examples out of my own house so I know for an absolute fact it is a massive harm reduction at worst. Been vaping close to three years now.
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Asthma but very close to COPD. Her breathing went as low as 89. We were told any lower and oxygen in the house would be mandatory. Now her breathing is up 95 or 96 most days unless sick and drops to low 90's. Drops when damp out but a far cry from the high eighties were it was smoking three years ago when she was on her death bed. Not nice being told your loved one will likely be dead by morning. That's how we got into vaping three years ago.
Since I have been dealing with breathing issues for a pretty long time with family members the number is 88 when Medicare pays for Oxygen and not the mandatory number to require Oxygen. Depending on the Pulmonary Specialist you are speaking to some will say you belong on Oxygen at 90.
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Hmm, very interesting. I'm always interested in hearing about other asthmatics' experiences with vaping, my own has been so strange. My asthma has always been pretty mild; when I smoked, although the doc kept trying to push Advair on me, I didn't feel I really needed it, as my prescribed 8 puffs daily of Ventolin was doing the job just fine. Unless I had a cold or something; then, I would gladly use some type of steroidal inhaler just to survive the massively-increased amounts of mucus, keep the inflammation down so I could cough it up and get rid of it.
When I first started vaping, my asthma seemed to improve dramatically -- except for when I tried 67/33 PG/VG; that much VG rendered me almost completely unable to breathe; I went back to 80% PG and the problem went away. Then I had the appendectomy, month-long relapse to dual-use, then addition of WTA to eliminate cravings after I got smoke-free again -- and my breathing went straight to hell. I had to go to 85% PG, but still couldn't eliminate the wheezing breathlessness, so I finally asked my doc to prescribe that Advair. It's helped, but still not entirely eliminated the wheezing breathlessness. I'm now free of WTA, but still struggle with my asthma on a daily basis, though I vape less than 5ml per day, MtL, at low wattage and high ohms -- not a lot of heat, not a lot of vapor. One would think my asthma should be doing much better than it is. I really can't understand why it's not better.
It worries me, because back in the fall I got a serious bacterial sinus infection, and I think the compromised immunity of steroid use is part of the reason why I couldn't shake that off and finally needed amtibiotics. Recently, I've suffered major headaches now for about 2 wks, though with few other symptoms -- none of the fever I had with that bacterial infection, and just a little coughing-up. Maybe a cold, but the headaches seem far out of proportion to any cold I've ever suffered, and it makes me think that again, the steroids are the culprit. But without them, I can barely breathe.
Just not sure how to address all this. If I quit vaping, I'm pretty sure that cravings for cigarettes will return, and I'm shitty at resisting cravings, even though I really don't want to smoke again.
Andria
2 packs a day 35 years,, and strangely i i had no breathing issues,,, actually healthy as a horse most of my life.......what i did notice was improved lung capacity and increased stamina - this summer will be the real test in # of laps in the pool
with the lung capacity,, early on it became a game for me to see if i could take bigger / longer hits ... yes,, i kept going up.
with the lung capacity,, early on it became a game for me to see if i could take bigger / longer hits ... yes,, i kept going up.
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Yeah it's pretty thin, and I think that's why I can vape it. When I was trying to figure out how to deal with PG/VG, I tried diluting VG with purified water, and it helped, it didn't suffocate me so badly, but it caused a lot of unpleasant popping and spitting, so I gave up on it and just went to 85% PG.
Andria
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Shrug. Having never been able to deal with VG, and also wanting lots of TH, it is what it is. I still add FA Flash to get more.
Andria
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TH is mostly about nicotine; higher PG accentuates it. I use only 5mg, so I don't get a lot from the nicotine... hence using FA Flash.
Andria
My breathing wasnt terrible, but it wasnt good either. I had some phlem and stuff coming up fairly often, and seemed to get colds pretty frequently, but other than that had no serious lung issues. However my "gas tank" was very small. Id get a little winded just walking up a flight of steps. Heart rate would spike very easily. Walking down to the mailbox and back (involves walking down a steep hill and then back up) would damn near kill me lol, Id be completely out of breath, dry mouthed, and heart pounding in my ears.
Now though its gotten better. The phlem is still sligtly present, but getting better. Dont seem to get sick as often (its only been about 4 months, and about 2 1/2 -3 without cigs). And my "gas tank" has gotten loads better/ Its really the most noticeable change. The mailbox walk that used to destroy me is nothing now. I dont get out of breath as easy at all. I can make that walk and not even breath a little bit heavy. Its pretty amazing to feel that way.
Now though its gotten better. The phlem is still sligtly present, but getting better. Dont seem to get sick as often (its only been about 4 months, and about 2 1/2 -3 without cigs). And my "gas tank" has gotten loads better/ Its really the most noticeable change. The mailbox walk that used to destroy me is nothing now. I dont get out of breath as easy at all. I can make that walk and not even breath a little bit heavy. Its pretty amazing to feel that way.
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For me, I can tell the breathing is better by how long I can speak without running out of breath.
I have to do a lot of public speaking for my job, and the last few years of smoking was a nightmare for me - having to clear your throat excessively is a real turn off when you are trying to get a point across to people. Also had trouble completing short sentences with loud inhaling sounds, lol.
That went away just a few weeks into dual use.
I was having circulatory issues after 37 years at 2.5 PAD. That has greatly diminished, as well as a number of other age related issues are greatly reduced or gone away completely.
I have to do a lot of public speaking for my job, and the last few years of smoking was a nightmare for me - having to clear your throat excessively is a real turn off when you are trying to get a point across to people. Also had trouble completing short sentences with loud inhaling sounds, lol.
That went away just a few weeks into dual use.
I was having circulatory issues after 37 years at 2.5 PAD. That has greatly diminished, as well as a number of other age related issues are greatly reduced or gone away completely.
I was what you call an active smoker. I started in my early mid-teens... ...the exact year is escaping me as that part of my life is starting to run together in my head at times, but it had to be at least half of a decade. I've always been one of those skinny kids with that unshakable cardiovascular system. Seemed like no matter what I put my body through, my resting pulse stayed at 60-70 BPM and my blood pressure was always on-point. I was just constantly moving and putting my lungs to work. I wasn't going insanely heavy on the cardio, but I was SOLID with that shit. I felt great doing it. When I graduated, I was doing physical labor full time out in the Florida heat. For fun, I was skateboarding and doing all forms of cycling (especially anything MTB.)
And even by then, I could feel it holding me back. The tightness. The dull, creeping pain. The occasional and unexpected difficulty recovering. But man did I go! I always felt MORE energized after an hour of moderate cardio. I used to jog in sugar sand just to have an excuse to go to my favorite park, man. The workout wasn't even a thing to me. I'd kill a morning out there just running and hiking... ...just going uninhibited by a damned thing and not thinking a thing of it.
By the time I quit in my early twenties, I was doing 15 mile runs on my bike in 45 minutes... ...several times a week. One of my favorite routes took me over two half-mile, 80 foot bridges. I'm not really bragging, it's not really something to brag about... ...anyone my age could get there in a year or so, but that's pretty good for a 2PAD smoker. Point is, I smoked and this is the kind of shit that was normal for me to do.
Now, did it start to take the piss out of me every single time I did it? Hell yes. After spending ten minutes catching my breath when I got home, I would have to sit hacking up clear, chunky gook into a cup. Usually 2 shot's worth of fluid would come out. Sometimes, that was the most exhausting part of the workout!
I also couldn't sleep on my back because it felt like someone was sitting on my chest and I would just wheeze all night long. I could always kind of feel that in my chest. Every waking moment. Nostrils randomly plugging up got old fast, too. Getting sick every time something came through town was a problem. One year, I used all of my sick days in 6 months because of it... ...and I was truly physically devastated.
By this point, my blood pressure was gradually and consistently rising. My tolerance for that sort of exercise was declining. I was being careful not to push my limits. I did all of the right things when it came to diet and recovery. I know what real burnout feels like and this was different. I was trying to extend my limits, not push through them. And suddenly I was getting to a point where I was feeling it quarter way into routine work outs. Hell, walking a half-mile in the summer time was enough to accelerate my breathing. I was sliding backwards... ...more quickly by the month! Muy es no buen.
That was kind of one of many wake-up calls. I couldn't help but think, "Oh hey, I'm only 21 and this is already starting to fuck me up." From there, I made the connection... "where will I be in 10 years if this is already doing this to me now, even being in my prime and maintaining this otherwise long-standing healthy lifestyle?" It just started making less and less sense to me.
I noticed the changes within two weeks of full-time vaping. Week by week, it was all coming back to me. By the end of the first year, I had upped the intensity beyond anything I had ever withstood. And it never felt so natural to do that. Not once did I feel like I went too far. I actually started holding back, because I felt like I could go further right when I had just gone the furthest I'd ever gone!
The reality was that although I was doing pretty well for a smoker, I was nowhere near the peak of my physical potential. Some of that is probably just my body maturing. I'm almost 26 now and I feel like I'm hitting a different plateau where I can't really seem to get further as quickly, but what I can do keeps getting easier. But I think that's a separate issue.
I think my regular doctor was the one who really solidified what I was experiencing when I switched. The first thing he asked me when he first listened to my breathing after several months off of tobacco was "So, when did you quit smoking?" The funny thing, is, by then, I couldn't give him a straight answer because I couldn't remember. I hadn't felt like a smoker in a long enough time that I had completely stopped counting the days.
I guess its kind of hard for me to say where my lungs were at when I smoked. I tend to notice it more in the things that I can do now than I do in the things I couldn't do then.
I tend to think that what I had going on was relatively minor. I mean, my lungs were basically still functioning beyond your typical healthy person's and the cough was still productive. It wasn't too hard to get past in my day to day... ...just kind of something in the back of my mind. I think there wasn't a whole lot of real damage done. They were just perpetually inhibited by the acute effects of chain smoking. Once I stopped that, things went back to normal very quickly for me.
Maybe it's simplest to just say that I wasn't doing too badly as a smoker, but I've never felt better than I have now, with it several years behind me. I attribute my outcome mostly to luck/genetics and slightly less to having the framework for good health already in place. I basically had just one constant health burden to lift. It was like stepping down from a hot, stagnant attic into a well air-conditioned room. Glad I quit while I was still ahead. Even knowing the dangers, I'm still surprised at how much one can actually lose to the habit in such a short period of time.
And even by then, I could feel it holding me back. The tightness. The dull, creeping pain. The occasional and unexpected difficulty recovering. But man did I go! I always felt MORE energized after an hour of moderate cardio. I used to jog in sugar sand just to have an excuse to go to my favorite park, man. The workout wasn't even a thing to me. I'd kill a morning out there just running and hiking... ...just going uninhibited by a damned thing and not thinking a thing of it.
By the time I quit in my early twenties, I was doing 15 mile runs on my bike in 45 minutes... ...several times a week. One of my favorite routes took me over two half-mile, 80 foot bridges. I'm not really bragging, it's not really something to brag about... ...anyone my age could get there in a year or so, but that's pretty good for a 2PAD smoker. Point is, I smoked and this is the kind of shit that was normal for me to do.
Now, did it start to take the piss out of me every single time I did it? Hell yes. After spending ten minutes catching my breath when I got home, I would have to sit hacking up clear, chunky gook into a cup. Usually 2 shot's worth of fluid would come out. Sometimes, that was the most exhausting part of the workout!
I also couldn't sleep on my back because it felt like someone was sitting on my chest and I would just wheeze all night long. I could always kind of feel that in my chest. Every waking moment. Nostrils randomly plugging up got old fast, too. Getting sick every time something came through town was a problem. One year, I used all of my sick days in 6 months because of it... ...and I was truly physically devastated.
By this point, my blood pressure was gradually and consistently rising. My tolerance for that sort of exercise was declining. I was being careful not to push my limits. I did all of the right things when it came to diet and recovery. I know what real burnout feels like and this was different. I was trying to extend my limits, not push through them. And suddenly I was getting to a point where I was feeling it quarter way into routine work outs. Hell, walking a half-mile in the summer time was enough to accelerate my breathing. I was sliding backwards... ...more quickly by the month! Muy es no buen.
That was kind of one of many wake-up calls. I couldn't help but think, "Oh hey, I'm only 21 and this is already starting to fuck me up." From there, I made the connection... "where will I be in 10 years if this is already doing this to me now, even being in my prime and maintaining this otherwise long-standing healthy lifestyle?" It just started making less and less sense to me.
I noticed the changes within two weeks of full-time vaping. Week by week, it was all coming back to me. By the end of the first year, I had upped the intensity beyond anything I had ever withstood. And it never felt so natural to do that. Not once did I feel like I went too far. I actually started holding back, because I felt like I could go further right when I had just gone the furthest I'd ever gone!
The reality was that although I was doing pretty well for a smoker, I was nowhere near the peak of my physical potential. Some of that is probably just my body maturing. I'm almost 26 now and I feel like I'm hitting a different plateau where I can't really seem to get further as quickly, but what I can do keeps getting easier. But I think that's a separate issue.
I think my regular doctor was the one who really solidified what I was experiencing when I switched. The first thing he asked me when he first listened to my breathing after several months off of tobacco was "So, when did you quit smoking?" The funny thing, is, by then, I couldn't give him a straight answer because I couldn't remember. I hadn't felt like a smoker in a long enough time that I had completely stopped counting the days.
I guess its kind of hard for me to say where my lungs were at when I smoked. I tend to notice it more in the things that I can do now than I do in the things I couldn't do then.
I tend to think that what I had going on was relatively minor. I mean, my lungs were basically still functioning beyond your typical healthy person's and the cough was still productive. It wasn't too hard to get past in my day to day... ...just kind of something in the back of my mind. I think there wasn't a whole lot of real damage done. They were just perpetually inhibited by the acute effects of chain smoking. Once I stopped that, things went back to normal very quickly for me.
Maybe it's simplest to just say that I wasn't doing too badly as a smoker, but I've never felt better than I have now, with it several years behind me. I attribute my outcome mostly to luck/genetics and slightly less to having the framework for good health already in place. I basically had just one constant health burden to lift. It was like stepping down from a hot, stagnant attic into a well air-conditioned room. Glad I quit while I was still ahead. Even knowing the dangers, I'm still surprised at how much one can actually lose to the habit in such a short period of time.
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I got Asthma as a kid. I smoked for probably 42 years and quit 3 years ago by vaping but occasionally I still have problems breathing and I think it's due to some of the flavors in my juice. So in order to vape I have to use my Advair on a daily basis and also my rescue inhaler but it's so much better than smoking cigarettes. I mix my own juice, and I don't use any of the "popcorn" flavors. (Diacetyl) I think maybe some do have acetoin, or I may be allergic to them. I just watched a YouTube vid by Ron Kaufman about nichrome or ni200 wire being a carcinogen. So I think it would be important to not use it. And I just ordered a Joyetech act mini with a bunch of ni200 coils. Glad I caught that video seaching for atomizer reviews. I think the most annoying thing besides breathing is being so dry. Water doesn't seem to help much.
AndriaD
Yes, I DO wear a mask! I'm vaccinated, too!
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I didn't get asthma till I was 24, had already smoked for 10 yrs. Vaping has actually made my asthma somewhat worse; I didn't need the Advair until I started vaping. I think it's just that without all the crap they put in cigarette tobacco to make your lungs accept hot toxic smoke, lungs become a lot more sensitive to EVERYTHING. Also... I've always found extremely humid weather very bad for my asthma, it feels like trying to breathe jello -- it may be that breathing in moist vapor is doing the same thing that humid weather always did. At this point, I'm just trying to bring my vaping frequency down as much as I can; it's gotten a lot better since I first started, when I was vaping nearly constantly to overcome thoughts and cravings for cigarettes, so it may be that in a few years, I can vape just recreationally -- when I want to, as opposed to a regular daily need.
Andria
Excuse a newbie question but what is WTA?
Whole Tobacco Alkaloids. It's nic plus the other minor alkaloids that are normally present in tobacco. For some folks plain nic isn't enough to get them over the jonesing for a cigarette.
AndriaD
Yes, I DO wear a mask! I'm vaccinated, too!
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
ECF Refugee
Member For 5 Years