Advice on VG liquid

MollyZ

I started vaping on Thursday and from the start I found it was quite hard on my throat but didn't really think anything of it - I thought this must the throat hit that I'd read so much about. But over the past 24 hours or so it has gotten really bad and I also have a sort of raw feeling at the back of my tongue and down into my chest. It's really, really uncomfortable so last night I decided to do a bit of googling to see if this was normal and came across some stuff about allergies to PG liquid and I think this might be what is happening with me so I looked into trying to find some VG juice. I found some on the ecigshop website and am going to order some juice with higher VG levels and some pure VG juice to see if this helps. But I also read some stuff about the VG juice being hard to use with some hardware. I have an imist 2 and as far as I can determine it should be okay with VG juice. But I just wanted to check here with anyone who has experience of using VG juice whether there is anything else I should be ordering, or would anyone have any recommendations regarding VG juice in general.

I want to get this ordered and delivered as soon as possible as it's getting to the point where I'm finding it quite difficult to vape and I'm really worried I'm going to end up back on the fags - I really, really don't want that to happen. So if anyone has any advice at all I would really appreciate it. It's a total PITA as I ordered about €50 worth of juice with my imist which I think is going to be pretty useless to me.

Vaperus

VG Liquid is thicker than PG and PG gives a bigger throat hit than VG which is why they are usually mixed to get the best of both worlds
Because VG is thicker it doesnt work well in some devices but it can be thinned down using Vodka or Distilled water

MollyZ

Thanks vaperus. So I just need to thin it down and all will be okay. That's great to know. The way I'm feeling at the moment, I'll definitely be taking the vodka option!

Vaperus

Vodka also gives you a throat hit, should only take a few drops to water it down. People use between 5 and 20%

Vaperus

Although Possible, you may not be allergic. Sometimes it can be down to your body recovering from smoking, make sure your drinking lots of water. I also had soar throats for a while and they cleared up. Nicotine overdose can cause similar symptoms

toadinhole

what juices do you have and nic strength? i had a problem starting because i was not holding the vapour in my mouth before inhaling and trying to get it straight into my lungs
you could maybe get some glycerine b.p.[what vg in juice is} from a pharmacy if any open today and dilute your strongest flavour juice with it

StickyIcky

Agreed. It could be you're not allergic to PG and your body is going through it's withdrawal and recovery issues. Lots of people on here before have complained of rashes, sore lips, etc, and it went away 1-2 weeks later.

What eliquids are you vaping exactly?

Also if you're every concerned go see your doctor, better safe than sorry.

As mentioned vaping actually slowly dehydrates you because when you exhale vapour some of that vapour is the water from inside your mouth and throat. So make sure you sip away slowly at water or a good juice during the day. In one hand it's a bad thing, in the other hand it's good because it reminds you when you vape to drink, and if you'll do you'll end up actually more hydrated than you were before.

MollyZ

@vaperus - I hope you're right. It would be great if it was just a transition thing and passed in a couple of weeks. It just feels so sore right now, it's like a burning feeling from the back of my tongue right down into my chest. All I'm really worried about is that I'll end up smoking again and I really don't want that to happen

@toadinhole and StickyIcky - the juices I've been using most are Dekang menthol at 24mg and Dekang watermelon at 18mg. I've been trying to stick mainly to the 18mg watermelon and just use the menthol when I'm feeling really strong desire to have a fag. I've also used a couple of t-juices - vamp vape and high voltage - they're both 16mg but I've only used tiny bits of them. And I've been drinking tons of water since I started so I don't think that's the problem. I'll try and get some of that stuff from the chemist tomorrow to dilute the juice and see if that helps.

I'm going to order a couple of small bottle of VG juice just to see whether they help. If it still hurts then at least I'll know it's not from the PG and will probably pass. All I'm really worried about is that it'll get worse and I'll have to stop vaping the juice I have and will end up having cigarettes instead. It took a bit of will power but I only had one cigarette all day yesterday and I cannot tell you how pleased I was about that - I wouldn't have thought it was possible a week ago, so it's working and I'm delighted and don't want to stop.

Anyway, thanks a million for the help and advice. I'd be lost without it, and would definitely still be smoking!

grindle

MollyZ wrote: »

It just feels so sore right now, it's like a burning feeling from the back of my tongue right down into my chest.

Not sure if this is a stupid question or not, but... Have you ever had heartburn before? Because this sounds like heartburn. Pop a Rennie and see what happens.

StickyIcky

Just so you know, the things that tend to make vaping hard on the back of your throat are higher nicotine levels, higher PG levels, and if you vape 100% VG and water it down with Vodka that increases the throathit too, where as distilled water doesn't. If you were to vape 100% VG or 90% VG and 10% distilled water with zero nicotine you probably wouldn't feel anything.

I hope you can figure out what's happening, what's wrong.

If it's a case you have to smoke the occassional cigarette to get you by don't feel bad about it. Instead feel good about the times when you don't have a cigarette. It will take a little bit of time to make the conversion.

FYI it appears both Dekang and T-Juice are 80/20 PG/VG mix so they're pretty high on the PG (Which isn't uncommon).

Personally I prefer juices that are closer to a 50/50 ratio and 12mg nicotine because I've a fairly low tolerance for throathit myself.

MollyZ

Hi grindle, it's definitely not heartburn, I've had it many times before. I'm not describing very well if that's what it sounds like Maybe this is better way of putting it - it feels like someone has taken sandpaper to my tongue throat and windpipe! Sorry, I'm crap at trying to describe things like this.

MollyZ

StickyIcky wrote: »

Just so you know, the things that tend to make vaping hard on the back of your throat are higher nicotine levels, higher PG levels, and if you vape 100% VG and water it down with Vodka that increases the throathit too, where as distilled water doesn't. If you were to vape 100% VG or 90% VG and 10% distilled water with zero nicotine you probably wouldn't feel anything.

I hope you can figure out what's happening, what's wrong.

If it's a case you have to smoke the occassional cigarette to get you by don't feel bad about it. Instead feel good about the times when you don't have a cigarette. It will take a little bit of time to make the conversion.

FYI it appears both Dekang and T-Juice are 80/20 PG/VG mix so they're pretty high on the PG (Which isn't uncommon).

Personally I prefer juices that are closer to a 50/50 ratio and 12mg nicotine because I've a fairly low tolerance for throathit myself.

Thanks for this StickyIcky. I've just ordered a few small bottle of 70% VG, 60% VG and 100% VG in strengths of 12, 18 and 24 mg so I'll see how I get on with those. And I'll get a bottle of distilled water too in case the vodka doesn't work out. At this stage I'd do anything to stay on the vaping as I know it'll get me off the cigarettes - I almost can't believe I'm nearly a non-smoker!

superneat

MollyZ wrote: »

Hi grindle, it's definitely not heartburn, I've had it many times before. I'm not describing very well if that's what it sounds like Maybe this is better way of putting it - it feels like someone has taken sandpaper to my tongue throat and windpipe! Sorry, I'm crap at trying to describe things like this.

I had that for the first two weeks, maybe not as harsh as you, but noticeable all the same.

It will go away, as said before, keeping hydrated is important at the start.

StickyIcky

It's so awesome (vaping) no smelly arse smoke - home - breath, no dirty ashtrays full of butts, no going outside in the freezing cold to suck down another cancer stick, no searching around for a lighter, you CAN save money on them although half of us spend as much or more because we want to buy every shiny vaping device that comes out.

I'm sure you'll get past it. I've only been vaping a few months but haven't heard of someone that hasn't gotten on with it yet.

I would be very interested to know what happens. However I think with all that you've ordered above you should find a solution that works. I'd probably start on the 100% VG just to eliminate the PG from the equation. Trial and error. Until then please look after your mouth and throat.

What type of nicotine delivery system (atomiser) are you using? I forgot what kind of setup you were using again.

MollyZ

I'm using an imist 2, and it's been great so far.

I'm sure I'll get things sorted no matter what the cause. I'll let you know how I get on with the VG when it arrives. At least one way or another I'll know if it's the PG or not.

Vaping is a wonderful thing, agree with every word you wrote. I'm just over three days at it and I'm totally converted.

Mr. Chrome

I feel like that every morning, like I smoked 40 fags the night before, I do vape in bed quiet alot but I drink water with it, the pain in my throat goes after a few cups of coffee and some water.
I also use dekang 70/30!

StickyIcky

MollyZ wrote: »

I'm using an imist 2, and it's been great so far.

Okay. Just out of interest try buying some Boge cartomisers. Get a couple of Standard Resistance ones and a couple of Low Resistance ones.

Low resistance basically mean's they take more power from the battery which mean's they get hotter faster, which means they create more vapour, a warmer vapour and more throat hit. Also they use up battery power quicker.

It's good to have standard and low on hand so you can try both kinds and compare them. They only cost €1.50 each and will last you several days, depending on usage, even up to a week. Also you can boil them to clean them out and reuse them again once more before they're for the bin.

They will screw onto your existing battery.

I'm just saying because it's another thing that you can try to eliminate one of the variables of your current setup, i.e. the nicotine delivery system.

I think by working on the variable of the liquid and the variable of the delivery system... if that doesn't work nothing will Oh and time also, you might find that for example VG liquid works for you but in the future you'll be able to vape PG/VG mixes again with no problem. I dunno. Either way I wanna find out, so post back with a result when you find one. Good luck and take care.

MollyZ

Thanks StickyIcky. I'll try the cartomisers too, and I'll post back with results!

MollyZ

Just an update to this - I've been trying out different PG:VG ratios, different nicotine levels and the cartos over the past couple of weeks and this is what I've found.

1. Higher VG liquids definitely suit me better, though I wasn't too keen on 100% VG. Vaping 40% or 50% VG seems to be working best. Within a couple of hours of stopping with the 80% PG the irritation in my throat had improved a lot. I switched back to the higher PG level after about a week away from it just to see what would happen, and the irritation returned so I know to avoid high PG liquids. Even with the higher VG content though, I've come across a couple of liquids that don't seem to suit me - I'm guessing it's something in the flavour, but mostly the higher VG is grand.

2. Higher nic levels don't seem to irritate my throat. I can feel the higher nic level in my throat - throat hit I guess - but it doesn't cause the kind of irritation that higher PG levels cause.

3. I tried the boge cartos at low and standard resistance but I didn't really like them - they seemed to change the flavour of the juice in ways that I didn't really like. I ordered a few of each so I've kept the spares in case something happens and both my imists fail, but other than that I can't see myself using them.

So, I do think I have some sort of sensitivity to PG and maybe a couple of flavours, but I've found plenty of juices that I can vape with no problem so all is good. And the best thing of all it, I haven't had a cigarette for 15 days! I hasn't always been easy, but it hasn't been that bad either and I am well pleased!

grindle

MollyZ wrote: »

3. I tried the boge cartos at low and standard resistance but I didn't really like them - they seemed to change the flavour of the juice in ways that I didn't really like.

Filler taste, bleurgh. Some people seem more susceptible to it than others. Had a guy visit me last week and he prefers cartos to all the clearos he's tried so far.

MollyZ

Thought it must be the taste of the filler but I wasn't sure. Didn't care for it at all. Good to try it out though.

richardw001

One of the experts here would probably confirm - however in terms of your 80% PG liquids that you have left over - you can probably change the consistency using VG from boots or one of the eshops if you want to get some use out of them.
Either that or swap them for something on here.

StickyIcky

Awesome. Great to hear the update. I'm the same, some flavours I can't vape. Thanks for posting again. Brilliant news about no fags in the past 15 days. Bet that's a shocker. Once you're totally confident your off them the next thing in my opinion is vaping for the flavour and enjoy, not because your addicted to nicotine. Even though nicotine is highly addictive I wouldn't be worried if I had none for days. Unless I was drinking, god I really need a vape when I drink

MollyZ

StickyIcky wrote: »

Brilliant news about no fags in the past 15 days. Bet that's a shocker.

You said it! I still can't believe it. I found this thing on the internet that counts the days and I just keep looking at it. Still find myself reaching for the tobacco sometimes, just out of habit, but that seems to be happening less often. There have been times when I've really felt like having one but it hasn't been too hard to resist and that seems to be happening less often too.

StickyIcky wrote: »

Once you're totally confident your off them the next thing in my opinion is vaping for the flavour and enjoy, not because your addicted to nicotine. Even though nicotine is highly addictive I wouldn't be worried if I had none for days. Unless I was drinking, god I really need a vape when I drink

Can't wait to get to that point. One thing I discovered when I was trying out the different liquids and strengths was that mostly I can cope with 18mg or even 12 sometimes. I had been on 24 and when I really feel like a cigarette I'll have some 24 but once I've settled into vaping properly I'm going to start trying to get the nic down - would love to get to 0 nic at some point. Just don't want to be addicted to the stuff anymore.

@richardw001 - thanks for the advice. Was thinking of mixing some of the 80% pg stuff with some of the 100% vg that I have and see how that works out. If I can't use some of the stuff I have I will try and swap it but even if I can't, it's all been worth it anyway. Before I found out about vaping I was thinking of paying a hypnotist €500 to get me off the smokes. Never believed I could do it.

was.deevey

I know 24mg juice used to completely rip the throat off of me (I was a 30 a day smoker and I thought I needed the higher nicotine levels)

Wiser now I'm using only 10mg, which has a much smoother and better flavor, no throat burning sensation and I just vape more than might have been necessary with 24mg, but I enjoy vaping so no biggie.

I'd highly recommend adding perhaps 20% regular Glycerine (from a pharmacy) to a bottle and letting it sit for a day or two before vaping it to allow the flavour to come out.

Currently I vape my own Juice exclusively BTW which is 70% VG and 30% PG, I have made up batches of Plain VG/Vodka juice but just never "hit the spot" for me.

Of course if you are allergic to PG you will need to switch to 100% VG, but honestly I think its probably just the mg of nicotine

StickyIcky

I just love stories like this aye. I managed to give them up several years ago about about 7 failed attempts. I hated them and I kinda hated myself for ending up back outside smoking again. Eventually gave up at age 25 but after returning home to Ireland and being in the outdoor drinking areas with mates I ended up smoking but only while drinking. When I saw an e-cig first time I thought awesome... now I can 'smoke' while I drink and not get cancer because of it.

Not hiring a hypnotist is great and vaping something like 6mg when your just doing it for habit and something like 18mg+ when you actually want the nicotine rush is a good idea. You'll have to get menthol or some of those 'extra bite' flavours for the throat hit, or add vodka or something to anything lower than 10mg because around 8-6mg the throat hit almost disappears. It's lovely for flavour and vapour but nill throat hit.

MollyZ

was.deevey wrote: »

I'd highly recommend adding perhaps 20% regular Glycerine (from a pharmacy) to a bottle and letting it sit for a day or two before vaping it to allow the flavour to come out.

Thanks was.deevey, I'll give this a try.

StickyIcky wrote: »

Not hiring a hypnotist is great

I couldn't agree more, and I was never convinced it would work either. This forum changed my life, seriously! :D

Rattleshakes

Erm..by any chance did you have a pipe in your mouth when you typed this?

StickyIcky wrote: »

I just love stories like this aye.

Or maybe you were stroking your beard,or maybe Grindles,or maybe all 3?!:eek:

Rattleshakes

Hmmmm.....will add the above to the "ffs went way over their head pile"

-or maybe the "just wasn't funny pile"

-or better still! the "..tough crowd tonight pile"

Will make a copy of each:(

grindle

Ah now, it's just it wasn't anybody's beard that was getting stroked so it felt a bit awkward.

StickIcky by name, sticky hands by nature.

Zelda247

my husband has been vaping now for 2 months but he has a soreness in his throat and feels as if he is losing his voice, he is using 18mg Liquia tobacco flavour do you think a different brand would help ?