# PG Allergy



## KrayFish404 (27/1/15)

Sooooo... Oddly I see no posts on this subject.

Am I the only one then?

Been vaping for 3 months, no real troubles, throat hit started getting bad, and then starting coughing, and in the end choking. As in my throat closes completely as if someone glued the valve closed. No air in. No air out.

Went to the doctor, antibiotics, more pills medicine. The weird thing was that the choking was at any time. Even whilst asleep so I never suspected vaping.

It became so bad that it started whilst vaping, and I realised there was mucus being formed as I do, so much so and of such a weird and sticky consistency and that is what forms to cover the irritated areas. And the more irritated it got, the more I could notice what was causing it.

So I noticed some e-liquids was fine, some not. But oddly still not the actual bases. Some 50/50 mix was fine, some not. But it became consistently worse, but realised some of my own e-liquid is perfect - which is 100% VG. 

I got some custom made at 80/20, but even this irritated me. Oddly Heather's at 60/40 was ok with me. I have down-mixed now to 95/5 so that I can just have some flavour and some form of nicotine, luckily today I've had some flavours arrive, as well as some 36% nicotine.

So now I sit with about R4k's worth of e-liquid and missing out on some good imports. No Nicoticket, no Rocket Sheep, not even 5 Pawns. 

So it is mixing my own, or getting custom vapour. So... Any suggestions, I am quite sure some of the vendors would make custom e-liquid.

And if you see me at a meet blowing a humongous cloud... Don't be a hater. I have no choice using 100% VG


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## Derick (27/1/15)

Usually the PG allergy manifests itself as a throat and lung irritation - so the throat burns and the next morning your lungs hurt, but our bodies are funny things, so anything is possible.

You said though that some 50/50 liquids are fine - then I highly doubt it is the PG, perhaps it is just certain flavourings that you are sensitive to ?

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1


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## KrayFish404 (27/1/15)

Oh I wish 

But I have tested every single aspect. The liquids that was fine till the last bit was menthol, but I am assuming it was simply because of it being menthol. And the Heather's which was their waffles, blueberry maple I think. Though I think I have type 2 diabetes after that, sjoe it was sweet!

I do agree, some of the liquids did ease the irritation, but overall they still got me to the cough. I've managed to slowly add some Gambit to straight VG and suck it down, finally to get to 90/10 and I can just barely feel it starting to irritate me again.

Right now every single one of my liquid puts me into a coughing choking fit. I have ordered some flavours from another vendor, but I see it is PG based as well so I will need a very light hand.

I only now see your Nicotine prices... I just thought that 3.6% was way to low. Idiot me didn't realise it translates to 36mg till now. The 30ml I ordered won't last long so you will see me soon.


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## Derick (27/1/15)

KrayFish404 said:


> Oh I wish
> 
> But I have tested every single aspect. The liquids that was fine till the last bit was menthol, but I am assuming it was simply because of it being menthol. And the Heather's which was their waffles, blueberry maple I think. Though I think I have type 2 diabetes after that, sjoe it was sweet!
> 
> ...


I can't really discuss our products in this forum, but glad you found us.

Most flavours are PG based though - it is a good solvent for the flavour companies to get flavours to mix that would not normally mix.

You also sure it's not perhaps a hydration thing? - I know my throat got dry in the beginning from vaping and if I didn't hydrate, the dryness would lead to irritation, which would lead to all kinds of nastiness. Other than that, I guess PG is the culprit, then yeah, mixing your own pure VG liquids is the way to go - for some people though the dense clouds that VG makes can lead to coughing as well 

Lastly, if you are going pure VG you might experience some wicking issues - depending on the atomizer you are using - basically the VG just runs to slow to be sucked up by the wick fast enough, then you get dry hits. Easy way around this would be to add some distilled water to your VG mix, to make it a but runnier - you can go to about 5% water and still not taste any difference. After that some people tend to start tasting a water steam kind of flavour in their vape

Reactions: Like 2 | Winner 1


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## KrayFish404 (27/1/15)

Thanks for that advice. I will add some distilled water, I see they say you can add vodka as well but let's stick to water right now.

I also thought about dehydration, specifically due to the phlegm consistency. But I have lately gone through up to 3 litres of water per day and not even that helped.

I get the cough when doing straight VG as well, but yes it is this thick substance going down your lungs, very unnatural feeling, almost like drowning in "diluted" water, I think that is the best description. It is not an uncomfortable feeling though, just unnatural - hence the cough. Most people can mimic it though - take a huge toot, and then speak while you blow out. Tah-dah!

I prefer a very low temperature. I do .4ohms at 30w, because the heat irritated me as well. And because I knew a single dry hit will probably kill me at this stage I have been extra careful of wicking it properly.

I'll report back when I get the mix right, hopefully tonight.


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## Derick (27/1/15)

KrayFish404 said:


> Thanks for that advice. I will add some distilled water, I see they say you can add vodka as well but let's stick to water right now.
> 
> I also thought about dehydration, specifically due to the phlegm consistency. But I have lately gone through up to 3 litres of water per day and not even that helped.
> 
> ...


Cool, ok, sounds like you have done your re-search  Your description is very close to how a co-worker described high VG vapour to me as well 

Not sure how long you've been vaping, but when I started I struggled with a variety of issues that no-body else seemed to experience (vaping burned my mouth, like pepper) and it all went away after a while. I think it was just something new my body was not used to and it had to adjust.

Best of luck, and if you need some help/advice on the DIY side, you know where to find either me or Melinda  Plus there are plenty of forumites here that are into DIY and all of them would only be happy to help as well

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Andre (27/1/15)

Yes, when this type of reaction occurs it is very hard to pin the exact cause(s) down. 
What I have gleamed from asthmatics is that it differs from person to person. Sometimes it VG, sometimes PG, sometimes a flavour or a combination of flavours. Best imo is to listen to you body.
Dripping or a bottom fed device (like a Reo) handles VG very well.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## HPBotha (28/1/15)

Saw old @KrayFish404 going into his lockdown state - its pretty damn scary. Glad to see that there is some great advice being given by the community. its pretty severe to see a grown man not being able to breathe after taking a toot. I dont have the experience you guys have - all i am saying is it damn scary

Reactions: Like 1


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## Avikaar Sonlall (28/1/15)

I also have a PG sensitivity but in my case it causes me to get rashes on my arms and legs. What I prefer to vape now is anything 65 VG +


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## KrayFish404 (28/1/15)

Derick said:


> Cool, ok, sounds like you have done your re-search  Your description is very close to how a co-worker described high VG vapour to me as well
> 
> Not sure how long you've been vaping, but when I started I struggled with a variety of issues that no-body else seemed to experience (vaping burned my mouth, like pepper) and it all went away after a while. I think it was just something new my body was not used to and it had to adjust.
> 
> Best of luck, and if you need some help/advice on the DIY side, you know where to find either me or Melinda  Plus there are plenty of forumites here that are into DIY and all of them would only be happy to help as well


I've continued to try my private mix tonight, no issues. Tried another 80/20 and I could feel it immediately. Then I made a new mix with 85/15 (unfortunately the flavours I have is PG, so I was forced) and had the same scratchiness in my lung valve. Added more VG to get 90/10 and perfect again.

I also had the pepper burn in the beginning, but like white pepper, that feeling after washing out with Listerine, almost as if a tiny layer of your gums was removed. That did subside as well. One of my colleagues - she fell out in huge zits, at the age of 40. Lol, so glad I didn't have that.

I got your calculator, and played around with a few sites. Seems I am on track.


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## KrayFish404 (28/1/15)

Andre said:


> Yes, when this type of reaction occurs it is very hard to pin the exact cause(s) down.
> What I have gleamed from asthmatics is that it differs from person to person. Sometimes it VG, sometimes PG, sometimes a flavour or a combination of flavours. Best imo is to listen to you body.
> Dripping or a bottom fed device (like a Reo) handles VG very well.


I got the same idea, it has been weeks since I have used any of my atomisers. It has been dripping all the way. And it helps being stingy. R50 for a coil? Hell no! I am getting a lot of joy from my Atomic and FreakShow.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## KrayFish404 (28/1/15)

HPBotha said:


> Saw old @KrayFish404 going into his lockdown state - its pretty damn scary. Glad to see that there is some great advice being given by the community. its pretty severe to see a grown man not being able to breathe after taking a toot. I dont have the experience you guys have - all i am saying is it damn scary


Ha ha ha @HPBotha I have lots of ex girlfriends who would pay to see me in that state of near death!

Reactions: Funny 1


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## KrayFish404 (28/1/15)

Avikaar Sonlall said:


> I also have a PG sensitivity but in my case it causes me to get rashes on my arms and legs. What I prefer to vape now is anything 65 VG +


I was able to relieve some of the phlegm effects with ACC200. You get a rash which I am wondering - that is almost like hay fever - some people get swollen eyes, other sneeze, some gets a rash. Ever tried antihistamine? A cheap one over the counter would be Phenergan, Clicks sells them. They work slowly so take them early, they also don't make you sleepy if you go for the tiny 10mg, not 25mg.

I also have rash outbreaks, after 2 specialists and lots of tests and medicine we finally realised - I am allergic to dust mites. Deathly so. And they come from birds, flippen idiots next door don't want to stop feeding the pigeons so I have about 50 sitting there every morning on my balcony. The pills helped a lot.

Would be interesting to see if that helps you.

Reactions: Like 1


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## zadiac (28/1/15)

How long has this been going on? Sometimes the body just need time to adjust/get used to the pg.


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## KrayFish404 (28/1/15)

zadiac said:


> How long has this been going on? Sometimes the body just need time to adjust/get used to the pg.


I've been vaping since early October 2014. This started just before XMas.


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## rvdwesth (28/1/15)

Hey. My wife has the same problem with PG. We resorted to VG max juices only. Initially it was a bit of a hassle finding liquid that are max VG, yet there are now quite a few local vendors who sell Max VG.
I reverted to DIY liquid as well as importing liquid.

I must admit there are very few resources and recipes for DIY with max VG, so playing around until you find the sweet spot takes some patience.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## willdev (28/1/15)

I have similar reactions to any PG mix. I have found, for me that Johnson Creek VG juices are the cleanest feeling. Most of their VGs also do not have the "thick to wick" problem a lot of other VGs have. Yes, it is still not the same as PG in terms of wicking action, but is close. They are the juice supplier for the Blue e-gigs, and have just released the original Blue Classic Tobacco flavor, as Blue as moved to a new Classic flavor. If you are looking for a good, solid tobacco flavor, this is a good one. I don't know if they ship to SA. I travel to the US frequently and make sure to get a supply while there.

Reactions: Like 1


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