Vaping, High BP and Diabetes

[jeanie]

I take medication for high blood pressure and it has been under control for some time but I've been to see the diabetes nurse today and for the second time since I began vaping, my blood pressure has been a lot higher than usual. I know other things can be attributed to it being high but now, I can't help wondering if vaping could be making it even higher. I used to smoke 40-50 roll ups a day but as I stopped smoking within my first week of vaping, without any cravings and using 20mg juices, I didn't see the need for higher nicotine so have continued to use 18 - 20mg juices with 70 PG/30VG.

Although I do tend to be a heavy vaper, I wouldn't have thought my nicotine intake would be anywhere near as high as when I smoked, or am I wrong? Does PG have any effect on blood pressure? If I tried lowering the PG, is the higer VG likely to affect my diabetes?

[Pam O]

Nicotine itself can raise blood pressure it can also force your body to release more glucose into the blood fooling the body into thinking it isn't hungry which is a one thought behind why some smokers stay thin and don't eat so much while smoking and put on weight when they stop.

[Ewol]

I hope vaping isn't worse for high blood pressure because I'm trying to convince a friend to switch and he also suffers from high blood pressure.

[Pam O]

IF the nicotine is the cause of increased blood pressure then I know I would rather take my chances vaping than smoking with all of the additional poisons, chemicals and tar that I would be inhaling.

[Ewol]

I know Pam O. I just don't want to put my friend at any further risk as he's literally a walking heartattack. Had surgery postponed because they couldn't get his blood pressure down.

I would just like to know a little more. If it's only the Nicotine that would effect blood pressure. Which to be honest seems right because I honestly can't see VG or PG increasing blood pressure.

jeanie: Sorry, if it seems I've hijacked your thread. I haven't. Just really curious about answers too.

[jeanie]

No Ewol, you haven't hijacked my thread at all and I'm interested in the answers to your questions as well.

I know being overweight, drinking too much and smoking have all contributed to the ill health I have now but albeit a bit late, I am trying to rectify things the best I can, by giving up almost everything I like, I'll be bugga'd if I'm going to give up vaping too. It's got to be healthier than smoking and I certainly feel healthier as far as my breathing goes. I was just wondering whether a few simple changes to my vaping might help bring my bp down and if any of the more experienced vapers out there knew the answers.

[lobeydosser]

I have had one heart attack and I have type two diabetes.
Yes I have put on a bit of weight since I started vaping and yes, I will need to make more of an effort to get it off again, but thanks to vaping my tastebuds are suddenly enjoying a new lease of life, espacially for very non diabetic type foods!!!!

My diabetic nurse is so pleased that I am now vaping instead of smoking that she has given me a pile of out of date but unused syringes to help with my e-juice mixing.

I am at present on 24mg 50/50 mixes having been a 40 to 45 a day super king smoker.
For the past 3 months I have been getting through about 4.5ml a day but of late that has dropped to below 3ml.
I am now thinking about cutting the mg to about 20.

I know that this is not answering your question, but seriously, I don't think anyone can answer these. As with anything to do with diabetes, only a blood test and a comparison against your previous blood test results will answer your questions and whenever you go through a major change in your lifestyle, like switching from smoking to vaping, you should apply to have such a test done.

I normally have a blood test once a year but because I have changed over, I am having it done 3 months apart. So far all is well and good and while there are some changes, these are not outside the acceptable parameters.

[giles]

Sorry folks, but a quick google of this seems to indicate that the answer is yes, vaping could be increasing the blood pressure, for instance "As a pure drug, nicotine has few adverse effects on physical health, however it does raise blood pressure and accelerates the progression of heart and arterial disease." - BBC

You have to be a bit cynical about these sort of reports because there are a few organisations with a down on addiction per se, who like to confuse data about smoking with data about nicotine, but nevertheless it looks to me as if anyone with a BP problem should be looking to reduce their nic level somehow, or make other changes in their life to compensate.

The amount of nicotine vapers absorb, compared to smokers, has not been studied that much. One study which gets quoted a lot found that vapers only absorbed about 10% as much as smokers, but that study just tested novice vapers. Experienced vapers almost certainly take in a lot more than that, and quite possibly a lot more than when they used to smoke.

As smokers we all, I guess, smoked a lot less than we would have done if we had not had to worry about the cost and our health. Now those worries have largely gone away we can vape to our heart's content, and I for one, do exactly that.

Of course it still has to be way better than smoking, but I think we still have to be careful.

[4madcats]

Ok so this is just my completely uneducated theory, with no medical training at all.

I did do a little research when it became apparent that vaping was here to stay, on smoking and the metabolism, mainly cos over the course of about the last year I've lost about quite abit of weight & I didn't want to put anything back on.

But during that research I discovered that nicotine doesn't just increase your metabolic rate, it has an effect on your adrenal glands & increases the amount of adrenaline your body produces, which in turn can increase your heart rate and blood pressure.

Now as we're all ex-smokers & we're all trying to match our nicotine levels now with then, you wouldn't expect there to be any difference in these processes, specially as most of us were pretty stable in our smoking habits. But just maybe, because the nicotine we're getting now is purer, not contaminated by the other 3999 chemicals that go into cigs it's somehow having a stronger effect re the adrenaline. Not to the point were you'd notice any psychological effects like feeling extra jittery or anxious, but just enough to bump your pressure up.

Like I said this is just a personal theory with absolutely no evidence to back it up, so it could be a complete pile of horse sh**e.

It would be interesting if anyone using NRTs has had the same effect, but I imagine if they had it would be put down to the stress of giving up, something I certainly don't have from vaping.

FYI my OH has type 2 diabetes & has had 1 appointment at the diabetic clinic, but he didn't mention anything about his blood pressure, & I'm sure if it had gone up noticeable he defo would have said something, (see dis-proving my own theory already).

Just to be curious I will ask him tomorrow. I have a regular docs appointment every 3 mths, & the next one's in about 2wks. My pressures fairly constant so I will checking if there's any change, nurse doesn't normally tell me as long as it's still in the normal range.

Also just to throw it in, I have acid reflux & a grumpy gallstone (just the one so maybe that's why it's grumpy cos it's all alone ) . Nicotine can have an effect on acid reflux, but the doc was ok with me having the niquitine tabs & or vile squirty liquid, cos even if it irritated the acid it was still better then smoking in his opinion & he would have upped the antacids. Haven't had chance to tell him I'm vaping yet, that's for the next appointment.

I guess a the end of the day because vaping is still quite new, nobody knows exactly what effect it has, but I'm pretty damn certain it can't be as bad as staying on the ciggies, or possibly as bad as trying to give up the conventional routes & being constantly stressed from an unfulfilled craving, or at least that's how I felt.

Sorry for the ramble hun, probably not made you feel any better but just thought I'd chip in while I'm waiting for my gallstone to go back to sleep before it wakes up my stomach & reminds it I've run out of the prescription antacid. Always something

Edited for typos

[4madcats]

Oops looks like I've crossed posts with Giles while I've been typing my monologue.

Great minds & all

[Clutter]

Just posting a couple of links for you to peruse. I'm not sure whether either has specific info on BP & Diabetes tho.

How E-Cigs reduce Harm - Channel 4 News blog

www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20120828/e-cigarettes-not-harmful-heart-study

docs.google.com/file/d/0B9P8sBcVzYrBNjdvSjIwWnd6ODQ/preview?pli=1

blogs.channel4.com/victoria-macdonald-on-health-and-social-care/how-e-cigarettes-can-reduce-the-harm-caused-by-smoking/427

www.ecigarettedirect.co.uk/ashtray-blog/2012/03/electronic-cigarettes-saved-my-life-a-user-story.html

[NickIcon]

My other half (a GP) has had similar concerns regarding my health and vaping - she did a bit of research and came to similar conclusion as above.

My own longer term goal is to gradually decrease the amount of nicotine that I vape. This would be pretty hard with cigarettes but if mixing your own juice or mixing juices of different strengths it should be possible to decrease the nicotine content VERY gradually until your juice is nicotine free.

Still to be out into application but I was thinking along the lines of half a mg every few weeks should be little enough as to not affect my cravings and allow me to get down to a very low or zero nicotine level within a year or so.

Has anyone tried anything like this?

[Cyberpixie]

There is a 2hr video somewhere where a Professor( I think) talks about a lot of things to do with vaping. I'm sure he mentioned that vaping only increases one of the numbers of your BP and not by much. I would find it but I need to get mixing. Will see if I can find it later if someone doesn't find it first

[Clutter]

Nick

I've been buying zero nic for a couple of months. I didn't feel any difference between Hi/Med/Low. Once on 0mg I realised iwasnt getting an annoying tingling on the tip of my tongue & no chemical aftertaste which I now realise is probably the taste of the nicotine. I haven't experienced any nicotine cravings & haven't had a nicotine rush when vaping some of the nic juices in my stash.

[booblay]

Nov 1, 2012 8:59:24 GMT Cyberpixie said:

There is a 2hr video somewhere where a Professor( I think) talks about a lot of things to do with vaping. I'm sure he mentioned that vaping only increases one of the numbers of your BP and not by much. I would find it but I need to get mixing. Will see if I can find it later if someone doesn't find it first

I also saw the same vid the other day, and he also had statistics (from testing) showing how little nicotine the body absorbed from vaping compared to smoking.