u/Few-Interview5350

Hi everyone. I’m not looking for a diagnosis, I just want to know if anyone has gone through something similar.

I’ve been vaping since I was 18 and I’m 30 now. Over the last month my GERD and acid reflux got really bad. I’m currently in the hospital being treated and doctors found I have a 5 cm hiatal hernia.

My symptoms have been heavy acid reflux, chest pressure, throat irritation, shortness of breath after eating, weakness, palpitations, anxiety after meals and feeling like my body is just completely off.

One thing I noticed is that vaping seems to make everything worse. Before I could vape all day and feel normal, but now even a few hits can make my chest feel tight, my reflux worse, my throat irritated and my heart start pounding. It also makes me feel anxious because the symptoms feel so intense.

I’m not saying vaping caused all of this. I know I have a real medical issue with GERD and the hiatal hernia. I’m just wondering if anyone here has noticed nicotine or vaping making their GERD symptoms worse.

Has anyone experienced reflux, chest tightness, palpitations or anxiety after vaping?

Did quitting or cutting down help your symptoms?

I’ve been vaping since I was 18 years old. I’m 30 now, and I’m writing this from a hospital bed.

For years, I thought vaping was something I could control. I told myself it was better than smoking, that it wasn’t a big deal, that I could quit whenever I wanted.
But lately my body has been telling me otherwise.

About a month ago, after a two-week trip to Miami, everything started getting worse. I began dealing with heavy acid reflux, GERD symptoms, chest pressure, palpitations, shortness of breath after eating, weakness, anxiety after meals, and this constant fear that something was seriously wrong with me.

Doctors found that I have a 5 cm hiatal hernia, and I’ve also been dealing with bad acid reflux and esophagus irritation. Every meal started feeling like a trigger. I would eat, then my heart would pound, my breathing would feel off, my body would feel weak, and then the anxiety would hit hard.

The part that really scared me was realizing that vaping made everything worse. Even a few hits could bring back chest discomfort, throat irritation, reflux, palpitations, and anxiety. Something I used to do all day without thinking suddenly became something my body could no longer tolerate. I’m not saying vaping caused every single thing I’m going through. I have real medical issues that I’m being treated for. But I do believe vaping kept adding fuel to the fire.

If you’re reading this and you’ve been thinking about quitting, please don’t wait until your body forces you to listen.

Don’t wait until you’re lying in a hospital bed wondering how you let it get this far.