Dizziness, Rapid Heart Beat, Stomach Growling After Smoking

[khai91]

Good day!
I have just started smoking pipe tobacco 2 weeks ago and it went pretty well until the last saturday. I was smoking Escudo with my corn cob at around 11am with a cuppa hot chocolate (sort of empty stomached), I have smoked Frog Morton Cellar, Lane 1Q and Macbaren London Burley a couple times before that and it was my first Escudo try.
Everything went pretty smoothly, me experiencing the very famous coin tobacco until two third of the bowl was gone, I have even inhaled once since I never tried inhaling pipe tob before. All in a sudden I felt dizzy and lightheaded, not as serious as it would cause me to faint, it's just uncomfortable. So I was thinking to myself that since its towards the end of the bowl, I might as well finish it before going home. After I got home things get pretty fucked up, I was trying hard to breath, heart beating so fast, cold sweating and even vomited hot chocolate out in the process. After resting for quite a while and having some glucose, I managed to stay conscious, however still remained weak until the next day.
I have only one question in mind, what went wrong? There are definitely some possible causes to it, smoking empty stomachedly, smoking a blend with high nicotine for a beginner, inhaling smoke, or my friend even told me that I may get carbon monoxide poisoning based on my symptoms. What do you experienced smokers think? Did that ever happen to you? I don't wanna give this hobby up so soon before I can treasure the beauty in it.
Cheers,

Khai

 

[pruss]

Hi Khai91. Nice to meet you.
So it sounds to me like you were struggling with the nicotine. There are a couple things you can do to help yourself here:
1) Try to make sure you have some food in your belly, and your blood sugar level is in a good place.

2) One of my pipe mentors always suggested having a sugary drink with a pipe. So you might have been on the money with hot chocolate. A caution here though, if you have an empty stomach, and you're loading it with sugar, and hitting your brain with nicotine on top of this all... well you might be cruising for a case of the spins.

3) Choosing not to inhale, or limiting your inhaling of smoke, will reduce nicotine intake.

4) Consider smoking a half-bowl the next time around and see how you feel during, immediately and shortly after.
It wouldn't surprise me if you were getting more intake in the bottom third of the bowl, as there is likely a higher concentration of nicotine in the dottle at the bottom of your bowl.
Good luck, and keep us posted on how things go for you.
-- Pat

 

[werdna]

Nicotine. Welcome to the forum.

 

[voorhees]

Welcome Khai,

I also jumped onto the Escudo bus early in my pipe smoking pastime and it got me too. And inhaling is not for the timid.

 

[joeval]

Yep, too much nicotine. I've had that a couple of times, luckily nothing past feeling really dizzy, lightheaded and sick.
The trick seems to be either smoke slower, or quit while you're ahead - don't finish the bowl if you're starting to feel off like that. Or, of course, low nic tobaccos.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yep, too much N. It's the same feeling from when my dad caught me smoking cigarettes, and he made me chain smoke the whole pack. Head spins, throwing up, dizziness, out-of-balance. It didn't really deter me from smoking as intended, just deterred me from smoking a whole pack in one sitting.

 

[jgriff]

The other thing is probably the cut of the tobacco. If you break it up less, it will burn slower but try not to push it hard. It's easy to puff away at Escudo like a freight train because it's so sweet. Don't. I like to take the coins and fold them, barely breaking them up and stuff. Initial lighting can be tough but it burns fine once it gets going.
In the end, an empty stomach is an invitation to a nic hit. It's more that than the Escudo but it's not a light weight either. Try it again on a full stomach.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

The only things I haven't seen mentioned are to have a candy bar nearby and keep yourself hydrated, meaning water or a sports drink not a soda (those only dehydrate you).

 

[khai91]

Hi everyone,
Thank you for all your advices and information. That is what I exactly thought when it occurred to me. Luckily it has nothing to do with carbon monoxide poisoning or else it would really deter me from smoking. For now I will take a few days break to bring everything back to normal level and go for Escudo for 2nd round, this time not with empty stomach and be cautious when that dizziness hits me again.
@jgriff I tore the coins into ribbons as it is too big for my bowl, but I would definitely try to fold and stuff it in next time.
Cheers everyone!

 

[bryanf]

Quite the opposite....don't take a break! You need to build up your tolerance and smoke MORE!
Sorry...am I a bad influence?

 

[av8scuba]

After starting back on the pipe after a lengthy pause, I tried some Freight Train. Well, the name sure did fit. I thought I had been hit by a freight train. I had all the symptoms the OP described and wound up giving the entire 8 oz. bag to a friend. I guess I'm just a wimp. But I sure didn't like that feeling! ::

 

[sfsteves]

two thoughts immediately come to mind ... one, don't smoke on an empty stomach ... two, don't inhale the smoke.

 

[pipestud]

Sounds to me like you got into a bad batch of hot chocolate.
Best,
Pipestud

 

[fnord]

"....a bad batch of hot chocolate."
LMAO!
Fnord

 

[mso489]

If you're nicotine sensitive, I'd just avoid it. Like many pipe smokers, I enjoy a little nicotine buzz now and then,

but it is incidental to the enjoyment. I sure don't smoke for nicotine. Most blends don't have much, and the ones

that do are well known -- Five Brothers, Nightcap, etc. Most aromatics have little or none that is noticeable.

A small bowl pipe or a partial packed bowl might let you smoke nicotine blends now and then. A slow smoking

pace helps. Beginners and former cig smokers can puff away too fast and miss the relaxation and some of the taste.

Don't fight the nicotine. It's not a contest, and no one is checking to see if you are getting your nicotine hit. If it isn't

pleasant, avoid it, or limit it a lot. Happy and contented pipe smoking to you.

 

[uberam3rica]

Yeah, like everyone already said, it's the nicotine. I only had this happen a few time with a pipe. I've had it as bad as you did with a cigar once. I have a pretty good nicotine tolerance, I smoked cigarettes for a good two years before I picked up the pipe. As you have smoked for longer, your tolerance increase. If it happens again, maybe just set it aside and let it age until you're ready.

 

[Strike Anywhere]

That is a great story!!
Welcome to tobacco!

 

[swampmouth]

I wouldn't rule out CO. I used to get that way brewing in the garage with a propane burner. In the fish house with a wood stove as well. DON'T INHALE. Smoke in a well ventilated area. Sorry guys, Escudo is baby smoke.

 

[salewis]

I know what you went through and I am sure that you suffered from vitamin N buzz. I have been there and while I have never vomited I have had my share of light headedness. I am almost sure that it had to do, as others have stated, that the fact that you had an empty stomach was probably the main culprit. Also, inhaling is not a great idea when first starting out smoking a pipe. I do not think that smoking Escudo was the problem since I am sensitive to vitamin N and Escudo is one of my three blends on my regular rotation. Try slowing down and establish a regular cadence of puffs during your pipe smoking. Good luck and stick with it.

 

[smokertruck]

Nicotine with me is like malaria - hot sweats - in summer i have beads of sweat on my forearms & sometimes the heat is felt whole length of the body -

chocolate milk is not pure enough for me so i keep blocks of dark swiss chocolate for after the smoke when it hits - without the chocolate usually it lasts at least 20-30 min but with 2 -4 pieces of the dark choco squares the hit is gone within 3 min - besides swiss dark chocolate along with rum & coke is great after a few smokes - gets rid of every n hit no matter how strong.
now then virginias give me full mouth burn - cant do much about that. apparently there are dentists who specialize in medical mouth burn due to some medical issues - maybe its that not virginias but red virginia is like fire.