Anxiety/Panic?...not again. Say it ain't so!

[seminolewind]

I take zoloft and xanax to control life long anxiety. I know that's not an option for you from what you said.

I have had more anxiety since I quit smoking and started vaping. I can say with me it's not the vaping because I don't have anxiety at night when I usually vape the most. I believe it's from giving up smoking, which was my crutch, habit, addiction for 35 years. I have not suffered any withdrawal symptoms from quitting analogs. But this may be one for me, never counted on that.

As for the amount of nicotine you're getting, if you smoked a pack a day of 15 mg cigarettes, for example, then that is close to the equivalent of 2 ml. of 15 mg juice. Please correct me if my equation is wrong.

[RavenII]

I'm throwing in the towel, and retracting my "I'll put up with a bit of anxiety" comment. Wow, I wish that on no one. I took a few pulls from my e-cig and BAM...anxiety attack...I'm done. I'm personally going back to analogs and trying to quit "cold turkey". I wish it worked for me...

[paladinx]

Raven, a big question you should ask yourself, Is it really the e-cig giving you the panic attacks, or your own mind and worries about the device itself. The mind is a powerful thing. And i am not one of these E-cig zealots that are only there to say ecigs are the greatest most safest thing. I chose to stop e smoking for awhile and reassess the situation because of the uknowns. But i mean if you got anxiety after a few pulls, im thinking it could possibly be your own mind causing it

You could also try snus. Its a tobacco product. Maybe u would feel more comfortable with that?

[happily]

As for the amount of nicotine you're getting, if you smoked a pack a day of 15 mg cigarettes, for example, then that is close to the equivalent of 2 ml. of 15 mg juice. Please correct me if my equation is wrong.

actually that would be 1ml..........but no one is the same as far as how vape affects nicotine intake. Everyone is different.

What u have raven may be a catch 22...anxiety about anxiety attacks, cause anxiety attacks. I am not trying to make light of it. Some options are try low nicotine, try vg. Thoughts of quitting smoking and what's in vaping can cause anxiety also. I personally never tried to quit smoking. I just let whatever happened happen. Although that worked for me. You do need to listen to your body and if it is too much for you. Then you are doing the right thing. Stress and anxiety are not good.

[ladyraj]

I'm throwing in the towel, and retracting my "I'll put up with a bit of anxiety" comment. Wow, I wish that on no one. I took a few pulls from my e-cig and BAM...anxiety attack...I'm done. I'm personally going back to analogs and trying to quit "cold turkey". I wish it worked for me...

Hey Raven, I'm not sure if you remember the head rush and slight buzz you experienced when you first started smoking cigarettes but the e-cig can be equated with that experience. I know if I go over 12 hours without a cigarette that I will get a buzz and feel panicky symptoms (because I feel high) once I light up. If I spend hours smoking cigarettes I still get a "head rush" and a slight buzz from switching to the e-cig.

As you know with anxiety one is usually advised to persevere and ride out the experience by altering one's own perception. Once you get used to e-smoking, homeostasis kicks in and anxiety is rendered null.

[RavenII]

You know what...I think it really is because I'm making it worse than it really is. I think that I'm just going to go back to my regular routine and give it another go in a few weeks or so, just to see what happens. After reading about nicotine overdose and so on, I came to the conclusion, that it more than likely was me making something out of nothing.

Both PaladinX and Happily make very good points..."or your own mind and worries about the device itself. The mind is a powerful thing." and "anxiety about anxiety attacks, cause anxiety attacks"...I think the lack of a...standard if you will, in how much nicotine to use, what mg, etc etc. How much is actually taken in, how does it compare to a real cigarette...I mean, so many speculative questions...no definitive answers. Going to my paranoia of what I put in my body, all these things are important to me. I think I dove in too quickly. I mean, in the first week, I spent $200 on my ecig supplies. I'll give it another go in a few...I'll just be more careful with how I handle and use the eliquid...or I might just quit all together, I don't want to spend more time thinking about it right now...I'll take it as it goes.

Ladyraj, "As you know with anxiety one is usually advised to persevere and ride out the experience by altering one's own perception"...very true...I kept thinking...."there's nothing to be afraid of...nothing to be flipping out about...".......went on a boat cruise with my girl...walked around downtown...and I forgot all about it. Woke up this morning, thinking "****, am I feeling normal? Am I going to be having anxiety all the time now like when I was younger? I wonder if I feel like this because I just woke up?"....etc etc...and BAM anxiety...as of this writing, I'm feeling fine, been having my normal cancer sticks and feeling...well like crap but fine at the same time.

I really wanted to thank you guys for helping me through this whole deal...I mean genuinely, thank you.

[paladinx]

I know what you mean. Since things seem a little unknown with these devices there is always room in your mind to wonder if it is really effecting you or not. That will cause anxiety in itself. Sometimes to combat this, you have to get used to something. If you kept using it and didnt get any ill effects I think the brain says ok. this is no longer an anxiety trigger. Same way you probably can smoke cigarettes and feel just fine. I dont even like taking cold medicines cause i feel it might get me dizzy or some stupid crap, but i can smoke my ass away with the cigarettes. Sometimes anxiety makes little sense.

but on the other hand. It could be something in the E-cigs not sitting with you right. IT is up to you to rule it out or not.

[Annastasia]

I wish I'd seen this thread a week ago!

I used to have panic attacks too, was on meds for it + counseling, eventually "got over" them about two years ago. When I quit smoking and started vaping, the attacks came back with a vengeance. I'd never experienced such intense, long lasting anxiety attacks before, and also linked it in my mind to vaping. I too was concerned with the untested/unregulated nature of PVs, and I think I showed it in my body's reactions.

After messing around with nicotine strengths and PG vs VG for a couple days, I figure it was a combination of waaaaay too high nic juice ( I was vaping 36mg when I started out!) and the loss of my pacifier, the cigarette. I quit vaping anything at all for two days, and still didn't go back to cigarettes. When I returned to vaping my lowest dose of nic juice -- about 11mg -- I was totally fine, and I've had no recurrence of the panic attacks since then.

[RavenII]

I dont even like taking cold medicines cause i feel it might get me dizzy or some stupid crap, but i can smoke my ass away with the cigarettes.

Dude, I feel the exact same way...strange isn't it? Ever since my (what I call) "Vicodin Days"...I can't stand anything that alters my state of mind in any way. I've become overly aware of what I take and don't take...I literally only take Advil...funny how certain life experiences change your outlook on stuff.

Annastasia, I feel the same way about the regulation, or lack thereof...I mean you read about all these people vaping 36, and you figure 18 is fine...but it's possible that 6! might do you good...there's just no way to know. I'll give it another go...in a while. But for now, I just want everything to go back to normal.

[Juggalo]

i vape 36 mg strait sometimes i feel like its 2 much but im not worried about overdose or anything should i be