Vaping got me to quit smoking, but now...................... .............

mkbilbo;10630167 said:

thompsondd;10629206 said:

I can't seem to stop vaping.

We never smoked in our house. Didn't want to do it around the kiddos. Plus, going outside (to smoke) was always a nice (and needed) mental break from them sometimes.

I work from home a lot. I now vape at my desk (instead of hiking downstairs and out the door for a cig). I vape in the store. I vape practically everywhere I go. It seems my e-cig is always dangling from my mouth or at least within arms reach.

I haven't paid much attention to how much liquid I am going through lately. When the 'flavor de jour' starts to run low, I just put more in the tank.

I KNOW I am vaping FAR more than I ever smoked (generally - I was about a pack a day kinda guy) and I am wondering from a pure nicotine perspective if I'm not overdosing myself sometimes (OK - most of the time). I know I need to knock it off before going to bed but often don't, vaping right up until the lights go out. I definitely feel like I am probably getting MORE nicotine now from vaping than I ever did from smoking.

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I'm gonna stop you right there.

"Definitely feel" ain't a blood test.

My understanding of How This All Works is this. The smoker (dipper, chewer, hooka...er?, however you use tobacco... er) becomes accustomed to some level of nicotine circulating in their blood stream. I do not know what this level is nor do I know how much variation there is between individuals (I'm sure it's in the mix). I do understand that what we all did and do is seek to "maintain" some level "X" of nicotine circulating in our blood streams.

The thing I am convinced is going on is that when people switch "delivery systems", their habits have to shift around and adjust to this new thing. Also, we humans always notice "new" more than "old". You're more aware of how much you vape because it's new. Smoking becomes so habitual, you rarely "think" about it. I recall how sometimes I'd be caught "surprised" at a pack being empty. I didn't consciously pay attention nor count the number I was smoking. I just lit up (barely paying attention) when something inside me said, "Want one! Now!"

Near as anybody can tell, the deal is that vapor droplets are way, way bigger than smoke particles. So smoking, you draw the smoke into the lungs which gets the nicotine down to the little whatevers in the lungs that can absorb gasses like that oxygen stuff I hear so much about. The absorption is fast. I've read that nicotine from smoke can hit the brain within ten seconds. It's a really quick "delivery system".

Vapor being water droplets aren't small enough to sneak down into those little areas where the gas exchange goes on. Mostly, the absorption seems to be in the mouth and nasal passages when you vape. Which is a slower process.

What we all had become used to was being able to "inject" a quantity of nicotine into our systems very quickly. Like those smoke breaks where you're busy so you rush outside and just about inhale the whole cig in a single drag?

With vaping, you're trying to find your personal "pace" to maintain that nicotine level using a system in which the nic is absorbed more slowly. The first tactic most everybody uses--and tons of people rush into New Members worried about doing--is to vape more, more, more!!!

I'm convinced it's not you're getting "more nicotine", it's that you're not getting as much. And you're trying to find a new equilibrium. Which you will. In time.

"Too much nicotine" is something you'll notice. As Azmo says:

You will know that you are getting too much nicotine if you start getting headaches or feel nauseous.

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Exactly so. Also it can show up like "caffeine jitters" and inability to fall asleep. Rapid pulse. You know, "overstimulated" kinds of stuff. Though headache, nausea, and dizziness seem to be the most mentioned things new folk comment on when they're using a nic level that's likely too high for them personally.

If you can post "I think I'm getting too much nicotine", chances are you're getting no such thing. You'd probably be posting, "I get headaches when I vape" and tons of posters would be saying, "Cut your nicotine level immediately".

I have even dialed the nicotine back to lower levels (6 and/or 12 depending) on my most recent fluid purchases simply due to the AMOUNT that I am vaping daily.

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Me too. I have some I like vaping so much, I cut my nic level way down so I could vape my brains out. Why? Because I want to. That's why.

I am very strong in my belief that enjoying vaping is one of the big "keys" to not going back to smoking. So if I enjoy my wintergreen (I do, I do) vape so much I wanna vape it non-freaking-stop so cut the nic level to below 9, Ima gonna do it. And I'm going to enjoy every puff.

I started trying to quit smoking in my mid-20s. I'm coming up on 52 soon. I finally beat those blasted death sticks. If staying away from them means duct taping my damn PV to my head and rigging a tube so I can vape with every freaking breath, well call me Wintergreen of the Borg, your opinion is futile!

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