I desperately want to quit nicotine.

[Steel]

Hey guys, it's been a while since i've been on this site. I fell off the bandwagon a while ago and had been smoking, and I'm sick of it. The vape helped but it never quite satisfied me.

Anyway as some background, I'm going through a horrid breakup right now so my stress and anxiety levels are through the roof. I decided to try to quit smoking cold turkey because I hate smoking. I hate it. I hate the smell, the taste, how i feel, how much of it I've been doing since the breakup, the expense, all that. I wrongfully concluded that since I'm already feeling down then nicotine withdrawals wouldn't really make my life seemingly any worse.

I made it 36 hours before I was curled up in a ball crying on my bed with my brain going absolutely bonkers. It was a vicious cycle of withdrawal thoughts mixed with grief that made me feel like I was quite literally dying.

So i went back to smoking. Hating every one, but yet I *need* them, now more than ever. I'm still a stressed out, anxious mess, can't hardly sit in one place for too long and distracting myself as much as I can so as it doesn't feel like someone is pouring icewater over my heart, but at least I'm not going through intense smoking withdrawals to make matters worse.

After lurking around for the past couple days, however, I'm feeling pretty disheartened. It seems that it's more than just the nicotine that gives my brain what it wants, perhaps why the vape didn't quite stick with me. It puts this fear in me that I'll ALWAYS need some form of nicotine entering my body, or else I'll always be longing for a smoke, and depressed/ anxious. I HATE being a slave to this substance (and the others in tobacco, but I digress).

I did however take the first step today. Found my ego batteries and charged them up, drove up to freedomsmokeusa's brick and mortar shop and picked up an unflavored 30mL bottle of 24mg juice, along with the large metal cartomizers that hold i believe 10mL? I chose unflavored juice because any flavor I've ever gotten before I would just get sick of pretty quickly. And since I don't actually enjoy the flavor of cigarette smoke, I'd probably not be doing myself any favors by giving myself a positive reinforcement for 'smoking' if I'm ever to break the habit.

Anyway, I was hoping you all could share some tips with me. I figure I'm going to stick with the 24mg juice for a few months as my heart heals, but then start cutting it down eventually to 0mg. And once there actively work on breaking the habit and trigger part, hopefully without getting depressed. Does anyone have a decent timetable of when i start cutting down, how quickly it should happen? I was also thinking of stopping by the vitamin store and picking up b vitamin complexes for the stress and st. john's wort for the anxiety/depression. I dream of one day having no desire to smoke (or vape), even when stressed out or drinking with people smoking around me, etc. And based on my past quitting experiences, i know that one puff is all it takes, so hopefully that lesson will stick this time and I'll not give in. Ever.

Anyway that's all I have. I'm sorry if my post is disjointed and all over the place, that's about as coherent as I can be right now. Thanks ahead of time for any and all help and advice!

 

[_more_]

Hi, with the heartache you are going through I wouldn't try to put yourself on a timetable yet. So just vape as much as you need to and then you will know when you are able to cut back on the nic strength.

I started vaping soon after my husband passed away and was a chain vaper. It has been a hard time but this month i started not wanting the 18mg anymore and cut back to 16 and now i am at 12.BUT I still have some 18 left for emergency stress/sadness. I am not cutting down because of a time table just not wanting the higher nic anymore.

Hope this helped a little and my sympathy for your break up.It is always hard to lose someone you love no matter how it happens.

btw I am sure others will have more advice so hang in there and welcome back to vaping as it is better than smoking.

 

[idahohermit]

The vape helped but it never quite satisfied me.!

That sounds like me...and a lot of other people. Have you tried the WTA liquids? It has other, minor alkaloids, that are in tobacco. Aroma EJuice carries it. You should try it if you haven't. It has that AAAHHH. That's the way I got off the stinkies.

 

[RoseB]

Quitting nicotine is an sob. To say the least. When I feel like I am not getting enough nicotine. I stop poofing on my e cig(18mg cart) have a glass of water and chew a piece of nicotine gum. Maybe talk to a doctor or something to see if it is safe to do both. It has been helping me. Making it 36 hours was a big acomplishment. I've made it maybe 24 hours total nic free is my record in the last ten years. Tried to quit more times then I can count. Keep trying you will beat it.

 

[Yves]

I am slowly cutting down my nicotine, started at 18 mg and I am now at 10 mg, I cut 2 mg off every 1-2 months or so and it seems to be working for me. I would say at the moment, do not try and cut yours, wait until things are feeling a little more level for you and then look at cutting it down slowly. Hugs to you.

 

[mwa102464]

Yuppers cutting only 1-2mg's at a time I have found to work the best,,, we have smoked for so long and now vaped for a long time too that our bodies are a custom to having these high amounts of Nic in them. So by dropping only 1-2mg's a month or so and weening off slowly your brain and body doesnt feel it as bad

 

[MarVp]

My cutting back on e-liquid did not occur until I started using Sweedish Snus (a tobacco product) alongside e-cigs. A happy balance soon developed for me, importantly - almost instantly there were no more desires for the one or two normal cigarettes I was having a day. It has also allowed me over three months to drop from using 18mg liquids to 6mg liquids, along with going to about 1/3 my previous quantities of juice without even trying. No more chain-vaping for me, I just do it for the hobby now and the snus use is steady ar 3 or 4 portions a day. Snus delivers the goods in a smooth curve - no more peaks and troughs like the roller coaster ride cigarettes provide.

Theory is... there are other alkoloids in tobacco besides nicotine. Nicotine is the main one and is a stimulant, whilst the other ones work in synergy with nicotine to promote the fulfilled feeling. Nicotine has a 2 hour half-life, whilst the other alkaloids may have half-lifes up to 8 hours. Standard e-cigs only provide the stimulant nicotine, where as a tobacco product gives you what you are used to. Sweedish Snus is used extensively in Sweeden where it is considered (and shown to be in many studies) very low risk. idahohermit mentioned the another approach here - the WTA liquids to use in your e-cig , and put it nicely when explaining they give you the AAAHHH. There is lots of info on-line about these additional alternatives, so your search engine should be able to help you find some things to read. The best part about these other approaches is that you don't need to inhale smoke.

 

[Off Topic]

What is the real core objective here?

To get off, and stay off the death sticks. Play with it, figure out what works for you, and do it.

In my case, I've resigned to myself that I will never be free of nicotine.... because not having nicotine creates the window for the cigs to get back in.

WTA juice was a big help in the beginning. I highly recommend it for folks who find they still have an "itch" that the PV isn't scratching.

 

[VBro]

I'm sorry to hear you're going such a tough time Steel. As with anything in life however, your firm decision and will is stronger than anything.

By doing nothing, you'll open yourself up to extended periods of suffering because your mind is fixated on the idea that you need nicotine. Even when I was on analogs, I can be free of it anytime if I'm doing some activities with my family. Try planning something that benefits others, and go do it. And when you're doing attempt as much as you can to give 100% focus to others. I believe that'll help.

Meanwhile, you need to start reading up on positive information that allows you to better your life. Surround yourself with more positive people who don't smoke whenever possible.

Holding oneself accountable for one's actions actually empowers oneself. By accountable I don't mean blaming yourself, but knowing that if you want to decide that you can do something, chances are you have every power in the world to do so. As with any of the world's most respected figures, they did what they decided and are able to focus on their mission. The same applies with quitting, if you decided that you want to stop smoking, decide to live a healthier life and dedicate your focus completely to living a healthier life.

Mixing intentions will diminish focus, and that will produce mediocre results.

If you fix your intentions entirely towards a goal that shifts the focus out of yourself and towards benefiting others, that'll give you an extra boost. Do it, don't give yourself much time to think. After all if you're doing something after deciding on it, you're being true to yourself.