Hey kids!
I have been so horribly absent from here over the last 5-6 years. Long story short, quit the stinkers on 8-22-10 and haven’t looked back. vaping has grown and changed so much during the 11 years I have vaped, I won’t even bore you with the details of what gear was like when I started vaping. You fellow veterans know. It took a whole different level of commitment than it does today, because NOTHING had the power, endurance, or availability it does today.
I have been a 8mg/ml vaper for the last 10 years. I did kick it up to 12mg for a bit when I went through a divorce 5 years ago. There have been so many vape ban scare events that I am stocked up on supplies well. I have made my own juice for 10 years so my stash of nic is good to go. I can decrease the mg/ml if that situation ever arises, but at age 44, I think I have enough to last me at least a good 20-25 years at my current mg level. If I drop the level down, I think I am good to go until the nursing home days come calling.
The biggest part of why I wanted to post here again is:
1. After being a smoker for 16 years, I used smoking for every stressor life threw at me. Since I started vaping, I have survived undergrad, my masters, and my doctorate degree. ZERO temptation to go back to the stinkies. Went through a very unexpected divorce. Never tempted to return to Marlboro. If you commit to the process, it does work. I got remarried a year ago. My husband enjoys the occasional cigar and bourbon on the deck. I can hardly stand to smell him when he enjoys a stogie, which is thankfully only a few times a year. I realize how gross it must have been to be around me when I smoked 1-2 PPD. It does suck in the beginning but giving up the stinkies is worth it.
2. 11 years in, zero health issues. I am a physically fit and busy person anyways. But zero lung issues from my years of smoking or my years of vaping. My current PCP doesn’t even know I vape. I can hike with zero problems. I ride a Harley, and do cross country trips on it, and always stop to hike in places to find rando waterfalls and whatnot. I was in the mountains for a week this spring and zero breathing issues or short of air like I used to have when I smoked stinkies. I did find my vape hit a little harder though and I vaped less! Bonus to vaping is I can vape while I am riding my motorcycle, I don’t have to pull over to smoke lol. The Harley is a new hobby since I quit smoking, so I don’t know what that would have been like, but I see fellow riders pulled over to smoke all the time. Glad that isn’t me!
3. I am a mental health provider. I prescribe meds for depression and anxiety and all the other mental health disorders all day long. And I am a HUGE advocate of vaping to patients who want to discuss it. Many mental health patients have a nicotine dependence. I always tell them I will not be the one barking at them to quit, as it is their choice and whatever consequences result from smoking, they are already aware of those and it isn’t my place to preachy preach about it. But I do tell them I used to smoke, I quit 11 years ago, and I have vaped ever since. I have shown several my device and tank, I refer them to local vape shops that I know are good and helpful, and I refer them all to check out this site. I get ...... when I hear how many reply with their PCP telling them how vaping is so bad. The medical world has been brainwashed pretty good, lemme tell ya. I am an outside the box kind of provider, I don’t buy into all the malarkey the “experts” want to feed us. I won’t go into covid and the current state of affairs in our country, but if more healthcare professionals researched instead of following the masses and “expert rules”, our healthcare world would be a better place. Pharma and the FDA annoy the hell out of me. Anyways, there are more of us “good guys” in healthcare though that do advocate and support than some think, but we are still a minority, with the majority being asleep at the wheel about non FDA approved harm reduction and cessation devices. Every time I see a PCP start Chantix I want to scream. It has about a 2% success rate at best from my personal observations. Anyways, the TLDR here is I support the cause and fight for education about vaping every day in my office.
I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support and help from so many of you fellow veterans back in the day. I am still in shock at how much this industry has evolved in a relatively short period of time. Nic salts…..who knew that would ever be a thing! The one discouraging thing is seeing how many companies have closed up shop anticipating the regulations. I loved my freedom smokes for my nicotine. But, that is the nature of retail period, some survive and some don’t. With USPS delaying the mail ban, I think most could have hung on a little longer. But I don’t run their business or know their projections and models and revenue, so I have no place to judge.
Vape on friends! I will try to stop by and visit you all more often. This always has been and will always be a great community!
I have been so horribly absent from here over the last 5-6 years. Long story short, quit the stinkers on 8-22-10 and haven’t looked back. vaping has grown and changed so much during the 11 years I have vaped, I won’t even bore you with the details of what gear was like when I started vaping. You fellow veterans know. It took a whole different level of commitment than it does today, because NOTHING had the power, endurance, or availability it does today.
I have been a 8mg/ml vaper for the last 10 years. I did kick it up to 12mg for a bit when I went through a divorce 5 years ago. There have been so many vape ban scare events that I am stocked up on supplies well. I have made my own juice for 10 years so my stash of nic is good to go. I can decrease the mg/ml if that situation ever arises, but at age 44, I think I have enough to last me at least a good 20-25 years at my current mg level. If I drop the level down, I think I am good to go until the nursing home days come calling.
The biggest part of why I wanted to post here again is:
1. After being a smoker for 16 years, I used smoking for every stressor life threw at me. Since I started vaping, I have survived undergrad, my masters, and my doctorate degree. ZERO temptation to go back to the stinkies. Went through a very unexpected divorce. Never tempted to return to Marlboro. If you commit to the process, it does work. I got remarried a year ago. My husband enjoys the occasional cigar and bourbon on the deck. I can hardly stand to smell him when he enjoys a stogie, which is thankfully only a few times a year. I realize how gross it must have been to be around me when I smoked 1-2 PPD. It does suck in the beginning but giving up the stinkies is worth it.
2. 11 years in, zero health issues. I am a physically fit and busy person anyways. But zero lung issues from my years of smoking or my years of vaping. My current PCP doesn’t even know I vape. I can hike with zero problems. I ride a Harley, and do cross country trips on it, and always stop to hike in places to find rando waterfalls and whatnot. I was in the mountains for a week this spring and zero breathing issues or short of air like I used to have when I smoked stinkies. I did find my vape hit a little harder though and I vaped less! Bonus to vaping is I can vape while I am riding my motorcycle, I don’t have to pull over to smoke lol. The Harley is a new hobby since I quit smoking, so I don’t know what that would have been like, but I see fellow riders pulled over to smoke all the time. Glad that isn’t me!
3. I am a mental health provider. I prescribe meds for depression and anxiety and all the other mental health disorders all day long. And I am a HUGE advocate of vaping to patients who want to discuss it. Many mental health patients have a nicotine dependence. I always tell them I will not be the one barking at them to quit, as it is their choice and whatever consequences result from smoking, they are already aware of those and it isn’t my place to preachy preach about it. But I do tell them I used to smoke, I quit 11 years ago, and I have vaped ever since. I have shown several my device and tank, I refer them to local vape shops that I know are good and helpful, and I refer them all to check out this site. I get ...... when I hear how many reply with their PCP telling them how vaping is so bad. The medical world has been brainwashed pretty good, lemme tell ya. I am an outside the box kind of provider, I don’t buy into all the malarkey the “experts” want to feed us. I won’t go into covid and the current state of affairs in our country, but if more healthcare professionals researched instead of following the masses and “expert rules”, our healthcare world would be a better place. Pharma and the FDA annoy the hell out of me. Anyways, there are more of us “good guys” in healthcare though that do advocate and support than some think, but we are still a minority, with the majority being asleep at the wheel about non FDA approved harm reduction and cessation devices. Every time I see a PCP start Chantix I want to scream. It has about a 2% success rate at best from my personal observations. Anyways, the TLDR here is I support the cause and fight for education about vaping every day in my office.
I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support and help from so many of you fellow veterans back in the day. I am still in shock at how much this industry has evolved in a relatively short period of time. Nic salts…..who knew that would ever be a thing! The one discouraging thing is seeing how many companies have closed up shop anticipating the regulations. I loved my freedom smokes for my nicotine. But, that is the nature of retail period, some survive and some don’t. With USPS delaying the mail ban, I think most could have hung on a little longer. But I don’t run their business or know their projections and models and revenue, so I have no place to judge.
Vape on friends! I will try to stop by and visit you all more often. This always has been and will always be a great community!
Welcome back! Love your success story 
