An invisible sorrow after changing from smoking to vaping

[bineva17]

It seems after 5 months of vaping, Nicotine was lowered from 36mg to 24, 18, 12, 6, 4, 2, 1 and now 0-0.5, I seem to have succeeded in controlling tobacco cravings after 10 years as a heavy smoker, not even vape constantly as before. The only negative thing is that I suddenly seem to lose my vitality.Yes. I have lost all of my vitality.

I'm a very lucky person. A perfect family, many friends, good job, desirable girlfriend. I can do whatever I want, and people always respect me. But, after quiting smoking, I feel like I'm becoming a poet. Everyday I sit at the desk, look out of the window, stare at the sunshine and are sad about things that do not exist. An invisible sorrow is chasing me everyday, even I have a very happy life.

I wonder how long this feeling will end?

 

[Butters78]

Ummmm ok....

 

[cactus71]

First-world problems? Sorry for your sorrow.

 

[bineva17]

No man I'm from third world

 

[cactus71]

I know... Hanoi - I checked beforehand - it's just that your "problems" were applicable. Maybe just a case of the blues that coincides with your reduction in nic levels...

 

[J.R. Bob Dobbs]

chances are its a lingering chemical addiction to the nicotine. you dropped a long way in nicotine levels in a fairly short time. Your body/ brain may still be addicted to the nic. Nicotine boosts seratonin production and a few other things that your brain really enjoys. From an emotional standpoint, not a health standpoint.

if you are seriously concerned about your mental state, i would suggest talking to your doctor, possibly even seeking counselling or anti depressants if unnecessary to get you through it. I cant speak to how hard it is hitting you, just tossing the idea out there.

 

[klynnn]

I may be crazy but I think a lot of people are self medicating with nicotene. I really don't think the medical world knows enough about it to try to ban it outright. They have spent so much time hating it I guess they never thought of the benefits- although it is in many vegies. It is being tested now in trials for diabetes, parkinsons, and alzheimers so who knows what will come out of that. I have no intention of going completely without. I know now that making my own I can cut down but I don't have to. 10 years ago coffee chocolate and sex was bad for you the future will be quite interesting.

 

[anavidfan]

JR Bob Dobbs hit it on the nail , Nicotine and caffeine are both very similar in the way it affects your brain. I think like JR said it was a very fast change. Similar emotional changes happen to many of us after quitting smoking, so many chemicals in cigarettes other than nicotine are now out of your system and its a big change and maybe you did it too fast. I definitely would speak to your doctor. It might be nothing but a delayed reaction to the lack of nicotine. I have lowered my nic but not lower than 6mg. Coffee has been found to help older persons with depression, it keeps the brainis synapses sparking better. Nicotine being similar in chemistry probably does the same.

Another thing that might have happened is that you had an underlying depressive problem and the nicotine was masking it, being a stimulant it was keeping the depression at bay. I would defiantly see a Dr. Have simple blood tests done to rule out anything. Maybe smoking represented something in you that you liked, be it " coolness, machoness, something manly that is gone. DOnt worry, you did a GIANT step real quick, and you need time to adjust. Were you doing anything sporty before? Maybe more exercise will help.

Keep us posted. See a doctor and then a therapist, dont let posts like a couple of the above make you feel weird, Depression already makes one feel like "freak" and causes one to feel out of touch and "alien" . Believe me , I used to make fun of all those commercials about depression and how it hurts. But things change and I know all too well how depression can be just as devastating as finding you have a disease.

 

[Heavyrocker]

Try vaping again and see if this improves your mood.

 

[mitzeli]

It seems after 5 months of vaping, Nicotine was lowered from 36mg to 24, 18, 12, 6, 4, 2, 1 and now 0-0.5, I seem to have succeeded in controlling tobacco cravings after 10 years as a heavy smoker, not even vape constantly as before. The only negative thing is that I suddenly seem to lose my vitality.Yes. I have lost all of my vitality.

I'm a very lucky person. A perfect family, many friends, good job, desirable girlfriend. I can do whatever I want, and people always respect me. But, after quiting smoking, I feel like I'm becoming a poet. Everyday I sit at the desk, look out of the window, stare at the sunshine and are sad about things that do not exist. An invisible sorrow is chasing me everyday, even I have a very happy life.

I wonder how long this feeling will end?

Every and I do mean every time I quit smoking, like clockwork 3 months nicotine free (it took me a few round to figure this out)and I would be so depressed that I was suicidal. When I got to that point and figured I was going to die anyway I smoked. I KNOW I become depressed without nicotine. I haven't smoked in 6 months but still do 18 mgs. I am going to take it SLOW.

 

[MikenGA]

Hi bineva17,
I began smoking analogs at age 27. It didn't take more than 3 weeks for me to realize I was 'less depressed' than before I started. Self medication? Probably!

Years ago, during one of my efforts to quit smoking, I grew extremely depressed. My doctor said, "If you can quit smoking, we'll put you on Xanax for awhile...and maybe a more permanent drug to help with depression."

I can't think of a good reason to quit smoking, only to adopt "permanent" prescription meds!

As a vaper, I recently took my nic level to ZERO...but the depression from earlier years returned. So, I raised my nic level back to about 6mg, and the clouds lifted.

I vape nic, because it lifts my spirits. If this is 'self medication', I'm all for it. (I also use band aids on cuts, 'self administer' cold medicine when needed, and drink coffee every...EVERY morning, to get my day going.)

Have you tried raising your nic level several notches to determine if the depression subsides?

 

[wonderland]

Aside from the nicotine, there is an MAOI (anti-depressant) in tobacco that is not in most e-liquids unless you are using one that contains WTA (whole tobacco alkaloid). It may help you to see a doctor about an anti-depressant if you were (like many of us) self-medicating for depression with cigarettes.

 

[Inside_English]

I read an article in a psychology class about the anti-depressant effects of smoking cigarettes. The population studied, however, was a group of people involved in gangs who witnessed violence and committed crimes on a daily basis. Not only that, but they were around street drugs like ....... and ecstasy. Case and point, the study concluded that in THESE groups of people, those who smoked cigarettes (self-medicated with nicotine/tobacco) were found to have a lower incidence of depression compared to the relatively high rates of depression of their non-smoking counterparts.

OP, I'm not really sure if this helps, but it seemed pertinent to the thread.

 

[Salt&PePPer]

Sounds like onset of mild accute depression.

 

[Hulamoon]

Certainly MAOI's have a big impact on mood, and they are in cigarettes. That's why Chantix claimed they could prescribe an anti-depressant and that would help smokers quit. I would strongly recommend that you go back to vaping and get back to a nicotine level that keeps you in your normal comfortable state. Nicotine is a stimulant also and reducing it so fast will cause lethargy. 5months to go down to 0 nicotine is admirable, but only if you can cope with it. Get back on the nicotine and cut down MUCH MORE SLOWLY. Good luck bud!

 

[bineva17]

Much grateful to those who are giving me advice.

When my parents retired, I decided to quit smoking to keep fresh air in our home (as Asians, we often live with our parents until marriage). I'm not a good self-control person. 10 years ago, when smoking, I stumbled mallet continuous smoking 2-3 packs a day, and always seem to not leave the cigarette out of my mouth. This makes my life more difficult. I always have the smell of tobacco, and felt restless when not smoking in the workplace.

This is similar to vaping. Despite quit smoking, I still feel restless and want to vape constantly, so I feel the need to reduce the amount of nicotine to 0, and I have succeeded. When vaping at 0mg and sometimes 0.5mg, I feel a lot better, I can work continuously for hours without vaping, and am not dependent on nicotine anymore. Vaping is now just a sense of fun when I need to relax, when viewing pictures, or listening to music.

Not only that, I also reduced the amount of caffeine to only about 1/4 or even less. I also do not want to depend on coffee, as the days I don't drink coffee are the days I feel headache and have no consciousness.

I started gaining weight, assuming 10 kg body weight. And so after about 1 or 2 months, I started to feel upset for no reason like this ...

I think that I should do the work-out harder, raise caffeine's amount and may be, one day, raise the level of nicotine if I would no longer stand this situation.

And I do believe, in some ways, caffeine and nicotine can inspire us much...

 

[Hello World]

It seems after 5 months of vaping, Nicotine was lowered from 36mg to 24, 18, 12, 6, 4, 2, 1 and now 0-0.5, I seem to have succeeded in controlling tobacco cravings after 10 years as a heavy smoker, not even vape constantly as before. The only negative thing is that I suddenly seem to lose my vitality.Yes. I have lost all of my vitality.

I'm a very lucky person. A perfect family, many friends, good job, desirable girlfriend. I can do whatever I want, and people always respect me. But, after quiting smoking, I feel like I'm becoming a poet. Everyday I sit at the desk, look out of the window, stare at the sunshine and are sad about things that do not exist. An invisible sorrow is chasing me everyday, even I have a very happy life.

I wonder how long this feeling will end?

What do you feel should exist that doesn't that would make you feel less sorrow?

Not only that, I also reduced the amount of caffeine to only about 1/4 or even less. I also do not want to depend on coffee, as the days I don't drink coffee are the days I feel headache and have no consciousness.

Maybe you are slaying too many dragons at the same time?

 

[Hulamoon]

Keep at it bineva! I think your only error so far is Too much Too Soon. Give yourself reasonable timeframes to reduce nicotine and caffeine. I would suggest raising your nicotine to say 1-3 mg for now, maybe have a separate clearo with 3 mg in it, and 1 with 0. You have achieved an amazing!!! amount already. mean Wow! Don't blow it by not giving yourself a break here and there and hopefully the mood and energy will come back. Cigarette quitters have often said that their mood and need for a cigarette can come back and hit them very very hard after 3-5 months, so vape your way through it, have a coffee or a cola, and keep your levels stable.

Much grateful to those who are giving me advice.

When my parents retired, I decided to quit smoking to keep fresh air in our home (as Asians, we often live with our parents until marriage). I'm not a good self-control person. 10 years ago, when smoking, I stumbled mallet continuous smoking 2-3 packs a day, and always seem to not leave the cigarette out of my mouth. This makes my life more difficult. I always have the smell of tobacco, and felt restless when not smoking in the workplace.

This is similar to vaping. Despite quit smoking, I still feel restless and want to vape constantly, so I feel the need to reduce the amount of nicotine to 0, and I have succeeded. When vaping at 0mg and sometimes 0.5mg, I feel a lot better, I can work continuously for hours without vaping, and am not dependent on nicotine anymore. Vaping is now just a sense of fun when I need to relax, when viewing pictures, or listening to music.

Not only that, I also reduced the amount of caffeine to only about 1/4 or even less. I also do not want to depend on coffee, as the days I don't drink coffee are the days I feel headache and have no consciousness.

I started gaining weight, assuming 10 kg body weight. And so after about 1 or 2 months, I started to feel upset for no reason like this ...

I think that I should do the work-out harder, raise caffeine's amount and may be, one day, raise the level of nicotine if I would no longer stand this situation.

And I do believe, in some ways, caffeine and nicotine can inspire us much...

 

[budynbuick]

.

And I do believe, in some ways, caffeine and nicotine can inspire us much...

I read a article some years ago about an artist & his wife that quit smoking & they lost all inspiration. They said they had to go back to smoking. Please, don't you do that but just raise your nic level. No brain pills as they make you unable to feel 'anything'. Hope it works out for you.
Keith

 

[fourthrok]

After reading your experience with dropping nicotine so quickly...I'm re-thinking my own "game plan". I quit smoking and started vaping about 14 months ago and it's taken me all that time to work my way down from 24-18mg to 4mg. I was thinking about continuing on down to 0 in the next few months, but now...I don't know. Maybe I should stay at 4mg awhile. I have developed some anxiety issues as I've aged, and am struggling against depression...which has been a problem for the past 8 years after a series of deaths in the family, bad health and financial difficulties. Maybe it's not such a good idea to remove from my life that bit of comfort and "inspiration" the little bit of nic I do use provides.

Something to think about. Thank you for bringing this subject up. It's one discussed too little sometimes, I think.