Anyone Else Try an Analog After 6 mos and NOTHING Bad Happens???

[JLeigh]

I smoke one once in awhile, but I stick with American Spirit which is pure tobacco (which is what I smoked before vaping). I maybe have 4-5 a month. I enjoy it while I smoke it, but I don't enjoy vaping any less, so it doesn't cause me to yearn to pick up the smokes full-time again.

I think the health aspects of smoking has a lot to do with genetics and how healthy you are overall. My grandma is almost 90 years old, and she smoked 4-5 packs of Kools a day for almost 60 years. We never saw grandma without a cig in her hand and clouds of smoke swirling around her lol. She's still just as chipper as ever. She does have her health problems, but they are the usual elderly health problems. A friend of my sister is all about health --organic everything, supplements, herbs, etc., etc., yet he smokes (raised my eyebrows when I heard that). However, he is educated in the science and use of herbs, and he uses lobelia to literally clean out his lungs. About every 2 months he takes just enough of it (and you gotta be careful with that stuff) to make his lungs purge any junk in it (no I have never witnessed this...ick). His lungs are clear as a bell.

Sorry for the longish ramble.

 

[JoeD4]

the body relaxation is probably a slight buzz due to the lack of oxygen in your bloodstream due to inhaling combusted material, and the carbon monoxide and all the other chemicals.. even the butane fumes from the lighter contribute
the euphoric effects of oxygen deprivation increase as you decrease the oxygen to the brain, until unconsciousness or death occur. (little kids 'choking game', auto-erotic asphyxiation, etc).

Cigarettes give you this euphoric rush/relaxation too, just in tiny measured amounts

Kind of makes me want to half strangle myself with a phone cord while I vape! Just kidding! Besides, in this age of cell phones and cordless everything, where would I find a phone cord? Wait, where's that USB cable...

 

[Poeia]

I'm lucky in that I never cared for the taste of tobacco which, I think, made the switch easier. Even so, it took me a while to find the right mix for me. I tried all PG (sore throat) and all VG (stomach ache). A combination of the two works but, if it hadn't, I'd be looking for vendors who use PEG to try that. Is it possible that some of the problems you're having are due to either the base or an ingredient in some of the flavors you are vaping?

I think the people who use vaping as a way to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke (rather than eliminate them altogether) are probably less vocal on the forum in part because they are less into the whole "culture." Someone who is vaping one cartful on a stock 510 each day isn't looking for the perfect battery or cart mod.

Find the combination of cigarettes and vape that works for you. Know that you're spending less and inhaling fewer chemicals than you were when you were only using analogs. If you want to eliminate smoking altogether, you'll get there when the time is right for you.

I really don't feel much of an improvement in my lungs and while smoking I never had allergies but now if I am not sneezing I am congested and my eyes are runny unless I take a Claratin

Could the weather be a factor? I use a generic Claritin every day and, when my allergies were particularly bad, one or two Benadryls at night. Since I started vaping, my indoor/winter allergies have been much better. The Claritin kept the symptoms down to a very low level. But, now that things are springing out of the ground, they're getting worse again.

In addition my knees are absolutely KILLING me. I cannot walk up stairs without incredible pain and walking down them isn't much better. I guess nicotine really is an anti-inflammatory and I'm just not getting enough from my PV even though I vape 36mg almost constantly.

Without the carbon monoxide in your system, your blood is carrying much more oxygen to all your muscles than you're used to. That could be a factor.

 

[Kate51]

Smoke one? Not me! Can't stand the smell.
I sat beside my sister in church and in the car yesterday. She is still smoking, after all my begging to just give an e-cig a try. I even offered to get her a couple pkgs of disposables. She is so stubborn. And she smells, really bad, bless her heart. She's 69 years old, I told her she may live to 100 if she quits. We could play Uecker together! (I'm six years younger!) She thought I was just being silly. Well.....no, maybe not.....

 

[Lioness]

Find the combination of cigarettes and vape that works for you. Know that you're spending less and inhaling fewer chemicals than you were when you were only using analogs. If you want to eliminate smoking altogether, you'll get there when the time is right for you.

Seriously. What's wrong with smoking 2 or 4 or 6 analogs a day along with vaping instead of the pack or two one previously smoked? If that's what it takes to cut down on the total amount of harmful effects and/or expense and still feel normal or good, I can't see how that's a bad thing.

 

[Bellasin]

I smoke one once in awhile, but I stick with American Spirit which is pure tobacco (which is what I smoked before vaping). I maybe have 4-5 a month. I enjoy it while I smoke it, but I don't enjoy vaping any less, so it doesn't cause me to yearn to pick up the smokes full-time again.


I too had smoked nothing but pure tobacco cigs for 6 years prior to stopping 6 mos ago. So when I read that maybe I feel so wretched due to added chemicals, I wonder, what chemicals? I was smoking pure tobacco with pure cotton filters. My health has suffered beyond my chronic illnesses since I switched to vaping/snus and at one point I was so short of breath I was scared, which never happened until I only vaped. I already went thru the whole PG/VG/juice thing, it helped not at all, except I learned not to touch TV full flavored juices.

I also have worse muscle pain and simply feel lousy since I stopped analogs. I look like I aged 10 years in a matter of months. I really dread going back to analogs, but the way I felt after just 1, I might buy a pack. It wasnt just that I felt relaxed, I felt like my former self, and I had not craved analogs even once when I started vaping. I only smoked that 1 out of curiosity.

 

[Kate51]

Again, a lot of people need the added MAOI's from tobacco that aren't in e-liquid...snus or dissolvables...they are the 'euphoria' of smoking, without the smoke.

 

[CaptJay]

Really people need to chill on the anti smoking thing - if this guy feels like crap and a cig makes him feel better then why shouldnt he have one? Its one or 2 cigs its not 1 or 2 packs - he knows the risks and he's ok with them - we used to be as well - remember? I do - I knew they would kill me and I smoked em anyways. Now I do something I prefer but that doesn't mean Im a better person, it just mean I made a different choice.
You do what you need to mate, and good luck.

 

[D103]

I smoke one once in awhile, but I stick with American Spirit which is pure tobacco (which is what I smoked before vaping). I maybe have 4-5 a month. I enjoy it while I smoke it, but I don't enjoy vaping any less, so it doesn't cause me to yearn to pick up the smokes full-time again.


I too had smoked nothing but pure tobacco cigs for 6 years prior to stopping 6 mos ago. So when I read that maybe I feel so wretched due to added chemicals, I wonder, what chemicals? I was smoking pure tobacco with pure cotton filters. My health has suffered beyond my chronic illnesses since I switched to vaping/snus and at one point I was so short of breath I was scared, which never happened until I only vaped. I already went thru the whole PG/VG/juice thing, it helped not at all, except I learned not to touch TV full flavored juices.

I also have worse muscle pain and simply feel lousy since I stopped analogs. I look like I aged 10 years in a matter of months. I really dread going back to analogs, but the way I felt after just 1, I might buy a pack. It wasnt just that I felt relaxed, I felt like my former self, and I had not craved analogs even once when I started vaping. I only smoked that 1 out of curiosity.

Ah yes, the true nature of addiction! as in alcohol and other drug addiction, it is not the last one that kills me rather the very first one.
That said, Bellasin, by all means go ahead and smoke if that is what you want, it is certainly your right - and after all that is what many of us on this forum rant and rave about "our right to choose..." You should not have to justisfy your decision to anyone. I am only sorry that vaping has thus far not worked out well for you. I read somewhere that the nicotine absorption time is slower when vaping as opposed to smoking so that may be why you feel that "immediate sense of well being" from smoking that you do not get from vaping. But regardless I support whatever you choose to do - again it is your right!

 

[me who]

In addition my knees are absolutely KILLING me. I cannot walk up stairs without incredible pain and walking down them isn't much better.

I've also suffered from joint pain especially in my knees most of my life but I'm finding kicking up the water and dropping the nic a bit is helping.

'If you are an individual with existing joint problems like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or gout, temporary 2-3 week elimination of nightshade"

WHFoods: What are nightshades and in which foods are they found?

Best of Luck!

 

[prr2freya]

I went over 4 months without a cigarette when I started vaping. Then I went through some stressful things and when offered a cigarette, I didn't have the usual strength to say no. It went downhill from there for me and I went back to a pack a day for 6 months and my vaping supplies were completely ignored. I kept telling myself I would get back to it.. I had over a years worth of juice to use up.

I finally went back to vaping a few weeks ago and bought a mod and have been spending a LOT of time reading the forums again and have not touched a cigarette in 2 weeks.

For me it is an all or nothing thing. All it takes is 1 ciggy and I am right back on them. I wish I could do both for awhile but when I have tried that, the cigarette always seems to win. I sort of envy those who can find a balance between the two and then eventually (if they choose) cut down to nothing and just vape. Even when I was dead broke I resorted to rolling tobacco when I had Vp's and juice within my reach. I finally made the decision again and switched back to Vp's and I am very happy about it. It is so damn hard for me. I am fine so long as I don't touch a real cigarette. I have to switch juice flavors constantly and fiddle around a lot to keep me occupied, but so far so good.

It isn't just my health that makes me want to quit, it is to honor a promise I made to my Zen when he died from a failed lung transplant. That was two years ago and I am still trying. I started smoking when I was 7 years old believe it or not. It was easy with a chainsmoking mother who left open packs in every room including the bathroom. I just turned 36. It's time I took control of this.

 

[EasyVapin]

I still smoke. Probably about 2-3 during the weekdays and 10 or so on the weekend. Far cry from what I was smoking before though, I'll admit that in a heartbeat. I've tried every form of vaping I can, spent more money on it than I would have spent on smokes now in search for an all day vape (still yet to find it) and I'm still smoking. Go figure that out.

I will say though, that reading a lot of the "success stories" on here at least got me to the point where I decided to give vaping another chance & order an eGo. It's much better than the 901 ever hoped to be and I wouldn't have even known that PV's had gotten that much better had I not stumbled across this site. I've also found some flavorings that I actually don't mind vaping for long periods of time (Tennessee Cured and, oddly enough, one I haven't seen mentioned here much but sounded great while making another order, Cinnibiscus).

Now if I could only find a menthol that actually tasted like a menthol (Marlboro Mild, preferrably) and not the mintiest mint on the planet. Hopefully, one of Halo's will pull through in the clutch when I make my order in about 3 hours!

 

[Orko]

I have smoked analogs every once in awhile. If I'm hanging out with friends or family who smoke. Vaping just seems like something I do at home. I have "quit" smoking for the most part, maybe had a dozen analogs since I started vaping 4 months ago. Every time I have one though it just makes me wish I was vaping instead.

 

[blondeambition3]

It's not about "inhaling smoke". It's that cigarettes have been fine tuned with countless chemicals to produce the result that you've now noticed. That's why they are so addictive. That's why it is so difficult to quit.

This is all true..... and this is also "why" Cigarettes KILL....

*I'm less than "delicate" now about the long term effects of smoking cigarettes since they recently killed my youngest Brother.

 

[Vocalek]

When I first started vaping, I was using the "high" cartridge which was 16 mg. I needed to switch to a higher strength nicotine to feel normal--24 mg. works for me. I would not want to go back to smoking analogs because I used to lie abed at night being kept awake by the sound of my wheezing. That's gone and I don't it back.

I was using nicotine gum and smoking 10 cigarettes per day when I switched to vaping. I've continued using the gum. I had also been taking 8 mg. once or twice a day of galantamine to keep the brain working, and bupropion for about 15 years. Notice that it took multiple tools for me to be able to not smoke and feel "normal."

If there came a time when I could not get supplies for my e-cigarette, I would keep all the other tools and add in snus.

 

[Haytoni]

I am completely stunned, the other night I smoked an analog after totally not smoking for 6 months. I expected lung pain, coughing, horrid taste, something very unpleasant. Instead, it was as if I had smoked my last analog 20 mins ago, not 6 months. No bad physical sensations at all. Only thing I felt was a total body relaxation I have not felt since starting ecigs/snus.

I really thought ecigs had some sort of positive effect in the lungs which after 6 mos would mean an analog would hurt me. I wondered if anyone else had experienced the same thing. I have felt much worse since quitting analogs, never better. I went to snus in search of alkaloids. But after 1 analog I could not believe how totally relaxed I felt. I really did not expect this so thought I should post something.

I did and it tasted yukkie........one drag and I chucked it. And that my friend is after smoking for over 60 years.

 

[jayhawk]

I had a couple of drags off a cigarette after not smoking for 6 months and I have to admit it just reminded me why I loved smoking.... Some of us just love smoking and the buzz it gives ...

 

[Kirssstens]

I can't do it because of the headache, heartbreak, quilt and self-hatred that goes along with it. I wish it wasn't that way, sometimes I'd really like a cig to help me fall asleep easier at night. That headache is a migraine times 1000, the worst I've ever felt and the memory alone is enough to put me off cigarettes.

I quit smoking for 3 years using the patch/gum and it was definately not the Nirvana I was sure it was promised to be. You are still the same jerk you always were but without the cigarettes to comfort you during your miserable existance.

 

[cliff5550]

After 11 months of vaping I have no desire to even try a cigarette. Hell, after my first day with my first e-cig I had no desire for a cigarette, and I probably smoked more and for longer than many in here. I smoked for about 45 years and when I quit cigarettes last July I was smoking 2-3 packs a day.
A crappy, leaf-burning, chemical-filled, stink stick cigarette has no appeal for me. I'm not even curious. That was a whole other life.

 

[Vocalek]

I had a couple of drags off a cigarette after not smoking for 6 months and I have to admit it just reminded me why I loved smoking.... Some of us just love smoking and the buzz it gives ...

Maybe that's the explanation! I don't know what this "buzz" thing is. I don't get any feeling from nicotine that would be similar to what I feel when I have had a couple of drinks or have been given that good stuff they give you right before the anesthesia. No happy glow. Is that what you mean by "buzz"?

When I inhale nicotine, I get a feeling of alertness and relaxation, simultaneously. I become elevated from sub-par up to "normal."

Now if you've read some of my other posts, you will recall that I self-medicate with nicotine to treat mood and cognitive impairments related to imbalances in neurotransmitters. Maybe those who have normal neurotransmitters experience a buzz.

A parallel situation would be Oxycodone. My husband had severe back pain and taking Oxycodone relieved his pain. But he never felt "buzzed." Maybe you have to not need the drug in order to experience a buzz from it.

Thoughts?