Baby steps since starting E-cigs on 7/2/10

[Elquin]

I got my blue finally on friday 7/2 in the afternoon.
I tore into the package and got my blu up and going..

I had smoked my last "make it your self" analog on the way home to get my kit, and I wanted
another one.

My first thoughts were, "ok this will work nicely" my second thoughts were " ACK..I think I got the nic mg too high" ...it seems at 18mg its a bit high for me

also I learned very quickly you can not smoke a e-cig like a you would an analog nor as long, at least I can't at this dosage.

I have learned to take a few vapes....and wait a bit..
I am also staying to my normal routine of going outside to smoke, just taking the blu with me.

so far....things are good. I am not craving an analog cig at all.
the blu seems to be doing just fine for me.

ONLY thing I am having issues on is emotions...
I am snapping and lashing out verbally
then I swing down the other way were I feel so depressed and sad I break into tears

my weak time is in the morning after 9 and up until noon...then I balance out again.
and NO not taking any mood/mind drugs...I am hoping this will level off soon...
I have only been doing this ...what? 3 days?

will also do a review on this blu in the blu section in a while.

anyone else go though things like this?

 

[jj2]

You are right, you aren't taking any mood/mind drugs---remember there is about 3,995 more things in cigs besides nicotine.
And yes, I was a bit cranky. It also could be because you're getting too much nicotine.
Just keep at it and find you comfort zone.
Good luck.

 

[Elquin]

that might be the case....reason I said I think it was too high, or at least too high to try and smoke a blue like analog is...
I started to feel high
not a bad feeling but....one I had not felt since I first started some 30 year ago..
so what I have done is back off the number of vapes...

when I feel the nic kick...I stop..
no craving monsters..and I feel good.

and Like I said this crankyness seems to happen from 9am to about noon then I balance out.

 

[Blaze]

Just make sure you don't get down on yourself for anything. It's good your not having the cravings for analogs, but don't completely count them out yet. It took me 2 months to finally give them up completely. Just keep in mind that while ecigs can replace the nicotine and the physical routine, they can't replace all the other crap you slowly became addicted to that are in analogs, and I found that, for me anyways, the other stuff was MUCH harder to give up than the nicotine (even in my previous attempts at quitting all together, I've tried everything). But at the same time, don't use it as a "crutch" either.

Everything will eventually even out, you'll get more and more used to vaping, the desire for all the other crap, while it may never completely disappear, will subside to the point of being able to resist

Welcome to your new, healthier lifestyle. I'm sure you'll love it like I do

 

[shatner]

The crankiness will go away, no worries. It's most likely withdrawal from MAOIs in combusted tobacco.

Good jerb!

 

[coralie]

I experienced the crankiness too when I first started vaping and tried to stop cigs at the same time. I would lose my temper over something I knew was stupid and then 10 minutes later, I'd be balling my eyes out. It was the MAOIs. Now I can go all day without a cigarette and I'm usually fine. Still having one or two at night, but they taste terrible. Those are about to go by the wayside too, but it will be leaving them, rather than me feeling deprived of them. For some, like me, it helps to think of it as weaning yourself of the MAOIs; for others, it's better to tough it out for 3-4 days, run the gamut of emotions, and then it's out of your system. Only you know what's best for you. If you try one way it really isn't working, don't beat yourself up if you have a cig. It doesn't have to be all or nothing, and the learning curve can be tough. Just keep vaping, and you'll get there.

 

[Nyxie]

Congrats on the vaping!
I can agree with most of what has been said already. MAOI's ( or lack of them) may be the culprit. I went through a couple of weeks like that.

I also found a lot of it also had to do with my denying myself my old friends Newport 100's. So I just keep in my head, I can have one if I want, I just don't want one right now. That helped with my mood swings too. Taking the quit word out of my head. I keep some half smoked ....'s around just in case, they are a safety blanket. I can not keep a pack around because I know I will smoke them, even though they are disgusting to me now. Hubby cleaned out the porch where I keep them (my butts) and I flipped, even though I had not had a smoke for 1 month at that time. It has been over two months now and I still have those butts there, I think of them less often but they keep me nice to people .

 

[BiffRocko]

If you feel like the 18mg juice is too high, you can mix it with vegetable glycerin to cut the strength. You can do a 1:1 mix to go down to 9mg or a 2:1 (2 parts juice to 1 part VG) to go down to 12mg. This is what my wife and I have been doing until my DIY supplies arrive in the mail. It will dilute the flavor a bit, but it will also keep you off analogs. Just make sure the VG you buy says USP on it. This means it's safe for human consumption and safe to vape with.

WalMart has 6oz bottles of VG for $2.98. You can also get a graduated syringe that comes with a tiny little mixing beaker for $1.76. I found both the syringe and the VG in the pharmacy department. Some people have reported finding the VG in the craft section though. It would probably be a good idea to pick up some kind of small plastic dripper bottle to store your mixed juice. I ordered mine from US Plastic, but I'm sure WalMart will have something you can use.

 

[Elquin]

thanks all

first let me say that I Don't crave, want or feel left out on analogs at all.
I can stand around other analog users and I don't look longinly at their smokes. I can smell them and still no craving for it.

I vape...
I get my nic kick..and all is good..

and Yups, I know I can cut down the mg of nic in my supplies and have done so already...just a tad...
and I still have some at 18 mg for any time that I might need a bigger kick

 

[LadyPhoenix]

I only gave up analogs completely 2 weeks ago so I'm going through the process as you are. I'd say it was the same for me the first few days - I was cranky and woke up feeling emotional and ready for an argument with my husband if he said the wrong thing! But by day 7 without analogs it went away for me, as well as the feeling of needing to stick a cigarette in mouth as soon as I rolled out of bed.

 

[Automaton]

Hey Elquin! As others have said, what you're going through is not uncommon.

It's not just nicotine in cigarettes. It's also MAOI's, as well as a dozen other potentially addictive chemicals that we don't fully understand, as far as the role they play in cigarette addiction.

So even if you don't want a cigarette, you're still going through some withdrawl.

I take Omega-3 (fish oil supplement) for moods, and increased my dose from 4000mg a day to 6000mg a day for just this reason. And even with such a huge dose, I'm still getting a little bit of the mood swings and irritability, but I really do think it helps. I smoked my last cig the morning of July 3rd.

Maybe look into something like Omega-3, or possibly St. Johns Wort. You can pick them up in he vitamin isle of the supermarket. It may help your brain chemistry even out a bit.

 

[Elquin]

so far it seems that the 9 till noon mood swing has decreased.

I am currently trying to get my fellow work mates to join me in vaping..each day is proof that this works when I can stand among them
grin and vape some tastey stuff, and not even want one of theres.

Like I said before, I can smell theirs but there is no craving for it, I just vape away.

also reading in this forum has helped me a ton too, knowing that there is others out there who are vaping and have stopped smoking because of it gives me the resolve to keep going =D