Coming out of lurkdom to say hello! (and to ask a few silly, newbie questions)

[AshMPWrites]

Hello from Chicago! My name is Ashley and I'm working on becoming a reformed smoker.

I've smoked for 12-13 years pretty much continuously; started when I was 18 and I'm now 31. I'm completely new to the vaping/e-cigarette world, and so far so good -- however, I'm not without my issues and I was hoping maybe y'all would have some words of wisdom.

I had my last cigarette Friday at 1:30p -- it's now Tuesday night and I'm... okay. Because my juice does have nicotine, I'm not going crazy (thank you BOV), but I am struggling when it comes to the habitual behaviors that came with my cigarettes. Full disclosure: I'm a novelist. I smoke when I write, and I write my best stuff while smoking. I'm struggling to get the same creative levels while vaping -- but let's be honest: My mod is heavy, my tank is big, and I'm not finding my flow. It's really hard, really discouraging, really frustrating. I'm good when I'm out of the house, I'm good when I'm busy ... but when it's me and my computer, I'm really having a rough go of it. I've not given in, I've stuck it out (I've taken a lot of naps) but I'm wondering if quitting all at once wasn't a bit of a mistake and if maybe I should have weened myself onto the vapor during my work day rather than rip the bandaid off altogether.

Theoretically, I could give up cigarettes 100%, no problem, if it wasn't for my mind not working the same without them -- is that mental? I don't know. So my question is... did anyone experience anything similar? What were your solutions? I'm 4 days, 11 hours, 14 minutes and 2 seconds free of cigarettes, I don't want to fail myself...but I need to work and write... Help?

 

[Susan~S]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Glad to have you here!

I'm struggling to get the same creative levels while vaping -- but let's be honest: My mod is heavy, my tank is big, and I'm not finding my flow.

What mod are you using while writing? Have you considered getting smaller if size is an issue while writing?

 

[powercat14]

Ashley, I have similar issues (over a year smoke free now) and from observing/talking to co-workers and other vapors what I have decided is that to give you the best chance of success is to initially follow your same smoking habits. IE: Follow your general "smoking" routine, morning coffee, inside/outside only, etc- whatever you normally do just use your vape. If your nicotine strength is correct you are much more likely to succeed as well in that your body won't go thru the "cold turkey or low dosage" withdraw..... once you get comfortable you can slide down a little as you are ready-- IF you are ever ready. Even if you leave the same nic level that is still 1000% better than the analog cig at similar nic level.

Now you mentioned you have a big tank & mod... When I am working reports or quotes at my desk I had the same issues with size and practical use so what I ended up doing is I would have my mod for when I went on break/lunch or at leisure.... but when dialed in on task at hand I solved it (or improved work outcomes anyway) by simply getting a 1300 or 1500mAh (even an 1100 would work) ego/evod style battery and a nautilius mini bdc tank (the tank is a beast with either my 1300 or 1500mAh batteries and really kicks on my mod.... but I just got a pouch lanyard and while working I would reach down, hit the button take a "drag" and keep right on going... or on my 1100 or 1300 with a standard SMOK RBC or Kanger T3S bottom coil tank I can keep it in my hand like a cig and drag when I need but still have dexterity to type or multi-task.

Long story short I use the smaller 1100 to mimic my habit when working and then my mod to think, relax or any other form of hands on task. It will take about 3 weeks after your last cig to get the 4000+ chemicals/toxins you inhaled from the analogs to pass thru your liver and kidneys, purging most from your system.... then you will find the you will just wake up more energetic, refreshed and just... better. You already are experiencing taste bud rejuvenation and likely your sense of smell will start coming back as well.... (you may hit a flavor wall 4-6 weeks in where just nothing you vape, eat or drink taste that great, don't panic it will pass rather quickly... I personally do pipe, cigar and fruit vape's but I keep an atomic fireball or Fire & Ice (cinnamon based vapes) to hit on for a while every other day or so to keep taste buds alive) Bottom line, keep on keepin on- I have faith you will rock it!

 

[Harlen]

Hello and welcome
For me I had to up the nicotine to 36mg/ml to get what I needed , now down to under 6mg
It takes time it find what works for you .
Best wishes
H

 

[Ekcivic]

Everyone is different I started at 24 mg and have worked down to 6mg in a yr it takes time. I am always around smokes at work and it hard. I just learned that I just had to think about other things when I was craving a cig. I had to pull out my vision spinner out. A lot of it is u have to find the nic tank and battery that works best for u. Once you find that you will have no issues

 

[jonhall2]

Ashley, one read and I see you are a gifted writer. It takes some time getting used to the size and weight of any ecig gear. It provides for me what I need to not smoke. Tangible clouds of nicotine rich vapor. Just keep something handy when your writing. Take a vape, chain vape if necessary. when you feel it, set down your device and write. Don't give it a second thought. It will be right there when you need it again. It took me a while to figure out what nicotine level best suited me and how to adjust for different devices. I still crave a smoke now and then. A good vape takes it all away. Never fails. I am coming up on 9 mos smokefree and still amazed by how well vaping works. I will never smoke again. My hope is you won't either.

 

[Auntie Mame]

I always smoked heavily while working at the computer. I struggled with it at the beginning. I came to the conclusion that the brief time it took me to take out a cig, grab my lighter, make sure I had an ashtray and then light the damn thing was my little mental break. Perhaps the first drag gave me a jolt of nicotine to add to the ritual.

My remedy was to fill my tank with 24 mg rather than my usual 18 and then unscrew my tank from the battery. The new brief break now required that I reconnect everything before I took that first puff. As silly as it sounds, it has worked for me. I no longer take it apart but I do often make sure my tank is full of a higher mg than my norm.

 

[AshMPWrites]

Thank you everyone who has taken the time to reply! I really appreciate your suggestions.

As far as what my set-up looks like... I have the Smoktech Zmax Mini (gun metal) and the Aspire Nautilus tank, I'm vaping BOV (by Boosted) during the day, and I'm using a local vape shop's blend of spearmint with melatonin starting at around 10p to help me fall asleep -- which I vap out a Kanger tank. I can snap a picture in a bit and add it to the picture page.

I'm on 12mg for my nicotine. I was a pack and a half smoker a day (Marbolo Menthol 72's / green pack). I've asked about going higher with the MGs at the vapor stores near my home -- I've been told I could higher, but I'd end up with a stronger throat-hit, and I'll be honest, I don't love the throat hit and 12 still sort of burns, but not in a good way. I'm hesitant to go higher because I'm not having nicotine withdrawal, which is amazing and has also allowed me to sort of float through the first 4.5 days.

I do worry I'm not vaping enough to cover myself, though. Like I said, I was a pack and a half per day and I'm only vaping a full tank once every 4 days. I tend to refill before I'm totally empty, but I went from >5ml (I overfilled) to 2ml in almost 4 days.

Thank you everyone again so much for helping me figure this out. I have to just say, y'all are amazing. Seriously. I'm so new to this, and I've not yet met one person who is anything less than kind and forthcoming and excited to share what they know. Yes, vaping is great, but the community makes it something special.

 

[daleron]

Welcome Ashley
Have you thought about using an E-roll while writing?

 

[Sirius]

Thank you everyone who has taken the time to reply! I really appreciate your suggestions.

As far as what my set-up looks like... I have the Smoktech Zmax Mini (gun metal) and the Aspire Nautilus tank, I'm vaping BOV (by Boosted) during the day, and I'm using a local vape shop's blend of spearmint with melatonin starting at around 10p to help me fall asleep -- which I vap out a Kanger tank. I can snap a picture in a bit and add it to the picture page.

I'm on 12mg for my nicotine. I was a pack and a half smoker a day (Marbolo Menthol 72's / green pack). I've asked about going higher with the MGs at the vapor stores near my home -- I've been told I could higher, but I'd end up with a stronger throat-hit, and I'll be honest, I don't love the throat hit and 12 still sort of burns, but not in a good way. I'm hesitant to go higher because I'm not having nicotine withdrawal, which is amazing and has also allowed me to sort of float through the first 4.5 days.

I do worry I'm not vaping enough to cover myself, though. Like I said, I was a pack and a half per day and I'm only vaping a full tank once every 4 days. I tend to refill before I'm totally empty, but I went from >5ml (I overfilled) to 2ml in almost 4 days.

Thank you everyone again so much for helping me figure this out. I have to just say, y'all are amazing. Seriously. I'm so new to this, and I've not yet met one person who is anything less than kind and forthcoming and excited to share what they know. Yes, vaping is great, but the community makes it something special.

Hello Ashley..That very much reminds me of when I started vaping. I bought a couple of eGos and a pack of cartos and 24mg juice because I was a heavy smoker. I sometimes smoked 2 packs of Marlboro Reds a day! Didn't take me long to realize that 24mg brought on a headache so I dropped down to 12mg. I wish you success hon. I never thought a year later I would be vaping 6mg juices. Whatever keeps you off those cigarettes that works for you use it. You'll find your vaping niche.

 

[Sirius]

Welcome Ashley
Have you thought about using an E-roll while writing?

I was thinking the same. Or eGo with pass through.

 

[Amraann]

HI and welcome!

Gear makes a huge difference in throat hit etc. So if you go to a cigalike you could up the nic and it probably would not be to harsh on your throat.

 

[tazzle]

My husband does a lot of focused, small, fiddly electronics work, and even though we have ProVaris and a Semovar and Kayfuns, he usually prefers the super-light form factor of an iTaste VV v3 with an iClear 16 topper (I use the VVs, too, occasionally, but with Protank Mini 3). This may be something that feels better in your hand while you're working. Good luck finding the right gear for the job!

 

[AshMPWrites]

Daleron, I'm going into the city on Saturday to visit a multitude of shops and see what I can find that would fill the niche of writing while vaping. I'm not looking to throw in the towel this easily and go back to analogs while working -- although, to be honest, I've considered it an option if all else fails. The E-roll looks interesting. In a perfect world I'd find something I could fill myself with juice that is super lightweight. I would order off line, but because it has to serve a very specific purpose, I'm hoping a few in-store experiments might make the choice for me.

Sirius, I hoping I find that niche and soon! I can absolutely, without a doubt, vape on my free time like its nothing. My friends were smoking around me this weekend and I realized that, even a few hours in, I didn't miss analogs. It wasn't like going on the patch, and it wasn't like that one time I bought an e-cig (way back when they first came out) from a kiosk in the mall . It was an entirely "other" experience where my physical needs were sated; all the perks, none of the pain. It's just the magical "room" I enter when I'm writing that I can't achieve. It's hard to explain what happens, but writing (especially novels) is pretty much unlike anything else -- you almost slip into a void where you can lose hours and sometimes days caught up in this world you've created. If it was a hobby, that would be one thing ... but this is my full-time job, and has been for a number years. I'm trying. I don't want to up my nicotine, because I don't know if that's what it is ... but before I give in, I'll try almost anything.

Thank you all for your support. XOXOX

 

[Shellie]

That was my exact thought, too. Something more akin to a cig-a-like while you work. Even something smallish like the ego might suit you better while you write, then your mod for evenings and breaks. I type for a living, and have become used to the MVP even while I'm working, but it did take some getting used to. I have to work a little differently than I used to. You may find that a combination of a smaller device and maybe a slight alter in your work style will eventually come about. Welcome to the forums, and congratulations on quitting smoking!

 

[fletcher969]

Hello fellow Illinoisian, and Chicagoan! You're doing right to explore and address what you can to duplicate the overall cigarette experience, and from what I've researched, the E-Roll might be a great choice in attaining your goal. I too have considered getting a cig-a-like/mini just to better mimick the experience, and the E-Roll is right near the top of my list. It's only shortcoming as-is relates to the fact that it only comes with one atomizer body/cone, but that's remedied by purchasing a second one, building the second ecig, and always having one battery/ecig charging while the other one is being used (I'm puzzled why Joyetech doesn't just do that anyway as a selling point). My eVic and eGo models coupled with the various cartos and tanks produce some really nice output, but I miss the "similarity" of something more cigarette sized.

That said, and given you're not entirely sure what your experience is missing, you might also research WTA (whole tobacco alkaloids) liquids, and NET (natural extracted tobacco) flavor concentrates and/or liquids. The prior is nicotine plus the other "minor" tobacco alkaloids, which coupled together have been reported to help those who feel their missing the "calming" effects that come with smoking analogs, and WTA is said to produce a more analog-like sensation in the mouth and lungs. Essentially, some ex-smokers are addicted to nicotine alone, and vaping addresses their cravings while others have slightly different brain chemistries, and they are more sensitive to the minor alkaloids not included in nicotine-only liquids. WTA addresses those who are in the latter group. NETs are simply natural flavors which are extracted from the tobacco itself (versus the myriad artificial flavors which most vapers use), and many report it has a more natural flavor, mouth feel, throat hit, etc. I just ordered some WTA, because I've been vaping for over a year, and I still have cravings for analogs not unlike I have whenever I've quit cold turkey (only not as bad). Subsequently, I still smoke analogs, just not as many as I used to. I'm hoping WTA liquid fills in the gap. Anyway, look into WTA and NET. There might be something there for you, but if not, nothing gained, nothing lost.

And good luck with your vaping. I hope you stick with it.