Cravings during quitting process

[sof101]

End of December I made a post in this forum seeking help in order to quit smoking to vaping. I received a lot of help and advice. Thanks for all the people that were here for me. Vapers are very supportive and helpful than any other community.
I smoked for about 30 years, since beginning of January I decided to switch to vaping and gradually decreased my consumption from nearly a pack a day to 0. That was around 10 days ago (I’m on 0 analog cigarette since 10 days). Since I stopped completely smoking I failed twice (2 times during the last 10 days), I had some cravings I couldn’t manage. Between these cravings everything is ok. I’m wondering whether I have to resist these cravings when it comes to or should I continue as I did (smoke an analog when my body’s requesting it). I have to notice that my quitting process till 0 analog cig went very smoothly and very easily that I couldn’t believe it was possible.
I’m afraid that this craving for a cigarette every 4 or 5 days will make me go back to smoking. If anyone had same experience I’ll be happy to know how she/he managed to get over it.

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Everyone is different, I had to just ignore the cravings to quit the cigs or I never would have.
I know what would happen if I smoked just one, so I haven't & won't.
I still get cravings to smoke every now & then, more than 5 years after my last smoke.
Some folks lose all desire rather quickly.

I believe you still have to have the desire to quit, for some folks that takes quite a bit of willpower no matter the method used to quit.

 

[Izan]

End of December I made a post in this forum seeking help in order to quit smoking to vaping. I received a lot of help and advice. Thanks for all the people that were here for me. Vapers are very supportive and helpful than any other community.
I smoked for about 30 years, since beginning of January I decided to switch to vaping and gradually decreased my consumption from nearly a pack a day to 0. That was around 10 days ago (I’m on 0 analog cigarette since 10 days). Since I stopped completely smoking I failed twice (2 times during the last 10 days), I had some cravings I couldn’t manage. Between these cravings everything is ok. I’m wondering whether I have to resist these cravings when it comes to or should I continue as I did (smoke an analog when my body’s requesting it). I have to notice that my quitting process till 0 analog cig went very smoothly and very easily that I couldn’t believe it was possible.
I’m afraid that this craving for a cigarette every 4 or 5 days will make me go back to smoking. If anyone had same experience I’ll be happy to know how she/he managed to get over it.

Welcome back,
You are doing great!
You said: Instead of smoking a carton of cigarettes over the last ten days, you have only smoked two. VICTORY!

If the urges hit again, hot box the vape for a few mins and if you still want to smoke, the additional nicotine may help you to, maybe, smoke only half.

It may also be helpful to have some higher nicotine liquid on hand to use when the urges return.


Keep up the good work.
I

 

[stols001]

I would do what you feel most comfortable with. I would suggest vaping for as long as you can through the craving, and if you smoke, vape immediately afterward to reinforce being a vaper. Really pay attention to how the cigarette is, I found that what my "craving" thought the experience would be like vs. what it actually was to be rather large. Stopping smoking once you feel "better" even if not at the end of the cigarette is also a useful practice, or stopping when you find it disgusting enough.

I will say that I still get "mental" cigarette cravings, but they aren't much more than some trigger reminding me of smoking, unless it's a "stress" craving, which, I was surprised to find out I am a "stress" smoker more than anything else. As time passes, the cravings come up less frequently, and I know what to do about them. Vape until it passes, period. There will come a time when you may have to set a "hard limit" on smoking for success but only you can decide when that time will come, and the right answer has to be the right one for you. But, you are steadily decreasing smoking and that's fantastic, so however you finish your taper, just keep up the good work.

Quitting smoking was the hardest thing I ever had to do, and vaping makes it SO MUCH easier, so I also try to focus my gratitude to my vape and what it helps me achieve, instead of the stress craving so much (I will agree that I turn into a headless chicken in those moments now, I usually don't fall off the cart, but I am a VAPING headless chicken). LOL.

Distract, delay.... VAPE ON!

Anna

 

[Kiyle the Manlet]

What kind of device and what nicotine strength are you using?

I haven't smoked in four years, but if I drop my nicotine from 6mg/ml to 3mg/ml, it can really make me feel like I haven't vaped all day.

 

[CMD-Ky]

I have a slightly different take on the cravings. I dual used for months. Then I was at two every morning for quite a while. One day I realized that I had not had a cigarette for several days and have had none for several years.
Count the cigarettes you didn't smoke, those are your wins. Keep going, your wins will soon outpace you losses. You have to have a short memory for your losses, forget 'em and keep the eye on the wins.

 

[englishmick]

It's been a while but I remember getting those powerful cravings for several weeks after I quit, which happened after many months of vaping and slowly cutting down on the cigs. After a while they just got less frequent and less hard to deal with. They didn't stop suddenly.

I think what made it bearable was to vape non-stop when it happened. I also spent a lot of time on this forum. Just a lot of time vaping, thinking about vaping, chatting on ECF, looking at vaping gear on the internet and planning what I might buy next. I kept a dairy on the computer and wrote a bunch of stuff, like designing vape stands and ideas about storage for vape gear. Anything to keep me thinking about vaping rather than smoking. Vaping was the main thing going on in my life for quite a while.

I remember a guy I worked with who quit cold turkey back in the 90's. He had sticker on the wall of his cubicle. It said "the urge to smoke will pass after a while whether I light one up or not". Seemed like an encouraging thought.

Some people have it easy. My grandson moved in for a while. I gave him some vaping gear the day he moved in, and he never even finished the half pack of cigs he brought with him.

Good luck.

 

[miteret]

You're on the right track. Good work. You're also in the right place for support. My Doc told me a few years ago that cig addiction was harder to kick than opioids. I had a relatively easy transition to vaping. Occasionally, I will fire a cigar and enjoy that without inhaling. Much better than cigs. Keep calm and carry on!

 

[Baditude]

Popular saying on this forum, "Its not how many cigarettes you smoked today that is important. Its how many you DIDN'T SMOKE that is."

Don't beat yourself up if you fall off the wagon every now and then. Just stay committed and dedicated to be a non-smoker and pick up where you left off.

 

[Letitia]

As mentioned it is different for each individual. For myself I simply decided to not buy another pack. Took 5 months for me to get there. First week or two are the hardest, you wake up forgetting that you have no smokes. It gets much easier after that. You'll find your own path. Just don't set your expectations too high.

 

[stols001]

I beat a severe opiate habit some time ago. It was far, far harder for me to switch to vaping. They say your last addiction is the hardest. I'd say so. It's still very hard some times. But those times come less and less.

Smoking was also my FIRST real addiction, and it's rare for even other addictions to have so many associations. It's actually easier to count the places/events that DON'T remind me of smoking, than the ones that do. I was a 3 ppd smoker by the end.

And, I don't begrudge what I spent on ECF while I learned about vaping and distracted myself. I was the same way, I wanted to learn EVERYTHING about vaping, so I could be self sufficient and feel safe. Many of my purchases are/were investments in my future. I came along right before deeming was pushed out, so I had a sense of urgency. It was really, really helpful.

Anna

 

[r77r7r]

End of December I made a post in this forum seeking help in order to quit smoking to vaping. I received a lot of help and advice. Thanks for all the people that were here for me. Vapers are very supportive and helpful than any other community.
I smoked for about 30 years, since beginning of January I decided to switch to vaping and gradually decreased my consumption from nearly a pack a day to 0. That was around 10 days ago (I’m on 0 analog cigarette since 10 days). Since I stopped completely smoking I failed twice (2 times during the last 10 days), I had some cravings I couldn’t manage. Between these cravings everything is ok. I’m wondering whether I have to resist these cravings when it comes to or should I continue as I did (smoke an analog when my body’s requesting it). I have to notice that my quitting process till 0 analog cig went very smoothly and very easily that I couldn’t believe it was possible.
I’m afraid that this craving for a cigarette every 4 or 5 days will make me go back to smoking. If anyone had same experience I’ll be happy to know how she/he managed to get over it.

35yr smoker here. When I was where you are, I gave in and Lit the cig took a puff or 2 and put it in the ashtray and started vaping while it burned out. Only had to do that a few days. Maybe think of it as cutting wayyyy down on your intake. No pressure then GL.

 

[dom qp]

I have an air tight coffee can full of my old cigarette butts.

Get a craving? Open that thing up and take a deep inhale. Not only is it enough to make me throw up, it'll leave the house smelling like it for a couple hours.

I get cravings once and a while. It's hard with my entire family smoking around me and telling me how bad vaping is.

Last time I visited my grand parents my grandma tried to sneak a couple cigarettes in my pocket.

Support from my girlfriend and a big whiff of the butts in a conveniently (closely) placed ash tray put me back right on track.

 

[Letitia]

grandma tried to sneak a couple cigarettes in my pocket.

That is too cute.

 

[dom qp]

That is too cute.

She said she wouldn't tell anyone.

 

[pianoguy]

I smoked for a little over 40 years. When I first started vaping, I decided to only have a cigarette when I felt like I REALLY needed one, which initially turned out to be only a couple times a day. It took me about a week to get down to 0. I only had one real bad craving episode after that - about 2 weeks later, right after Thanksgiving dinner. I vaped like a research monkey and got through it. I carried cigarettes with me for about a month after making the switch - I never wanted to feel panicked that I couldn't have one if I wanted to. I had vivid dreams about smoking for quite a while, but no other real bad cravings.

You are doing GREAT - do what works for you, at your pace.

 

[ScottP]

@sof101

OK a few points and tips here. First you have to remember that there are a lot more addictive chemicals in cigarettes than just nicotine and all of them leave the body at different stages. The first stage comes a few days after quitting. Then it seems to get easier for several weeks. Then stage 2 kicks in and a new round of withdrawals comes. After that it gets easier again for several months then the last of the chemicals start fading and the cravings come back for the third and final time. If you can make it past the last set of cravings most people are home fee. This is usually somewhere around the 6 month mark.

In the mean time there are some things you can do to help with the peak cravings. I would suggest getting a second topper (maybe even a duplicate of the one you are already using). In that second topper, you can try using a juice with either some WTA in it, or a juice with a higher nic level, or both if needed. When you feel your primary juice just isn't cutting it, switch to the "extra strength" topper until they subside. Whatever you do, don't try to lower nic strength until that 3rd phase of withdrawals has passed.

Even after that 3rd phase it could still be a good idea to keep that secondary topper around and in good working order for a while. You may still occasionally have an extremely stressful day, or maybe be around a bunch of other smokers and feel the temptation rise. It would be good to have that "extra strength" topper around for those occasions.

Finally, I personally believe that there is something I call the "cigarette of no return". As you smoke the carcinogens build up in your body, and some point it becomes enough to actually cause you to get cancer. Kind of like the "straw that broke the camel's back", the "cigarette of no return" is the one that puts you over this limit. If you quit smoking before that cigarette you will be fine, if you quit after, it will be too late because once you have reached that point you will get cancer. The cancer may not even show up until 5 years after you have quit but once you have smoked the "cigarette of no return", cancer is inevitable. When you are fighting cravings remind yourself that every single cigarette that you smoke could potentially be "the one". I can tell you that more than a few times I have held an unlit cigarette in my hand, looked at it, told myself this could be "the one" and put it down.

 

[QcVaper]

Since i can't really say if it's right or wrong, I'll say this: took me 1 week to completely give up analogs. In that week i tried to resist as much as i could but always had my morning cig but the rest of the day i tried to keep myself calm and focused to not give in to the cravings. Dosen't mean it'll work for you but that's how i managed (pretty much just get flavors i loved and vaped through each cravings).

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

 

[HauntedMyst]

One thing I found that helped is when I reminded myself that our grandfathers and great grandfathers nutted up to take on the worst humanity had to offer and they did it of their own free will. They weren't trying to quit smoking....no, they were trying to stem the Nazi tide that threatened every man, woman and child in the free world. And on average, they were 16 to 20 years old, not grizzle hardened veterans but still more man than most 50 to 60 year olds today. Did they whine and say "This is too hard" NO dammit, they stormed the beaches! Sword Beach. Juno Beach. Gold Beach. Utah Beach. And the bloodiest beach of all, Omaha Beach. And they did it not only the face of almost certain death by fortified enemy fire, but also while the Allieds rained down hellfire all around them from the largest assault fleet ever assembled. Did I mention 24,000 of them jumped in behind enemy lines in the dark before hand to help secure their victory? And together they drove the sauerkraut loving Nazi horde into oblivion. If those hundreds of thousands of young men could do that, you can get past the cig cravings.

So let me paraphrase General Dwight D. Eisenhower when I say "The eyes of the forum are upon you. The hopes and prayers of vapor-loving people everywhere march with you."

Another thing that helped me is once I found a flavor I liked, I didn't want to smoke anymore. I just wanted to enjoy flavors again.

 

[bbsbucket]

Your journey seems very similar to mine. I bought my starter vape pen on 8 Jan and I smoked cigs until the 17th. I think I must have smoked about 3 packs until during that duration. I used to smoke first thing in the morning, after lunch, once more before dinner and after dinner. Rest of the times when cravings hit, I used to vape. Within few days, I started getting same feeling while vaping that I used to get from cigarettes, minus the stink from mouth, fingers, clothes and body. On 17th evening I had my last cigarette and decided not to buy them anymore. I do get the urge to buy them but then I recall the stink and I just vape instead.
I do have two devices that I carry with me. One with tobacco flavor and another is pseudo-tobacco sweetish flavor. The tobacco flavor is 12mg which I always enjoyed and the other one was 6mg which I liked the flavor. I upped the nicotine strength to 12mg and now I enjoy it even more than the tobacco flavor. Tonight I might mix a 18mg of same flavor. I know I am going in the wrong direction because at first I was happy with 6mg. Hopefully I will reverse the trend after I find a sweet spot and enjoy it for a little while.
Just remember the feeling of vaping when you smoke cigarette and weigh which one is better and you will be fine. Good Luck.