Just a quick disclaimer, I know this is a long post, but beings as I was exactly were you are a few weeks ago, I am happy to share with you that I am now a week off of traditional cigarettes! I've actually been vaping for a little over two months now. At first, with just the smaller 200 mah, batteries and flavored cartomizers, I was able to go from 2 1/2 sometimes 3 packs a day down to a half a pack with relative ease. Blu's Orginal Starter Kit was what I started with, and the batteries were awful, but I enjoyed the flavor, portability, and clean, sleek look of them. I've also used Halo's G6 kit, as well as O2 Vapor's. While both are a vast improvement and upgrade up from Blu's starter kits, O2 Vapor seems to produce higher quality products all the way around, excellent juices AND THE BEST customer service I've experienced thus far in dealing with e-cig vendors.
I quickly upgraded to a 650 mah ego style battery and tanks and the difference from the batteries that resembled cigarettes was night and day! From there, I was pretty much "sold" and hooked on vaping, yet still continued to smoke around 5 cigarettes a day for approximately 2 weeks later. I decided to pick a "quit date" a couple of weeks out.
During this time I was also buying new hardware, mostly tanks and juices at first, in order to find some tobacco flavors I really liked and close to my brand and idea of what a good cigarette tastes like. After lurking around on here I came across and ordered Halo's Tobacco Sampler. I thought I would really like Tribeca given it's description and all of it's rave reviews to back it up. While I really liked the caramel, there was also a strong spicey flavor I detected in it that quickly overpowered it and turned me off. There were a couple of ones that I liked, I think Torque 56 was one of them along with Prime 15. After I discovered steeping, and heard the Halo's benefited from it, I put them away and started searching out and trying other vendors.
At this point I had a lot of money vested in e-cigarettes, accessories, but I was still stuck vaping and smoking at the same time and really wanted to completely stop! Like you, I was pretty much desperate!
It was around this time that I discovered WTA and that it was supposed to be very helpful for people in my situation to experience more of a traditional cigarette by including some of the alkaloids that people can become dependent upon verses just the nicotine alone. I read up on it, about half of a VERY long thread on another forum and did some other research on it. I decided to go ahead and try it out despite the fact that it was expensive and ordered some of Aroma's DIY unflavored 24 MG WTA 100% VG.
My first experience with it wasn't earth shattering or anything, however I did seem to feel a bit more mellow and calm. I tried the Red Tail Vapor Berry Best Pancakes sample that was included as well and discovered that I DID like sweet flavors and flavors beyond just tobacco and tobacco mixes. I didn't fully appreciate at first just HOW MUCH the WTA e-juice helped me, until AFTER I managed to quit smoking. W I ran out of the first bottle and hadn't decided on whether to order more due to the price being $29.50 per 15 mL. Since the first few days of exclusively vaping wasn't near as difficult as I had anticipated after I started pushing myself more, I decided to go a day without using the WTA to see if it was worth justifying the cost. It didn't click until later that evening why I had been so irritable, and had more cravings that day until I remembered the difference of being without it! I decided it was worth it and to continue using it as needed, at least until I got more comfortable and most if not all of my cravings were gone and then re-evaluate it's necessity and use.
Even with the WTA, I wasn't able to get down past 5 smokes a day until I really started pushing myself. I would and still remind myself of all the reasons I am quitting when the urges come, which have become fewer and farther between. Almost ANY "stop smoking plan" will tell you to pick a D-day, write down ALL of YOUR motivations for quitting, because what works for one person may not motivate you as much.
I actually ended up putting the smokes down COMPLETELY four days before my original D-day! Reading on here about people who quit "accidently" was very reassuring! I still experienced cravings and the urge to smoke after quitting those first few days. Some were quite intense at first, such as upon waking and when I became overly stressed. I identified my triggers and avoided them if possible and until I could reprogram myself not to desire smoking and replaced it with vaping like others have mentioned. I had to change up my morning routine and take a lot of "time outs" when I could and when I started finding myself losing patience or control!
Sweet bakery flavors are my favorite ATM and it never occurred to me that the authentic dessert flavors could have actually INCREASED my desire to smoke afterwards until reading this thread! I often distracted myself by looking at all the cool vaping mods and supplies out there. This was hard on the pocketbook at first but WELL worth it to me! The more I invest in gear the more committed I am to making it work as I don't want all of my money, time and energy to be for not! It's also reassuring to note that well taken care of gear, retains it's value as well!
I would chain vape so much at first that even with 18 mg/ml of nicotine and the few drops of added 24 mg strength WTA per tank, I would start to feel sick from over doing it. With as much as I had previously smoked, I should have easily been able to handle a "reasonable" amount of 18 mg strength! When I started feeling nauseated along with a headache, and a general sense of feeling ill, I would substantially increase my fluid intake and stop vaping until I felt well again, usually within 20-30 minutes at most. I had to make sure I ate something as well, as my great tasting bakery juices pretty much satisfied my sweet cravings while the nicotine suppressed my appetite. I believe vaping the amounts I was on an EMPTY stomach, contributed to my malaise. There is a sticky post on the forum detailing nicotine overdose extensively, the signs and symptoms and how to avoid.
With all that vaping I was doing, I started to worrying about staying at that level or even going up, but was encouraged by veterans stating how this is normal at first and how most start to decrease after a period of transitioning over and getting used to vaping exclusively. Whether due to being able to vape more efficiently, or my body adjusting to the amounts of nicotine it is now currently receiving, I have personally found this to be true and don't seem to vape near as much overall as I initially did those first few days off of traditional cigarettes.
I discovered just how much WTA helped me, as I had run out and hadn't decided on whether to order more due to the price being $29.50 per 15 mL. The first few days of exclusively vaping wasn't near as difficult as I had anticipated after I started pushing myself more so I decided to go a day without using the WTA to see if it was worth justifying the cost. It didn't click until that evening why I had been so irritable, and had more cravings that day verses the first initial days until I remembered the difference of being without it! So for me, it's not so much what it DOES for me, as the intense calming, sedated feeling quickly wore off after a few tanks, but more what I DON'T experience when I use it if that makes sense!
Other's advising you to vape as much as you want when you want concerns me some, but only because I have gotten sick by doing that very same thing. The idea that someone else mentioned earlier about having different tanks set up with different strengths of nicotine is a FANTASTIC idea to not risk overdoing it! It never occurred to me to have some tanks set up with extra nicotine or a bit more WTA in them for those times the cravings are harder. I think for me I'd rather be able to perform the "act of vaping" more often "as needed" at this point, then use something too strong and not be able to which has happened. Even though it defies logic, my mind would entertain the idea of smoking a cigarette instead "while waiting", which I had to resist as well as having to wait to vape until I was well enough to.
Initially I told myself I just had to get through the day, or a few hours even if need be. I just kept delaying the urge to smoke verses flat out denying myself. Then it was can I get through the morning without smoking or can I get through another day etc. A week finally substituted my goal instead of days. I had a "slip up" on the morning of day 5, giving in and curious to see what smoking would do. Turns out it didn't do really anything, so to that end it was good and it seemed to drastically reduce the amount and intensity of my cravings. I was VERY disappointed in myself succumbing to the urge JUST shy of a full week. While I agree you shouldn't beat yourself up if you have a relapse, and should look at each analogue not smoked as a victory, IMHO if we didn't experience ANY negative feelings smoking them or get firm with ourselves, there would be no reason or motivation to stop. I know I didn't and don't want to have to keep starting the quitting process over.
You can do this, I KNOW it, and I believe YOU know it or you wouldn't have even come this far. What remains is for how long, and how difficult will it be? By utilizing the suggestions in this thread that work for you, I don't think it will be NEAR as difficult as you fear, as we humans have the tendency to ANTICIPATE the worst, especially if we've had a very similar negative experience in the past.
I know this post is VERY LONG, and I am very appreciative of ANYONE who's made it this long! I just wanted to share my own experience to show that if I and lots others like myself can do this, it's not only possible but VERY doable for others to as well! To break it down in short, here's what worked for me:
-Having a bit of pressure by picking a quit date and telling others of my plan. Maybe post your decision to quit on social media and the forum for extra encouragement as well!
-Having all of the reasons WHY I'm quitting in the forefront of my mind and wrote out as well, such as reminding myself of my kids telling me they don't want me to die from smoking, and not wanting to continue to set an example of them to smoke as has happened for GENERATIONS in my family-
*Getting extremely winded and short of breath by a quick sprint or moving about a lot when performing my regular duties and I'm only 36.
*Seeing my grandmother struggle to breath after being diagnosed with COPD after more than two decade of smoking and I smoked over 15 years myself!
*Being tired of all my money literally going "up in smoke plus MANY more!
Identify your own reason's and write them all down, thinking of as MANY as possible and keep it were you can see it or reference it easily whenever a strong craving hits!
-Set goals and reward yourself when you achieve them! Each cigarette you don't smoke IS a victory! With the money that you save from not smoking, you should be able to do something nice for yourself even if it's something little!
-I turned this into a hobby, and I LOVE IT! I watch tons of Youtube videos from experienced vaporers such as PBusardo, Grim Green, Indoor Smokers, Rip Trippers and The Vapor Lady. This helps keep me distracted, as well as being very informative! These people are VERY knowledgeable and entertaining IMHO, so perhaps checkout a few of theirs or find your own favorites!
I love "saving" money from not buying analogues to invest in MORE high quality gear and juices! All the tinkering around also gives me something to do with my hands and mostly distracted except for those times when NOTHING goes right! I've learned to keep a "reliable" back up on hand to combat the urge to smoke this can create and accept that having those times is somewhat inevitable so smoking because of it is NOT an option!
-Get involved and become a reformer! Learn all you can and share unbiased, factual knowledge about e-cigarettes and vaping to friends, family, and current smokers. Join and support vaping communities and forums such as this, Reddit, CASAA etc. Like with turning it into a hobby, the more vested you are in it, the chances of you successfully quitting are greater. As you create more cognitive dissonance between vaping and smoking, the more likely you will be to stick to just one verses the other. Hopefully you will have created enough internal pressure and motivation to choose vaping!
-Start exercising to help rid your body of the toxins it's built up from smoking and help speed up withdrawal related symptoms. This is also very good for stress relief, creating endorphins, and replacing some of the MAO Inhibitors that are found in tobacco smoke and passed into the blood stream via smoking. Making the decision to stop smoking and start vaping a decision to live a healthier lifestyle OVERALL!
-Consider incorporating yoga and meditation. Pray! Seeking out spiritual awareness may help you down deal with your current stress levels and underlying issues that could be causing you to continue to smoke more.
-Keep delicious, healthy, lowfat/low calorie foods around the are good for snacking on to help replace some of the hang to mouth preoccupation many former cigarette smokers have difficulty giving up, and to avoid gaining an extra unwanted weight. Carrot sticks, nuts, popcorn etc. are all good examples.
-Consider looking into WTA e-liquids or Snus. Both include similar alkaloids that are found in traditional cigarettes, that can be just as addicting if not MORE then nicotine alone for some. Replacing some of them with either one may drastically reduce your cravings as it has for many in your situation, including myself. There is currently some debate among vaporers about whether or not this is safe or a good thing to do. I have personally spent a lot of time researching it and I feel as confident as I can in my vendor, (Aroma E-Juice), and their manufacturing process, and have come to the conclusion that it is NO more harmful then smoking was/is, and decidedly FAR LESS! There is even a thread you can check out for vaporers who continue to use Snus in order to satisfy their urges and stay off of traditional cigarettes. I don't think I could have stopped at this time without including WTA in my juices, at least not for long, and my discomfort would have been much more substantial. Do the research yourself and decide on what's right for you though!
Again, I know this is long and I am relatively new to the vaping community, but I have pretty close to the same time as the OP has, and could REALLY relate! Since I WAS able to COMPLETELY stop smoking I hope and feel my experience and knowledge will be helpful to them as well as ANY others who are in the same predicament. I feel VERY passionate about vaping at this point, as if it has not only saved my life, but giving me back control over it! I also really enjoy having it as a hobby, and being able to participate in the community despite not having much of one here locally where I live in a rural areal. Wishing ALL of you the best of luck and praying for a breakthrough for you OP!
